Currently, I have completed 3 semesters in NUS. Since being an FASS student allows me to plan my module and timetable, I learn more about what I want and do not want for my timetable in the future semesters.
1. Free Day
I dislike travel to school. Even though travelling to school only takes around 1 hour, but I dislike transferring from train to train and then train to bus. Having a free day not only allow me to have more time at home to rest/study, I don't have to travel to school every weekday. I usually like to have free day on Monday or Friday so that I have a longer weekend and it is really helpful in producing more free time for myself. Even if you can't have a free day on Monday or Friday, having a free day in between school days is good too. You can choose to rest at home or study in school and to catch up on work.
2. Early Classes
I realised that travelling in the morning (e.g. 8am classes), I have to take slightly more than 1 hour to travel sometimes due to human jams and traffic jams at the station and roads respectively. Furthermore, it is really pack and uncomfortable. I will avoid 8am classes as much as I can unless it is lectures and I have no choice. I dislike morning classes as well because waking up before the sun rise is quite difficult for me. However, some people might prefer to start school early and so that they have a longer day to study after school. 10am classes are more comfortable for me because I can sleep more and avoid the jams.
3. Long Breaks
I am not a person who will study in school all the time. Sometimes, I can't really concentrate in school as well. Hence, I dislike long breaks in between lessons. I will try to put my lessons back-to-back with tutorials in between my lectures if possible. I can start school later or end earlier whenever I don't feel like studying in school or to meet my friends.
4. Exams Schedule
This semester I felt that I have more time to prepare for my exams which make me feel more secure. I found out that exam schedule is important as well. I will avoid having more than 1 papers in a day. Exams on consecutive days are alright for me if I have enough time to study before the papers, otherwise I will also avoid choosing modules with exams on consecutive days. Cramming all the exams within few days may be good because we end the exams early, but I will rather have more time to prepare for my exam since I have a long break after exams anyway. Nevertheless, do not choose modules with exams day towards the very end too, unless you are prepare for it. What I mean is that when you see others finishing their exams early, don't lose focus and get too envious, but still prepare for exams as per normal. But if one is prepared that they are going to be the last among their friends to finish the exams, it will be fine I supposed.
Saturday, 6 December 2014
AY2014/2015 Semester 1 EC1101E, LAK3201, GEK1520, PL3234, PL3235
The modules I took: EC1101E, LAK3201, GEK1520, PL3234, PL3235
EC1101E (Introduction to Economics)
Lecturer: Ong Ee Cheng, Chan Kok Hoe
Tutor: Chmel Oon
Assessment
Pre-lecture IVLE Quiz (graded on effort): 12%
Tutorial (attendance and participation): 10%
Midterm Exam: 26%
Final Exam: 52%
3 hours lecture and 1 hour tutorial every week. There were quite a lot of questions to prepare the tutorials (MCQs + Short-answer questions) and it is better to do to understand the concepts better. We have to present our answers to earn points for the tutorial participations. My tutor is really good, she put herself in our perspective and understand our difficulties and gave us tips accordingly. She helped me a lot in understanding the concepts better during lessons. If you have taken economics in JC, the micro part will not be that difficult to understand in this module. Dr Ong was very clear in her lectures, I understand much better as compared to during JC. We had to do quiz before/after the lectures first half of the semesters. Midterm exam was tested on micro, so it was ok. After the recess week, Dr Chan took over and went through macro. I honestly do not like macro, it is so confusing... We did on money, banking and financing, a little here and there. Doing the tutorial practices definitely helps. This module is really competitive with a large cohort (600+ students). The mean for the midterm was 40+/60.
