Author: Charlie Daffron

AMH2020 or US History since 1877 is a history class that several UF majors (including Journalism) require as a prerequisite. The course set-up is fairly simple: lecture twice a week and discussion once a week. The class can move kind of fast, but don’t worry, with these tips you shouldn’t have a problem passing the class!

Be Prepared to Learn About History from Before 1877

The official title of the course should be US History since 1865. The first few lectures in the class cover material from Reconstruction, starting right after the Civil War. This material will probably be a review for most students, but don’t just brush off the information. Some of it will likely show up on the midterm, so make sure you have good notes. Even if the exam questions aren’t directly about reconstruction, you can still use reconstruction events to help support points in your essays.

Buy The Textbooks

There are three required textbooks for AMH2020. Since it’s an American History course, some students think they don’t necessarily need to buy all the textbooks. Unfortunately, this is not the case for AMH2020. The final paper and some of the exam questions will cover material from the textbooks that aren’t covered during lecture, meaning you need that specific knowledge. Discussions will also cover a combination of lecture material and textbook material, so in order to participate, you need to read the chapters.

Show Up For Discussion

Discussion is when all the quizzes in the class take place. The quizzes aren’t announced beforehand, so if you don’t show up you could miss a quiz that you may not be able to make up. You also miss out on easy participation points by skipping discussion. In other words, your attendance record for discussion each week could mean the difference between getting an A or a B at the end of the semester.

Be Prepared to Write

AMH2020 is a class that requires a lot of writing. There is a final paper at the end of the course. The midterm has an essay that is worth 20 of the exam’s 25 points. The exams also have short answer questions that require about 3-5 sentences worth of information to get full points. At the beginning of discussion, you’ll also have to turn in written summaries of the textbook readings to get full participation points. In other words, you better get used to writing historical essays.

Check Canvas Often

Canvas can be a very valuable tool in AMH2020, and I don’t just mean to check your grade. Prior to exams, your professor will post a list of example short answers and a list of possible essay questions (one of which will be the essay you write on the actual exam). These questions can be extremely helpful when studying so you don’t feel like you’re going into the exam blind. Canvas is also your go-to for information regarding extra credit at the end of the course.

As you can tell, AMH2020 requires a decent amount of work. The good part is, none of it is necessarily difficult work. If you show up, apply yourself, pay attention and take notes, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do great! Good luck!

JOU4201 (News Center Practicum) is probably one of the most important classes that UF Journalism students can take. The class is great for building field experience and will give students a chance to get their stories published on the WUFT news website. The class requires a lot of work both inside and outside of the classroom, but if you follow these tips, you’ll be able to do quite well.

Manage Your Time Wisely

Over the course of the semester, you’ll do a lot of reporting within the community. You’ll be assigned a zip code at the beginning of the semester and will be responsible for reporting on stories in that area. When you’re writing a new story it’s important to plan ahead of time so you’ll have time to get to your location, interview sources, write the story, and submit it before your deadline. The better you are with time management, the easier the course will be for you.

Treat The Class Like An Internship

Throughout the course, you’ll probably hear your professor say this pretty often, and that’s because it’s true. Once a week, you’ll have lab in the WUFT newsroom where you’ll work on crafting pitches, writing stories, doing research, finding sources, and editing your work. Your goal in the class is to get your stories published and this leads to valuable experience you can put on your résumé. More often than not you’ll be doing fieldwork outside of class, so treating it like internship work instead of homework will lead to better results when you submit your stories.

Use Your Editors And Peers To Your Advantage

If you’re having trouble coming up with a pitch or finishing up a story, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Editors are there to assist you if you’re stuck! Another equally valuable resource is your classmates. Sometimes getting a classmate to read and critique your story can be enough to push it to the next level. When in doubt, always get a second opinion!

Make Sure You Show Up Early For Your Pitch Meeting

During the semester you will sign up for two daily deadline stories. These stories need to be pitched at the pitch meeting, reported on, and published, all before the end of the day. The thing some students forget is that the pitch meeting technically starts before class, so you’ll need to show up in advance to make your pitch. If you show up late you’re only going to look bad, so being early is the best policy.

Be Sure To Submit Your Stories On Canvas And Gmail

This is something that students tend to have trouble remembering, but technically you have to submit each story twice. You’ll submit one copy to the WUFT Gmail account so it can be uploaded and published and you’ll submit the same story to Canvas for grading. If you just submit to Canvas your story won’t be published, if you just submit to Gmail you’ll get a zero for the assignment. It’s a lose-lose situation, so make sure you remember to submit to both places!

