At Harvard, what are good tips for doing well and enjoying myself when I take Government 40 -- International Conflict and Cooperation in the Modern World?

Despite mixed (mostly poor) reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed Gov 40 (taught by Dustin Tingley in the spring of 2013). The reasons people hated the class had more to do with the workload not meeting their expectations, as the previous professor, Peter Rosen, had a much lower workload when he taught it. My tips: Don't underestimate the class. The material isn't hard, but it's pretty time-consuming. That semester, I took 4 other classes plus Gov 40 tacked on, and managing my time was tougher than I expected. Take the class with friends. It so happened that 3 other people in my entryway took Gov 40 with me. You have no idea how crucial this was. We were able to split up readings, compare/share lecture notes, and prepare for the midterm and final together. That leads me to my next point, which is don't do all the readings alone! Don't be foolish -- collaborate. Instead of skimming all the readings and having zero depth of understanding, read one that interests you (I found the readings to be the best part of the class) very closely and split up the rest with trusted peers. Share notes on Google Drive. Prepare for debates and take section seriously. A lot of people didn't care to even research over the topic in section debates, leaving them scrambling to find any points to cover. This was really obvious to my TF, and I'm sure it brought down people's section participation grade. Come to section prepared and it will pay dividends. It's a Gov class, meaning a lot of your grade is subjective and based entirely on the TF's impression of you. Work that angle. Don't waste time on the research paper. I have very little doubt that by now, the professor will have overhauled or completely scrapped the group research paper because it had such negative reviews from students by the end of the semester. If it's still on the syllabus, I would recommend not stressing over it too much. The TF who graded it definitely didn't read my group's paper thoroughly (if at all), and we got a decent score, just like everyone else. Cite readings and authors on the midterm/final. Studying the readings is literally all you have to do in order to get A's on these tests.