LAK3201 (Korean 3)
Lecturer: Chi Seo Won
Tutor: Lee Misun
Assessment
Class participation: 10%
Project (15%)
- Skit on Week 5 and Week 10
Tests (Midterm and Final): 40%
Oral test on Week 6 and Week 11: 20%
Assignment on Week 4 and Week 8: 15%
2 hours lecture twice a week, 2 hours tutorial every week. One interesting activity was kimbab making session during the second half of the semester. The session of quite short though, 25 mins or less, but kimbab is easy to make. We had class quiz (5 fill in the blanks questions) every tutorial but it is not counted into CA. I had quite a hard time coping with level 3 because there were so many vocabs (my lecturer also added her own vocabs for our own knowledge) and I did not spend a lot of time on studying korean. There were slightly more to study as compared to level 2. But much more were tested. There were actually 3 skits, but the lecturers decided to cut down to 2 after we did the first one. We have to write the script from scratch and record our skit instead of performing in front of the class. It is definitely less stressful without presenting the skit out but when you want perfection for both you and your skit partner, many tries have to be done. Sometimes, it is good to just aim for near perfection but not entirely perfect. Oral tests were hell for me. 2 questions each test. It may seemed easy, but no. We only have 2 minutes to say our answer and then the tutor will cut us off. My tutor (also examiner) also had an alarm which rings after 2 mins, which was rather distractive. The second oral test was paired with another student from the class. 1 min to plan 2 mins to say for 2 person. I would advise that practicing speaking korean and using the grammar regularly will help in preparation for the oral test because the questions for 2nd oral test were not practiced in class before. Tests and assignments' formats were rather similar to Korean 1 and Korean 2.
GEK1520 (Understanding of the Universe)
Lecturer: Ng Shao Chin
Tutor: Ching Chee Leong
Assessment
Term tests on Week 7 and Week 13: 45%
Project: 30%
Tutorials: 10%
Participation in e-learning: 5%
Participation in star gazing session: 5%
Participation in discussion forum: 5%
2 hours lectures twice a week and 1 hour tutorial every biweekly. The module is really interesting and I love it. The lecturer usually ended 30 mins earlier. The contents went through during the tutorials were mathematical. The tests were mostly MCQs with few short answered questions. Since the module content is factual, memorising the handouts helped a lot. Calculation questions tested were also very similar to the tutorial questions. This module is really competitive. The mean score for the midterms was 27/34.
PL3234 (Developmental Psychology)
Lecturer: Qin Lili
Tutor: Lin Wenzheng
Assessment
Term paper: 20%
Midterm Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 50%
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. The lecturer has a baby voice, some may find it rather irritating. Nevertheless, the lecturer is very clear during the lecture and she explains a lot, hence I guess the reason why we have lesser readings. The readings were only around 10 pages each week. The lectures were easy to follow and understand as well. Tutorials have readings as well and many contents were gone through and tested. There were a mixture of MCQs and short answer questions for both tests.
PL3235 (Social Psychology)
Lecturer: Jia Lile
Tutor: Ranjith
Assessment
Group presentation: 15%
Midterm Exam: 40%
Final Exam: 45%
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. The lecturer is very engaging and very clear. I really enjoyed the module a lot, partly because of the content and also the way the lecturer held the lectures. There was also a guest speaker during the second half of the semester. The lecturer mostly tested us on application hence grasping the concept well is important. We did 1 chapter every week, hence 1 chapter of readings each week (around 30+ pages), which is quite a lot. Mostly are already covered during the lectures, but still there are some not covered during lectures, hence it is safer to read them and for better understanding.