JOU4201 can be a lot of work. It may seem overwhelming at first since you’re introduced to everything all at once, but once you get through those first couple of weeks you’ll get the hang of everything! With hard work and proper planning, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do well in the class! Good luck!

Many UF students will probably take POS2041 (American Federal Government) before they graduate. The course is required for several majors, including Political Science, and is suggested for students in other programs like Journalism. The course is designed to help students understand the American political system, it’s origins, and how it has changed over time. The class may seem intimidating at first, but with the right preparation, it won’t be hard to pass! just follow these simple steps:

Be Sure To Read All Of The Assigned Readings

Reading is a pretty big component of being successful in POS2041. Your professor will rarely cover all of the assigned readings during lecture, but just because the material isn’t covered in class doesn’t mean it won’t be on the exam. Reading and taking notes on anything that’s been assigned can be extremely helpful, especially if you are unsure of anything because your professor will be able to help clear up any uncertainties during the lecture. It never hurts to read and be prepared!

Pay Attention To Lectures

The class can be pretty reading heavy, but the lectures are also important. There is a pretty even balance of questions on the exams that relate to material covered in lecture and material covered in readings. Lectures may also cover material that you won’t find in any of the readings, the two are meant to go hand-in-hand. So, paying attention and taking good notes during lectures will save you a lot of trouble when you study for the exams.

Know Your Way Around The Constitution 

While taking POS2041, you’ll be required to take a Constitution exam. This test won’t just cover the amendments, you’ll also be required to have knowledge of the Constitution’s various articles and sections. This knowledge will not only help you do well on the Constitution exam, but it can also be applied to other assignments later in the course. So the sooner you start studying for the Constitution exam, the better!

Don’t Let The Homework Pile Up

The homework assignments in POS2041 generally aren’t too difficult, so it shouldn’t take you a super long time to complete them and get a good grade. But, if you procrastinate, the homework will pile up easily, leaving you playing catch-up. This can lead you to lose points for silly mistakes because you are rushing to get everything done. Get the homework assignments done early so that they’re out of the way and you have time to read the assigned readings before lectures and do homework for other classes.

Stay Up To Date With Current Politics

POS2041 is just as much about the present as it is about the past. Throughout the course, you will also be asked to complete assignments that relate directly to current events. So, having a basic knowledge of what’s going on in U.S. politics will be a big help when researching, and will make these assignments go a lot smoother.

POS2041 is a fascinating class, especially if you are interested in politics or the structure of the U.S. government.  It’s not difficult to succeed in the class as long as you are willing to put in the work. Hopefully, this article will make you more prepared for the class if you ever plan to take it! Good luck!

JOU3109C or Multimedia Writing, is one of the many professional electives offered at the University of Florida. The class is perfect for any journalism students just starting out at UF because of the variety of different types of stories they’ll learn to write throughout the semester. Knowledge from Multimedia Writing can be applied to many other classes throughout your time at UF. Multimedia Writing is also a great way for students to find or refine their voice when it comes to writing news stories. Here are some of the different types of article formats you’ll learn about during the course:

Hard News Story

Like many journalism classes offered at UF, one of JOU3109C‘s main focuses is how to write a good hard news story. Hard news stories are a type of news story that is straight and to the point, giving the reader only the facts and nothing else. The author will include all of the story’s most important information in the first few sentences, with the rest of the information following from most to least important in the inverted pyramid writing style. During the semester, students will be assigned several stories like this, including one or more timed deadline story, so it’s important to be effective with your writing. Assignments will be graded based on organization, accuracy, and adherence to AP style rules. Crafting a good headline is also an important part of these types of assignments.

News Feature Story

Unlike the hard news stories, students will have a little more flexibility with their news feature stories. News feature stories will cover a point of interest for the author or reader. They can be about anything, from a local community member to a big event. The author is able to frame the story in whichever way they think will be the best to convey its message. In most cases, students are able to pick what they want to write their feature pieces about (sometimes they are limited to a certain topic by the professor), giving them more freedom to find their voice as a writer.

