Thomas Linneman - College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

Professor: Thomas Linneman

Department: Sociology

College: College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SOCL353
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Very tough grader, use of specific vocabulary and concepts are expected. The textbook is actually very helpful

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He really doesn't get that more reading doesn't help overworked students learn more. Cramming it in doesn't do anything because. He always goes for quantity over quality which is so frustrating because that's not how people learn. Really interesting material but horrible relaying of info.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Linneman is fantastic! There was a lot of reading for the class, but all of it was very interesting. He's very passionate and it shows in his lectures. This was the first Sociology class I've ever taken and I'm now considering it for my major because of him. I highly recommend his classes!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Linneman is interesting, but it's a lot of reading. Read about 6 hours/week for him and I'm not a slowww reader. Exams are memorization (esp names), curved. Highly suggest using your COMPUTER to take notes... can't imagine doing it by hand and being comprehensive enough to get an A. Got an A. Final is noncumulative.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The class and information is mostly enjoyable but lectures can get boring. Linneman is an excellent professor and a very fair grader on exams with regrades being very helpful; he wants his students to do well. Multiple choice questions on exams were sometimes poorly written. DO THE READING and study hard and you'll receive a decent grade at least.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Linneman is a very engaging lecturer and the class is pretty interesting. That being said, he is extremely scrupulous with his exams and expects you to memorize any and all details from the entire course. This is an introductory class for a relatively easy subject. No reason for the tests to be as hard as my organic chemistry exams.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SOCL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I took this class as a freshman and I don't recommend following my footsteps. Professor Linneman is a great professor and he really cares, the class it self is just a hard adjustment. It is reading intensive and the tests are super specific. I definitely do recommend this class, just get ready to work your butt off.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SOCL250
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The lectures and readings are very interesting, but not enough to make up for the extreme difficulty and nit-picky super detailed exam questions. He is unclear and vague about what information you need to know for exams. If you want an A, you basically just have to memorize every single thing that you read or encountered in lecture for the exams.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Excellent lecturer. Hyper-specific tests (NOT AN EXAGGERATION) (mean gpa was 2.59 on first test AFTER CURVING). If you don't come to class, you lose a lot of points for in-class work. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE SPECIFICITY OF HIS TESTS; this is not a "big ideas" class, but an extremely specific and extremely hard course to take as a freshman.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Such a funny professor and his lectures are so so funny and interesting, but this is probably one of the hardest classes i've taken. It involves lots of reading, and like all other reviews, the tests truly are impossible. SUPER specific and you basically have to memorize every single little thing. Basically impossible tests, but really funny class

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor, great person. His lectures make my day. You have to be in class, every class to pass. Expectations were not clear on what you actually need to know for the course. MEMORIZE EVERYTHING you ever read in class or for homework. This is not a "big concept" class and he will ask VERY specific questions about anything and everything.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SOCL353
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor. Linneman makes stats acessible and easy to understand. He covers more content than many basic stats classes, and does it better than most stats classes too. I took his clsss years ago and it is still so useful. Take this class. Take it if you hate math or if you love it. Take it. You won't regret it.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SOC203
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He was really nice and the class was interesting, but the tests were ridiculously specific. He often asked about points that were mentioned briefly in one reading that we never even talked about in class. He's pretty good about curving tests, but it was still my hardest class this semester. Make sure to go to class and study.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The class is super reading intensive and very time consuming, but the information isn't difficult at all. You cannot miss any classes. He's a great lecturer. Type up very THOROUGH notes on everything you read starting the first day of class, and studying for tests will be a breeze--you can easily get an A this way.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SOCL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Prof Linneman is the best! His lectures are never boring and the material is really interesting. There is a lot of reading but he covers it all pretty well. He is really accessible and helpful outside of class. The tests can be hard but aren't too bad if you study. He really is the greatest, made me want to be a sociology major!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SOCL250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Likable, fun lectures, but his tests make common-sense material arcane. Asks weirdly detail-oriented questions, pulling from a LOT of material. If you have a good memory you'll be fine, but if you're forgetful you're screwed, no matter how well you study or understand the material. Also, more math than you'd think. Not an easy A, yet nothing new.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I feel that there was more reading than I could absorb. I don't think he realizes that when students are taking 4-5 other classes, he shouldn't be assigning 3-4 articles and a 30 page chapter of small text per night. I feel like he just wanted to cram as much information as possible in our heads every class period. That's not the point of education

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Unfortunately I am not a fan of Linneman. Not because he isn't interesting or engaging in his lectures, but for an intro class it's much more work than it's worth. Just let me sit in class and take notes! I don't want to do group activities every class or answer polls every 10 minutes. That being said, really interesting content. Cool guy.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SOCL361
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Linneman is a great professor. He is really funny and is great at keeping class time enjoyable and light. He always has funny videos to show us that are always relevant to the coursework! His teaching techniques helps you stay engaged and learn better. He has high expectations for your work but they are fair! He pushes you to be your best!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I loved his intro socl class. I thought that the tests were not difficult if you kept up with the readings and understood his lectures. It was easy to study if you had been keeping up along the way. He makes sure students participate by using Poll Everywhere in class to check up on comprehension - do the readings! Cool guy!