Hopefully all these helps! I am super lazy to do module reviews but I think it is good if there are reviews. I always look for reviews too, but found out that many modules do not have reviews. Do post some reviews if you can too, that will help a lot of people :)
Hopefully all these helps! I am super lazy to do module reviews but I think it is good if there are reviews. I always look for reviews too, but found out that many modules do not have reviews. Do post some reviews if you can too, that will help a lot of people :)
AY2013/2014 Semester 2 CL1101E, LAK2201, PL2132, PL3232, PL3236
The modules I took: CL1101E, LAK2201, PL2132, PL3232, PL3236
CL1101E (Introduction to Chinese Language)
Lecturer: Xu Zheng
Assessment
Tutorials: 20%
Final Exam: 50%
Assignment: 30%
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. The lectures were held in Chinese by a Chinese lecturer. The accent did not affect me much, so I think it is ok just that he spoke quite fast sometimes and it is hard to catch if you hadn't take Chinese Language lesson for too long like me. But the lecturer or tutorial practices do have quite a number of very difficult Chinese words. Most of the students taking this module were also Chinese, so I felt quite disadvantaged because I definitely don't have a standard that can match theirs. Some of contents were really quite tough, I took quite a long time to do the tutorial practices to get it right. The final exam was tougher than I expected too. I would not recommend this module, unless one has a strong language base.
LAK2201 (Korean 2)
Lecturer: Park Mihi
Assessment
Class participation: 10%
Skit on Week 12: 15%
Tests (Midterm and Final): 50%
Oral test on Week 11: 10%
Assignment: 10%
Homework: 5%
2 hours lecture twice a week and 2 hours tutorial every week. Level 2 is slightly harder than level 1. The skit was done in pair and the script was half done, and we were supposed to complete the story and the script. Then, we have to perform in front of the class during tutorial. The oral was much easier than Level 1. There was only 2-3 questions, it was fast and rather manageable. The format for tests and assignments were quite similar to level 1 or level 3 as well. Taking language module requires many effort and time to remember the vocabs and get familiar with the grammar. Also, it is important to practice writing and speaking regularly. I feel that commitment and passion is a must to have to take language module.
PL2123 (Research and Statistical Methods 2)
Lecturer: Winston Goh
Assessment
Empirical project (25%)
- Project proposal (Week 6): 10%
- Group presentation (Week 11): 15%
- Project report (Week 12): 55%
- Evaluation of contribution: 20%
Midterm open-book exam: 35%
Final open-book exam: 40%
2 hours lecture and 2 hours lab session every week. The lecturer is very clear and passionate in giving lectures. I understand the lectures quite well. I had Dr Goh for lab sessions too, and he is really very clear and easy to follow. I think the contents are rather ok, as long as you get to understand the concept. Since it is open-book, getting to understand the concept is important so that application will not be too difficult. (I did not understand the content well during first half of the semester, I did quite badly for midterm.) Practicing the past years question will be useful.
PL3232 (Biological Psychology)
Lecturer: Derbyshire, Stuart
Assessment
Midterms Exam
Final Exam
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. This module really gave me a lot of headache. The lecturer was new in giving lectures in NUS so he was quite unfamiliar with the format of testing and he did not really have a very clear structure of what he is going through. I felt confused as he went through the lectures. Many contents were not from the textbooks and lectures were not in order with the chapters. I gave up committing to this module, hence having many difficulties coping with it. The contents for this module is really A LOT. So much to memorise so have to plan the modules well.
PL3236 (Abnormal Psychology)
Lecturer: Keng Shian Ling
Assessment
Research Report: 15%
Case study presentation: 20%
Attendance and participation: 5%
Midterm Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. The lecturer is very clear in her lectures, I felt really comfortable following during the lectures. I personally like the module too, so I enjoyed the lectures. It is also content heavy but Dr. Keng was very lenient in the format for tests. We had only MCQs for finals.
CL1101E (Introduction to Chinese Language)
Lecturer: Xu Zheng
Assessment
Tutorials: 20%
Final Exam: 50%
Assignment: 30%
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. The lectures were held in Chinese by a Chinese lecturer. The accent did not affect me much, so I think it is ok just that he spoke quite fast sometimes and it is hard to catch if you hadn't take Chinese Language lesson for too long like me. But the lecturer or tutorial practices do have quite a number of very difficult Chinese words. Most of the students taking this module were also Chinese, so I felt quite disadvantaged because I definitely don't have a standard that can match theirs. Some of contents were really quite tough, I took quite a long time to do the tutorial practices to get it right. The final exam was tougher than I expected too. I would not recommend this module, unless one has a strong language base.