Personality Profile

The third type of story JOU3109C students will learn to write is a personality profile. Personality profiles are exactly what they sound like. Students will interview an individual and write a profile based on that interview. You will pick something interesting or unique (examples could be hobbies, jobs, past experiences) about the person you are writing the profile on and base your interview questions around that. The purpose of a personality profile is to show, not tell. Show the reader how this certain aspect of the person you are writing about shaped who they are.

Blog Posts

One of the biggest assignments students will do in JOU3109C is the blog. Over the course of the semester, students will be required to create and maintain a blog. It can be about any subject, so make sure you choose your subject carefully, you want to write about something you enjoy so it doesn’t feel like a chore.

News Releases 

JOU3109C students will also get a taste of what it’s like to write for a PR firm during the semester. News releases are sort of like announcements for big, newsworthy events. Students will be given a press release with all of the necessary information on it and use the press release to craft a good news release. News releases are meant to inform the public, so in addition to the raw facts, a news release needs substance. The writer needs to convey to the reader why the thing they are writing about is important and why the reader should care. Plus, learning to read and use a press release is a very handy skill to have for future classes and careers.

So, that’s JOU3109C in a nutshell. Students interested in any sort of career that involves writing or reporting should definitely take the class because of the valuable skills they will learn during the semester. Hopefully, this guide will be useful in helping you decide if the class is right for you!

Many majors at the University of Florida require students to take ECO2013 (Principles of Macroeconomics) before they graduate. Some students, especially those who have never taken an economics class before, may find this class difficult. The biggest problem with the class is that it covers a lot of material during the semester, and if you aren’t careful it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Hopefully, these tips will help you know what to expect from the class so you can prepare appropriately!

Avoid Just Watching The Lectures From Home, Go To Class!

ECO2013 is considered a hybrid class, so technically the only times you’re actually required to be on campus for the class are the exams. All of the lectures are recorded and uploaded to Canvas, where students can access them anytime. This makes it extremely tempting to just blow off lecture to sleep in or work on homework, but I would advise against that. The main reason for this is that if you come to lecture you’re forced to sit, listen, and take notes. If you watch them later at home, it’s easier to get distracted and not pay as much attention as you would in a lecture hall. We’d all love to tell ourselves that we would watch the lecture and take notes… But let’s be honest. If you’re sitting down at home after a long day, how likely are you to devote your whole attention to a 90-minute video about Economics? The lectures are full of helpful tips on how to solve the problems and remember the material, some of which you won’t find in the textbook. So it’s in your best interest to pay close attention to them.

Don’t Wait Until Last Minute To Take The Quizzes

There will be a quiz almost every week of the semester. At the end of the semester, the average of all your quiz grades will make up 20% of your final grade in the class. The quizzes are taken online. They are available on Thursday night and close Monday morning, giving you the weekend to complete them. It’s best to try and complete them sooner rather than later because believe me, you don’t want to be up at 4 a.m. Sunday night trying to finish one of those quizzes. The quizzes will cover material from the lectures, as well as material from the textbook. This means you also have to read the chapter (or chapters) before taking them. You want to plan ahead and make sure you give yourself enough time to get all that done so you aren’t rushing to finish it last minute.

Read The Textbook

As mentioned above, some of the questions on the quizzes will cover material in the textbook that may not have been covered during the lecture, so make sure you read the assigned chapters. The textbook also contains a plethora of worked out examples of various problems. If you’re stuck on something, odd’s are you can find help somewhere in the assigned readings. Plus, it never hurts to read about what you learned during the week, because it can help reinforce some of the trickier concepts and more cumbersome vocabulary terms. The textbook and the lectures are meant to complement each other, and you’ll better understand the material by using both.

Be Sure To Watch The EconGuy Videos With Each Module

The class is divided into six modules. Each module has a page on Canvas with a list of EconGuy videos to go with the material. The videos are by an economics professor who takes economic concepts and puts them in layman’s terms, often using humorous examples to drive the points home. This may seem like a trivial detail, but there are usually two or three questions on the exams about the examples used in these videos, meaning you can score some easy points by just watching videos.

