BIOL 2200

Compared to BIOL 2100, this class was far more easy and enjoyable. Manson is great at lecturing; she likes to tell stories and give examples to help dumb down concepts. Honestly, I gave up reading the textbook after the first exam. Everything you need to know for the exam is said in lecture. Now this doesn't mean memorize her slides and you're all set for the exam. Her exam questions require a bit more thinking but they follow a reasonable line of thinking. Process of elimination is your best friend. She has a form you can fill out during the exam if you have any questions/concerns. Sometimes points are given back for another answer choice or all depending on the situation. I remember she once accepted all answers for a small typo (a word was missing an -s) because it may have been confusing. Poll Everywhere is still a thing BUT she actually goes through why the correct answer is right and all the others are wrong. Her PollEv questions are a good reflection of exam type questions SO TAKE NOTE. Lab follows lecture content based, however it was all over the place. Just know that your lab grade depends on your TA. A lab assignment is submitted at the end of lab. The questions are open response. Sometimes each group decides to research different things. So the rubric Manson gives to TA's is really just a suggestion. For example, her rubric will give points if a concept was mentioned and explained in the answer choice, but your TA may deduct points because "you could have said more" or "you're right, but this word you used in this context is wrong". I went to office hours about this, but Manson said she can't do anything about how TA's choose to grade. At the ends of the semester, I got an email that our lab section had on average really low grades compared to the other sections. She only offered to increase our lab grade by 1%. Unfair when you compare it to other sections, so be warned.

As someone who did not get an A in this class (I got a B -- and WORKED for it) listen up. This class is tough. Lecture goes extremely fast. I felt like many times the most important, complex topics were extremely rushed and never went over again. This class requires SO much time outside of lecture and preparing for exams. Let me help you. As someone that would start studying an entire week before her exams and take maybe 12-20 hours (or more) and still get around a B on all her exams, I want to help you succeed. USE P2L!!! This will help you guide studying and get a better understanding of topics that she rushed through lecture. (Especially if April is still a P2L leader, she is awesome! go to her!) Exams are 70% of your overall grade, so STUDY (they aren't curved either). Use your online resources. Don't read the textbook, it's a waste of time. Memorize her lecture slides, and as you are studying look things up online to get a better understanding. I felt like I taught myself pretty much everything in this class. Online videos are really useful and draw yourself charts, and compare/contrast. I would write 30 pages of hand-written notes from her lecture slides and from videos I watched online to help me study. (Obviously everyone studies differently, but it's important to give yourself enough time to go through everything). She does provide a practice exam the Tuesday before your Friday exam slot, THESE QUESTIONS ARE NOT ON THE EXAM SO DO NOT STUDY THE PRACTICE TEST. This is to help you use what you know and apply it to her questions. I don't think I ever saw a question she reused from one of them. My advise would be to have all the other lectures studied before you take the practice exam to really help you apply the content.

Additionally, she teaches new material up to the last class before the exam, and it is on the exam. Try to have gone through other lectures before the Monday and Wednesday that she teaches new material before the Friday exam. You don't want to have to rush last minute. When you get to the exam, her exam questions are long, confusing and very tricky wording sometimes. It feels like many times there are two correct answers, this is why it's important to have EVERYTHING memorized so you can rule out other answers. If you receive a low grade on one of the exams, you can drop it if you take the final (which is a little easier than her other exams, but still study!) There are 4 exams that count in this class (4 highest scores) and 5 total exams. Final is 'optional' if you are happy with your grade, but I would recommend taking it any way because it's meant to help you. Overall, this class is hard, but not impossible if you put in the work! I'm so glad this class is over, but I've learned how to study more efficiently for the future. Good luck!

I took this class as a first year biology major, and I ended with a B+. I had taken AP bio in high school and Dr. Kittlesen’s BIOL 2100 prior to this class. I loved Dr. Manson as a biology professor; she’s definitely my favorite out of the four biology teachers I’ve had. I fully believe she tries to make the class fair to everyone, no matter your interests or motivations. Her lectures are typically easy to follow, but it’s extremely important to understand what she says and figure out how to apply that to different scenarios. I went to P2L every single week from the start of the semester, and I still found many exams to be challenging. What helped me the most was reviewing the lectures (since her exams were completely based on what she said in lecture) and spending a lot of time on MasteringBiology questions. I read the textbook in the beginning of the semester, but I learned it was better to focus solely on what Manson had said, especially because she explains concepts very well, so there’s little need for clarification through the textbook readings.

There are 5 exams (including the cumulative final) that account for 70% of your grade, but she drops your lowest score. Labs (pre-lab quizzes and post-lab reports) account for 20% of your grade. Homework (MasteringBiology 3x/week) accounts for 10% of your grade. Participation through PollEv can earn you an extra 1%. I was really sick this semester and missed many classes, but I still got an extra 0.93%.

For my lab, my TA was extremely sweet and helpful. In my experience so far, you can earn a 100% in your labs as long as you communicate with your TA well to make sure you complete things correctly. Labs were cool when we got to use microscopes (for two of the labs), but I wasn’t a big fan of them otherwise. They were crafty (e.g. card games) and I never left the room with a better grasp on what they were trying to teach us.

I think I could have improved if I had gone to Manson’s office hours, and if I had studied with friends/groups more. The few times I did study with friends, we were able to point out each other’s misunderstandings because there’s so many intricate details (like all of the plants covered in exam 2) that are easy to confuse.

Overall, this course definitely taught me more than any other STEM course I’ve taken in my life. I enjoyed the content from the beginning, even if I wasn’t performing as well on exams as my classmates. I think my lowest score was 26/35 (exam 2), and my highest was 29.75/35 (final). Also, don’t be afraid to point out any possible errors on the exams. Manson is very open to comments. When I pointed out that one of the questions didn’t have a correct answer (because the correct answer was not totally correct), I was able to get a point back. Manson is extremely thoughtful when it comes to discussion. Her email reply to my exam comment was kind and conveyed how grateful she was to learn something new, which is an attitude I appreciated more than anything.

My one hour of groupwork each week was my weekly P2L session. My three hours of writing per week is my note taking on paper. I estimated that I read/studied 8 hours/week because I’m a slow reader/learner. #tCFS24

As someone who received an A+, this class certainly requires time and effort to do well. The exams are the primary focus, and everything you do outside of lecture should be spent preparing for the exams. Here's what I recommend:

1. Start making study guides ASAP. Some time after each lecture, pop back into the slides, make a few flashcards (I made plenty in Quizlet which certainly helped), and do your best to do a little bit of studying every day-- 5 min of review can be the difference maker in retention. Not only will it make it easier to study leading up to the test, but you'll save yourself precious cram time later on.
2. Ask yourself the kinds of questions you'd expect to see on a test-- Biol2200 is not a cut-and-paste, match the term/definition-style class. Think about the functions of processes in the greater scope of biology, and focus on how/why one thing affects another, not just what that thing does on its own. In other words, while vocab is extremely important, try to understand how all the pieces fit together, and the significance of each individual part.
3. Study with true/false questions. Every question on the exam is multiple-choice, so realistically, you should approach each answer option with a true/false mindset. Either the option is outright false, sometimes true (which is never good enough), or definitely/always true. She'll never include two options which are always true (though she does sometimes give out pity points for misleading questions, from which I certainly benefited). Keep this in mind when using process of elimination, and I strongly encourage adding your own true/false questions in your study guides to prepare for ambiguous questions, of which will be plenty.
4. *More of a superstition* - Avoid cramming a ton the day of the exam. In my purely anecdotal experience, if you study well leading up to the exam, then you can avoid yourself a lot of anxiety (and precious exam time) worrying over extraneous information. The stress of packing too much info right before a test and wondering whether you studied enough is often enough to throw you off your game when it comes time to take the test. You've got this, and you know everything. Don't psyche yourself out.
5. Never, ever, ever second-guess yourself. Unless you're 100% certain you misread a question, misunderstood an answer option, or remembered some last-minute detail, don't change your answer on a whim. Chances are, you were right the first time, and always try to prove yourself wrong before caving into that last-second panic attack.

You'll do great. The class is just another stepping stone in a long journey ahead of you. No matter what grade you receive, you are worth more than a single letter, and so much more than a 3-digit number. Happy studying.

