Sorry for the late post! Here's the modules I took for Y1S2. Those modules with an asterisk * are the core modules Econs majors need to clear. Actually, you can find the core mods to take online, just Google. Fyi, I have notes for EC2101, EC2102 and EC2104. If you're interested, PM me on carousell. (My username: memorylane)
EC2101: Microeconomics 1*
Lecturer: Zhang Yang
Components: Class participation (present at least once) and attendance, midterms, 2 problem sets, finals.
Webcast: Available
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Textbook: Can be found online in pdf. Never used it at all.
Comments: This mod wasn't very intuitive for me, not sure why but I found it quite hard initially. The content delivered in lectures by Prof Zhang seems simple and easy to understand, but she's really good in setting questions that are anything but easy. So be careful, the concepts aren't hard to grasp but the questions can be tricky. Prof Zhang is very helpful and approachable, so do not be scared to find her and ask questions! You'll have to do 2 problem sets, around 10-15%? People tend to get close to full marks for this, so if you're unsure, do find a friend to discuss. Quite a bit of math is involved in this course. Nothing much to say cos this is a core mod which Econs majors have to take anyway. If you're not an Econs major, er... just be aware of the competition.
EC2102: Macroeconomics 2*
Lecturer: Serene Tan
Components: Class participation & attendance (20%), midterms (30%), finals (50%)
Webcast: Not available
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Textbook: Online pdf available. Quite useful to understand certain concepts.
Comments: Dr Serene is very good in delivering the material, she only teaches in Semester 2 so I would highly recommend you to do this mod in sem 2. She's very clear in delivering the concepts which can be quite difficult for some. Many drawing of graphs, minimal use of math (only differentiation?) and since there's no webcast, if you missed out what she said during lecture, then it's really your loss. Do be proactive and clarify any doubts. Don't let it snowball. This module is quite interrelated among chapters, so it'll be great if you can see the big picture! Again, it's a core mod so no choice gotta take it!
EC2104: Quantitative Methods for Economic Analysis
Lecturer: Chua Yeow Hwee
Components: Class participation & attendance, midterms, finals
Webcast: Available
Difficulty Level: 2/5
Textbook: Not useful. To me, lecture notes are sufficient.
Comments: Definitely has the most "math" among the other level 2000 econs mods. Wouldn't be too tough if you like math (I think?) although new concepts are taught like partial differentiation and Gaussian elimination for matrices. Quite interesting and fun for someone who likes math aka me :) Take note that this module can be replaced by other math mods, like MA1102R and some others. Check IVLE. I would recommend you to take this though, cos it gives a glimpse of how math is connected to econs and there's no competition from math majors, so you can learn it at your own pace. Mine was the first batch Mr Chua taught, although it started off shaky, it got quite good afterwards and he's really helpful and approachable! Technically it's a core mod, but as mentioned, it can be replaced by other modules, so I'm not putting an asterisk for this one.
LAJ2201: Japanese 2
Lecturer: Morita Sensei
Components: CA (70%) and finals (30%)
Webcast: Available, but there's lecture tests which you have to hand in after each lecture so if you don't turn up, then it'll be your loss.
Textbook: Minna No Nihongo 1-2 (no need to buy the Kanji textbook and workbook cos you'll reuse these from Jap 1)
Comments: One of the modules which I had the most fun in and I absolutely enjoyed it! Honestly, if you're a prospective freshie/freshie reading this, I really encourage you to take a language mod in NUS. Despite it being very vigorous, the fact that it is so, forces you to learn the language even better. Tutorials don't feel like classes at all, because it's practising and conversing with your classmates. Everyone is very helpful and I just love the environment so much :') Then again, there's the downside to taking this module. There's vocabulary quizzes every week, and there might also be lecture and listening quizzes too. A lot of preparation at home, you need to study the textbook before going to class otherwise you'll be really lost. Jap 2 is quite a huge jump from Jap 1, in terms of the grammar structures, but vocabulary wise it isn't a lot more. There's a skit component which is the best project I've done thus far lol. Basically you and 2 other tutorial mates are grouped together to perform a skit entirely in Japanese! You write it yourself, and perform it in front of your class. Sounds daunting? Honestly, you would have memorised it by then and I guess everyone just had fun! Do consider continuing on to Jap 2 if you've taken Jap 1 because you really learn a lot more grammar structures which helps you to converse even more effectively. Fyi, I didn't continue to Jap 3 because I felt that the jump from Jap 2 to 3 would be significant and I was worried about not being able to cope with higher level econs mods with Jap 3.
GEK1018: Economic Issues in the Developing World
Lecturer: Connie Chung
Components: 2 group essays (one of them has a graded presentation too), class attendance, finals
Webcast: Not available
Textbook: NIL (no readings either)
Comments: Most say they save the best for the last, but on the contrary, this mod is (to me) the worst module I've ever taken so far in NUS. The good parts: no readings, no textbooks, no midterms (since I had 4 mid terms this sem, this was a saving grace) The bad parts: where do I start? *do note that whatever I say here is my own opinion* It's not what the module name is about at all. I thought I would be learning about interesting case studies of developing countries, understanding how and why these issues arise. Instead, you learn about economics and growth, corruption, population - basically very vague concepts. Hardly any analysis at all, everything was just skimmed through. She includes a lot of her own experiences in her lectures that aren't relevant, in my opinion. Fyi, only a handful attends her lectures, perhaps 10+ students while almost the entire LT12 was filled on the first lecture. Tutorials are super slack though, basically groups present their essays and you just listen. No need for any Q&A or input, although she does ask questions sometimes. Essay questions required research, and it'll be good to write it properly to score. This module has a lot of exchange students taking it, so do be aware that you might not get very helpful groupmates. (happened to me, but no choice, suck thumb lo) I guess this happens at some point in your NUS life, so you just need to learn how to work around it and make the best out of it. Don't remember what I studied for finals. I don't even remember what I learnt from this module, yet got the best grade for this mod in this sem. What irony. Maybe it's because there's many exchange students in this mod, but I won't bank on this if I were you. I did put in effort in my essays okayyyy. (pretty much a lot of work, since this was the only mod I had assignments for) My rant is basically me not learning anything from it, especially no analysis in her arguments, if there were any.
Okay, that's the end for Y1S2 review! Stay tuned to Y2S1's. (just finished finals and IT FEELS SO GOOD)
Tuesday 1 December 2015
Monday 13 July 2015
2014/2015 Sem 2 Module Review
PS2244 Public Administration in Singapore
Professor Shamsul Haque
Assessment: 20% Class Participation, 30% Term Paper, 50% Finals
Professor Haque conducts lectures in a very methodological way that makes the content easy to understand and absorb. Definitely a recommended module for those who have no interest in the PA subfield under PS but is just looking for a module to clear the requirement. The lectures are not webcasted but Prof Haque uploads his ppt slides before every lecture. The ppt slides are also clear and well organised, so even if you miss a lecture, there shouldn't be much problem catching up. However, attending lectures are definitely recommended as Prof does share some extra information and elaborates on the slides so it would be good to jot them down! Even if you have close to zero background knowledge in PA, Prof Haque gives a good overview of every topic before zooming in to the Singapore context so it won't be a problem.
