<p>I recommend half .com when you get your book list. It has saved me lots of money. The bookstore is just ridiculously overpriced.</p>
<p>You have to buy a new DOC book every quarter. The syllabus varies a little from year to year, as well as from professor to professor. DOC 1 is generally agreed to be okay, and the standard of writing is much lower than that in DOC 2, as I’ve seen. DOC 2 is much more dense and the least-liked, being full of Supreme Court cases. Writing-wise, I think the TA’s are forced to grade more harshly than in DOC 1. DOC 3 is the favorite - I hear you get to watch movies. Still, even DOC 2 isn’t that bad, even if it’s 6 units. I’ve had to work much harder in chemistry classes that are only 4 units.</p>
<p>To elaborate more on discussion sections - they’re pretty laidback. However, there is a participation grade, so you do have to speak up every now and then. Doing your work on time may also contribute to the participation grade, depending on the TA. Usually, your TA has a set agenda that may or may not include a lot of time for discussing the issues. A lot of the time, you might just be working on how to write your paper. It depends a lot on the TA you have. Some TA’s are really good and will arrange two-on-one meetings with you and a classmate to go over your rough draft for an essay, so you have more time to talk about material in discussions, as well get lots of help for your paper. If your TA doesn’t do this, you should definitely go to him/her privately to go over your rough draft or thesis and plan before you do your final draft - you could avoid some big mistakes.</p>
<p>for me 3 years ago, lecture was not necessarily mandatory, but it’s your participation grade and i think if you miss more than a certain amount, you fail…or something along those lines! we had to sit with your discussion class group + TA and signed a clipboard that was passed around. lecture was chill, big lecture hall, 200-300 students…no expectations other than to be there physically. </p>
<p>discussion sections, also mandatory, depends on your TA…about 15-20 people a section in a small room, so…don’t think you can get by unnoticed. say something every now and then, give an opinion on a topic, ask questions, as long as something comes out of your mouth, the TA notes that you participated and contributed. </p>
<p>exams are relatively easy if you’ve been staying awake in lecture and discussion and can memorize definitions. i seriously did little-no reading, and just listened to what other people had to say, and from that, you kind of put things together and get the main points of the reading. for DOC 2, you learn about court cases, and for me, i would have to do weekly “case studies,” where you fill out this form with questions like, the main points of a particular case, blah blah…i just googled it or skimmed through the reading. easiest points ever. </p>
<p>for doc 1 & 3, it’s nice because a lot of things are kind of “open” so there is no right or wrong answer when you write your papers, as long as you can back it up, you’re good. now try justifying a wrong chemistry calculation – not going to happen.</p>