Jeremy Smoak
Department of Asian
AD
4.4
Overall Rating
Based on 9 Users
Easiness 3.9 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.4 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.7 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
  • Needs Textbook
  • Engaging Lectures
  • Useful Textbooks
  • Appropriately Priced Materials
  • Often Funny
  • Participation Matters
  • Tolerates Tardiness
  • Snazzy Dresser
  • Gives Extra Credit
  • Has Group Projects
  • Issues PTEs
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
87.5%
72.9%
58.3%
43.8%
29.2%
14.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

22.6%
18.8%
15.1%
11.3%
7.5%
3.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

29.3%
24.4%
19.6%
14.7%
9.8%
4.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

44.1%
36.8%
29.4%
22.1%
14.7%
7.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

42.1%
35.1%
28.1%
21.1%
14.0%
7.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

35.6%
29.6%
23.7%
17.8%
11.9%
5.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (8)

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Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Dec. 14, 2020

I signed up for this class after taking his AN NE 12W course Jerusalem: Holy City. I loved his class then and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. Professor Smoak is definitely one of my favorite professors here at UCLA, and he delivers both intelligent, engaging lectures and helpful assignments. There may have been a little more work for this course than some other G.E.s on campus, but nothing was assigned without reason. Every bit of work I did in the course helped me understand the material better. Overall a great course.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2018
Grade: A
Oct. 12, 2019

This class was really interesting and the lectures were pretty interesting to follow along. The professor was clearly knowledgable on the subject and obviously wanted his students to understand the material. The group project at the end of the year was pretty interactive and refreshing to do. Definitely would recommend this GE to anyone who is even remotely curious about the origins of writing. I am also selling the course material ("The Story of Writing") for $10. Email me at ************* if interested.

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Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: A-
Oct. 21, 2018

The professor was passionate. There were guest lecturers throughout the quarter (hit-or-miss). The midterm and final were doable, but study a few days before because there was a lot of material to cover.

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Quarter: Winter 2018
Grade: A
March 29, 2018

I thought some of the assignments (reading summaries in particular) were a little much, but the class was interesting and the workload wasn't too bad.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2018
Grade: N/A
March 26, 2018

Professor Smoak is a very intelligent and captivating lecturer. I enjoyed his class. There are two reading quizzes, a midterm and final. And a required visit to LACMA which was free and actually interesting. There is also a group project to invent a writing system. Sounds challenging and it is, but with the right group and ideas it can become fun. I’m selling the required textbook for $20. Text me if interested **********.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: B+
Nov. 29, 2017

Somewhat more work than other G.E.'s, but definitely doable. Procrastinated pretty heavy in this class, which reflected in my final grade. Quizzes are free points, just read a day before and make sure to connect the ideas in the reading with points of emphasis during lecture, as he tends to put info like that on the quizzes. Midterm and final were fair as they each focused on the writing systems learned in the previous weeks. Group project was fun, although we got snubbed of extra credit tbh. Overall, class was ok and definitely loses steam towards the end of the quarter as lectures just drag in which you repeat random ancient alphabets.

SELLING THE ROBINSON TEXTBOOK- "The Story of Writing, 2nd Edition" for $10, basically new with no highlighting or writing inside. email me @ ************* to purchase!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 14, 2017

This is a GE with a lot of work. We had 2 papers, a museum visit, weekly mandatory discussions with turned in summary, a project, midterm and final. In addition, this class was hard. Smoak is a great lecturer and the TA was awesome, but the material was still challenging due to the majority of it not being taught in any other classes. We had to memorize facts from 10+ different writing systems, and the difficulty showed on the averages of the quizzes which were quite low, despite a high midterm average. Final was quite difficult due to the need to recognize different artifacts, all which looked quite similar. Still, it was really enjoyable.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2016
Grade: A
June 15, 2016

Great Lecturer! all around awesome professor. Selling story of writing textbook email me if interested at G*************

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
Dec. 14, 2020

I signed up for this class after taking his AN NE 12W course Jerusalem: Holy City. I loved his class then and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. Professor Smoak is definitely one of my favorite professors here at UCLA, and he delivers both intelligent, engaging lectures and helpful assignments. There may have been a little more work for this course than some other G.E.s on campus, but nothing was assigned without reason. Every bit of work I did in the course helped me understand the material better. Overall a great course.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2018
Grade: A
Oct. 12, 2019

This class was really interesting and the lectures were pretty interesting to follow along. The professor was clearly knowledgable on the subject and obviously wanted his students to understand the material. The group project at the end of the year was pretty interactive and refreshing to do. Definitely would recommend this GE to anyone who is even remotely curious about the origins of writing. I am also selling the course material ("The Story of Writing") for $10. Email me at ************* if interested.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: A-
Oct. 21, 2018

The professor was passionate. There were guest lecturers throughout the quarter (hit-or-miss). The midterm and final were doable, but study a few days before because there was a lot of material to cover.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2018
Grade: A
March 29, 2018

I thought some of the assignments (reading summaries in particular) were a little much, but the class was interesting and the workload wasn't too bad.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2018
Grade: N/A
March 26, 2018

Professor Smoak is a very intelligent and captivating lecturer. I enjoyed his class. There are two reading quizzes, a midterm and final. And a required visit to LACMA which was free and actually interesting. There is also a group project to invent a writing system. Sounds challenging and it is, but with the right group and ideas it can become fun. I’m selling the required textbook for $20. Text me if interested **********.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: B+
Nov. 29, 2017

Somewhat more work than other G.E.'s, but definitely doable. Procrastinated pretty heavy in this class, which reflected in my final grade. Quizzes are free points, just read a day before and make sure to connect the ideas in the reading with points of emphasis during lecture, as he tends to put info like that on the quizzes. Midterm and final were fair as they each focused on the writing systems learned in the previous weeks. Group project was fun, although we got snubbed of extra credit tbh. Overall, class was ok and definitely loses steam towards the end of the quarter as lectures just drag in which you repeat random ancient alphabets.

SELLING THE ROBINSON TEXTBOOK- "The Story of Writing, 2nd Edition" for $10, basically new with no highlighting or writing inside. email me @ ************* to purchase!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: A
June 14, 2017

This is a GE with a lot of work. We had 2 papers, a museum visit, weekly mandatory discussions with turned in summary, a project, midterm and final. In addition, this class was hard. Smoak is a great lecturer and the TA was awesome, but the material was still challenging due to the majority of it not being taught in any other classes. We had to memorize facts from 10+ different writing systems, and the difficulty showed on the averages of the quizzes which were quite low, despite a high midterm average. Final was quite difficult due to the need to recognize different artifacts, all which looked quite similar. Still, it was really enjoyable.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2016
Grade: A
June 15, 2016

Great Lecturer! all around awesome professor. Selling story of writing textbook email me if interested at G*************

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
1 of 1
4.4
Overall Rating
Based on 9 Users
Easiness 3.9 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.4 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.7 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
    (5)
  • Needs Textbook
    (5)
  • Engaging Lectures
    (5)
  • Useful Textbooks
    (5)
  • Appropriately Priced Materials
    (5)
  • Often Funny
    (5)
  • Participation Matters
    (6)
  • Tolerates Tardiness
    (4)
  • Snazzy Dresser
    (3)
  • Gives Extra Credit
    (4)
  • Has Group Projects
    (4)
  • Issues PTEs
    (2)
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