Review Your Quiz Results And Past Exams When You Study

The best way to prepare for the exam is to use your quiz results and the old exams from previous semesters to study. You can view the answers for all the quizzes that you’ve already taken, so before the exam, go back through them. Make note of the questions you got wrong and see if you can figure out why you got them wrong. If you can’t figure out why, go back through the textbook and your notes to see if you can find a solution. This will help you memorize the material better than just continuously going over your notes. You can even convert quiz questions and answers into statements and use them to supplement your notes. The problem with only using the quiz questions is that they aren’t always a good representation of what you’ll see on the exam. The wording of the questions on the quizzes is usually pretty cut and dry, meaning it’s easy to decipher what the question is asking. The exam is understandably more difficult. The wording is more abstract and the answer isn’t always so obvious. That’s why you should go back through old exams so you can see what the questions are like and know what to expect going into the test. It’s also a great way to see where you’re at and gives you a chance to score yourself. You should be able to find PDF’s of past exams and their answer keys on Canvas.

Principles of Macroeconomics is one of those courses that can be very difficult if you fall behind on the material. There aren’t many grades throughout the semester, so if you screw up an exam, it can be detrimental to your final grade. Each of the three exams is worth 24% of your grade, so with 72% of your grade being just exams, there isn’t a whole lot of room for error. But, if you’re properly prepared for each exam and you don’t fall behind on classwork, you should be able to do well on the exams. Hopefully, this guide is a good way to get you started!

If you’re a journalism major at the University of Florida, odds are you’ll probably end up taking MMC3614 (Media and Politics) before you graduate. If you’re worried about passing the class, fear not! With a little bit of work and these handy tips, you should get through the class with no problem!

1. Pay Attention To Lectures And Textbook Readings

Throughout the class, you will have to take quizzes and exams based on material covered during the lectures and in the textbook. This information is usually pretty specific, like FCC regulations, major events in media history, and the years that go along with them. This information will be covered in class and in the textbook, so if you pay attention and take detailed notes, you’ll have no problem memorizing the information before the assessments.

2. Pay Attention To Current Events

Paying attention to the news during the course can be a huge help. During the semester you’ll be asked to write papers analyzing current political events. Paying attention to these current events as they happen and the different ways they are covered on the various major news networks will make it much easier to write the papers. That way, when you sit down to start writing you don’t have to spend a bunch of time doing research, you can just pull a few articles or YouTube videos of coverage and get to work.

3. Maintain A Twitter Account

A couple of years ago this wouldn’t have been a necessity. But these days it’s a lot more important. Even if you have to make a Twitter just for this class and you never plan to use it again, it is recommended to still do it. You can use Twitter to keep up with the President’s latest tweets as well as observing how various news networks utilize Twitter to deliver the news to the masses in 140 characters or less. You’ll be able to use this information to support your claims when you’re writing your essays throughout the semester, adding an extra dimension to your papers.

If you follow these tips, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pass Media and Politics with flying colors. The scope of the class may seem a little daunting at first, but once you’ve adjusted to the workload the class will become much smoother sailing! Best of luck!

JOU3101 (Reporting) is considered by many students to be one of the most difficult Journalism classes at the University of Florida. One of the reasons for this is that the class require s students to get out in the field and do real journalism work, which at times can be tricky and very time-consuming. But with these tips, you can learn the tricks to success in JOU3101.

1. Read The Rubrics For Each Assignment Before You Begin

With any class, it’s always good to read the rubric, but it can be especially important in Reporting. Even if your professor discusses the assignment in class you should still check the rubric because it may contain information that your professor didn’t cover during the lecture. The rubric contains critical information like story length and the number of sources you need to interview for your story. A simple read through of the rubric can help you get the maximum possible number of points on each assignment.

2. Pay Attention To Local Events

Throughout the course, you will be required to write a number of news stories based on events in the local community. Keep up to date on what’s going on around Gainesville so that you can easily brainstorm ideas for new stories. This kind of pre-planning will make the story writing process much easier since you will already have basic background knowledge on the topic you want to write about. Keeping up with local news can also help give you ideas on how to approach the topic from a new angle, making your story more unique.

3. Your Stories Are Key

The stories are your highest weighted assignments during the semester, so it is crucial to do well on them. Make sure you look at the story assignments way in advance of their deadlines so you can begin brainstorming your topic and angle. Give yourself enough time to find events you can attend and people you can interview. Sometimes it can be difficult to do this, especially if you need to interview someone of importance in the community, so you need to make sure you always have a backup plan. It’s also important to write about things you are interested in. Keeping an eye on community news can be a huge help in this planning process. If you can find something you’re interested covering writing the story will be much easier.  When that dreaded deadline comes around you don’t want to be caught without a good story.