The course is a very similar structure to BIOL 2100. I highly recommend attending lectures because everything on the exams is entirely lecture based. There is no need to read the textbook. For every lecture you will have a mastering bio homework assignment that is relatively short. I suggest looking up the answers to make sure you are getting them right. Homework is only 10% of the final grade but you want to make sure you get all the points you can since the exams are more challenging. The labs are a bit on the boring side, but they were all really easy. Her wording on the exams can be very tricky. I found myself over thinking the answer choices and getting stuck because multiple answers seemed correct. Make sure to fill out the form she gives you if you find any questions confusing. She will look through all the responses and gives credit for an extra question or two on each exam if there are enough responses. #tCFS24

As someone who got an A in the course and didn't have to take the final - got lots of tips and tricks:

How I structured studying for this course:
- Had class Monday, Wed, Fri. During the weekend I would re-listen to lectures from the week and use anki image occlusion on all of the power-points (and I mean ALL of it! I had about 500 cards per unit) including handwritten notes I wrote on the slide. I would also throw in my anki deck any homework questions I found tricky.
- A week before the midterms start synthesizing with a friend concepts. Test each other, draw stuff out on white boards (processes, concept maps, venn diagrams).

When taking the test
- I took the whole two hours. For each question I would write down a,b,c,d and cross out and scribble notes and reasonings for eliminating or choosing a certain answer choice. This A) makes it easier for you to go back and confirm you have the right option B) confirms that you picked the best option.
- Her wording is tricky, sometimes her questions don't make sense (those are usually dropped after). Be careful. Read every word.

Tips:
- I never once opened the textbook the entire course. Everything she tests comes from her mouth. Her lectures are your bible for this course.
- I would go to office hours once every other week if I had lingering conceptual questions, I found them helpful.
- Studying far in advance will do you wonders. There is a lot of content and the farther ahead you study the happier you will be. Just take it little by little.
- DO NOT undermine her tests. You are going to be learning some easy concepts but still put in the time to learn it.
- Re-listen to lectures at least once.

This class takes a lot of effort to do well, and her exams can be very tricky, but I hope these tips help!

Even as someone who took it for pre-med, I surprisingly enjoyed this course better than BIOL2100. Manson had a lot of passion for teaching about subjects she enjoyed, especially with plants, and it made learning the content more engaging. However, it is an intro bio course and it can hit you like a truck if you don't study efficiently. The grading scale is 70% tests, 20% labs, and 10% homework with a 1% Pollev bonus. I'll share tips on how I studied for each section (which wasn't easy at first even though I estimate my grade to be in the A range lol).

Tests (70%) - This one is typically the bane of people's existence - especially since her tests are notorious for confusing wording - and you will hear a lot of people on Yikyak complaining lol. What I did was take her learning objectives from the slides that she gave, fill out the learning objectives with her powerpoint notes and other additional details that I made, and put it into a Google doc for an extensive study guide. I use an Ipad for notes in class this but computer works as well. After everything is organized based off of learning objective + topic (ex: bryophytes), I would write down the main points/word the notes into my own words on a whiteboard. Drawing out diagrams is also extremely helpful - especially in preparation for the 3rd and 4th exams. After you write down everything, try to figure out how to connect all of these ideas since Manson's exams are application based like Kittlesen's. I also recommend studying with your friends since if they're confused on a topic - you can try to explain it to them and vice versa. Regarding actually taking the exam, be extremely careful in choosing answers. A tip that I use: if one part of the answer is wrong, the answer choice is completely wrong. It helps to narrow down answer choices! Take your time as well - her wording is confusing and you want to take as much time to comprehend what she's saying.

Labs (20%) - This one is dependent on your TA but I was lucky to have a really chill TA and lab group. Me and my lab group would divide the work (ex: one answers the post-lab questions, one does work on DataClassroom, etc) and we would be done within an hour or less. Make sure that your work is divided amongst your group and ask TAs for help!

HW (10%) - The HW is on Mastering Bio like BIOL2100 if you had taken it. For me, I would just answer based off of textbook/activity that Mastering Bio gives and check with Quizlet (which will be ur goat in HW trust). Don't make HW harder than it needs to be!

If you answer/keep up with pollev questions, you'll get the pollev bonus and you don't have to get the questions right all the time as well!

Intro Bio is hard but you got this trust! :)

#tCFS24

This course was definitely not easy, but if you go to lectures consistently and pay attention then you should be fine. The annoying thing about this class is that the exams are way harder it seems than the information you learn in class. I would suggest reading the textbook more as I didn't really do that, but maybe it will help explain the harder concepts that are sometimes glossed over in lectures. ALSO... make sure you do the mastering biology homework on time! The homework is around 10% of your grade and it is really easy to forget about them sometimes.
#tCFS24

Your exam grade is 70% of your final grade, so doing well on them is imperative. To do well on the exams take 8-10 hours the week before the exam to MEMORIZE THE SLIDES! I'm bad at biology, but consistently got 92-94% on the exams by memorizing all the slide info. You also need to be able to connect the info. The first test is probably the easiest, the second test is the hardest, and test three and four are in between.

The second biggest portion of your grade is lab, and this grade really just depends on your lab TA. My group just asked our TA non-stop questions, and she would give us hints to guide us on the right track, but like I said, it really depends on your TA.

The smallest portion of your grade is mastering bio questions. There are a ton of textbook specific questions (i.e. things that weren't covered in lecture) and as someone who never read the text book I generally ended up checking my answers with Quizlet. This was really helpful, and helped me learn without needing to read the textbook (lol).

STUDY FOR EVERY EXAM EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN DROP A TEST GRADE

This class will have you question how you get questions wrong, even though you studied the entire week leading up to the test. If you are taking this class for premed, I recommend going over the material beforehand, as Manson teaches in a very unorganized fashion. Many aspects of this class involve test-taking skills and pure luck. For example, walking out of the second test I thought I was going to get mid 60%, however, I got a score of 80%. The last test before the final, I was confident in getting a 95+%, and received a 77%. I knew far more about the test I got a worse score on, yet the tests do not reflect that. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who received a high B+ in this class. Biology may not be my strong suit, but there is no reason for the test questions to be as difficult as they are (especially in an introductory class). #tCFS24

This class is genuinely so much better than the 2100 analogue. Here's the structure - exactly like 2100, but:
1. Lectures 3x a week. GO TO LECTURE and transcribe the slides and any explanatory comments from Manson into your notes. Don't worry terribly much if you miss her comments as they aren't often tested.
2. Lab 1x a week. They suck, no two ways about it - just do your work, try your best, and ask the TAs for help if you need it. They will help you.
3. Exams 5x a semester, but only 4 count. People love to complain about this class, but here's a secret: just take your notes (that you copied from the slides) and transcribe them EXACTLY into a flashcard deck. Then drill them for however long it takes you to memorize the content. Do the practice exam she posts 3 or 4 times to solidify your understanding. You can use Mastering to study if you want. Doing this for maybe three days ahead of each exams got me 97s on all three I've taken, and hopefully on the fourth. (and if you do well enough, you don't have to take the final!)
I wasn't terribly interested in the material, but Manson manages to make it interesting and she clearly loves what she's talking about. Just show up, put the time into studying on exam week, and you'll be totally fine! I can't say it's a stellar class, but you won't hate it. #tCFS24

Dr. Manson means well, but I did not learn well from her at all. Material seems straightforward during the lecture until you get to the test, and she manages to throw you for a loop. She often has to correct questions because multiple of the options could be true or others had no right answer at all. Her wording is horrendous and is often the reason students miss questions. All bio majors have to take this class, so here are my tips as someone who got an A-, not an A.
- Go to the lecture. She records them, but participation is extra credit, and every point helps. After class, rewatch the lecture at least twice in preparation for tests and discuss the lecture and reading content with friends to make sure you have it down.
- If you are confused about a topic, don't ask her. Read the textbook or ask a TA. She made concepts more confusing than they needed to be.
- During the neuron and brain unit, DON'T GO TO CLASS. Teach yourself the material. She has no idea how to teach this topic. My neurobio friends had to reteach it all to me after class due to the extreme amount of factually incorrect information Manson gave.
- Reason out all multiple choice options during tests by writing out on a piece of scrap paper why answer choices could or couldn't work. That helps keep your mind active during long computer tests and makes you less likely to make careless mistakes.

Jessamyn was pretty great in my opinion. People call her the 2200 equivalent of Dave in 2100, but I feel like her class was much more manageable. Evolutionary biology is more comprehensible for me than microbiology, so I was able to achieve an A in this class. By doing the readings and paying attention in lectures, it's pretty easy to do well in this class.

If you have taken the first semester of Bio with Kittlesen, expect about the same level of work and class expectations. If you haven't, then here's the run-down. I barely read the textbook, only here and there for clarification for homework review and exam review. Although, you do need to purchase the textbook because of the online homework. Manson's homework is usually straightforward. They typically follow the lecture, so as long as you take sufficient notes in class, you'll be able to answer the homework without having to read the textbook. Her homework tends to be short. There's very few extra credit opportunities: a self-reflection form on test performance and PollEverywhere questions. Her PollEverywhere questions are only participation, not accuracy, so participate in them. There's usually a short pre-lab quiz and most labs did not last the full time. Be careful when taking the tests, as she tends to have tricky wording. Draw phylogenetic trees and flow charts to help with studying. She's an enjoyable professor.

