RUN AWAY FROM THIS CLASS!!!!!

The midterm was open note. The questions on the midterm were directly from lecture notes. Although I had all my notes and completed all readings and answering associated study questions, I still recieved a bad grade on the midterm. His grading scale seems easy, but nonetheless he's a hard grader. being open note I felt like I guaranteed an A on the midterm, but yet still managed to do poorly. Seems easy at a glance, but is a tough grader and doesn't grant enough time for the ludicrous amount of questions on tests and the detail required. Most of the class struggled to answer every question within the time period

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. I am in week 10 of this class right now and RUN AWAY. SUMAN DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HIS STUDENTS AT ALL! He has not been understanding or accommodating during the pandemic or the great injustices we are witnessing right now, and that some students are affected by protests/ national guard deployment. He grades based on whether the definitions are verbatim and his tests are SO long- (midterm 3 hours and took the full time) He only has 1 TA grading all the work so we are in week 10 and only have 1 grade and will not receive our papers until after it is too late to change the class to p/np

Some might be turned off by this class because of Suman's teaching style and the nightmares Comm 10 brought to most of us but this class is nothing like that. Although Suman both classes share the same format (Midterm, Paper, Final), this is class is not only easier but more interesting than Comm 10. The content of this material is way more engaging and practical. This class is all about persuasion and compliance which is wholly practical in your everyday life and something that is very useful in whatever field or walk of life you pursue.

However, there are four movies and two books to read throughout the quarter which depending on what other courses you are taking in conjunction with Comm 140, the workload can seem slightly overwhelming but if you plan your time right and since there are no assignments, homework, or quizzes throughout the quarter I would say it is a fair trade-off and definitely manageable.

Overall I would say that I was very pleased with the course and developed skills and garnered knowledge that will prove invaluable in life.

TL:DR Easier than Comm 10. Interesting content. Valuable life and work skills. 2 books & 4 movies but no other work besides final, midterm, and paper. Overall great experience.

**I would like to caveat that I took this class online due to the pandemic so there might be slight differences between the way he teaches and proctors his courses online versus in-person.

Suman is a great lecturer, he finds a way to explain weird concepts in an understandable manner. That being said he is (or rather, the TA is) a ridiculous grader. I’ve taken suman twice and both times he has these crazy curves. They will mark you off for the slightest thing, and then curve the test so a 40% is a B. You can genuinely know the answer to a question yet still not get it right bc the ta may not like the way it was worded. All in all I respect the guy, but would look at other options in order to make things easier for you in the long run/save your gpa.

This class is much easier than comm 10 and he is much nicer/ less of a jerk than in comm 10. If you come to class, take good notes and watch the movies for the midterm/final you should be fine and get an A. That said this class is really boring. I did not feel engaged in the subject matter at all. Suman doesn't use any tech in upper div class and the zero tech policy from comm 10 still stands in all his other courses. It's pretty straightforward to succeed in this class, but it is still Suman. If you can't be in class every day and take note of everything he says you won't do well. If you go to class, take notes and watch the material required you will be fine.

Dr. Suman is a very organized professor. He gives notes for each lecture at the start of the term. His lecture doesn't deviate from the notes. He continues to emphasize and give many examples of the various theories. This is a great class if you are going into marketing, business, or advertising. And, the paper was on something you can use in that field. He responds to emails quickly. He gives book questions and if you complete all those questions and go to lecture, you will do fine on the exams, as he lets you use your notes. The exams are tough, but very doable. He is probably has the most clear and organized lectures of any professor I have taken.

Dr. Suman is a very organized professor. He gives notes for each lecture at the start of the term. His lecture doesn't deviate from the notes. He continues to emphasize and give many examples of the various theories. This is a great class if you are going into marketing, business, or advertising. And, the paper was on something you can use in that field. He responds to emails quickly. He gives book questions and if you complete all those questions and go to lecture, you will do fine on the exams, as he lets you use your notes. The exams are tough, but very doable. He is probably has the most clear and organized lectures of any professor I have taken.

TL;DR: The content of this class is genuinely interesting but the grading was VERY tough. If you don't do the readings/book guides, you will not do well. Take all notes as word-for-word as possible!!

Professor Suman is old-school; you are not allowed an electronic device to take notes (without an accommodation from the CAE), he does not use slides, and no BruinCast. He writes down all the concepts we 100% need to know on the blackboard and in PDF lecture guides, which is definitely helpful.

There are two open-note exams, the midterm and the final (final is not cumulative, just longer). Both are a series of short answer questions from lecture and required readings, along with 1-2 essays on film screenings we have to watch on our own (the topic and film choice are a surprise...). He provides book guides for the readings which you 1000% should complete. What you can (and should) bring to exams:
- Printed out book guides with handwritten answers
- Handwritten class notes (I 100% recommend rewriting your notes to (1) study and (2) make them as easy to flip through as possible)
- Printed lecture guides (use them to organize your notes)

There's also one essay due Week 7 about applying theories learned in class to a piece of media. That on its own wouldn't be so bad, but because of how the class is structured, the ONLY grade you know before going into the final is your midterm grade. Our TA was an "incredibly meticulous" grader... like absolutely brutal. The one potentially saving grace is Suman determines the grading scale based on how students do on the midterm (my B became an A- with our scale), similar to how he does in COMM 10.

I did enjoy what I learned in class, but very few get an A even with the grading scale change. Lots of people dropped halfway through the quarter. DO NOT TAKE THIS WITHOUT COMPLETING COMM 10 FIRST. If you struggled in COMM 10, you'll experience at least the same thing.

Random side notes; If you miss class, your only option is getting notes from someone else. One of my classmates had to fight tooth and nail to turn in her essay electronically because she got COVID and he wanted her to turn it in in person. Best of luck y'all 😭

Don't be scared of Suman. This class is much easier than COMM 10. The content is insanely interesting and applicable to everyday life.

It has a similar structure to COMM 10: Midterm, Paper, Final - Although the distribution of the grade may differ slightly. The midterm and final are much easier because Suman gives you a list of like 100 short answer questions about the books (which are great books btw) that you can answer before and bring into the exam. You will also know what the essays will be about so if you prepare well (and write fast) you can get an A. That being said, everything is graded harshly. But if you take good notes and prepare you will do well.