As a journalist, it’s important to stay connected and this is exactly what JOU3101 tries to instill in its students. It helps students get an understanding of what it’s like working in the field and helps them build a foundation of knowledge that will aid them in future classes. Reporting can be a difficult and time intensive class, but with proper planning and story execution, it’s not a hard class to pass!

IUF 1000, or What Is The Good Life? The class that all freshmen at The University Of Florida have to take and it’s also the class all freshmen dread. While it may seem like more of a useless pain than anything else, it’s actually not too hard to do well in this universally reviled class. Here are a few tips that can help you get the highest grade possible:

1. Read All Of The Readings

The volume of reading you have to do for the class will obviously depend on your professor, but it’s important for you to read everything that your professors assign you each week. It may seem like a lot, but once you are taking the exam it will pay off. Knowing the name of each reading and the author is also very important (even for small articles), because these can score you easy points on the short answers and the essay questions on the exams. There are a lot of readings, especially in the second half of the semester, so flashcards with the name of the reading and the article on one side and a brief summary of the reading on the other can be extremely helpful when studying.

2. Pay Attention During Lecture

This may seem kind of obvious, but it’s still important. During lectures, your professor will explain some of the more abstract parts of the readings and how they relate back to the core questions of the class. This information can be extremely helpful on your exams and essays by giving you valuable insights you can use to get more points. So don’t forget to take notes!

3. Prepare Well For Essays

You will have two exams in Good Life, each one will have a big essay question that will account for a majority of the exam’s points. The class also has a final paper on top of all of that. These essays will all require you to compare and contrast or make arguments based on readings from the class. By knowing and implementing the information you learned in lecture as well as knowing the basic summaries of the readings you should be able to do well on the essays and get the maximum amount of points possible.

4. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help

If you don’t understand something ask your TAs! If they can’t help, talk to your professor! Utilize your weekly discussion to get help from your peer!. There’s nothing wrong with needing help, and clearing up any confusing issue can benefit you in the long run, since you’ll have everything you need for the exam.

5. Actually Show Up For Your Final Exam

Another one that should be obvious, but sometimes isn’t. There are stories of people skipping out on their final exam because they had an A in the class and were going to pass anyway. That’s just stupid! Go to your exam! Why just pass, when you can actually get a high grade in the class? Also, don’t oversleep and completely miss your exam. Don’t be the person who could have finished the class with an A, but instead, ended up with a C because they didn’t set their alarm.Sure, Good Life is a drag and it certainly won’t make your life any better. But, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to use the class as an easy GPA booster to help you along your freshman year. As long as you keep up with your work and prepare appropriately for big assignments there’s no reason why you shouldn’t leave the class with an A or B.

Registration time is here again, and some students may not know what kind of classes they want to take this semester. Here is a list of five unique classes that UF students can register for right now!

The Dog – VME3001

Who doesn’t love dogs right? Well for those following the Biology or Veterinary school track, you can take a course dedicated to everything about dogs. Covering everything from the evolution of different dog species to its role in modern society, this class truly is the comprehensive guide to man’s best friend.

Screen Printing – ART3433C

More of the creative type? Fear not! UF has plenty of great art courses, including Screen Printing. Students who take screen printing will be given the opportunity to develop a series of prints based on an idea they have, providing them with valuable field experience and an item to include in their personal portfolios!

Age Of Dinosaurs – GLY1102

Tired of taking the same old science courses over and over? Looking for something new and fun? Well, you’re in luck! UF offers a course specifically devoted to dinosaurs and the various prehistoric eras. Students will be able to learn about the various species of dinosaur and the kinds of environments they lived in, as well as the various geological processes at work during this fascinating time in history.

Beekeeping – ENY4573

Ever wondered what it takes to raise a colony of Bees? With this class, you can find out just that! Covering topics such as bee anatomy and the various problems beekeepers today face when trying to keep their colonies alive, this class will show you bees in a totally new light!

Sherlock Holmes – HIS3942

A class about Sherlock Holmes? Yes, you read that right! In this class, students are introduced to the challenges of historical thinking and writing by learning about late Victorian England, the world of the one and only, Sherlock Holmes. And who doesn’t want to learn to think like Sherlock, right?

So, whether you’re the aspiring detective or a biologist in training, UF has the classes for you! Hopefully, this article will be helpful to anyone looking to fill the gaps in their schedules with the most interesting classes possible!