As with other PS modules, there are 4 tutorial sessions throughout the semester and the tutorial questions are the essay questions so it is possible to start on your essay early. We had to answer a total of 3(can't really rmb) out of a possible 6/7 questions in 2hours for the final exam. A quick tip is to study the entire module together and link the various topics during revision! Exam questions were straightforward which might contribute to a steeper bellcurve. Studying is absolutely essential if you wish to do well - one cannot just 'wing it' for a PA exam - alot of information but manageable as long as you are consistent!
Overall I enjoyed this module. Prof Haque is a really humble and nice guy, but his accent makes it a bit hard to understand him at times. Sit at the front of lecture hall and the problem is solved! Could be a bit boring for some though!
PS2249 Government and Politics of Singapore
Professor Hussin Mutalib
Assessment: 20% Class Participation, 30% Term Paper, 50% Finals
I didn't really enjoy this module, to be honest. Prof Mutalib definitely has a comprehensive knowledge of the who's and whatnots of Singapore politics - but unfortunately every lecture was more of a trivia dumping session rather than a close examination of critical perspectives. The only saving grace(s) of this module were the rather engaging recommended reading list and the tutorial sessions. There were only 4 tutorial sessions throughout the semester, but I ended up learning much more from my classmates/tutor as compared to lecture sessions. Granted, my tutor was quite a bitch (unknown 3 would know), but I have to give it to him for asking us questions that prompted us to learn more. BUT STILL he could have turned down the 'sassy' a bit; a sentiment I share with my classmates.
There were some guiding questions that we could use for the Term paper, but my tutor was flexible and allowed us to work on the topic of our choice. Final exam was one compulsory essay question and one optional (chosen from 2 available). As it is with the nature of my major, essays are always subjective and dependent on your marker. That being said, it is still possible to score decently as long as you have done your fair share of readings and are able to apply wider generic concepts to Singapore's context.
LAJ2201 Japanese 2
Ms Kazuko Morita
Assessment: 70% Continual Assessment, 30% Final Exam
Much much more tiring than Jap 1 for sure, but also much more enjoyable! As luck would have it, I was very fortunately assigned to Morita sensei for ALL of my tutorials, and as she was my lecturer as well, I saw her 4 times every week - basically everyday that I had school. Morita sensei is a very effective teacher and is well-versed in the pedagogy of the Japanese language. In fact, all senseis that I have come across in the jap department are all very sweet and effective teachers. The other teacher for this module, Nagami sensei was also a very sweet and humble guy that really helped my group alot in revising our script for the skit presentation.
The tough part of this module is definitely the workload, as it is with every japanese language module. There was a marked increase in the amount of work as compared to Jap 1; we had to do a presentation of our hobby, come up with a skit for a commercial and present it to the class, and had a total of 3 writing assignments where the last one was a 1-1.5 page essay about a member of our own family. The upside of all these is that it really helps you to learn the language well, so be consistent!
Final exam was much tougher than the midterms as well as Jap 1 papers, but that also means that the bellcurve would be more gentle! Soooo just do your best and it shouldn't be too difficult to score decently as long as you have done all the practices. I will definitely continue to pursue Japanese next semester :)
EL1101E Introduction to Linguistics
Professor Yosuke Sato
Assessment: 10% Class participation, 10% Tutorial Presentation, 20% Group Project, 30% Midterms, 30% Finals
Overall an enjoyable module, and I was able to apply the concepts I learnt here to help me better appreciate Japanese - it helped that Prof Yosuke is a Japanese and hence used the Japanese language as an example several times to put across his point. Yosuke is really passionate about linguistics and also really funny, but I didn't feel that he was an exceptionally effective lecturer as there were some concepts that he was not able to explain clearly. However, I definitely have to give him props for maintaining his zest throughout the entire semester.
Some people might have the misconception that this mod is about essay writing and all that due to it being offered by the department of english, but that couldn't be further away from the truth. In fact, linguistics is definitely more of a science than an arts, in my opinion, and that's the beauty of it! You can find many non-arts students taking this module to clear their breadth requirements. Alot of data analysis is involved, so that might be an advantage for science students who are used to such assessment methods. The continual assessment was not too difficult, but it would definitely help if you had a good group so that the workload evens out. Thankfully, my groupmates were all very kind and helpful even though 2 of them were year 4s.
Overall an interesting module. Midterms and finals were both MCQ papers, but then again Yosuke won't be teaching this module anymore (if I heard correctly), so the assessment methods might change the following semester 2.
Professor Shamsul Haque
Assessment: 20% Class Participation, 30% Term Paper, 50% Finals
Professor Haque conducts lectures in a very methodological way that makes the content easy to understand and absorb. Definitely a recommended module for those who have no interest in the PA subfield under PS but is just looking for a module to clear the requirement. The lectures are not webcasted but Prof Haque uploads his ppt slides before every lecture. The ppt slides are also clear and well organised, so even if you miss a lecture, there shouldn't be much problem catching up. However, attending lectures are definitely recommended as Prof does share some extra information and elaborates on the slides so it would be good to jot them down! Even if you have close to zero background knowledge in PA, Prof Haque gives a good overview of every topic before zooming in to the Singapore context so it won't be a problem.
As with other PS modules, there are 4 tutorial sessions throughout the semester and the tutorial questions are the essay questions so it is possible to start on your essay early. We had to answer a total of 3(can't really rmb) out of a possible 6/7 questions in 2hours for the final exam. A quick tip is to study the entire module together and link the various topics during revision! Exam questions were straightforward which might contribute to a steeper bellcurve. Studying is absolutely essential if you wish to do well - one cannot just 'wing it' for a PA exam - alot of information but manageable as long as you are consistent!
Overall I enjoyed this module. Prof Haque is a really humble and nice guy, but his accent makes it a bit hard to understand him at times. Sit at the front of lecture hall and the problem is solved! Could be a bit boring for some though!
PS2249 Government and Politics of Singapore
Professor Hussin Mutalib
Assessment: 20% Class Participation, 30% Term Paper, 50% Finals
I didn't really enjoy this module, to be honest. Prof Mutalib definitely has a comprehensive knowledge of the who's and whatnots of Singapore politics - but unfortunately every lecture was more of a trivia dumping session rather than a close examination of critical perspectives. The only saving grace(s) of this module were the rather engaging recommended reading list and the tutorial sessions. There were only 4 tutorial sessions throughout the semester, but I ended up learning much more from my classmates/tutor as compared to lecture sessions. Granted, my tutor was quite a bitch (unknown 3 would know), but I have to give it to him for asking us questions that prompted us to learn more. BUT STILL he could have turned down the 'sassy' a bit; a sentiment I share with my classmates.
There were some guiding questions that we could use for the Term paper, but my tutor was flexible and allowed us to work on the topic of our choice. Final exam was one compulsory essay question and one optional (chosen from 2 available). As it is with the nature of my major, essays are always subjective and dependent on your marker. That being said, it is still possible to score decently as long as you have done your fair share of readings and are able to apply wider generic concepts to Singapore's context.
LAJ2201 Japanese 2
Ms Kazuko Morita
Assessment: 70% Continual Assessment, 30% Final Exam
Much much more tiring than Jap 1 for sure, but also much more enjoyable! As luck would have it, I was very fortunately assigned to Morita sensei for ALL of my tutorials, and as she was my lecturer as well, I saw her 4 times every week - basically everyday that I had school. Morita sensei is a very effective teacher and is well-versed in the pedagogy of the Japanese language. In fact, all senseis that I have come across in the jap department are all very sweet and effective teachers. The other teacher for this module, Nagami sensei was also a very sweet and humble guy that really helped my group alot in revising our script for the skit presentation.