Manson is an enthusiastic professor. She is a good lecturer, but often the lectures feel like a more surface-level approach to the information and then it comes at you from nowhere on the exam. That being said, it's doable to get an A in this class. I would download her powerpoint that she would post on collab before class and write directly on them. A lot of people in the lecture just re-type her powerpoints, but I found that if I had the basic info and wrote out the additional stuff she was saying, I would learn more and be more prepared for exams.

Exams are definitely challenging in this class, but that's something you can't avoid. We would spend hours in the library during the week leading up to them. However, you get to drop your lowest, and I was determined not to take the final (you can drop the final if you are satisfied with your other 4 exam grades), so I worked my butt off to do well.

Manson offers poll everywhere questions, and I suggest you do them all/most of them because you get 1% back on your final grade (which bumped me from 93-94!). She also offers an exam wrapper, where you answer a survey about an exam for ANOTHER 1% on your grade. PLEASE take these opportunities because you will be happy in the end.

I never read the textbook once in this class. You don't really need to. Her lectures cover most of it but you have to pay attention because much of the info comes from her mouth and isn't written on the slides. The lab period meets once a week for this class, and it usually took 45 mins -1.5 hours, so it wasn't too bad. However, it is graded normally (not the M/NYM chem lab system), so try to do really well as a group on your post labs so that you can have a grade cushion (lab is 20% of your final BIOL 2200 grade). There are quizzes before each lab and they are open assignments. Make sure to do well on these to also boost your grade.

Finally, mastering bio is 10% of your grade, so do your best. You are allowed to collab with classmates for it, so definitely do that. You want all the credit you can get before exams. With that being said, I know a lot of people who did amazing on exams, and a lot of people who did terribly. Work hard and you can get an A.

This class was not bad, and I enjoyed it. Personally, I found Dave's class (BIOL 2100) to be harder. However, I know a lot of people who did fine in 2100 but struggled here. Manson is really nice and approachable. Her class is interesting and unlike Dave, she does put information on her slides instead of just pictures or very minimum info. Her class is also very accessible with Zoom links, so you can attend virtually if you are sick. One thing I will say is that her exam questions can be VERY badly written, but she understands this and offers various sources of help to clarify like having a zoom link accessible during the exam so you can go and ask questions. She also has post-exam review sessions where you can bring up specific questions that you found questionable on the exams, and she does give points back to the entire class before she releases grades on questions she knows she worded weirdly etc.

I ended with an A in the class and here are my tips below:
1) TEXTBOOK: Get into the habit of reading the textbook before every class (it may not be 100% necessary, but I always found it helpful to have that info before going into lecture and it can help on some exam questions to have that extra info). Her lectures seem to be straight out of the textbook, but it will help your memory and you will better understand things in class which minimizes the time you spend outside on it. This skill will also help in your higher-level STEM classes. To prevent spending unnecessary time, I suggest waiting until she posts the ppt for the lecture and seeing which things she focuses on and guide your reading from that.
2) I would go to class and take notes beside her slides. RIGHT AFTER on the same day, I would make my notes into questions and thus, quizlets.
3) Get as many points as you can on mastering and try hard on every lab assignment. Lab can seem useless at times especially because lab is not tested on, but it can be interesting and ofc has the power to tank your grade. BTW this class follows the 70% Exams, 20% Lab, 10% Mastering, and then Poll Everywhere Bonus.

Preparing for Exams:
-I made so many charts and trees/concept maps. It helped A LOT. Make charts (once you get into material for exam 2/exam 3) comparing the different types of organisms (ex. Plants, Animals, Fungi, Prokaryotes etc) and then you can make another for the type of plants or types of animals etc. Make trees as you need and you can easily base it on her phylogenetic trees.
-Making sure that I made my study material (quizlets) as I went, I would start studying them about a week and a half before because memorization and application is key in this class. I also found making mnemonics helpful for remembering specific characteristics of organisms.
-Day before or two days before: I did the dynamic study modules on mastering and her practice exam to see where I had any gaps. If I had any gaps, I would go through my quizlets again or go to office hours.

*The final for us was cumulative but optional, so make sure to do well on the first four exams, so you can get out of the final! But if you do need to take the final, no big deal, the charts that I suggest making will GREATLY help you!

TLDR: read the textbook, make notes into questions and use active recall, do DSM + her practice exam, make charts/trees, and get as many points as possible on other assignments!

I hope this helps, good luck :)

I really like the professor and the lectures. The reading can be very heavy at times, so try to get ahead when it is light. Take brief notes on reading if you're have time, and definitely take notes during lecture. Since the course covers some specific topics (ie. plan reproduction cycle) there's a lot of specific vocabulary that you'll need to know, so read the notes before lectures if you have the time because it does make a big difference in what you'll get out of the lecture (and tests are difficult and specific). My only issue with this course was the lab section. Your grade will vary greatly based on your TA because some grade easy for minimal effort and some give B+ to basically everyone. This can heavily drag down your grade, but there is not really anything you can do to control it.

I thought this class was really interesting (especially the evolution/animals part) but I acknowledge that I might be in the minority here, lol. Professor Manson is really passionate about the subject and her lectures were really engaging and informing. The tests were definitely a lot harder than expected, since they went so in-depth into the broad concepts she covered in class. I definitely recommend studying with Mastering Biology, the Dynamic Study Modules, and the questions at the end of each chapter to get a better feel for the difficulty of her tests. Her practice tests were usually easier than the real test but still good to study from. Like in 2100, she also gives a bonus exam wrapper and PollEv bonus points (though this is based on completion, not correction, which was nice). If you have a good memory, you'll probably do well in this class.

I personally found the lab boring and not very helpful. We asked the TAs a lot of questions and asked them to review our answers, and by the end of the class we were consistently getting 100s on the postlabs. Labs did take a long time, however (usually 1.5 hours or more) especially because we often had to wait for other groups to finish to analyze the class-wide data. Don't expect to actually learn what the statistical tests used mean.

I agree with a most recent review stating not to take this course if you have credit for it. I did not take BIOL 2100, so this was my first bio course at UVA. I followed many of the tips given in reviews on here and frequently found myself scoring lower on tests despite putting in more and more work. Her exams are extremely difficult. There are often questions where wording is off or where there are two valid answers, and she will even admit to "still thinking" about a question, yet she will never follow up about it or actually follow through with providing points back for them. One point can genuinely be what holds you back from a step up in your overall grade, so do your best in labs and mastering bio. In office hours Dr. Manson would frequently state she recommends finding both the right answer and the three wrong answers. Even doing this, I did not find my scores improving. Unfortunately her exams are just extremely difficult. I skimmed the textbook and read through the powerpoints before lecture. I highly recommend reading through the powerpoints beforehand. The lectures are 50 minutes so since they are a bit faster paced, I found writing notes directly on the powerpoints on my iPad worked best. If you do not have an iPad but have a laptop, I would download the PowerPoints and take notes on what she elaborates on in the speaker notes below.

If you have AP credit for this course do not take it. You can watch a crash course on the organ systems and get just as much from it. I learned this the hard way. Manson is extremely passionate about this material but when it comes to lecture she seems to be lacking in knowledge (frequently saying you guys probably know more about this than me or that she doesn't know). Although I respect a professor knowing when they are out of their league this seemed excessive. Her lectures were often bland and difficult to decide what information was important (frequently giving examples that I wasted time studying but were never tested). I absolutely loved 2100 with Kittlesen but did not enjoy this class with Manson. The labs were terrible and often a waste of my time. Many simulation labs and not nearly as hands-on as 2100. Overall, this was a disappointing class and the readings were often completely unhelpful. Masting bio (10% of final grade) was helpful as well as only 4 out of 5 exams counting (meaning you could skip the cumulative final exam if you were happy with your grade) but I still think the exams were irrelevant and didn't fairly test the material. The 1% boost for participating in PollEverywhere was nice as well but the class is still difficult to do well in. She does not curve like Kittlesen did.

I found this course very interesting, and rewarding. I got an A, and I compiled some advice/information that I would've liked to have before I took the course. Since Manson is the only professor teaching this course, my review is focused on the content and getting a good grade. I did not take Bio 2100 or AP Biology.

Grading Breakdown:
5 Exams including the final = 70% (get to drop lowest score)
Mastering Biology Questions = 10%
Lab = 20%
Extra Credit = If you attended lecture and answered 90% of the poll questions you get 1% added to your final grade, we had an exam wrapper that added 1% to your lowest exam score (lowest score that isn't being dropped), and an extra credit homework to boost your mastering bio score (but you can't get over a 100%)

Exams (synchronous, online, and closed notes):
The exams have the most impact on your grade. My advice is to memorize EVERY word on EVERY slide. Also, remember every little story she tells. The fact that whales are mammals and breath from their blowhole (that she tells you one time) is an important detail! All of the exams were 35 questions and 2 hours, except the final which was ~45 questions and 3 hours. Read every word of every answer choice. She does have a Zoom meeting during the exam. If the wording confuses you, always ask her. She will help you. If you see even one word that is out of place, that answer will likely be wrong.