LAK2201 (Korean 2)
Lecturer: Park Mihi
Assessment
Class participation: 10%
Skit on Week 12: 15%
Tests (Midterm and Final): 50%
Oral test on Week 11: 10%
Assignment: 10%
Homework: 5%
2 hours lecture twice a week and 2 hours tutorial every week. Level 2 is slightly harder than level 1. The skit was done in pair and the script was half done, and we were supposed to complete the story and the script. Then, we have to perform in front of the class during tutorial. The oral was much easier than Level 1. There was only 2-3 questions, it was fast and rather manageable. The format for tests and assignments were quite similar to level 1 or level 3 as well. Taking language module requires many effort and time to remember the vocabs and get familiar with the grammar. Also, it is important to practice writing and speaking regularly. I feel that commitment and passion is a must to have to take language module.
PL2123 (Research and Statistical Methods 2)
Lecturer: Winston Goh
Assessment
Empirical project (25%)
- Project proposal (Week 6): 10%
- Group presentation (Week 11): 15%
- Project report (Week 12): 55%
- Evaluation of contribution: 20%
Midterm open-book exam: 35%
Final open-book exam: 40%
2 hours lecture and 2 hours lab session every week. The lecturer is very clear and passionate in giving lectures. I understand the lectures quite well. I had Dr Goh for lab sessions too, and he is really very clear and easy to follow. I think the contents are rather ok, as long as you get to understand the concept. Since it is open-book, getting to understand the concept is important so that application will not be too difficult. (I did not understand the content well during first half of the semester, I did quite badly for midterm.) Practicing the past years question will be useful.
PL3232 (Biological Psychology)
Lecturer: Derbyshire, Stuart
Assessment
Midterms Exam
Final Exam
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. This module really gave me a lot of headache. The lecturer was new in giving lectures in NUS so he was quite unfamiliar with the format of testing and he did not really have a very clear structure of what he is going through. I felt confused as he went through the lectures. Many contents were not from the textbooks and lectures were not in order with the chapters. I gave up committing to this module, hence having many difficulties coping with it. The contents for this module is really A LOT. So much to memorise so have to plan the modules well.
PL3236 (Abnormal Psychology)
Lecturer: Keng Shian Ling
Assessment
Research Report: 15%
Case study presentation: 20%
Attendance and participation: 5%
Midterm Exam: 30%
Final Exam: 30%
2 hours lecture every week and 2 hours tutorial every biweekly. The lecturer is very clear in her lectures, I felt really comfortable following during the lectures. I personally like the module too, so I enjoyed the lectures. It is also content heavy but Dr. Keng was very lenient in the format for tests. We had only MCQs for finals.
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
AY2013/2014 Semester 1 TS1101E, SSA1201, PL1101E, PL2131, LAK1201
The modules I took: TS1101E, SSA1201, PL1101E, PL2131, LAK1201
TS1101E
Lecturer: Robin Loon
Tutor: Edward Choy (Lab), Edson Ng (Tutorial)
Assessment
Theory (50%)
- Attendance: 5%
- Performance Critique: 10% [LIFT (Love Is Flower The)
- Tutorial Participation: 10%
- Written Exam: 25%
Practical (50%)
- Attendance: 5%
- Participation: 20%
- Practical Exam: 25%
TS1101E
Lecturer: Robin Loon
Tutor: Edward Choy (Lab), Edson Ng (Tutorial)
Assessment
Theory (50%)
- Attendance: 5%
- Performance Critique: 10% [LIFT (Love Is Flower The)
- Tutorial Participation: 10%
- Written Exam: 25%
Practical (50%)
- Attendance: 5%
- Participation: 20%
- Practical Exam: 25%
Every week there was 1 hr Lecture, 1 hr Tutorial, 2 Hr Laboratory. During the lecture, Dr Loon will go through all the theory stuffs about the basic theatre. For tutorial, we will need to read a theatre book according to what is required to do the worksheet and answer a few questions, usually based on the topic went though during lecture. The first few lessons of lab did not required us to prepare anything, just went in and participate. But as we learnt more about theatre, we read plays and we were required to act some parts of the play out during the lab. There were 2 small parts for 2 plays and 1 less than 3 min read out presentation to be prepared for lab and they are graded. There are no mid terms, only need to watch 1 performance (LIFT) and do the performance critique. For final practical exam, we performed 20 min play (there were 3 plays for our group of 7 people to choose from). Final exam is to do 2 questions with a few parts in essays form.