The tough part of this module is definitely the workload, as it is with every japanese language module. There was a marked increase in the amount of work as compared to Jap 1; we had to do a presentation of our hobby, come up with a skit for a commercial and present it to the class, and had a total of 3 writing assignments where the last one was a 1-1.5 page essay about a member of our own family. The upside of all these is that it really helps you to learn the language well, so be consistent!
Final exam was much tougher than the midterms as well as Jap 1 papers, but that also means that the bellcurve would be more gentle! Soooo just do your best and it shouldn't be too difficult to score decently as long as you have done all the practices. I will definitely continue to pursue Japanese next semester :)
EL1101E Introduction to Linguistics
Professor Yosuke Sato
Assessment: 10% Class participation, 10% Tutorial Presentation, 20% Group Project, 30% Midterms, 30% Finals
Overall an enjoyable module, and I was able to apply the concepts I learnt here to help me better appreciate Japanese - it helped that Prof Yosuke is a Japanese and hence used the Japanese language as an example several times to put across his point. Yosuke is really passionate about linguistics and also really funny, but I didn't feel that he was an exceptionally effective lecturer as there were some concepts that he was not able to explain clearly. However, I definitely have to give him props for maintaining his zest throughout the entire semester.
Some people might have the misconception that this mod is about essay writing and all that due to it being offered by the department of english, but that couldn't be further away from the truth. In fact, linguistics is definitely more of a science than an arts, in my opinion, and that's the beauty of it! You can find many non-arts students taking this module to clear their breadth requirements. Alot of data analysis is involved, so that might be an advantage for science students who are used to such assessment methods. The continual assessment was not too difficult, but it would definitely help if you had a good group so that the workload evens out. Thankfully, my groupmates were all very kind and helpful even though 2 of them were year 4s.
Overall an interesting module. Midterms and finals were both MCQ papers, but then again Yosuke won't be teaching this module anymore (if I heard correctly), so the assessment methods might change the following semester 2.
Saturday 11 July 2015
AY14/15 Semester 1 Module Review (Unknown 3)
Module reviews for the following:
LAJ1201
PS1101E
SC1101E
SC2205
JS1101E
LAJ1201
Lecturers: Morita sensei! (Tutorial teachers vary across quite a few)
I studied Japanese for about a month before entering NUS, but since it was self-study, I started with the first module for the language (it has 6 modules/ levels). Most of the things we learnt in class, I already knew, though I was caught up in the nuances of which I did not really study for until finals. What came up as a result was a below average midterms, which I think pulled me down a lot because of the bellcurve. I think language module intros have lots of people, so a few marks here and there will affect your final grade greatly. The stress wasn't that huge however, because I could have easily s/u-ed it. I guess the stress level largely depends on how much you give a shit to this module relative to your other modules that semester? The workload was okay for me because I had background knowledge, but the actual writing and doing took up quite some time, especially since there was homework like 3 times a week. Being the extremely conscientious student I am, obviously I started doing the work while on the bus to school for the lesson(s) (which is a realllllly bad habit I have even till now, highly not recommended). But yeah, you get the point - lots of routine language work, you've probably been through enough grammar exercises in primary school to understand this right?
For the lecturers, it was slow for me, but generally for true beginners it's at a learning pace - that is, it's not too comfortable till you can just forget about your notes, but it's not that hard that you can't keep up in class (of course, assuming you follow through every class.... so....) Each tutorial builds up on the previous one, so it is strongly recommended that you attend each of them for best results! The teachers are really cute and you can tell they enjoy teaching the lessons themselves. They always ensure to call out the entire class so that no one gets to hide from them if they aren't working hard. Of course they don't flame you like in secondary school, and that's the best part - you make mistakes in class, you get corrected, and it has a larger impact on your long-term memory. So it's all good!
BUT if you don't have strong interest, this module is not recommended.
tl;dr
pros: consistency, reinforcement, actual learning, interactive, almost guaranteed to hit the standard set for the module, really passionate and enthusiastic teachers
cons: relatively heavy workload, steep bellcurve
PS1101E
Lecturer: Prof Yoshi
The professor was great, really sarcastic with reference to the infamous people examples in his slides (understandably so), so most students who take this mod usually do come for the lectures. Also, the lectures are jam-packed with information (I didn't even finish 1/4 of my readings I think) and the last lecture was just hints. Basically a list of things you need to memorise and study for, what you get for your finals is basically how much of the list you decided to cover. The professor also summarises most of the readings to help you digest them properly, which I think was helpful because it reinforces concepts and clears misunderstandings. His lecture notes are also quite organised so finding information is easy + you have all your points together in the same powerpoints. He uploads his slides after lectures though, that's one thing to note maybe?
No midterms but a paper which was due towards the end of the module. You get a list of questions to choose from. I did not do well for this because of the lack of research and flimsy arguments all around (I always did my papers last minute, and I swear this sentence will not appear again, but only from Yr 2 Sem 1 onwards because I did the same for Yr 1 Sem 2 fml?) If you spend sufficient time on it however, given the large number of people who take this mod (as it is an intro mod), you should be able to score quite okay. My tutor was really nice, and tried his best to facilitate classroom discussions, but there was always never enough time to finish everything. Oh yeah, the tutorials are like 2 hours every 2 weeks.
Content wise it was really interesting, like you gain a consciousness and an awareness of the reality you live in, especially given the nature of it. It will be a very enriching module for you which will see you start to consider matters from a political point of view, then realise that many things you had thought to be apolitical actually aren't so. I really enjoyed the module!
Highly recommended~ Unless of course you aren't into essay-writing. But even then, you can just S/U it.
tl;dr
pros: humorous lecturer, interesting as hell content, manageable workload!
cons: bellcurve, plus essay-heavy
SC1101E
Lecturers: Tan Ern Ser and Kevin Low
I took this with a friend (Unknown B) so it was fun; it's good to have a partner next to you to discuss what you learn in lectures, you get more examples and have deeper impressions of your lectures. Especially so for this module because it's really super interesting and everyone knows what the lecture's about because it is about us, about society, so yup! Tutorials were also quite fun, even though sometimes the discussion topics become really focused and narrow and you are actually forced to think in a very linear and concise way, something I grapple with because I like working with broad ideas. Also because so many things overlap with one another it's quite hard to draw the boundaries as to what should be written as topic A and what as topic B, it really just depends on how you write. Had one do at home essay, had one midterm essay, both were relatively easy to deal with if you follow lectures and tutorials~ You will get the hang of it by the time finals arrive so~
Not gonna do a tldr for this because I didn't write a lot for this.
