Great class and professor. The only three grades are section participation, the midterm, and the final. For both the midterm and the final, Prof James gives the in-class test's essay prompts out ahead of time so it's super easy to get a good grade if you just have a good idea of what to write. Overall, this is a great class and I will be taking another class with Prof James in the future.

Honestly a really TEDIOUS class. Super boring material, super boring lectures by a professor that just reads the slides and doesn't really engage with the audience (which very very quickly dwindles since everything you need is on the slides and the class is podcasted). The IDs and essays for the midterm are given to you ahead of time in study guides but they're a pain in the ass to memorize in the depth that some of the TAs require. Overall, an insanely boring, tedious, and horrific experience you really shouldn't put yourself through. Take another class that is more interesting and doesn't have such horrific time crunched exams.