ECON 2020

I'm only writing this review because though I agree with some critiques I'm a bit bothered by some of the other ones that I have read. I'll write it in bullet point form for simplicity's sake.

1. I agree that the midterms especially are poorly formulated and graded pedantically. Rather than encouraging an understanding underlying concepts they reward memorization of specific terms and formulas and quite frankly that's not especially conducive to understanding the subject, but if you've read the textbook, reviewed his lecture slides and went to lecture there is no reason you couldn't have done well on them, just for the record, I did not do particularly well on the midterms but I could/should have. The final is pretty straightforward and tests material from across the semester with a heavy slant towards the second half, I don't think there was anything particularly unorthodox about it. Tip for studying: Go over the lecture slides on Collab, they are actually really helpful.

2. What I neither understand nor approve of is this complaining about curving. Looking at the final grade scale, every grade single grade level was curved either cumulatively or on the final exam between two and seven (!) points, which is a substantial curve. On the exam, the A grade was curved three points as was the A+ grade, though other grades were not curved for the final. The cumulative curve for A- was over four points, for a B+ the curve was almost seven points and the curve for an A on the exam was three points, these are substantial curves you are unlikely to encounter anything like it in other courses at the University (in most classes you'll be lucky to get a 1-2 point curve, if one at all). The curving if anything was generous, both cumulatively and (if slightly less so) the final exam. I'm guessing it was somewhat less generous for the final exam because it was a more conventional test, so most students performed better, leading to a less generous curve (because curing as we all know is based off of student performance), but even the final exam curve in no way screwed anyone over. No one deserves any particular grade, you earn one and the curving for the course will make earning a decent grade that much easier.

3. Coppock is a terrific lecturer, I don't think most of us appreciate how difficult it is to maintain the attention of 500+ students four times a week, but he does it. He is engaging, charismatic and funny at times, but more critically, he makes the material much easier to understand. Go to his lectures, there are few other professors out there who are anywhere near as good as he is. Also the textbook he wrote is actually a pretty good read, so that's an added bonus.

4. I got lucky and had a good TA but I've heard varying accounts of TA helpfulness, so if you have a bad one, try and see if you can switch.

Some tips for people who want to take this class in the future, make sure you understand three concepts in particular: Growth theory, Aggregate Demand/Supply and Monetary policy. Those topics are the big three that will determine whether or not you do well in class, if you get them, you'll do just fine, if you don't you'll struggle. Also, as I've said, go to lecture, Coppock is one of the most charismatic and talented lecturers at the university, ably condensing material into comprehensible portions, the class actually made me consider becoming an economics major. Also, you'll need the clicker points (and if nothing else, they're good for practice).

TL;DR: A) Yeah the midterms are far from ideal but the final is pretty much a standard econ test B) curving was generous so stop whining C) Coppock's a great lecturer, go to his lectures D) Make sure you understand: Growth theory, Aggregate Demand/Supply and Monetary policy

Professor Coppock is an outstanding professor. That being said, I am an economics major so my views are likely biased. To succeed in his class you really need to work hard and try to understand just about everything, which is only possible if you're interested in econ. There will be concepts he keeps going back to and he's very clear that those three principles will show up on exams time and time again. Here are my tips:
1. Attend all lectures, it's essential.
2. Read the book after going to lecture and things will make a lot more sense.
3. Get a good TA, if you get a poor one switch out if you can.
4. Take every opportunity to get points, including in discussion. It can easily mean the difference between an A- and B+.
5. DON'T COUNT ON DUTCH KNOCKOUT! The curve was not generous at all in Spring 2016 and people got curved down from a B+ to a B in some instances. If you don't do well on the first two tests make sure you really focus on the final. Prof. Elzinga's final was much easier in my opinion and had a much more generous curve.

AMAZING! Professor Coppock is a fantastic lecturer, he is incredibly knowledgable and best of all, he is able to transmit that knowledge to his students. I've had Professors who are very smart but are not that great of lecturers... Prof Coppock is both: smart and a great professor. His lectures are dense in material so I suggest going to all! and he makes them extremely funny/engaging. The tests are hard but make sure to understand where you messed up and be ready for the next test and the final. He wrote the book so you can`t get away with a weak answer, all responses must be short and sweet and very accurate for the tests. GREAT GREAT COURSE!!!!!