SC2205
Lecturers: A/P Paulin Straughan and Dr Rose Liang
Tutor: Mindy
I took this with my senior and even though it was interesting, it was pretty technical, which I guess is pretty typical of 2000 level mods. Not sure why I decided to take this in my first semester but I did. I did shit for my first assignment and okay for my research one, but I expected those grades so. Lots of readings, some were quite interesting so it's okay; was very useful for me because I used some of those readings for my assignment in SC1101E hehe. It got boring towards the end because I was honestly only interested in one part out of many parts of the module so I guess I did regret taking it in the end. But oh well! At least had a glimpse of 2000 level work load so there were some rewards. The lecturers were really nice and knowledgeable (A/P Paulin Straughan was very sweet like think kind grandma level but that's why it could get pretty boring; Dr Liang came across as a very straightforward person, but she also seems to always talk as if she's in a debate, very passionate). I guess it can get really boring to do a 2000 level mod that's not your major so I would not recommend it to non-Sociology majors. If you do take sociology though, I think it would be a good choice.
Oh! For tutorials, we got this really pretty and cute TA who just came from the States and is a PhD student I think? She was really earnest and patient with us; she knew the direction in which she wanted the discussions to advance towards so I feel the tutorials were quite manageable and useful. Also, it was very fun to gain intimate insights on your classmates' familial life, given the nature of the course, I mean you can hardly get it anywhere else right? Seeing as you do not know any of them. Quite interesting.
tl;dr
pros: good if you are gonna major in sociology, good lecturers and tutor
cons: do not take it if you're not gonna, can get quite technical
JS1101E
Lecturers: Dr McMorran and Dr Amos
I had 2 lecturers and both were really cute and passionate about their work. Dr McMorran was more concise (well his content allowed him this) because I think he went through the more sociological side of Japanese studies. Dr Amos went through the more historical side so given that I do not like memorising stuff his slides were kinda off for me. Attending lectures and tutorials really do help though like for someone who doesn't really read notes and rely a lot on auditory recollection. Tutorials were really fast like 50 minutes? and you still have discussion aka super a lot of time taken up. Really fun, really useful when it comes to reiterating important stuff (and sometimes mundane facts) so attend it! About 2/3 forum components in which you write like. maybe 300~400 words of response to a topic that you choose yourself? Scored pretty decently for these with just a few hours of work so pretty chill imo! The project really sucked though.......... the project members matter A WHOLE damn lot. So...... pray hope. Be careful with the topic you choose because it will really determine the flow and pace of the project. My topic sucked because it was a very intangible topic. And nobody accepted my suggestion to change the topic so oooooh well. Almost failed it at like 17 or 16 out 30 and got like a B in the end, I think I s/u-ed it so... swore to never do anymore projects if I can help it because of this. Finals was mcq, studied about 2 hours before it, it was okay, memorise the positions of each of Japan's islands and just everything in general even the films shown. They will not screen a movie for you for leisure let's be real. Oh! Another tip is Japan is super similar to Singapore so they basically face the same developed country issues. Just remember that.
tl;dr
pros: really interesting content, really fun lecturers and some tutors, take it!
cons: history and mcq finals so bellcurve probably really steep
ALL THE BEST everyone!
LAJ1201
PS1101E
SC1101E
SC2205
JS1101E
LAJ1201
Lecturers: Morita sensei! (Tutorial teachers vary across quite a few)
I studied Japanese for about a month before entering NUS, but since it was self-study, I started with the first module for the language (it has 6 modules/ levels). Most of the things we learnt in class, I already knew, though I was caught up in the nuances of which I did not really study for until finals. What came up as a result was a below average midterms, which I think pulled me down a lot because of the bellcurve. I think language module intros have lots of people, so a few marks here and there will affect your final grade greatly. The stress wasn't that huge however, because I could have easily s/u-ed it. I guess the stress level largely depends on how much you give a shit to this module relative to your other modules that semester? The workload was okay for me because I had background knowledge, but the actual writing and doing took up quite some time, especially since there was homework like 3 times a week. Being the extremely conscientious student I am, obviously I started doing the work while on the bus to school for the lesson(s) (which is a realllllly bad habit I have even till now, highly not recommended). But yeah, you get the point - lots of routine language work, you've probably been through enough grammar exercises in primary school to understand this right?
For the lecturers, it was slow for me, but generally for true beginners it's at a learning pace - that is, it's not too comfortable till you can just forget about your notes, but it's not that hard that you can't keep up in class (of course, assuming you follow through every class.... so....) Each tutorial builds up on the previous one, so it is strongly recommended that you attend each of them for best results! The teachers are really cute and you can tell they enjoy teaching the lessons themselves. They always ensure to call out the entire class so that no one gets to hide from them if they aren't working hard. Of course they don't flame you like in secondary school, and that's the best part - you make mistakes in class, you get corrected, and it has a larger impact on your long-term memory. So it's all good!
BUT if you don't have strong interest, this module is not recommended.
tl;dr
pros: consistency, reinforcement, actual learning, interactive, almost guaranteed to hit the standard set for the module, really passionate and enthusiastic teachers
cons: relatively heavy workload, steep bellcurve
PS1101E
Lecturer: Prof Yoshi
The professor was great, really sarcastic with reference to the infamous people examples in his slides (understandably so), so most students who take this mod usually do come for the lectures. Also, the lectures are jam-packed with information (I didn't even finish 1/4 of my readings I think) and the last lecture was just hints. Basically a list of things you need to memorise and study for, what you get for your finals is basically how much of the list you decided to cover. The professor also summarises most of the readings to help you digest them properly, which I think was helpful because it reinforces concepts and clears misunderstandings. His lecture notes are also quite organised so finding information is easy + you have all your points together in the same powerpoints. He uploads his slides after lectures though, that's one thing to note maybe?
No midterms but a paper which was due towards the end of the module. You get a list of questions to choose from. I did not do well for this because of the lack of research and flimsy arguments all around (I always did my papers last minute, and I swear this sentence will not appear again, but only from Yr 2 Sem 1 onwards because I did the same for Yr 1 Sem 2 fml?) If you spend sufficient time on it however, given the large number of people who take this mod (as it is an intro mod), you should be able to score quite okay. My tutor was really nice, and tried his best to facilitate classroom discussions, but there was always never enough time to finish everything. Oh yeah, the tutorials are like 2 hours every 2 weeks.
Content wise it was really interesting, like you gain a consciousness and an awareness of the reality you live in, especially given the nature of it. It will be a very enriching module for you which will see you start to consider matters from a political point of view, then realise that many things you had thought to be apolitical actually aren't so. I really enjoyed the module!
Highly recommended~ Unless of course you aren't into essay-writing. But even then, you can just S/U it.
tl;dr
pros: humorous lecturer, interesting as hell content, manageable workload!
cons: bellcurve, plus essay-heavy
SC1101E
Lecturers: Tan Ern Ser and Kevin Low
I took this with a friend (Unknown B) so it was fun; it's good to have a partner next to you to discuss what you learn in lectures, you get more examples and have deeper impressions of your lectures. Especially so for this module because it's really super interesting and everyone knows what the lecture's about because it is about us, about society, so yup! Tutorials were also quite fun, even though sometimes the discussion topics become really focused and narrow and you are actually forced to think in a very linear and concise way, something I grapple with because I like working with broad ideas. Also because so many things overlap with one another it's quite hard to draw the boundaries as to what should be written as topic A and what as topic B, it really just depends on how you write. Had one do at home essay, had one midterm essay, both were relatively easy to deal with if you follow lectures and tutorials~ You will get the hang of it by the time finals arrive so~
Not gonna do a tldr for this because I didn't write a lot for this.
