PLAP 1010

Professor Sabato's lectures are very interesting and filled with information you probably wouldn't find in the standard textbook. The class itself is relatively easy as long as you read the assigned books he's written. The textbook is essentially pointless if you have a background in the subject. Carah Ong is a great TA.

The class is pretty easy, but you should at least skim the textbook readings. You need to read the books that are written by Prof. Sabato as those are heavily used in the course. Prof. Sabato gets frustrated if class attendance is low, and upset if you are not there for the guest speakers.

Sabato is really a knowledgeable guy but he is a little full of himself. The class is great due to the guest lecturers that come and speak.

This class is okay, yet somewhat boring. Louis is a really unfair TA. his expectations for papers aren't even reasonable. It's not that it's difficult to write a paper for him, he just takes points off for not having written into your essay wacky and obscure points. He's really frustrating

take it if you have not taken AP Government in high school or you want to know more about American politics besides what`s on textbooks. some people cant stand with his ego but I think it`s not that bad. it`s important to skim through the textbook before you take the midterm.

Subject material isn't that hard, but Sabato blows over it so quickly that you might want to read if you aren't confident in your knowledge. Secondary reading (Sabato's books) is semi-required really. TAs control your grade, so choose wisely. Guest speakers are usually very entertaining.

I took this class thinking Sabato would blow me out of the water, but then I realized it is basically AP Government with a famous professor. The class material wasn't hard if you have taken AP Government, but I sometimes let that get the best of me as I would be lazy and not keep up with the reading. The only books you really have to read if you have taken AP Government are the books by Sabato himself because he actually tests you on those and makes sure they appear on tests. The tests are terribly written and often have spelling errors. One of our tests had the correct answer bolded. The tests are more complicated that you would think based on lectures and they expect a lot of you from the essays. The good thing is they always give you 3-4 essays to pick from so you can write about what you know. Justin was an excellent TA and made it more about current events than about lecture (which is straight government facts). He was also a fair grader. Make sure you spend a lot of time on the take home essay and seek out help from your TA as that essay really decides a lot of peoples grades. The guest speakers were cool. It was always hard to find a seat, so make sure you get there early.

Avoid Louis as your TA at all costs. His discussions are poorly run and don't prepare you for exams at all. He also grades harder than the other TA's. Other than that, pretty standard American Politics class, not much you haven't gotten before in previous government classes. Sabato's definitely entertaining at times though, but he can also come off as really arrogant.

This class is harder than you may think! Read from the book to get points in discussion and do well on the test--his lectures are not as important, but you should still go; he doesn't like to think people are skipping class or goofing off.

I took AP US Government in high school, so this course kind of felt like a big review for me. The high point are the guest speakers that come to visit. The low point the redundancy of the material from high school. Readings aren't too bad and yes the books are all written by him. Midterm and final are M/C id's and essay. You also write one paper with the prompt given later in the semester.