The tutorials were rather easy to prepare. Not much reading from the book. The only tough thing is to prepare for practical exam, as we needed quite a lot of time to meet up and practice and to brainstorm ideas etc and the practical exam was during reading week.
I did very badly for my performance critique but I felt that my group did very well for our final practical performance. Our examiner was impressed :)
SSA1201
Lecturer: Noorman Abdullah
Co-Lecturer: Rose Liang
Tutor: Noorman Abdullah
Assessment
20min group presentation: 15%
Mid-term assessment: 15%
Tutorial-participation: 10%
Closed-book final examination: 60%
There is 1 lecture every week and 1 tutorial biweekly. There were readings every week. The readings
were not a lot and they are manageable. Apparently, the readings were much
lesser than those in sociology lectures. The topics were all about Singapore, e.g. the state, the system etc. The lectures were alternate between the two lecturers. Dr Noorman was really good and clear. His lectures were very interesting. But the other lecturer is rather boring. The topics for presentations were the topics covered in the lectures. The presentations will be during tutorials. There were 2 essays during finals. I am not good with essays and I didn’t like sociology. I don’t think I quite understand and prepared well for exams, hence I also expected myself to not do well.
I did not know that there were different departments that provide SS modules. (blur freshman) This module is under sociology. I truly regretted taking this module since I really dislike sociology.
Grade: C
PL1101E
Lecturer: John Elliott
Assessment
Term essay assignment: 30%
Midterm MCQ Test: 30%
Closed-book finals examination: 40%
1 lectures every week and 1 tutorial biweekly. I felt that everything that went through in the lectures
were all from the textbook and the lecturer mostly read from the slides and I
thought it was boring. I did not go for most of the lectures and also did not
watch the webcast (there were webcast). What was shocking was to know that
there were negative marking of 0.33 before the midterms. Furthermore, some of
the questions tested were just little details that many might not take note of.
Therefore, if you are those who only remember the main idea, you will be hurt
in that exam. The tutorials were not really related to psychology. There were 80MCQs for midterms and 100MCQs and 5 short essay
questions for finals.
Grade: B
PL2131
Lecturer: Mike
Chueng
Assessment
2 homework assignments: 20%
Closed-book MCQ Midterm test: 30%
Open-book final examination: 50%
1 lecture every week and 1 tutorial biweekly. Although some of the reviews about this module stated that
one of the difficulties of this module is the Hong Kong accent of the lecturer.
For me, it was only the first 2/3 lectures that were a little difficult but as
you get used to it, it got better. I felt that the lecturer is very clear in
his lectures and it is easy to understand. There were not a lot of
calculations, unlike mathematics. It is more of understanding of the formulas
and just apply them. The lab sessions were about the topics covered in lectures and how to use them on SPSS.
Grade: B+
LAK1201
Lecturer: Cho Jin Hee
Assessment
Performance Participation: 10%
Skit: 15%
Test Mini test: 10%
Quiz and Final: 35%
Oral test: 15%
Assignment Assignment and homework: 15%
2 lectures and 1 tutorial every week. The lecturer was very clear and the lessons were engaging and interesting. Every lectures, there will be some time allocated for us to practice speaking what was taught with the person beside us. It requires time and effort to learn language and it is not really that easy. There were many vocabs, so have to revise regularly. The midterms and finals paper are like our language paper, there will be writing and some mcqs. There was also listening for finals. For the assignment, we have to write a paragraph of story. There were a total of 3 lessons each week, hence our timetable will be more pack than those who did not take language modules. It is the interest and passion in learning Hangul that kept me going.