Mastering Biology:
Do not lose easy points on this! It should be a grade booster. Use quizlet and ask your friends!

Lab:
The grade is made up of pre-lab quizzes (completed before lab) and post-lab assignments (completed during lab). Pre-lab quizzes are 4 questions and not timed, so ask your friends and use the lab write-up to get the right answers. This will help your lab grade the most if you have a bad TA. Post-lab assignments are hit or miss. If you can ask your TA for help, then you definitely should! But if you have Yang Yu as your TA, switch to someone else. He will take off points whenever he feels like it and won't explain it. I've heard a lot of TAs are a pain, so just do your best.

I got a 99 in this class and here's how:

I downloaded all of the lecture powerpoints to my iPad and took notes on top of them during lecture. This saved me a lot of time and enabled me to focus on writing down the points and examples she said. This is important because these verbal examples are often on the exams. After class, I would add the notes to my quizlet for that unit. To prepare for exams, I would study my quizlet (starting a week before the exam) and do practice exams. Reading the textbook isn't necessary to succeed in this course (I barely read it) as the exams are supposed to reflect lecture, but there are helpful practice exams on each chapter. The practice exams Dr. Manson makes are generally easier than the exams, and the poll questions during lecture are a better representation of exam difficulty. Memorizing every single slide will honestly give you a lot more confidence in your exam answers, but it isn't necessary. Practice everything she provides including poll questions, lab questions, homework, Dynamic Study Modules, and practice exams as exam questions can very closely resemble previous work. Make sure to get 100s on homework and labs to give yourself as much cushion as you can for the exams. Her exams are short (~35 questions) and easily doable in 2 hours, but missing a couple questions can really tank your test grade. However, Dr. Manson always gives us points back after looking over the graded exams. Exam difficulty is not harder than the AP Bio exam. The exams get easier and more straightforward as the semester proceeds, so don't be worried if you do poorly on the first few (I think the plants one was the hardest).

I dedicated a lot of time and effort into this class and it was worth it. Dr. Manson is extremely sweet and approachable. Don't be scared to ask her questions during class, on Piazza, and in office hours. Good luck! :)

I learned SO much in this course! Professor Manson really knows her stuff and she has a very organized lecture/course teaching style. She has office hours, which are very helpful -- very few students go so it's basically a time to ask her questions one-on-one. Definitely memorize everything from the powerpoints and come up with "fake exam questions" for yourself based off the learning objectives. The tests are NOT easy. She tries to trip you up, so read EVERY question carefully and take your time to answer the questions. Tests --> 70%, Labs --> 20%, Homework --> 10%. Definitely do all the homework and get 100s on them, it's pretty easy and a good way to push you to the next grade at the end of the semester.

This course was exactly what you would expect of an intro biology course. The lectures were fairly boring, and we spent a lot of time on the evolution of plants, which was annoying. In my opinion, it only got interesting when we started to talk about human systems such as the digestive and nervous systems. The exams were pretty difficult, and the questions were framed in a way that made them more difficult to understand. Professor Manson had to repeatedly change the questions after the exams to accept multiple answers, which shows how confusing they were. I would only take this course if it is required for you.
#tCFspring2021

I did not take BIOL2100, and even though BIOL2100 and BIOL2200 are not connected as in the introductory chemistry courses, I would say this was my most difficult course. Her exams are known for having tricky and vague wording - they are multiple choice, she writes them herself, and there are usually adjustments made to questions after the exam because there were problems with the question. It seems the lectures are more helpful than the textbook, so memorize the lecture power points for exams rather than worry about the nitty gritty details in the textbook - those are usually beyond the scope of the class. As for the lab, our labs were online so it may not be the same, but those were way easier than the lecture component of the class. They honestly felt like busy work you would do with a substitute teacher. Ask your TA for help on trickier questions and they will basically give the answer to you. #tCFspring2021

This class was a good introduction to evolutionary biology at UVA and I ended up with an A in the class. I took AP bio in high school so the first unit was a lot of review, but the second unit was new to me and I had to actually read the textbook. The class moved a bit fast sometimes, but using the textbook to get a better understanding of the material, attending office hours, and looking at questions on Piazza all were essential to my success in the class. Dr. Manson isn't the best lecturer but is very approachable if you ask her specific questions during office hours. For online classes, she also uploaded the lecture slides to Collab and I used them to study for the tests. She also did in class poll questions which were kind of helpful. For both the lecture and the lab, there are a ton of office hours available so be sure to go to them. There were five tests and we get to drop the lowest grade so if you do well enough on the first four you won't have to take the final. Manson often reworked the test questions after the exam and awarded points to questions she thought were confusing of a lot of people missed.

I know that there are a lot of reviews trashing Professor Manson, but even if you go to her RMP page from when she was teaching at Alberta (I was just curious leave me alone), you can see that she improved a lot while she was there, and I think the same thing is happening right now. She honestly takes a lot of the feedback she gets from students into account (e.g., the very large number of people who said "please stop giving us examples about plants and actually learn about the human body" or "be significantly less unclear when you're explaining stuff") and she seems to have gotten a lot better. You can tell that she cares about the feedback that she gets because to take the plant example, she always says "I know this isn't the most charismatic of organisms..." and seems to be really conscious of the examples we get, and not a lot of them have been plants! I think her advice for exams is also really helpful: DRAW PHYLOGENETIC TREES AND DIAGRAMS. They were super helpful for me when it came to memorizing the stuff that needed to be memorized. I will not lie, I sat through half of the lectures with literally no idea what was going on (I always watched them like right before the mastering bio hw was due at 2x speed so maybe that was it) because I never read the textbook or even thought about bio outside of lecture, but when it came time to take the exams, I averaged about a 92 on the exams I studied for because I was able to get the phylogenetic trees and diagrams down. When you draw the phylogenetic trees, write down the traits and when you draw the diagrams, draw every single diagram in the lecture slides. Seriously. There are a LOT of different "lenses" through which you can view the kidney, and you need to know all of them. She's also like the sweetest person ever in office hours, and even though I didn't learn that much, it was still fun to procrastinate for like an hour every week to just talk to her.

Manson is really nice and she’s an engaging lecturer. She posts powerpoints on Collab, which is great, and you can use the powerpoints, textbook, and your notes on exams, which is even better. Most of my friends and I thought this class was a lot easier than BIOL 2100. One of the hardest parts was learning the vocabulary (especially in the second half of the semester when you have to know the names of different groups of plants and animals) and the plant reproduction unit, but otherwise it’s not too difficult. The textbook is boring, but it’s helpful if you read it. My main problem was that labs were long and I felt I could have gotten the same amount of information and understanding from spending a few minutes reviewing my notes or watching a video. But at least lab is an opportunity to review what you know. If you’re taking the class in-person, be sure to record lectures and copy the review questions that Manson asks during lecture (these review questions are helpful while studying).

I really liked Professor Manson as a person, but I really did not enjoy this class. I took this class before taking BIOL 2100, so I didn't have any prior experience with a bio class at UVA, but this class definitely was tricky for me. I took AP bio in high school, but I only really had familiarity with the topics covered on her first exam. Her lectures made me feel like I understood what was happening, but her exams were really, really hard for me. I am not the strongest test taker and her wording for questions resulted in me struggling for a good grade majority of the semester. She loves to put questions with options I, II, and III and then has you choose which options are correct and her wording is subpar and makes choosing the right answer hard. I really enjoyed the last unit which is basically anatomy and physiology for a couple major systems of the body and I was quite comfortable with the information which helped me on the last exam. For studying, I recommend recording her lectures, go over her powerpoints, and use the textbook more for areas that you are struggling with. I found the textbook less helpful for the second and third unit due to the fact the reading would give a lot of detail on specific species we did not need to know. Labs were easy but rarely did I find them helpful for understanding the information taught in class. I was lucky and had a nice TA who was a fairly easy grader, but lab experiences can be different depending on your TA. I attended several office hours and I don't really know how helpful they were in the long run. Definitely do her practice exams and focus on applying the big concepts to certain examples and understanding how the evolution of certain species resulted in different things. We had the option to take a cumulative final to drop our lowest test grade and, if you get that option, take advantage of it. Since each exam is 17.5% of your grade, it doesn't hurt to give yourself the opportunity to better your grade. If you put the time into the class your grade shouldn't be too bad, but there is a learning curve on understanding what she is looking for in order to succeed.