Amazing professor!! Coppock is so funny and engaging. He explains complex material in such a simple way thats so easy to understand. I loved going to lecture and didnt mind reading the one, maybe 2, chapters a week.
For the workload, it really isnt bad. The most important thing to do is to go to lecture and take notes. There are clicker questions but its really easy to get the required amount before the semester ends. I found reading the textbook to be a good reinforcement of the material but it isnt entirely neccessary if you dont want to. Other than reading the textbook chapters, the only other work I ever did was to study for the tests. I would start studying like half a week or a week before the tests. Go over your notes, the textbook, and definitely do the practice problems from your TA.
Overall, I loved this course and learned so much from it that I continue to remember and apply.

ECON 2020 was one of my favorite classes this semester because I thought it was very interesting and applicable. Coppock is a great professor who kept me engaged in what he was saying the whole lecture. However, the tests were pretty tricky and required super specific answers. It's sad that this was one of my favorite classes but I didn't do that great in it. It's a very manageable class though, just go to lectures and study for the tests! Discussion sections were a waste of time.

Standard class; previous reviews are still accurate

Professor Coppock is an excellent lecturer, no doubt he is world class. With that being said, the class is extremely difficult. As an introductory level class, I thought this was going to be a great introduction, no, you are expected to master every detail and apply it in the real world. The tests are INCREDIBLY hard, none of my friends received over a 50% the first test. The class is great and I did learn a lot BUT do not take this class if you are signed up for other difficult classes. This is NOT your typical introductory level class. If you have not taken an econ class prior to this, I suggest you do not start here unless you are willing to put in the work. If you do take the class, you need to read very closely and pay attention to every little detail, prepare for exams at least one week in advance and spend sufficient time doing all the problems that are offered in the book. Do not prepare for the tests by only focusing on the vocab for the section, it won't be NEARLY enough (my mistake for the first test).

As everyone says, Lee Coppock is a great professor and lecturer; however, when it comes to testing, I'm not sure if he can still be considered great. For example, on our first test this semester 13 points of our test came directly from one specific lecture slide and was straight memorization. How is that testing students on actual Econ?? I need answers. The second test wasn't as bad but that could be due to the fact that I was more used to the format of the testing, who knows to be honest. Moving on to the final now, this test was ridiculously difficult and not enough time was given!!! It's a bit unfair in my opinion to give students a test that is a completely different form from any of the past tests and give them minimal practice questions to go off. Overall, this final was super triggering and now my GPA is going to get wrecked so thank u for that <3. This also leads me to my next point on inconsistencies across TA's. My TA did not ever give me practice problems to review for the final but others did, which isn't fair! As someone who came in loving economics from high school, really liked micro last semester and was considering economics as a major, I'm a bit sad with how this class went, but oh well ya live and ya learn!

Nice class, awesome professor. Grading is just stupid for an intro class. The final was very hard compared to previous years, so as both midterms.

Lee Coppock is one of the best professors at UVA. He's a fantastic orator, makes the material easy to understand and knows his economics. This was one of my favorite classes so far, and I thoroughly enjoyed coming to lecture. Coppock did a great job tying in the material to world events -- which wasn't too hard anyways, given how relevant and important the material is.

To do well on his tests, you need to give him your undivided attention during lecture (and take good notes), and understand the concepts inside and out. Memorization is required for a few things (formulas, definitions, etc.) but the real key to doing well on tests is to understand the concepts and be able to explain the intuition behind those concepts. For instance, it's not enough to know how to draw certain curves on a graph -- you should be prepared to explain why those curves are shaped that way.

I ended up getting an A, but I'm also an econ major who likes watching videos of Thomas Sowell and Milton Friedman on Youtube in my free time...So that background probably helped. Even if you're not as passionate about econ, I can promise you'll still find it interesting and valuable. You can do well in the class if you get away from trying to memorize everything and only memorize what you have to, and otherwise focus on truly understanding all the concepts. Bottom line, take this class, it's not a breeze but the material is just so important and relevant. Did I mention Coppock is one of UVA's best profs?