I thought this class was really interesting (especially the evolution/animals part) but I acknowledge that I might be in the minority here, lol. Professor Manson is really passionate about the subject and her lectures were really engaging and informing. The tests were definitely a lot harder than expected, since they went so in-depth into the broad concepts she covered in class. I definitely recommend studying with Mastering Biology, the Dynamic Study Modules, and the questions at the end of each chapter to get a better feel for the difficulty of her tests. Her practice tests were usually easier than the real test but still good to study from. Like in 2100, she also gives a bonus exam wrapper and PollEv bonus points (though this is based on completion, not correction, which was nice). If you have a good memory, you'll probably do well in this class.

I personally found the lab boring and not very helpful. We asked the TAs a lot of questions and asked them to review our answers, and by the end of the class we were consistently getting 100s on the postlabs. Labs did take a long time, however (usually 1.5 hours or more) especially because we often had to wait for other groups to finish to analyze the class-wide data. Don't expect to actually learn what the statistical tests used mean.

I agree with a most recent review stating not to take this course if you have credit for it. I did not take BIOL 2100, so this was my first bio course at UVA. I followed many of the tips given in reviews on here and frequently found myself scoring lower on tests despite putting in more and more work. Her exams are extremely difficult. There are often questions where wording is off or where there are two valid answers, and she will even admit to "still thinking" about a question, yet she will never follow up about it or actually follow through with providing points back for them. One point can genuinely be what holds you back from a step up in your overall grade, so do your best in labs and mastering bio. In office hours Dr. Manson would frequently state she recommends finding both the right answer and the three wrong answers. Even doing this, I did not find my scores improving. Unfortunately her exams are just extremely difficult. I skimmed the textbook and read through the powerpoints before lecture. I highly recommend reading through the powerpoints beforehand. The lectures are 50 minutes so since they are a bit faster paced, I found writing notes directly on the powerpoints on my iPad worked best. If you do not have an iPad but have a laptop, I would download the PowerPoints and take notes on what she elaborates on in the speaker notes below.

If you have AP credit for this course do not take it. You can watch a crash course on the organ systems and get just as much from it. I learned this the hard way. Manson is extremely passionate about this material but when it comes to lecture she seems to be lacking in knowledge (frequently saying you guys probably know more about this than me or that she doesn't know). Although I respect a professor knowing when they are out of their league this seemed excessive. Her lectures were often bland and difficult to decide what information was important (frequently giving examples that I wasted time studying but were never tested). I absolutely loved 2100 with Kittlesen but did not enjoy this class with Manson. The labs were terrible and often a waste of my time. Many simulation labs and not nearly as hands-on as 2100. Overall, this was a disappointing class and the readings were often completely unhelpful. Masting bio (10% of final grade) was helpful as well as only 4 out of 5 exams counting (meaning you could skip the cumulative final exam if you were happy with your grade) but I still think the exams were irrelevant and didn't fairly test the material. The 1% boost for participating in PollEverywhere was nice as well but the class is still difficult to do well in. She does not curve like Kittlesen did.

I found this course very interesting, and rewarding. I got an A, and I compiled some advice/information that I would've liked to have before I took the course. Since Manson is the only professor teaching this course, my review is focused on the content and getting a good grade. I did not take Bio 2100 or AP Biology.

Grading Breakdown:
5 Exams including the final = 70% (get to drop lowest score)
Mastering Biology Questions = 10%
Lab = 20%
Extra Credit = If you attended lecture and answered 90% of the poll questions you get 1% added to your final grade, we had an exam wrapper that added 1% to your lowest exam score (lowest score that isn't being dropped), and an extra credit homework to boost your mastering bio score (but you can't get over a 100%)

Exams (synchronous, online, and closed notes):
The exams have the most impact on your grade. My advice is to memorize EVERY word on EVERY slide. Also, remember every little story she tells. The fact that whales are mammals and breath from their blowhole (that she tells you one time) is an important detail! All of the exams were 35 questions and 2 hours, except the final which was ~45 questions and 3 hours. Read every word of every answer choice. She does have a Zoom meeting during the exam. If the wording confuses you, always ask her. She will help you. If you see even one word that is out of place, that answer will likely be wrong.

Mastering Biology:
Do not lose easy points on this! It should be a grade booster. Use quizlet and ask your friends!

Lab:
The grade is made up of pre-lab quizzes (completed before lab) and post-lab assignments (completed during lab). Pre-lab quizzes are 4 questions and not timed, so ask your friends and use the lab write-up to get the right answers. This will help your lab grade the most if you have a bad TA. Post-lab assignments are hit or miss. If you can ask your TA for help, then you definitely should! But if you have Yang Yu as your TA, switch to someone else. He will take off points whenever he feels like it and won't explain it. I've heard a lot of TAs are a pain, so just do your best.