I really enjoyed this class and the professor. I did not take AP Bio in high school or the first semester of BIology at UVA but I still ended the class with an A. It is definitely doable. Focus your studying on the power points and try to relate and apply the concepts. Go to lecture and take notes. It helped me to keep a notebook, even though she gives you the slides. A lot of my friends would just sit and watch the lecture, do not do this. Take actual hand-written notes. I felt that was the major key to my success. Exams matter a lot and are rarely curved. Study a week in advance so that you can constantly review topics from each leture. I also read the textbook! Do this when you are reviewing for each test. If you are familiar with the concepts you will do fine on the tests. But again, her tests are not memorization based, more conceptually based. Apply what you learn and you will do great.

This semester was a struggle because of the online transition, but Dr. Manson made every effort to help make the class still enjoyable. The tests are a bit challenging, but as long as you complete the readings on time (and take notes), take good notes during lectures, and go to office hours, you should be fine.

So, I know a lot of people don't like her and honestly, I didn't at first either. She used TopHat instead of iClicker, the wording in her exam can be confusing, and labs are super boring. What changed my mind and had me ending up with an A+ was giving her a chance. Here's what helped: difficult exam questions that aren't straightforward can be solved with a process of elimination; if you're stuck, don't look for the right answer, reason through what most definitely can't be right. Start studying a week in advance. Go to office hours prepared with questions to ask—try to make connections between lectures and challenge her knowledge. Don't skip lecture and since she has the basics of what she wants to say on her powerpoint slides, print them out or just put those words and images in your notes somehow before lecture so you can focus on what she's saying and add that on. Skim through the textbook and try to take notes from there to supplement. I liked Dave more, but you can't make the professor your enemy and expect to get an A easily. Don't let these reviews scare you or else you're undermining your potential to do well.

I wouldn't recommend this class unless you're premed or a bio major or need to take it. I got an A in this class as well as 2100 but I preferred 2100 a lot more. The grading breakdown is similar to 2100 except there is one less exam and lab is 20%. The exams are worth 70% and there is 10% in mastering hw. I found Kittlesen to be a lot more entertaining and easier to pay attention to and his lecture difficulty was mimicked by the exams. Manson, however, lectured as if she were teaching a kindergarten class with really simple facts and basic concepts during lecture and then increased the difficulty level a lot on exams. Her lectures are very dry and to be honest it's her personality not the content. It's not the most interesting stuff but it isn't horribly boring either. You'll probably get sick of her cheesy jokes really soon! I would try and put in at least 5-10 hours of studying the week of the exam and you should be fine. The practice exams are useful in that they are practice questions but I never felt like the practice exam was indicative of the real exam's difficulty. Her practice exams are also 30 questions instead of full-length. This semester she gave us the opportunity to take the cumulative exam in order to replace our lowest exam grade if she does that next semester I would definitely try and take it, to be honest, it was the easiest of the 5 exams. I have taken 5 exams for her and I don't think I know the best way to prepare for them even now, but definitely focus on lecture notes and understanding the different questions on the practice exams, why the answer is correct, and what's wrong about other answer choices. Lab as everyone mentioned is entirely dependent on your TA. My friend's TA was really nice and would go over the questions before letting them submit so he got a 100% in the lab, my TA (Maira) was very rude and was a harsh grader. She marked us off for very silly reasons and even told us wrong answers when we asked her. Quizlet all of your HW and do all extra credit it will help you come to the end of the semester. It is definitely doable to get an A/A-. In fact if you work hard and do everything I think it's hard to get below a B+. I wouldn't read the textbook as lecture material is all that she tests on. She will say anything in the 'assigned' readings is fair game but that's BS, she didn't have a single question on the exam that wasn't discussed in lecture/lab, albeit some of her questions were really obscure and dumb. Her wording on exams leaves a lot to be desired as she words questions in very dumb ways so that there are multiple possible answers or the question isn't clear. Good luck, you've got this!

Professor Manson is an average professor. I never went to office hours, but she seemed a tad cold. This class was pretty difficult, more difficult that 2100 with Dave, I would say. Tests were much harder. She would make wording very vague and somewhat ambiguous. I got A's on all of the tests, but I felt like I very well could have got D's on all of them. Many of the questions don't really make sense or have two answers that seem like they could be correct. Labs are determined by your TA's. Some graded very easily and some where very hard on grading, which is simply luck of the draw. The concepts were almost completely new to me even after taking AP Bio. I didn't read before class, but I would recommend reading through the textbook at least once before the test. Also, go through her lectures because she pulls a lot of questions on tests from lectures. 2 or 3 questions on each test are lab based. Overall, I would say this class was slightly harder than Kittlesen's 2100, but very doable at the same time. She also offers up to 1.5% extra credit.

Dr. Manson is a nice and accommodating instructor, but I believe that her exam difficulty is not reflective of lecture content, most of which is regurgitated from the textbook. Part of this difficulty is how she intentionally speaks in broad terms using words such as "significant" and "associated" when lecturing so what she says is not incorrect but leaves lots of room for interpretation. These words were found on the test, too, making things a bit ambiguous, but evolution is generally an ambiguous subject as well. I found her course to be more challenging than BIOL 2100. I did poorly on the first test but improved two letter grades up on the second. You need to memorize what the textbook says about a concept and apply that sentence to other terms. Also, Dr. Manson likes to put those questions with multiple answers on her tests (I and II only vs I and III only), so you must know where everything falls in relation to one another.

THIS CLASS IS THE WORST with this professor at this time. Let me do a breakdown:
1. I only took this class as a pre-med requirement. (i.e I only took it because I had to, PLUS she seems to be the only Biol 2200 professor for the spring semester, so I couldn't even choose another teacher....very disappointing).
2. Grade Breakdown is very disproportionate: Tests=70%, Lab=20%, and Homework=10% (Exams are the biggest portion of your grade, and I bombed the first and third, so that brought down my entire average--also have a good understanding of the first and third topics: it really helps)
3. Manson's lectures make the material seem easy and doable, but the exams are terrible. Although the class is a pre-med weed out, and it would make sense that the material would be a little more difficult, I took 3 years of Biology in high school including some of the information in this class, and nothing could have prepared me for the structure of these exams. They are all only 40 questions, but terribly worded and inane with nit-picky information Manson did not elucidate on in lecture.
4. That being said, this is how to prepare yourself for this class: 1. RECORD LECTURES (a lot of the stupid things she said in class I thought she said just off-handed or for fun, but were concepts you needed to understand in depth for the exam. 2. Skim the textbook before class (it helps give you a background on the information), 3. the class focuses HEAVILY on Ecology (if this isn't your strong suit like me, you'll have to teach yourself the material, 4. ONLY GO TO OFFICE HOURS IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS (contrary to popular opinion, listening to other people's questions doesn't help you understand the information, or at least it didn't help me! 5. Watch explanation videos online (i.e Crash Course /Bozeman Science) to really comprehend complex processes that Manson glosses over in lecture.
Final Point: Although Professor Manson clearly had a great passion for the ecological subjects she teaches, her extremely difficult exams, poor assistance, and general apathy for her students' numerical success made this class very difficult to enjoy.
I got an A+ in homework and Lab, so really what was extremely difficult were the exams: additionally, although some of the lab information is occasionally on the exams, the 2 hour labs are usually a waste of time and tie in poorly to the class material.
**Tip: focus on understanding concepts and memorizing definitions, rather than memorizing everything because you'll be asked to really "apply knowledge" on the exams rather than know random facts. Trust me, don't take this class unless you need to, or if you actually like ecology.

I would not recommend taking this class unless you need to. Professor Manson is a pretty nice woman and she is respected for her own research on insects, but she is a horrible teacher. Unlike 2100 she actually has a lot of words in her powerpoints to take notes from but she basically just reads off them so you would almost be better off just reading the powerpoints on your own at your own speed. Her tests are unreasonably difficult (she probably made the last two harder out of suspicion for people cheating but that screws over anybody who doesn't cheat). Definitely read the textbook and make sure you memorize terms. She acts like the tests are application based but if you don't know the specific terms you are screwed. Honestly wouldn't be a bad idea to read the textbook chapters before her lectures too, because she her slides ( and therefore her lectures) assume that you are able to memorize terms and their meanings immediately after they're defined which can make portions of lecture harder to follow.

This class was hard af for me and I studied my butt off. Professor Mason is very charismatic but not so much on her exams. I know a lot of people who struggled in this class so I know I'm not the only one. My recommendation is if you have to take this class is to watch videos to solidify your understand because if you kinda know the material, you will not pass the exam. take it from me who had to learn the hard way.