SC2205
Lecturers: A/P Paulin Straughan and Dr Rose Liang
Tutor: Mindy
I took this with my senior and even though it was interesting, it was pretty technical, which I guess is pretty typical of 2000 level mods. Not sure why I decided to take this in my first semester but I did. I did shit for my first assignment and okay for my research one, but I expected those grades so. Lots of readings, some were quite interesting so it's okay; was very useful for me because I used some of those readings for my assignment in SC1101E hehe. It got boring towards the end because I was honestly only interested in one part out of many parts of the module so I guess I did regret taking it in the end. But oh well! At least had a glimpse of 2000 level work load so there were some rewards. The lecturers were really nice and knowledgeable (A/P Paulin Straughan was very sweet like think kind grandma level but that's why it could get pretty boring; Dr Liang came across as a very straightforward person, but she also seems to always talk as if she's in a debate, very passionate). I guess it can get really boring to do a 2000 level mod that's not your major so I would not recommend it to non-Sociology majors. If you do take sociology though, I think it would be a good choice.
Oh! For tutorials, we got this really pretty and cute TA who just came from the States and is a PhD student I think? She was really earnest and patient with us; she knew the direction in which she wanted the discussions to advance towards so I feel the tutorials were quite manageable and useful. Also, it was very fun to gain intimate insights on your classmates' familial life, given the nature of the course, I mean you can hardly get it anywhere else right? Seeing as you do not know any of them. Quite interesting.
tl;dr
pros: good if you are gonna major in sociology, good lecturers and tutor
cons: do not take it if you're not gonna, can get quite technical
JS1101E
Lecturers: Dr McMorran and Dr Amos
I had 2 lecturers and both were really cute and passionate about their work. Dr McMorran was more concise (well his content allowed him this) because I think he went through the more sociological side of Japanese studies. Dr Amos went through the more historical side so given that I do not like memorising stuff his slides were kinda off for me. Attending lectures and tutorials really do help though like for someone who doesn't really read notes and rely a lot on auditory recollection. Tutorials were really fast like 50 minutes? and you still have discussion aka super a lot of time taken up. Really fun, really useful when it comes to reiterating important stuff (and sometimes mundane facts) so attend it! About 2/3 forum components in which you write like. maybe 300~400 words of response to a topic that you choose yourself? Scored pretty decently for these with just a few hours of work so pretty chill imo! The project really sucked though.......... the project members matter A WHOLE damn lot. So...... pray hope. Be careful with the topic you choose because it will really determine the flow and pace of the project. My topic sucked because it was a very intangible topic. And nobody accepted my suggestion to change the topic so oooooh well. Almost failed it at like 17 or 16 out 30 and got like a B in the end, I think I s/u-ed it so... swore to never do anymore projects if I can help it because of this. Finals was mcq, studied about 2 hours before it, it was okay, memorise the positions of each of Japan's islands and just everything in general even the films shown. They will not screen a movie for you for leisure let's be real. Oh! Another tip is Japan is super similar to Singapore so they basically face the same developed country issues. Just remember that.
tl;dr
pros: really interesting content, really fun lecturers and some tutors, take it!
cons: history and mcq finals so bellcurve probably really steep
ALL THE BEST everyone!
Sunday 10 May 2015
AY14/15 Semester 1 Module Review (Unknown 2)
Hey everyone!
Textbook: Principles of Economics (Mankiw, Quah, Wilson) (still available!)
So, we started this blog because we really received much advice from other module reviews and I hope putting my two cents worth to the modules I've taken would give you readers a brief idea of what to expect when you bid for the mods.
EC1101E: Introduction to Economic Analysis
Lecturers:
Ong Ee Cheng (1st half until Mid Terms)
Chan Kok Hoe (next half)
Module Components:
10% Attendance
10% Tutorial Participation
30% Mid Terms
50% Finals
(note: honestly, I've forgotten the exact percentages assigned to each component, but usually for Econs modules, these are the standard components. No essays nor research papers to write, basically the main difference from other Arts majors)
Webcast: I think have, though I've never watched a single one because I attended all the lectures. Mugger much, I know lol.
Difficulty Level: 2/5 Okay, honestly on hindsight, it really isn't that difficult. (though the competition is extremely stiff, don't say I didn't warn ya)
Textbook: Principles of Economics (Mankiw, Quah, Wilson) (still available!)
Comments: First half is all on micro topics (demand and supply, market failure, market structure etc) Basically they squeezed a year's work in JC into 6 weeks, so be prepared to revise and know your stuff because EVERYONE knows it already. (or most people, there are some who have never taken Econs before in JC but take note, these are the minority and I know of one person who dropped the mod halfway through) So for those without any Economics background and are thinking of clearing this mod as a Breadth or what, I don't recommend you to do so. Instead you can check out EC1301, this mod is for the non-Arts majors so you might not be as disadvantaged. Dr Cheng loves to give you examples to practice on, she'll give you time to do so and she'll walk around to check. Not sure why, but she likes to get response from the ground before she moves on otherwise the lecture will end late. So... idk, be responsive? Lol. Second half of the mod is on macro. My memory of it is quite fuzzy, but what I can remember is that JC knowledge isn't THAT applicable here because you learn new topics like money with all the weird bank reserve ratio etc. Totally struggled with that topic, but the rest were quite manageable. AD-AS diagram is slightly different, it'll be the last chapter so do take note. Of course, you need to know that Economics in university is extremely different from JC. The key difference? Heavy application and usage of Mathematics to explain Economics. So if you're someone who hates calculus, numbers or just simply dislike Math, do think twice if you want to major in Econs. For those who have already decided, this is a core mod which you have to pass in order to declare your major. Oh, and a word of advice, after you finished your semester, remember to do the Module Preference Exercise (MPE) if you're dead-sure you wanna major in Econs. Econs mods are heavily subscribed, so this MPE can save your life. Nah just kidding, it'll save (a hell lot of) your bid points.
SC1101E: Making Sense of Society
Lecturers:
Tan Ern Ser
Kevin Low
Well, they kinda mix the weeks they lecture, so there's no specific first half and second half which they lecture respectively.
Module Components:
15% Short Assignment (500 words)
25% Mid Terms
10% Class Participation
50% Finals
Webcast: Yes
Difficulty Level: 4/5
Textbook: Brym and Lie (sold mine already)
Comments: Okay, disclaimer first, I myself don't understand soci thus I found it difficult. The irony? Didn't hesitate to not SU this mod (which means I did quite well ^_^) Not sure what happened, but maybe my finals saved me even though I still couldn't understand soci up to that point. I took this mod because I wanted to clear my faculty requirements social science basket. Quite a huge mistake honestly, I didn't like it at all. There are many theories and schools of thought, like Symbolic Interaction or Marxist etc (okay, I really don't remember the rest) You'll learn topics like Gender and Sexuality, Family, Deviance, to name a few. Some are rather interesting, especially the case studies. But you need to understand the entire mod as a whole, that society is basically a social construct and nothing is natural. The lecturers are nice, although Dr Kevin is much more interesting. Maybe it's the topics he lecture, idk. Since there's webcast, and the notes are mostly quite self explanatory, many don't come for lectures, I only skipped 1. Lol. But of course, it's good to attend because the lecturers do value add to the notes. (duh) For those intending to major in soci, sorry you need to find someone else for advice. For those who want to take this to clear your faculty requirement, you need to ponder over whether you're good at writing essays and being able to fluff your way through. Otherwise, you can just take this in the first semester and SU it man. No harm done and you clear your basket. Just take note, there's quite a bit of readings (2 per week?) which are really quite hard to digest because they are too boring for me :( I only read till Week 5, lol. But I honestly don't think they're really that helpful, in my opinion.