Grade: A-
OMG.. finally done with this module review. I took so long to type this and it is tedious! :/ Hopefully it helps! :)
1st post & Advice for Freshmen
Hello NUS students! I have always been wanted to post my modules review. The thoughts were always there but the actions were never there. FINALLY, I get started. Let me introduce myself a little... I am a lady, I enrolled in NUS's faculty of arts and social sciences in year 2013 (AY2013/2014 badge), I was age 19 then. Before I accepted NUS's offer I already wanted to take Psychology as my major. I feel that I am more towards a Science student rather than Arts student. Science subjects have always been interesting to me, and Arts subjects usually caused me to fall asleep. Therefore, to fulfil some of the fass requirements, means that I have to take Arts subjects which I dreaded to :( I would prefer not to review myself ;)
I have some advice for the freshmen!
1. Join camps before school start, especially the camps from your faculty, to make more friends and they could be your friends and buddy during lessons. If not, school's life could be very lonely.
2. Read up the requirements for your intended major.
Curriculum Structure and Graduation Requirements http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/nusbulletin/faculty-arts-social-sciences/curriculum-structure-and-graduation-requirements
On the left hand side, you can click on your specific faculty for more information.
3. Join the societies. E.g. If I major in Psychology, I join Psychology Society. Just by paying $5, you get to be updated on information that is relevant to your specialisation and also Welfare Packs when the finals are nearing!
4. Join CCAs. This will be the last opportunity for us to still enjoy the freedom that a student have and to get to learn as many stuffs as we can for almost free-or-charge. It is not all about academics! Go ahead and widen your social circle and learn new things. You may be amazed by what you can do.
5. Do a wrap up revision for each week so that you will not be rushing everything at the second half of the semester. Sometimes, the projects and assignments and reports and tests AND AND AND....... just bombard you only at the second half of the semester. You will feel suffocating even though the first half of the semester is rather relaxing. So, never leave everything till the last minute!
6. If you are from JC, and you once heard your seniors/teachers saying "University is much relaxing than JC life", don't be too gullible and too happy before you experience the real University life. It is not as easy as people say, so don't slack too much.
7. Have fun! & do look forward to the vacations! I love Summer break especially, because it is 3 months of total freedom.
I have some advice for the freshmen!
1. Join camps before school start, especially the camps from your faculty, to make more friends and they could be your friends and buddy during lessons. If not, school's life could be very lonely.
2. Read up the requirements for your intended major.
Curriculum Structure and Graduation Requirements http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/nusbulletin/faculty-arts-social-sciences/curriculum-structure-and-graduation-requirements
On the left hand side, you can click on your specific faculty for more information.
3. Join the societies. E.g. If I major in Psychology, I join Psychology Society. Just by paying $5, you get to be updated on information that is relevant to your specialisation and also Welfare Packs when the finals are nearing!
4. Join CCAs. This will be the last opportunity for us to still enjoy the freedom that a student have and to get to learn as many stuffs as we can for almost free-or-charge. It is not all about academics! Go ahead and widen your social circle and learn new things. You may be amazed by what you can do.
5. Do a wrap up revision for each week so that you will not be rushing everything at the second half of the semester. Sometimes, the projects and assignments and reports and tests AND AND AND....... just bombard you only at the second half of the semester. You will feel suffocating even though the first half of the semester is rather relaxing. So, never leave everything till the last minute!
6. If you are from JC, and you once heard your seniors/teachers saying "University is much relaxing than JC life", don't be too gullible and too happy before you experience the real University life. It is not as easy as people say, so don't slack too much.
7. Have fun! & do look forward to the vacations! I love Summer break especially, because it is 3 months of total freedom.
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