This class is a bit harder than you may imagine. I did not take BIOL 2100, so I cannot compare it to that, but I was definitely surprised. This is not a course you can skimp on and expect good grades. It is essential to not only go to lecture, but read the textbook, get those lab points, and do the Mastering Biology (and TopHat if that is still happening). The tests are quite tricky, and it is important to go over the Dynamic Study Modules in the Mastering Biology when you are studying, and doing the practice test. Manson is a good and dynamic lecturer, and you can tell she really knows what she is talking about. There is just a lot of content to keep up with. If you keep up with all of the moving elements in this class, you will be fine. If you fall behind, it will feel like a nightmare when the test comes around. If you took AP or IB biology in high school, several concepts will feel very familiar.

Exams in this class are difficult and confusing.

I took this class after thinking I would be a politics major and having a bad experience. I hadn't taken AP Bio or AP Chem or BIOL 2100 or any of the classes that it seemed all the other people who take this class did. My relevant science experience includes 9th grade biology and 10th grade chemistry. You could say I was terrified to take this class. After taking it, however, I'm so glad I did. I learned so much from Manson and she is a really engaging lecturer. I did the readings for the first three exams but not the last. I got a really high first exam grade, a lowish second exam grade, a pretty good third exam grade, and a good fourth exam grade. Readings, it seems, don't really matter that much so read if you want near the end of the unit to review for the exam. Do the pre-labs well by reading all the information about the lab. If you do that, you shouldn't have a problem getting a 100 on all of them. Labs are graded kind of confusingly, but if you are good with your time management and kinda say a bunch of stuff for each question, you're bound to get the points somewhere in your answer. My lab grade ended up being around a 96. Try your best on mastering bio and do it with a friend as she recommends. If you like 10 questions throughout the semester that's ok because the last mastering bio is extra credit and you can bump that grade up to a 100. Going into this class, I expected nothing better than a B and I'm leaving with an A and I renewed love for science. I'm strongly considering majoring in biology or something related now because of Manson's class.

1. Don't do the reading. It's waste of time. Record the lectures & take thorough notes and memorize all the details b4 the exams.
2. Don't give up b/c you're getting bad grade ... whatever grade you don't really want to get until the last.
3. Lab TA is essentially a russian roulette... My roommate and I submitted almost identical answer for these two questions (we did not cheat, we have a lab at the same time so it's impossible to cheat), but her TA gave her full point and I got 75% off, and it sucked cuz it was 3 points question. But this is also doable if you get all the pre-lab answers correct AND you don't make any stupid mistakes on your lab.
4. For exams, they are often VERY detail oriented. No it may not be enough to know the general trend. It's not an exaggeration to know all the details, I can't stress how much you need to know the lecture material by heart. Also I wouldn't skip class b/c it's annoying and anxious to listen to lecture recordings 5 hours before the exam starts.

I've always been really interested in biology, but it didn't fully click for me until I took this class. Jessamyn teaches straight from the book (for those of you who are avid skippers), but she only really tests on stuff she talks about in lecture (if you hate reading the book; plus, she gives up to 1.5% extra credit, tacked onto your final grade, if you answer all the clicker questions). I read the entire textbook, but this is definitely not a requirement for the class. Her green pants are super fun, and I found the material much more relevant/easy to understand than BIOL2100 stuff (especially the last topic, form and function (basically anatomy), even though it can get a little tedious). The lab was also a lot more chill than last semester, it obviously depends on your TA (shoutout Erin lol). I found that I actually got a lot out of the dissections (have been doing them since 7th grade and there was never really a point to them, but they were super valuable) at the end of the semester, as they were closely related to lecture material and even helped deepen my understanding of how organ systems are arranged & function. Another review said to Quizlet all of your MasteringBio and I would have to agree. If I did that, I probably would've gotten an A in the class (ended with an A-). Definitely log onto Mastering frequently because she's bad at reminding the class when one's due/posting them ahead of time, but she's good at reminding you of basically everything else. She's super cute, approachable, accommodating, and an ABSOLUTE nerd for plants so don't be scared to go to her office hours as needed!:) Also: ALWAYS do the exam wrappers when she offers them, they're SO helpful and boost your grade.

I thought this class was easier than Kittlesen's Biol 2100 class but everyone is different. I actually enjoyed both classes. The review underneath mine is really good and should provide you tips on how to do as well as possible in this class. I did the textbook reading for the first two exams and didn't do them for the last two exams and actually did slightly better on the last two. There's a lot of superfluous information in the textbook that won't show up on the exam. Just actively pay attention in lecture and make sure to take diligent notes and review them as much as possible. At the end of the day, pre-health students at UVA are lucky to have two excellent intro bio professors in both Kittlesen and Manson.

This was a tough, but very doable course. Odds are if you are not taking this course as an elective, but rather a requirement and doing well is important. You also don't really have a choice for professors, so I will make this review in terms of the course rather than the professor.

I will end the course with either an A or A+ and I have compiled a list of things that I felt were important for my success in this course.
First, homework is 10% of your grade and online on mastering biology. These are guaranteed points so it is important to check your answers with quizlet or a friend in order to make sure you get a 100%.
Second, labs are worth 20%. Before each lab there is a prelab quiz online that is worth 5 points. You should also check with others and gurantee a 100%. For the post labs, the grading was pretty harsh no partial credit in my case, but this will depend on your TA. To do well, make sure to look for the answers for each of the questions in the lab manual or in your lecture notes as you can copy many of them word for word. Also, ask your TA questions if you are unsure about the answer and make sure you are answering the question correctly. I started the year with 80's and 90's on the first 3 post labs but then was able to get a 100% on the last 9 with these tips.
Third, the bulk of your biology grade will be the 4 exams at 70%. These consist of 40 tricky multiple choice questions, but I found that by adjusting how I prepared, I was able to perform extremely well on them the second half of the semester. The content itself often is not heavy, but the questions are often application based and require a deeper level of thinking. To prepare, I found the textbook reading is NOT needed, and I would recommend not doing it. The textbook often covers more concepts or concepts into more detail than necessary for the exams. Every concept on the exam is covered in Manson's lectures (often word for word from her slides), therefore you should use the lectures to prepare for the exams. For note taking, Manson uploads blank copies of her powerpoints before class. Download them and take notes on the slides, there are often visuals/phylogenetics trees, that are not only helpful for understanding the material but can make their way onto exams as well. Copy down every word on Manson's lecture slides, and copy down any iClicker questions she puts up on the board as well. I found it extremely helpful to review the material of the previous lecture between lectures. You should go over this material once or twice so that you understand it and begin to memorize it. This will not only help you get the review iClicker questions correct at the start of each lecture, but it will also make studying for each exam a bit easier. Ideally, before each exam, you will want to have memorized and understood every word/concept on her slides. I followed this study routine every week up until the week of the exam. Then on the Monday and Tuesday of the week of the exam, I would set aside an hour or two go through all the previous slides once just to get them back in my mind. On Wednesday and Thursday, I would then spend two to three hours again going through slides and going through all the mastering biology homework questions for the exam. These questions are good practice, and I found that usually 2-3 of them make there way on to the exam. On Thursday night I would also take the practice test, and I would go through the slides once more with a group of friends, discussing anything that was not clear, integrating clicker and mastering bio questions as practice. On the day of the exam, the questions are worded very precisely, and therefore you must be focused, reading every word of question and answer choices. These questions also may also take a decent amount of thinking, but you have plenty of time (2 hours) so you should take your time.
Using these tips I was able to get a 93, 85, 100, and 98 on the exams. (I had 4 exams the week of exam 2, and the exam itself was not written the best in my opinion).

Overall this course was tough but doable. My biggest tips would be to review material from each previous lecture every week, to secure any "guaranteed" points, and to remain focused during exams.

Manson is tough, and Biology 2200 is not the most exciting subject, but this class still has some benefits. I found the last unit (about function and form rather than evolution) incredibly fascinating while most of the TAs that I dealt with were very friendly and positive. I've also decided to compile how to make an A in this class. First, do the reading. Many Premed and General Biology students attempt to avoid reading within a class, but this is not a good idea in regards to Biology 2200. The reading helps flesh out details that Manson can sometimes scale over her powerpoints, which are very short on information. You SHOULD, however, utilize these powerpoints to understand the primary material of the course and recognize the main ideas this course presents. Second, make sure you get this best grade you can on homework and labs. These are blessings unlike other curriculum within Premed courses where you exclusively have tests. With two to four minds on one assignment in the lab, your crew should consistently be able to get 90s or above on lab. The homework is easy, and in the book, it often took me barely thirty minutes to get the homework done. Third, prepare for the test. They are challenging; you need to have an outline of materials at least one week before the test is ready if you are shooting for an A. She does not try to trick you, but her questions are pretty tricky to get to the bottom to usually. At times I would make high As and other times I barely made a B, but I learned how to study for her test (comparing and contrasting terms). The final had the highest average, it was much more straight-forward than the other tests and helped me end up with an A overall in the class. Difficult and time-consuming, but doable as well... a small challenge compared to the beast of Organic Chemistry which waits around the corner.