JS1101E: Introduction to Japanese Studies
Lecturers: Chris McMorran and Dr Amos
They lecture for various weeks on different aspects of Japan, but take note, some semesters might have different lecturers.
Module Components:
10% Class Participation
10% Individual Assignment
40% Group Assignment
40% Final Exam
Okay, percentages might be wrong because I really don't remember them already. Individual assignment is a 500 word essay, and includes two short responses to others' essays (which are all uploaded on IVLE Forum). Group assignment is 1000 words per member, you can choose any topic regarding Japan, ranging from food to history to gender inequality etc. Deadline is the last week, so technically, you have 11-12 weeks to do this but don't rush it towards the end, they are quite strict on the marking I think.
Webcast: No
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Textbook: NIL
Comments: This module isn't about anime or manga, no such thing mentioned here. It delves into Japan's history and geography (yes you need to memorise Japan's geography on the map for finals) It's an interesting module which gives you insight towards Japan's various aspects. They would upload quite a number of Japanese movies or short films onto IVLE that are worth a watch if you find yourself too slack in the first semester haha. Many chose to take Southeast Asia studies to clear their faculty basket, but you can consider taking Japanese Studies too. It's not THAT daunting because the finals are very different from the other Asian baskets. 50 MCQs woohoo! But of course, you'll have to deal with the group assignment (which includes dealing with your group members for more than 10 weeks.) To me, that's the only trade-off, apart from the final exam not being easy at all. Questions do come out from the readings, and there are 5 options each. You'll find yourself stuck at choosing among 2-3 options, so good luck with that. Many left after the first hour mark, I didn't lol. But then agian, no amount of brain power's gonna help, it ain't Economics sadly :( The lecturers are very passionate in their areas of expertise, though I admit I tend to doze off here and there during lectures oops. No knowledge of Japanese is required. Overall, this module can be both relaxing and taxing, because tutorials are usually just discussions (don't need much preparation for mine) and exams are MCQ, but the content is very heavy and there are readings to be done. Some readings were really interesting, especially the ones on World War II. If you're planning to major in Japanese Studies, if I'm not wrong, they do give priority to JS majors who intend to go to Japan for exchange.
LAJ1201: Japanese 1
Lecturers: Kazuko Morita and Osamu Amazaki
Module Components:
70% Continuous Assessment (includes vocabulary quizzes, listening quizzes, homework, class participation, Mid Terms)
30% Finals
Webcast: Yes
Difficulty Level: 4//5
Gave a 4 because the grade wasn't reflective of the effort I put in, which perhaps gives you a glimpse of how steep the bell curve is, although they have placement tests for those with prior knowledge of Japanese. Do take note of that, they're quite strict about it.
Textbook: Minna No Ninhongo (Japanese for Everybody??)
They'll ask you to buy, no worries. It's around $80 I think, the CD is optional though I got it for both Jap 1 and 2 because I think it's useful in introducing the topics to you before lecture, and also helps with the intonation.
Comments: Very heavy module, you need to be extremely consistent in your work. There's preparation to do from the textbook, every lesson, every week, no running away from that. Your sensei will test your understanding in class, but if you did your work at home, there's no need to worry about it. There'll be homework as well, but they are manageable and can be done quite quickly if you know your stuff. For those who are entirely new to Japanese, I would suggest for you to learn the Japanese characters before the semester begins, aka Hiragana and Katakana. It will help tremendously. One lecturer will follow you throughout the sem, and there's 2 lecturers because there's 2 different timeslots. Mine was Morita Sensei, she likes to pass the mike around the class and ask questions, so be prepared. Not sure how Amazaki Sensei lectures though. Oh, and if you did not already know, there are 3 tutorials every week, so you need to commit 7 hours per week (including lecture), excluding the time spent on preparation work. That's the catch. But it's worth it for me, because I really learnt a lot and made new friends from Japanese classes. Also, tutorials are really fun, you don't feel like you're attending class at all! But of course, make life easy for yourself and the sensei by doing your work in advance. The things you learn in Jap 1 is considerably way easier than Jap 2, since they are the basics. Will give my two cents on Jap 2 for my next review. (fyi, I'm most likely not gonna follow up to Jap 3, it's too time-consuming.)
GL1101E: Global Issues
Lecturer: Dr Kim
Module Components:
10% Class Participation
20% Group Work
30% Term Paper (individual)
40% Finals
Webcast: No
Difficulty Level: 2/5
Of course, that's my opinion and do take it with a pinch (or bucket) of salt. I love the topics Dr Kim lectures, hence this fuels my interest in this module. I also enjoy writing essays on these global issues, thus this might not be a good indication for those who hate writing papers.
Textbook: NIL
Comments: Plenty of readings. That's one of the two main drawbacks of this module. You need to be able to summarise readings (which can be 40-50 pages long each) and sometimes you have 3-4 readings per week so you can do the math yourself. For finals, I summarised them and I'm open to selling my notes (just comment if you're interested) Another drawback of this module is the group project. I hate the way it's being graded, where group members have different grades based on the amount of work they put in. I know some are worried about those who slack off, but a mini rant here: I had to delete a lot of my parts just to stick to the word limit as I edited the final draft and my group had more members than others, with the same word limit. So again, do the math. Scored the worst in my group for the project, and achieved the best grade for my individual term paper. My overall grade came as a surprise, but it also shows that even if you didn't do well in your group project (I got a B- btw), you can still own the individual term paper and finals. It feels damnnnn good. Maybe this doesn't apply to all the modules in NUS, you need to see the distribution of the module components to get a clearer picture. Regarding lecture content, you'll learn about Embedded Liberalism, Transnational Corporations, global problems like child labour and GMF, interesting insights into food politics and copyright/patent laws which doesn't really enhance innovation. (whaaat?) In my opinion, this is the module to take if you want to clear the Humanities/Social Sciences basket (yes it can clear either) and you are interested in global affairs. Dr Kim gives really interesting views and I thoroughly enjoyed her lectures. Of course, majoring in Global Studies is another issue altogether. I chose not to do it despite loving the intro mod because 1) you need to take a language all the way to level 4 and 2) it's a relatively new major so I'm afraid it won't be recognised or what. But if you wish to take it as an intro mod, by all means, go ahead. Fyi, group project was to research into one TNC and the issues revolving around it. Learnt so much from this project, yet my grade sucked. Oh wells, life works in amazing ways.
That's all, shall upload the next review for this semester once my results are out. *cross fingers*
Lecturers: Chris McMorran and Dr Amos
They lecture for various weeks on different aspects of Japan, but take note, some semesters might have different lecturers.
Module Components:
10% Class Participation
10% Individual Assignment
40% Group Assignment
40% Final Exam
Okay, percentages might be wrong because I really don't remember them already. Individual assignment is a 500 word essay, and includes two short responses to others' essays (which are all uploaded on IVLE Forum). Group assignment is 1000 words per member, you can choose any topic regarding Japan, ranging from food to history to gender inequality etc. Deadline is the last week, so technically, you have 11-12 weeks to do this but don't rush it towards the end, they are quite strict on the marking I think.
