<p>I'm coming into Berkeley for the fall term, but don't want to take an R1A class right away. I want to take my first R&C class in the spring term instead of the fall term, but am not sure whether or not an R1A class will be offered (I need to fulfill both A and B so I need to do A first). So, are R1A classes typically offered in the spring term?</p>
<p>absolutely yes</p>
<p>They are offered every semester.</p>
<p>Then why is it recommended that we take our R1A in semester 1 instead of semester 2?</p>
<p>There are a lot more R1A courses in the fall and a lot more R1B courses in the spring. So basically, you have more choices.</p>
<p>They also recommend you to take it as early as possible because they want you to finish the RC requirement by the time you declare your major at the end of 2nd year.</p>
<p>It is also recommended to take R&C early because better writing skills should theoretically help you in later courses where writing is needed, even if R&C is not an explicit prerequisite.</p>
<p>Of course, this is likely of greatest value in later humanities courses, since R&C courses typically involve writing about humanities subjects (though a few are offered in social studies subjects). It may be worth considering choosing an R&C course in a subject you are likely to take additional courses later, in order to gain practice writing about that subject (e.g. History R1 if you expect to take more history courses later, Anthropology R5B if you expect to take more anthropology courses later, etc.).</p>
<p>For that very reason, I want to take R&C later, AFTER I have taken some humanities courses. That way, I will be able to supply my writing with more subject-specific information. Plus, I am pretty bad at writing analytical papers so I want to put off taking an analytical course to the second semester, when I will have gained a bit more experience.</p>
<p>The point of the classes is to solidify your writing skills- that is why they suggest completing your R&C requirements as early as possible. It is better to be able to supplement your humanities courses with your writing skills, rather than supplementing your R&C requirements with subject-specific information, since these classes focus on writing. This is especially true if you are weak in analytic writing. Taking a humanities course in the first semester won’t really help you with your second semester writing course.</p>
<p>^ To add to that, there really is no “subject-specific information” or background for a R&C course. The theory you apply in your R&C papers is what you learn in class. They won’t expect you (or want you) to do anything else.</p>
<p>You seem to have your logic backwards here. You won’t need to know any subject-specific information for the r1a/r1b classes. The purpose of these courses are to strengthen your writing as you progress through the rest of your undergrad years. Being bad at writing analytical papers is all the more reason to take it your first semester…</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips, guys.</p>