If you need to take 2200 for a requirement, be it pre-health or gen ed, you'll have to take it with Manson. In order to boost your overall grade, you're going to have to get a 100% on the Mastering Biology hw, as the homework is the only part of your overall grade that is fully in your control (and is worth 10%). The lab grading is harsher in this portion of intro bio than with Kittlesen, so make sure that you really take your time on pre-labs and post-labs and try to get as many 5/5 on pre-labs as you can in case your TA grades post labs harshly. Also, try to attend lecture as much as possible so that you can maximize your clicker credit, which could swing you from a B to a B+ or an A- to an A if you're lucky. As for tests, it took me a really long time to figure out how to study for them. Just reading the textbook, especially as the course progresses, can become very time consuming as she expects you to know most of the details she covers in lecture; unfortunately, reading the textbook is the only way to learn the material to the level of detail Manson expects you to know. Her lecture notes are not nearly enough to know to do well on the exam. I would record her lectures and go through the PPTs while listening to them just so that I could know what she was discussing in lecture and figure out which areas she would spend more time on; I would then take detailed notes on that section of the textbook. The results were an A and an A+ on her third and fourth exams. Overall, her course is difficult, but once you figure out how you learn the material best and what Manson expects you to know for a particular unit, you're pretty much good to go.

If you love bio and are willing to put in the time, this is an absolutely amazing course. Professor Manson is really engaging, and I found her lectures to be a lot of fun. Some say her tests are impossible, but I found that they were definitely challenging, but very much doable if you really understood the material that had been covered. Knowing definitions is great but it won't help you on the exam unless you actually understand what that definition means, and how it can be applied to real world examples. As others have mentioned the assigned reading isn't really necessary to do well in this class (with some exceptions), but lecture attendance is an absolute must. I got an A on the (non-cumulative) final and I didn't read the textbook once during that last section of the course. Just study hard, and use the clicker questions and practice exams to your advantage, the exam questions are fair and reflective of the ones you've already seen. If you love ecology and evolution I can promise you you'll love this course. Plus, Professor Manson is so great that I enrolled in her class this semester just because I saw she was teaching it!

My major piece of advice is don’t let this course discourage you from being a bio major!!! I took this class and absolutely hated it that I started to reconsider my decision to be a bio major because I couldn’t imagine taking anymore courses that might be as painfully boring as this one. The material is dry and Manson doesn’t do much to make it interesting and assigns large readings where 70% if the information is useless knowledge that you won’t be tested on. A good way to approach her class is to take lecture notes ever lecture bc the slides she posts on collab are only half filled out, and then read the textbook only if you can find a section that matches the topic of the slides. This way you don’t waste time reading about phyla or other subjects that you don’t need to know about. Intro bio is important and you’ll have to suffer through but at least the material you learn becomes much more interesting in upper level biology classes.

I hated Manson. I thought she was super disorganized and didn't have a full grasp on the material she was teaching. Reading the textbook is pointless, just stick to knowing everything from the lecture slides. She teaches like she's an elementary school teacher and it's ineffective. Make sure to take notes on things she says that may not be a part of her lecture notes because it may be on the exam. She gets frustrated with her students easily and I hated going to her office hours. Her exams are ridiculous in the sense that the wording sucks. There were so many questions she had to throw out or give points for multiple answers because of how ambiguous her questions are worded. The material isn't hard, just really boring until the last unit.

As someone who DIDN'T get an A in this class (got an A-), I have compiled a list of tips and my down falls (obviously dont do what I did on my downfalls).

Tip:

1. Read the textbook reading before lecture, seriously. I recommend right before lecture since the information is fresh and lecture will make a lot more sense. The textbook also has a lot of excess information, but don't worry about it. If it's too confusing, Manson would probably either not cover it in class, therefore it wont be on the exam OR she goes over it and you understand it.

2. Quizlet your Mastering Bio. No it's not an honor offense. Even if you know the answer, double check so you can get a 100% (or atleast close to it) on every assignment. This will help you on your final grade as it is worth 10% of your final grade. She also releases a final extra credit Mastering if you miss one.

3. Go to lecture. Even if the powerpoints are very straight forward, you can still get in some participation points AND it is very helpful as some postlab questions are directly from lecture.

4. Don't take Thursday 5:30 pm labs as exams are always on Friday and those lab sessions are unnecessarily stressful because you'd rather be studying for the exam than be in lab.

5. Any post-lab question that seems abstract of difficult, ask your TA about them. They will more than likely give you hints. It is also crucial you know the general ideas of each question as they may show up on the exam.

6. In lab sometimes you'll have to carry your team mates on your back and sometimes thats for the whole semester. While this is frustrating, know that you will be learning more than them and the fact that you have to explain to them your answers multiple times will make you understand it more.

EXAM STUDY TIPS (in order of importance):

1. Make sure you've gone to lecture and did all the textbook readings BEFORE lecture.

2. GO THROUGH THE POWERPOINTS AND MEMORIZE EVERYTHING. Everything on the exam will be on the powerpoints. That's how I ended up getting 95s on exams on the second half of the semester (I wish I knew earlier). THEN CONNECT THEM TOGETHER. I recommend sitting down 3 days ahead and study for memorization, then 2 days ahead start connecting the ideas on the powerpoint since her exam mostly application and some information.

My Down Falls:

1. Think "Oh, if I do bad on this one, the rest will even it out. I'll study more on the next one." DONT. DO. THAT. Not only will that ruin your chances of getting an A, you will also be very disappointed in yourself when you show up to the exam and know you know the answer but can't answer it because you didn't study. There are only 4 exams in total, so study for all of them.

2. Not go to office hours.

I hope this is helpful!

TL;DR: Read the textbook before lecture. Pay attention in lecture. Quizlet your HW. Memorize powerpoints for exams.

Imagine this scenario--it's your first day of kindergarten. You're so excited to learn more about the world, make new friends, and have the time of your life. You walk into your little classroom. Your teacher reads everybody a very cute story book about a tree with very easy words and big pictures, so that you understand what's going on. You feel so proud of what you've learned today and think that kindergarten will be no problem for you. After a week full of those easy story books read by your teacher, the big day FINALLY comes--your kindergarten teacher passes out a test that's supposed to cover the material from the story books. You open the test, feeling greatly prepared... only to fall off your seat with a double flip from the TERRIBLE word choice and sentence structures that even Shakespeare can't backhand, and an obscure syntax both the questions and answers were written in. THIS is what Manson's class felt like to me. Lectures were terribly elementary and covered the surface of something core-related that Manson put on exams. In other words, you can learn how to do 1+3x2+5 in class. Easy, right? Manson then puts down 1+3x(2+5) on the exam. You don't know how to work PEMDAS (or BEDMAS in Canadian, in honor of this irrelevant and highly nonfunctional professor) because the lecture never covered it in detail. But with Manson's justification of the exams being "application-based," this is how you will be tested in the course. Highly unfair and more concentrated on how good your improvisation/test taking skills are, rather than pure biological knowledge. About content: Manson has a kink for plants as much as Donald Trump loves using twitter instead of being an actual president; you'll be fascinated by how this professor knows so much about how plants have sex but don't know a single detail about how humans excrete urine. And as for lab, your grade is ENTIRELY jeopardized on who your TA is. If it's a graduate student, it's likely that lab will be a tumultuous time for you as they grade assignments with a terribly narrow mind and wants to keep you for the full 2.5 hour block of lab. Sit next to someone that doesn't smell for your own sanity. Undergraduate TA's vary for every section, but they seem to be less extreme than graduate TA's. Grades are not curved with the exception of a few "bonus point" opportunities that aren't even greater than 0.5%. Exams seemed to decrease in difficulty over time, as the final had the highest average score. If you're taking this class after Kittlesen, you'll likely notice that it's hard to stay awake in class as Manson cannot engage her students in learning and her lectures are rather dull. If you REALLY love plants, this may not be that bad for you--for everyone else, I wish you the best of luck.

Not close to how great Kittlesen is. Dr. Manson is knowledgeable in specific topics, but when it comes to the human physiology and other aspects of the course, she cannot answer many questions in depth. This reflects on exams through confusing wording which she doesn't often acknowledge is confusing and misleading. She is excited about the topic and nice enough to talk to, but I felt that this class was a drag... final's pretty easy tho

This class is really interesting, and Dr. Manson is especially engaging and makes the material easy to understand.