Webcast: No
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Textbook: NIL
Comments: This module isn't about anime or manga, no such thing mentioned here. It delves into Japan's history and geography (yes you need to memorise Japan's geography on the map for finals) It's an interesting module which gives you insight towards Japan's various aspects. They would upload quite a number of Japanese movies or short films onto IVLE that are worth a watch if you find yourself too slack in the first semester haha. Many chose to take Southeast Asia studies to clear their faculty basket, but you can consider taking Japanese Studies too. It's not THAT daunting because the finals are very different from the other Asian baskets. 50 MCQs woohoo! But of course, you'll have to deal with the group assignment (which includes dealing with your group members for more than 10 weeks.) To me, that's the only trade-off, apart from the final exam not being easy at all. Questions do come out from the readings, and there are 5 options each. You'll find yourself stuck at choosing among 2-3 options, so good luck with that. Many left after the first hour mark, I didn't lol. But then agian, no amount of brain power's gonna help, it ain't Economics sadly :( The lecturers are very passionate in their areas of expertise, though I admit I tend to doze off here and there during lectures oops. No knowledge of Japanese is required. Overall, this module can be both relaxing and taxing, because tutorials are usually just discussions (don't need much preparation for mine) and exams are MCQ, but the content is very heavy and there are readings to be done. Some readings were really interesting, especially the ones on World War II. If you're planning to major in Japanese Studies, if I'm not wrong, they do give priority to JS majors who intend to go to Japan for exchange.
LAJ1201: Japanese 1
Lecturers: Kazuko Morita and Osamu Amazaki
Module Components:
70% Continuous Assessment (includes vocabulary quizzes, listening quizzes, homework, class participation, Mid Terms)
30% Finals
Webcast: Yes
Difficulty Level: 4//5
Gave a 4 because the grade wasn't reflective of the effort I put in, which perhaps gives you a glimpse of how steep the bell curve is, although they have placement tests for those with prior knowledge of Japanese. Do take note of that, they're quite strict about it.
Textbook: Minna No Ninhongo (Japanese for Everybody??)
They'll ask you to buy, no worries. It's around $80 I think, the CD is optional though I got it for both Jap 1 and 2 because I think it's useful in introducing the topics to you before lecture, and also helps with the intonation.
Comments: Very heavy module, you need to be extremely consistent in your work. There's preparation to do from the textbook, every lesson, every week, no running away from that. Your sensei will test your understanding in class, but if you did your work at home, there's no need to worry about it. There'll be homework as well, but they are manageable and can be done quite quickly if you know your stuff. For those who are entirely new to Japanese, I would suggest for you to learn the Japanese characters before the semester begins, aka Hiragana and Katakana. It will help tremendously. One lecturer will follow you throughout the sem, and there's 2 lecturers because there's 2 different timeslots. Mine was Morita Sensei, she likes to pass the mike around the class and ask questions, so be prepared. Not sure how Amazaki Sensei lectures though. Oh, and if you did not already know, there are 3 tutorials every week, so you need to commit 7 hours per week (including lecture), excluding the time spent on preparation work. That's the catch. But it's worth it for me, because I really learnt a lot and made new friends from Japanese classes. Also, tutorials are really fun, you don't feel like you're attending class at all! But of course, make life easy for yourself and the sensei by doing your work in advance. The things you learn in Jap 1 is considerably way easier than Jap 2, since they are the basics. Will give my two cents on Jap 2 for my next review. (fyi, I'm most likely not gonna follow up to Jap 3, it's too time-consuming.)
GL1101E: Global Issues
Lecturer: Dr Kim
Module Components:
10% Class Participation
20% Group Work
30% Term Paper (individual)
40% Finals
Webcast: No
Difficulty Level: 2/5
Of course, that's my opinion and do take it with a pinch (or bucket) of salt. I love the topics Dr Kim lectures, hence this fuels my interest in this module. I also enjoy writing essays on these global issues, thus this might not be a good indication for those who hate writing papers.
Textbook: NIL
Comments: Plenty of readings. That's one of the two main drawbacks of this module. You need to be able to summarise readings (which can be 40-50 pages long each) and sometimes you have 3-4 readings per week so you can do the math yourself. For finals, I summarised them and I'm open to selling my notes (just comment if you're interested) Another drawback of this module is the group project. I hate the way it's being graded, where group members have different grades based on the amount of work they put in. I know some are worried about those who slack off, but a mini rant here: I had to delete a lot of my parts just to stick to the word limit as I edited the final draft and my group had more members than others, with the same word limit. So again, do the math. Scored the worst in my group for the project, and achieved the best grade for my individual term paper. My overall grade came as a surprise, but it also shows that even if you didn't do well in your group project (I got a B- btw), you can still own the individual term paper and finals. It feels damnnnn good. Maybe this doesn't apply to all the modules in NUS, you need to see the distribution of the module components to get a clearer picture. Regarding lecture content, you'll learn about Embedded Liberalism, Transnational Corporations, global problems like child labour and GMF, interesting insights into food politics and copyright/patent laws which doesn't really enhance innovation. (whaaat?) In my opinion, this is the module to take if you want to clear the Humanities/Social Sciences basket (yes it can clear either) and you are interested in global affairs. Dr Kim gives really interesting views and I thoroughly enjoyed her lectures. Of course, majoring in Global Studies is another issue altogether. I chose not to do it despite loving the intro mod because 1) you need to take a language all the way to level 4 and 2) it's a relatively new major so I'm afraid it won't be recognised or what. But if you wish to take it as an intro mod, by all means, go ahead. Fyi, group project was to research into one TNC and the issues revolving around it. Learnt so much from this project, yet my grade sucked. Oh wells, life works in amazing ways.
That's all, shall upload the next review for this semester once my results are out. *cross fingers*
Friday 8 May 2015
2014/2015 Sem 1 Module Review (Unknown1)
NM1101E
At least once weekly, there would be vocabulary quizzes which are scored out of 10, and all of them contribute towards the mysterious CA component. No one knows the actual breakdown of the CA part so it's a must to perform consistently if you wish to score a good grade for this module. Tutorial A and B is mostly about going through new grammar patterns and vocabulary, while Tutorial C is where we get to role play a dialogue that we had to memorise before class. Jap classes are always super fun and it's where you can make friends (hehe I made friends with Unknown 2 and 3). Jap classmates are also the only classmates I still wave to outside of tutorial classes even long after the module has ended haha.
Professor Lonce
Assessment:
10% - Individual Assignment (Interview skills)
10% - Group Assignment (Design)
10% - Group Assignment (Campaign)
10% - Class participation
20% - Midterms (MCQ)
40% - Finals (MCQ)
Omygosh, how I hated this module. The dreadful lectures, the lazy professor that spends the first ~10min of each lecture reading newspapers to us.. Urgh. However, if you are someone who puts in a moderate amount of effort and wants to find an 'easy' mod to score in, NM1101E is the mod for you. In addition to lecture slides prepared by the prof, we also had to do compulsory readings which are available in ebook format (purchasable at COOP). Prof Lonce doesnt really go through the readings in detail during lectures, but it is important to read them as quite a fair bit of content is tested for midterms and finals.
