PLAP 3270

Honestly the reviews are a bit harsh but are not inaccurate. Professor Winters is a nice guy and has a good personality but it seems like his tests are intended to be overly difficult for no reason. There are two take-home exams which require very meticulous (like down to the paragraph) recall of readings. The lectures are fine and engaging but tend to just be obvious information that most people learn in HS. There's a research paper aspect to the class which is easy and is broken up into a couple segments throughout the semester. I'd find another PLAP class if you want that surefire A. Low week to week workload though <40 pages of reading/week.

I initially thought after this course was over that I was going to come to course forum and rip this class to shreds. While I have my fair share of complaints, Professor Winter really pulled through for me at the end. The exams are extremely hard for no reason and the research paper was graded harshly at times (not necessarily unfairly, but if you make small mistakes, they will not go unnoticed). Due to this, I was on track to get a B for this course. After the final exam, it seemed obvious that I would receive a B. Surprisingly, though, I somehow got a A-. I can only imagine it’s because Professor Winter gave huge curves on everyone’s grade at the end of the semester.
While I would advise against this course for any non politics majors, I will give credit where it’s due. Professor Winter is very funny and he is very generous with his curves.
DO NOT take this course if you’re looking for an easy A, believe me. This course caused me immense stress the entire semester. There was a lot of readings, a lot of stress with the research project (although it’s done in chunks so it’s manageable), and the exams were so challenging that studying almost seemed futile.
If you are very passionate about public opinion, this course is for you. The research project was cool at times. Overall, I would probably not recommend this course, but I did not want anyone to have a bad impression of Professor Winter because he is genuinely kind and generous with his curves. Although I don’t understand why he wouldn’t just make the course easier to avoid these curves…

If you are a politics major, then this is a great way to get your second writing requirement. There is a midterm (15%), a final (20%) both of which are multiple-choice, and the research paper (50%). Although the research paper is a lot, there are several check-in points that contribute to a part of the grade. You don't have to do all the reading to do well in the class, but going to class is a must as the slides are useless without context. You can also get extra credit by participating in other people's research projects which I highly recommend. Overall, a very easy second writing requirement if you go to class and have a general understanding of the topics (many of which quizlets online cover). Having a good TA is also essential. I had Lollis and he summarized the readings every week and also provided great feedback on the research paper checkpoints.

This class has a midterm, a final, participation and a massive project that make up your grade. The project entails either interviewing or polling people or doing analysis of media to get your results. You get to pick the topics. It takes the entire semester and is pretty spread out so it is manageable, but it turned out really stressful for those who procrastinate a lot. The professor is funny and is good at interspersing lecture with video clips and songs and different types of media and graphics. You need to go to lecture and take notes to do well on the exams, because although he puts the PowerPoints up online, they're no good without context. The tests were weirdly hard even though they were multiple choice, but he curved them a lot so it was fine.

I really enjoyed Professor Winter's lectures due to his sense of humor and engagement with the class, but it sometimes felt as though the different aspects of the class (lecture, discussion, homework) were all somewhat unrelated. The lecture material was interesting, although at times slightly repetitive. The readings seem like a lot but if you keep up with them, you shouldn't have too much trouble when you get to the midterm/final (they do definitely pile up if you wait until right before the exam, though) and you definitely need to read them because most of the exam questions are on the readings, which are not explicitly reviewed in class. The exams are difficult, but Winter ended up curving both of them about 15% or so. The discussion section was spent mainly on the research paper, which is due in about four different parts throughout the semester that grow increasingly long and time-consuming. This paper fulfills your second writing requirement, but be prepared to spend a fair amount of time on it. The final product is about 15 pages, and is due during exam week which means you cannot really wait until the last minute to work on it. Overall, I enjoyed this course and Professor Winter's lectures, and the workload is definitely manageable as long as you stay on top of your work. I often was behind on my reading and working on my research paper parts last minute, but still managed to get an A in the class. If you need to take/are interested in an American Politics class or second writing requirement, I would recommend this course with Winter.

This course is pretty bad. The readings are ridiculously long and usually have nothing to do with lecture. It's easy to get behind, and your grade will suffer if you do. Everything in lecture seems like it's common sense and not really deserving of a 50 minute explanation. The tests are incredibly difficult, but he grades on a curve. The research project is a lot of work but is probably the only part of the class that is in any way fulfilling. This discussion was probably the most useless one I've ever had. It wasn't the TA's fault, it's just the way the class was structured. We hardly ever reviewed course content; we just spent time working on our research projects. Pick a research topic you're interested in and keep up with your work throughout the semester and you'll be fine, but I would only recommend this class if you want to major in politics.

Pretty terrible class, most of the information in lecture are things you will probably know already, too much readings, test are incredibly and I mean incredibly unfair, and the research project makes it seem like you are taking 2 classes for 3 credits; in discussion all you do is work on the research project, you rarely ever go over material from class or readings. I would highly suggest to only take this class if you absolutely need to.

The reviews below are pretty scary, but the class is not that bad if you put in the time and effort to study and do well. The readings are definitely necessary!! If you keep up with them and study for the exams, it will not be a terrible class. The research project is interesting if you choose an interesting topic, so beware. Survey experiments are possibly the easiest method (just saying). There are 2 exams and a 15 page paper at the end of the term based on a research project that is broken down into different parts. Your TA is a good resource! Use them! Professor Winter is a really nice guy and will help you out if you go to office hours or email him directly. I recommend this class, but is not an easy A!

This class was not as bad as everyone said and the research project was definitely ok. the class was common sense and interesting to listen to. the tests were incredibly hard though

This class is pretty awful.

Don't take this class unless you have enough time to read every single reading in a detailed fashion and create specific reading notes. Exams are designed to trick you even if you do read, which is super frustrating. The topic sounded interesting, and Winter is a funny/nice dude, but the TAs generally sucked (this semester), and the exams were difficult even though the material was common sense.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. This class was the worst class I have ever taken at UVA. I didn't learn anything and the class was difficult. It seems like it would be an interesting class, but everything you learn is common sense (Ex. Democrats read democratic newspapers). Despite this, the tests were insanely specific and tested whether you had memorized each lecture and reading rather than understanding of concepts. You also have to do a huge research project that is also graded rather unfairly/not really based on the rubric. Professor Winter seems like a nice guy, but this class is extremely poorly designed. You will come out of it feeling like you wasted your time and ruined your GPA for nothing.

This class was exceptionally average. Professor Winter is a decent professor (sometimes his lectures can be a little boring and drift off topic). The readings are dense at the beginning but by the end of the semester there are a lot less as you get more into your research. As for the research project, it is broken down into about four parts that all total count for half of your grade. You get to choose your topic, method, and conduct the research yourself which is pretty cool. (Fair warning for anyone who chooses to do focus groups or interviews, transcribing is TERRIBLE. Takes about three times as long as the recording) There also is a midterm and a final (both multiple choice). They require you to regurgitate authors and minute facts, so that's annoying. Also it is really easy to get behind on all the reading...I recommend finding friends and making a shared study guide so that you can split up all the reading because it honestly is not worth doing it all.

This is a fascinating course, and the professor isn't boring (some don't really like Winter, but I thought his relaxed attitude and interesting lectures kept the course afloat). Additionally, there is a research project (done in installments) that is part of the syllabus. All parts of this project summed up account for half of the course grade. Important to note is that it is written about empirical, student-collected data, and I must warn anyone interested in this course that TRANSCRIBING INTERVIEWS IS A BITCH. Apart from that, great course on an intriguing topic. Enjoy.