Honestly, I really enjoyed the material that we learned for this course except for plants. But I loved learning about evolution, and invertebrates and vertebrates form and function. I felt like I really understood the material that was covered because of the way she teaches her lectures, but her exams were difficult. For her exams, her questions were very ambiguous. Sometimes, I would struggle between two possible answers because of the way she words the question. With Kittlesen, a student would explain their thinking process to Kittlesen for why they chose a certain answer, which he would actually think about why another choice could've been a possible answer choice instead of sticking to one. He actually curved exams for that reason. However, if you would argue this to Manson, she would argue that there can only be one answer. She does not curve exams. The average was always 79%, which I think is not true due to hearing some of my classmates complain about their exam score being lower than the average. I plan to declare my major as bio and I am pre-med, so I had to take this course. As for everyone else who are not bio majors, if you do not need this course, I highly suggest that you take a more narrow bio class or different science course. As for grading, there are four exams that you take, which are worth 17.5% each. There is lab every week, which is worth 20% of your grade. There is also mastering bio, which is worth 10% of your grade. She also offers extra credit opportunities, but you can only earn it by having an iClicker for class everyday (1% bonus), completing a post-self exam evaluation (1% added to your test score), and participating in a study at the beginning of the semester (0.2%). Depending on the amount of iClicker questions you got right, you can receive up to (0.5%). Overall, this course was a worthwhile class for me because it helped me appreciate biology even more.

Her tests are confusing mostly because of how she words things. I wish she actually curved like Kittlesen

Since no one does course evals and plus course forum is where it's at.. oh and this review is being written literally minutes after taking the final. Yeah, most of the other reviews embody my sentiment. I had a strong bio background in high school (took 4 years of it but sadly didn't place out rip) and still found this class pretty challenging. Overall, I would say this class is just a get-it-over with type deal. You are required to know large amounts of information which seems to be left out of the powerpoints (she also doesn't post them with annotations either). I do recognize that some exam questions are from lectures but that basically means you need to write down everything she says just in case they do happen to appear. The grade distribution puts unnecessary pressure on how lenient your TA's are at grading lab (because it is 20% of your grade) and 70% exams can be a little overwhelming . Did really well in Dave's class (basically everyone's dad God bless him <3) but with Manson, I struggled. I didn't do any of the readings for the first 3 exams and didn't pay attention in lecture and it showed so I decided to do the reading for the final (felt really prepared) and still ended up not knowing questions because of ambiguity in wording. Hopefully my clicker points which can be a potential 1.5% bonus on the overall grade, 1% test boost, those extra assignment things she had in class, and dropped exam questions (basically the exam curve) will get me over my borderline hump grade. Also, will never look at plants the same way again. Godspeed

This class is very difficult. I know reading this review will not change your mind on taking the course because you have to take it with Manson. But a few things to be weary of: First off her lectures are 100% easier than the exams. Do not let her lectures fool you into thinking this class is easy and she is spoon feeding. Make sure to write down every word that comes out of her mouth, not just the bullet points on the powerpoint. She will say something once and not have it down as a bullet point and then test it on the exam. Second off, when taking the exam, read every word and make sure every word in the answer is correct or else that answer is wrong. She makes her questions very ambiguous and a lot of times you will struggle between two answers because of the ambiguity. She told me in her office that many times she will ask questions where there is a great answer, but because everything else is incorrect there can only be one answer. Also due to her ambiguity many students fight her on answers after the test and then she gets very rude and defensive. If you think you are right for the answer because of the way you interpreted the question, she still will not give you points back. Her test averages for my class tended to be around a 79% and Im surprised they were that high. I guess people can just get the info. So for advice: record lectures and/or write every word she says down (I suggest typing your notes), make sure every word in the question and answer is correct and makes sense, and study a lot for exams but memorizing every word she says. This is the best way to succeed in the class.

Professor Manson is very nice and very responsive to emails. I just do not think she is a good test writer and makes it a more of can you guess of what Manson is thinking rather than do you know your content or not.

I enjoyed Prof Manson's course! I would recommend doing the readings for part 1 if you don't fully understand evolution, and for part 3 to learn more about the different organ systems. She skips over a TON in the biodiversity section so don't waste your time reading those.

Lectures are really easy. The exams are much harder.

Manson is a great person but does not teach the material well enough to prepare you for the exams. The notes are a joke and the exams are so hard. I wish she prepared us better for the exams as it is 70% of your grade.

Professor Manson is very enthusiastic about her class and tries her hardest to make it fun. She is a good teacher and I feel as though I learned a lot it was just the fact that the exams were really hard, there were some topics that I couldn't see how they would be application based but she found a way to do so which made it more confusing. That is the only problem, her teaching skills are impeccable and she is always willing to help. This course requires a lot of effort and office hours in order to understand how the exam questions would be.

Overall a horrible experience. Manson is nice and all, but the class was frustrating at best. The average grade on the first test was in the C range, despite it covering material students have known since 7th grade. The material is presented in lecture as if the students were first graders, so I attribute this dissonance to her masking test questions as "application-based" when in reality they're just exceptionally confusing and poorly written. The only way to reason out an answer is to find the three answers that make less sense than the "correct" answer which still isn't always true. With that said, I learned the hard way to not stress about doing the readings--some of my friends found it only hurt them to know the material presented in the book. Focus on studying the lectures and accept defeat on the few "trick" test questions. Most TAs are awful with the exception of maybe two or three, so your lab grade essentially depends on a Russian roulette of scheduling. Unfortunately, the labs take at least 2 hours each, so do yourself a favor and sit next to someone who smells good the first day. The only saving graces are MasteringBio and iClicker questions (although her controversial iClicker questions often sparked lively debate). She spends more time discussing the gymnosperm life cycle than human anatomy and animal phyla combined. I still hate plants.

Manson has been one of my least favorite professors to work with. Her class is very unengaging and it often feels like she's trying to butcher every word possible. Her exam questions are often worded very poorly and she refuses to listen to her student's criticisms. When I visited her office hours to discuss a test question, she was extremely condescending and defensive and refused to regrade the question despite admitting fault. One of my least favorite classes but you have to take it for premed . Try and wait for a different professor if possible

I liked Manson and I liked this course. Towards the end it got a little dull, but what can you do you have to take this if you're pre-med. Overall not that bad, just make sure to keep up with readings and to go to office hours if you're confused.

The professor made this class super bearable. For bio majors, or for anyone, most ecology and biodiversity is either their thing or its not. I thought it wouldn't be exciting to me, and really the material wasn't that all fun, but Manson was so excited to teach! Her lectures were super engaging, and her excitedness to teach the course made the class so bearable. I'd say I liked her more than Kittlesen. Her tests were definitely a bit difficult and tricky and almost as hard as Kittlesen's tests though. I ended with a B+ in the class when I definitely thought I was an A- or higher so I have a feeling I was downcurved.
Pro: super engaging professor who loved plants and almost made you also to also love plants
Cons: Tests were tricky even still

Despite her haphazard passion for BIOL 2200, Manson fails at engaging students. Her class is extremely plant focused, speeding through the human anatomy, and swooning over her love for all plants. Nonetheless, her style and Canadian butchering of English words are bearable if you're a good test-taker. Tests are 80% of the grade and like others have said, she does not curve. The lab completely depends on your TA; meaning you could be in there the entire 2.5 hour block or 30 minutes. I would recommend getting an undergrad TA because most of the GA's are not from this country and are complete boner's about taking this lab as if it is organic chemistry and keeping you in there for 2.5 hours to play cards and sit there while the Hoos are playing basketball.

Bio 2200 Lab is a waste of time and very frustrating because it has a huge impact on your grade, so you need to devote a lot of time to it to make sure you do as well as possible, but if you have a bad TA (which happens the vast majority of the time) you're screwed.
There is reading assigned for basically every lecture, you don't really have to read to be okay in the class. Study everything she goes over in lecture because it's all fair game but that's the stuff she likes to focus on. Use easy notecards to study.

Manson is a very interesting lecturer, but this class overall is very hard if you aren't a science-y person. The information in lecture is very straightforward, but all of the exam questions are based on applications of the material, so you REALLY have to know your stuff. She did not curve the tests at the end of the semester, which ultimately hurt my grade, but if you can stay average on each of the midterms you will be fine. Bottom line: don't take this class if you're not a science major.

Don't take this class if you don't need to. She did not curve any exam scores nor the final grade, using the excuse "Oh we had such a high average grade for the class that I determined that no curve was necessary."

Professor Manson is great! She's enthusiastic, funny, and knowledgable. There is a lot of reading but it's manageable. The tests do require a lot of studying beforehand, though. They aren't easy but not impossible either. As with other science classes, I'd recommend recording the lectures.

Manson is very knowledgeable of the material and is a very entertaining lecturer. She always shows up smiling and eager to teach the material. The material in this class is not very difficult but the tests could get difficult unless a lot of studying was put in.