The 3 assignments were rather heavy, in my opinion. The amount of work required for each assignment was definitely disproportionate to its weightage in the final grade. However, they aren't difficult. The theme for my module was 'Citizen Science' so our first two assignments were structured around that theme, while the last assignment was on designing a campaign strategy for wildlife conservation in Singapore (or something along that line). ANYWAY, just hope that you get responsible group members cos sadly, the groups are pre-assigned by the tutors.
Content wise, the lectures were relatively easy to digest and the readings can seem quite 'common-sensical' at times, but it is important to read them to memorise the technical terms. Although i didn't really enjoy the module, I did learn something.. I guess. Haha. Also, this turned out to be my highest-scoring module (A+). Just needa mug!
PS1101E
Professor Yoshi
Assessment:
20% - Class participation
40% - Term paper
40% - Finals
A compulsory module for me as I am a PS major. No complaints regarding Prof Yoshi's teaching style, so far I don't know of anyone who didn't like his lectures. His powerpoint slides are informative, but as he doesn't upload them onto IVLE until after the lecture, I usually take notes during lecture. However, he mostly reads off the slides and does not mention any extra information so I guess it's possible to skip lectures and just read the slides. However, Prof Yoshi is pretty funny so do go for lectures, they are enjoyable and easy to understand.
Like other PS mods, this module only has 4 tutorials (each lasting 2h) in total. As class participation is counted into the final grade, please don't skip tutorials! I can't say that I learnt much during tutorials - 8am class plus annoying classmates that liked to act smart by regurgitating the lecture slides-, but my tutor was pretty cool. I was pretty worried for my participation grade though because I hardly spoke in class, but my final grade turned out fine, phew.
Prof Yoshi released the list of questions (many, many questions to choose from) for the term paper 1 or 2 weeks after recess week (sorry I can't remember), and the essay was due ~Week 12/13. As it's an exposure module, not much research had to be done and in Prof's words, it's more of a 'think' paper than a research paper. The word count was 1500-2000.
Besides lecture slides, Prof Yoshi will also upload the compulsory readings for each week onto IVLE. Although he does a pretty good job summarising each reading during his lecture, I would advise you to do the readings to get a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. Although the readings might seem quite tough, you can read them after the lecture so that you already have some sort of basic understanding of the topic, which will allow you to grasp the readings more easily. Prof also gives hints for the final exam during his last lecture (reallllly good hints) so do go! Final exam comprises of 5 (i think) definition questions -just pure memory- and 1 essay.
JS1101E
Chris Mcmorran and Dr. Amos
Assesment:
10% - Class participation
10% - IVLE posting (1 original post and 2 replies to other posts)
30% - 5000 word group paper
50% - Finals (MCQ)
I absolutely loved this module. Super content heavy, but worth it, assuming you have an interest in Japan. There are two lecturers for this mod, Dr Amos lectures on Japanese history while Mcmorran (he's a geographer) does everything else. We also had two guest lecturers, one was Professor Fujiwara from University of Tokyo, while the other one was more of a talk by a Kabuki Onnagata. You don't have to know the japanese language to take this module!
This module does not cover Japanese anime, pop culture..etc, but mostly looks at Japan from historical, sociological, geographical, and anthropological points of view. Tutorial sessions each lasting 1h are conducted weekly. As 1h is really way too short, not much discussion was done. During your first tutorial, you will have to form groups for the group paper, so choose your seat wisely because you'll most likely end up forming a group with the people around you. Thankfully, my group members were rather nice and pulled their weight for the group paper which is disgustingly, 5000 words long (5 members, 5000 words, 4 members,4000 words etc). There's no fixed topic, so it's up to you and your group to decide as long as it is something related to Japan. The deadline is near the end of the semester (week12/13).
Besides the group project, we also had to do up an individual IVLE forum post (anything about Japan) ~750 words and also reply to 2 other forum posts. The amount of work needed to be done for the individual post is disproportionate to its weightage in the final grade, but it won't be that much of a problem if you enjoy reading and writing about Japan.
Lectures were always very informative and super enjoyable. Dr. Amos is such a nice guy and so is Mcmorran. One thing to note is that Dr Amos's slides are super duper informative (information overload) while Mcmorran's slides are just the opposite, so be prepared to take notes for Mcmorran's lectures cos he tends to value add to the slides. However, this also means that there's ALOT of content to mug for the final paper. So try not to do last minute revision because there is really alot of information to cover. The MCQ finals were not super tough but not easy either even for someone who studied, so if you wanna get a decent grade, do study. Many people say that JS1101E is the hardest module in the Asian Studies basket, I don't know how true is that but I would not recommend this module for people who hate memorising, hate group projects, or has no interest in Japan.
LAJ1201
Ms Kazuko Morita and Mr Osamu Amazaki
Assessment:
75% - Continual Assessment (lecture quiz, class quiz, midterms, oral, listening tests, class participation)
25% - Finals
Alot, alot, alot of work. Not for the lazy. I had to do so much preparation for this module ontop of the 7h of contact time weekly (2h lecture, 2h tutorial A, 2h tutorial B, 1h tutorial C) that my friends were joking that I was a Japanese language major. However, it was the most fun I had and classes were always so enjoyable with passionate and responsible tutors. My lecturer was Morita sensei who has been teaching this class for many years so she knows how to put across the content in an easy way to understand! However, one downside was that there were alot of cheaterbugs who already had background knowledge in the language and did not take the placement test (which is required for people with prior knowledge), so that could be kinda annoying since NUS works on a bellcurve and they have an advantage. BUT, if you study hard for it and practise consistently, I think a B+ is definitely attainable.
We learnt all sorts of grammar patterns, basic vocabulary and kanji during the lessons. Compulsory resources for this module include the Minna no nihongo textbooks and workbook, and the course packet, all of which can be purchased during the first lecture so bring enough money! Bring around 80bucks? Should be enough (cant rmb the exact price).
At least once weekly, there would be vocabulary quizzes which are scored out of 10, and all of them contribute towards the mysterious CA component. No one knows the actual breakdown of the CA part so it's a must to perform consistently if you wish to score a good grade for this module. Tutorial A and B is mostly about going through new grammar patterns and vocabulary, while Tutorial C is where we get to role play a dialogue that we had to memorise before class. Jap classes are always super fun and it's where you can make friends (hehe I made friends with Unknown 2 and 3). Jap classmates are also the only classmates I still wave to outside of tutorial classes even long after the module has ended haha.
Finals were quite easy, in my opinion. However, that also meant that the bellcurve would have been steeper. So double check your answers and don't make careless mistakes! All in all, the Japanese department in NUS is amazingggg and super dedicated. If you want to pick up a language and have an interest in Japanese, PLEASE TAKE THIS IT IS WORTH IT! :)
Thursday 7 May 2015
Introduction
Hello! We are NUS FASS students :) Having finished our freshman year, we decided to start this blog to jot down all our module reviews. As we benefitted a lot from reading reviews by other seniors, we hope that we can pay this forward!
Unknown 1 and 3 are political science majors while Unknown 2 is an Econs major. We got to know each other from taking Japanese mods together so in the blog you will get to read mostly PS, Econs, and LAJ mods!
Unknown 1 and 3 are political science majors while Unknown 2 is an Econs major. We got to know each other from taking Japanese mods together so in the blog you will get to read mostly PS, Econs, and LAJ mods!
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