I got a 99 in this class and here's how:

I downloaded all of the lecture powerpoints to my iPad and took notes on top of them during lecture. This saved me a lot of time and enabled me to focus on writing down the points and examples she said. This is important because these verbal examples are often on the exams. After class, I would add the notes to my quizlet for that unit. To prepare for exams, I would study my quizlet (starting a week before the exam) and do practice exams. Reading the textbook isn't necessary to succeed in this course (I barely read it) as the exams are supposed to reflect lecture, but there are helpful practice exams on each chapter. The practice exams Dr. Manson makes are generally easier than the exams, and the poll questions during lecture are a better representation of exam difficulty. Memorizing every single slide will honestly give you a lot more confidence in your exam answers, but it isn't necessary. Practice everything she provides including poll questions, lab questions, homework, Dynamic Study Modules, and practice exams as exam questions can very closely resemble previous work. Make sure to get 100s on homework and labs to give yourself as much cushion as you can for the exams. Her exams are short (~35 questions) and easily doable in 2 hours, but missing a couple questions can really tank your test grade. However, Dr. Manson always gives us points back after looking over the graded exams. Exam difficulty is not harder than the AP Bio exam. The exams get easier and more straightforward as the semester proceeds, so don't be worried if you do poorly on the first few (I think the plants one was the hardest).

I dedicated a lot of time and effort into this class and it was worth it. Dr. Manson is extremely sweet and approachable. Don't be scared to ask her questions during class, on Piazza, and in office hours. Good luck! :)

I learned SO much in this course! Professor Manson really knows her stuff and she has a very organized lecture/course teaching style. She has office hours, which are very helpful -- very few students go so it's basically a time to ask her questions one-on-one. Definitely memorize everything from the powerpoints and come up with "fake exam questions" for yourself based off the learning objectives. The tests are NOT easy. She tries to trip you up, so read EVERY question carefully and take your time to answer the questions. Tests --> 70%, Labs --> 20%, Homework --> 10%. Definitely do all the homework and get 100s on them, it's pretty easy and a good way to push you to the next grade at the end of the semester.

This course was exactly what you would expect of an intro biology course. The lectures were fairly boring, and we spent a lot of time on the evolution of plants, which was annoying. In my opinion, it only got interesting when we started to talk about human systems such as the digestive and nervous systems. The exams were pretty difficult, and the questions were framed in a way that made them more difficult to understand. Professor Manson had to repeatedly change the questions after the exams to accept multiple answers, which shows how confusing they were. I would only take this course if it is required for you.
#tCFspring2021

I did not take BIOL2100, and even though BIOL2100 and BIOL2200 are not connected as in the introductory chemistry courses, I would say this was my most difficult course. Her exams are known for having tricky and vague wording - they are multiple choice, she writes them herself, and there are usually adjustments made to questions after the exam because there were problems with the question. It seems the lectures are more helpful than the textbook, so memorize the lecture power points for exams rather than worry about the nitty gritty details in the textbook - those are usually beyond the scope of the class. As for the lab, our labs were online so it may not be the same, but those were way easier than the lecture component of the class. They honestly felt like busy work you would do with a substitute teacher. Ask your TA for help on trickier questions and they will basically give the answer to you. #tCFspring2021

This class was a good introduction to evolutionary biology at UVA and I ended up with an A in the class. I took AP bio in high school so the first unit was a lot of review, but the second unit was new to me and I had to actually read the textbook. The class moved a bit fast sometimes, but using the textbook to get a better understanding of the material, attending office hours, and looking at questions on Piazza all were essential to my success in the class. Dr. Manson isn't the best lecturer but is very approachable if you ask her specific questions during office hours. For online classes, she also uploaded the lecture slides to Collab and I used them to study for the tests. She also did in class poll questions which were kind of helpful. For both the lecture and the lab, there are a ton of office hours available so be sure to go to them. There were five tests and we get to drop the lowest grade so if you do well enough on the first four you won't have to take the final. Manson often reworked the test questions after the exam and awarded points to questions she thought were confusing of a lot of people missed.

I know that there are a lot of reviews trashing Professor Manson, but even if you go to her RMP page from when she was teaching at Alberta (I was just curious leave me alone), you can see that she improved a lot while she was there, and I think the same thing is happening right now. She honestly takes a lot of the feedback she gets from students into account (e.g., the very large number of people who said "please stop giving us examples about plants and actually learn about the human body" or "be significantly less unclear when you're explaining stuff") and she seems to have gotten a lot better. You can tell that she cares about the feedback that she gets because to take the plant example, she always says "I know this isn't the most charismatic of organisms..." and seems to be really conscious of the examples we get, and not a lot of them have been plants! I think her advice for exams is also really helpful: DRAW PHYLOGENETIC TREES AND DIAGRAMS. They were super helpful for me when it came to memorizing the stuff that needed to be memorized. I will not lie, I sat through half of the lectures with literally no idea what was going on (I always watched them like right before the mastering bio hw was due at 2x speed so maybe that was it) because I never read the textbook or even thought about bio outside of lecture, but when it came time to take the exams, I averaged about a 92 on the exams I studied for because I was able to get the phylogenetic trees and diagrams down. When you draw the phylogenetic trees, write down the traits and when you draw the diagrams, draw every single diagram in the lecture slides. Seriously. There are a LOT of different "lenses" through which you can view the kidney, and you need to know all of them. She's also like the sweetest person ever in office hours, and even though I didn't learn that much, it was still fun to procrastinate for like an hour every week to just talk to her.