I'm always looking for reviews about the modules that I want to take in the coming semesters, and more often than not, I was unable to find much useful information about them. So here I am, going to review modules that I have taken for the benefit of people like me. In case you were wondering what kind of person I am: Academically, I am not the most hardworking person. I think I might be one of the laziest persons on earth. Also, it always take a big fat F to wake me up and start being hardworking.
Currently, this is the second semester of my second year, majoring in Life Sciences (with Specialisation in Biomedical Science). The normal workload per semester would be 5 modules or 20 modular credits (MCs). Some people, particularly smart and hardworking people, tend to take more than the typical workload. But as you might already have guessed, I am not part of that social group.
Let's begin with AY11/12 Year 1 Sem 1
I scored an average B for this semester. One reason because I really didn't like Chemistry much (at all), and another reason because I still stuck to the 'study-last-minute' habit that most Singaporean students have.
CM1401 - CHEMISTRY FOR LIFE SCIENCES
This is a compulsory module for Life Sciences major. I don't really remember much about this one since I only started this review only now.. =.= And because I really hate Chemistry. I would advice people taking this to pay attention (even if you feel like falling asleep) and try to practise as much as possible. Try finding past year papers in the Science library or the library portal to practise.
The tutorials really depend on which TA you get. I had a really good TA in my semester. This TA was freakishly good and humorous in his teaching that as the semester closed to an end, the other TAs were complaining that their classes were becoming smaller whilst my TA's class was becoming more crowded. Hahaha! At least remember to complete the tutorial questions for practice if you want to skip the past year papers (if you are a lazy person like me).
I made the mistake of not practicing the concepts and applying what we learnt on practice questions, causing me to score the worst on this module for the semester. Try to do well in the CAs to bring up your chances of putting yourself on a good spot in the bell curve, because the finals are quite difficult, in my opinion.
GEK2022 - SAMURAI, GEISHA, YAKUZA AS SELF OR OTHER
Ahhh... This module was a mistake. I honestly did not realise that I had chosen a Level2000 module until I was almost 2 weeks in the lectures, feeling drowsy in all the content. There were LOADS of readings to do, a group presentation, and as all Arts modules require, participation in tutorial classes.
The group presentation was all right for me as I had 2 great teammates to help me out. They were exchange students from USA, hence, the great ability to present, unlike Singaporeans with no experience other than Project Work in JC like me.. I had another lousy member, a China guy. He always brought his girlfriend to group meetings and rehearsals! I was highly irritated with him..
Please try to speak up during tutorials, even if you're shy or afraid that you will say something stupid. The fact that you spoke up brings up your participation marks, and put you in good books with the TA. The content is actually pretty interesting. It's like a summary of the entire Japan history, but focusing more on the samurai and geisha parts.
The readings do help a lot, so READ THEM! Try to read them little by little, following the weeks of discussion topics, so you don't have to cram them into your head last minute. Make sure to print them, read them, and put post-its to indicate important events or ideas related to the topics of discussion of the week. It will help you loads during the open-book examination. Trust me.
I have to say, though, that this module allowed me to really appreciate my family more than ever. The night before the final paper for this module, my parents and I sat around the living room working through the night highlighting all the important ideas in 20 plus readings that I didn't go through during the semester. Guilty guilty. xP
LAK1201 - KOREAN 1
Korean 1 is most definitely my favourite module even up till now. It's a very slack module that you can get at least a B+ with extremely little effort. To get an A, however, requires a little bit more effort and consistency throughout the semester, as it has an extremely steep bell-curve due to its lack of difficulty. Since all Korean modules are assessed strictly by continual assessment, make sure to put your best in all the quizzes and homework given. It's really easy to score, highly possible to score full marks if no careless mistakes are made. Just remember to check and double check before handing up your paper.
Oh right! The last paper that tests on everything that has been taught is more like a race against time (and body ache). The questions are actually fairly easy to answer, but the passages, although short, take awhile to understand since there'd been only a few months to practice. Reading can take up a lot of your time, leaving little left to answer the questions. Be extremely careful if you want to get an A.
LSM1103 - BIODIVERSITY
For people who really don't care about the environment around us, like me, this is a really irritating module. It's not necessarily boring, but it's just irritating. I really hate bugs, so the field trips and pictures really 'bugged' me to the max.
The CA allows you to bring in one piece of A4 paper as your cheat sheet to refer to. It's mostly identifying which category the samples given are in, and the taxonomy and things like that. Even if you have your cheat sheet with you, it is still best to remember as much as you can as you don't really have that much time to refer.
There are a few lab reports to submit, I think 2. The lecturers and TAs are very strict on plagiarism, so remember to cite your sources, avoid wikipedia and websites as sources, and write in your own words. Instead of para-phrasing, try para-sentencing or para-paragraphing (do these words even exist? haha).
The final examination is open-book MCQs. Do bring your textbook in with you. I made the mistake of not bringing it because I thought it was too heavy for me. Turns out there are simple questions like who invented what and when questions that can be answered with the flip of the book pages. But you wouldn't be able to answer them because nobody really takes notice who invented what and when.. right? *nervous laugh* The textbook really helps to answer many of the questions that you don't really notice during lectures or when you study, because they're just too insignificant. JUST BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK IN!
LSM1104 - GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY
For this module, I honestly don't remember anything at all. It's just too.. much like A level Biology. Just do what you did for A levels or better and you can definitely score for this.
Well, I'm going to stop here for now. Going on to Year 1 Sem 2 in the next post. Hope this helps at least 1 person. xD
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