Module Review 3

Hey guys! So here's the reviews for the modules I took in AY12/13 Year 2 Sem 2.

LAK3203 - KOREAN FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Okay. So this is Korean for Academic Purposes. What it actually teaches you is how to listen to lectures and lessons in Korean. This module is basically for people going to study in Korea. If worse comes to worst, and you have to study your course in Korean, then this module will help you a lot.

I have to say, this module is killer. It has so much homework and so much preparation to do. Miss one lesson and it feels like you missed a whole month's worth of work. I am not kidding. Be prepared to spend a lot of time for it if you take this module.

On the bright side, this module is extremely informative and helpful for your Korean Language studies. My teacher said that many seniors have found the higher levels of Korean Language offered by NUS are much easier compared to this module. So I guess it's kinda like suffer for one semester and ease your way through the higher levels or skip this one and find the higher levels as challenging as they should be.

I just realised I haven't said much about this module! Anyways, the grading system for this module is similar to Korean 1-3. But the presentation part is not a skit anymore. It is more like a research project on the topic you choose with your partner. One great thing about the presentation is you get to hold cue cards during the presentation. For the skits in the lower levels, you are not allowed to look at any cue cards, you just have to memorise your part of the skit, which sucks big time because you have other exams to memorise for as well. Oh right, you have to debate in this module as well. It's a one against one debate and you get to prepare your points beforehand, but you won't know if you are against or for the topic until you enter the exam room. Bummer. So make sure you prepare as many points as you for both for and against in Korean and memorise them as much as you can. You are not allowed to hold any paper with Korean on it during the debate.

So that's it for this module. Let's go on to the next...

LSM2101 - METABOLISM AND REGULATION

Ah... This one killed me last semester. My grades dropped like crazy because I failed one module. It sucked. But I didn't fail this time, so it's all good. But I won't be going on to getting an honors degree because of this module in the end.. I just couldn't pull up my grades enough.

Anyway, this module is a lot of memory work. There are 2 CAs and 1 Finals. The CAs are kinda easy, all MCQs and you should be able to score high for them, if you memorised enough of the lecture notes. Lipids is an extremely important part. It's really hard to understand sometimes, but just memorise the whole thing. I neglected lipids because I thought it was difficult and probably not that many questions on it will come out, but I was WRONG. How stupid was I to not study lipids. Stupid!

The finals are 20MCQs and 40SAQs. They are manageable in my opinion. Much easier to answer compared to last semester's. I have to warn you that different lecturers are in charge of this module in different semesters. Make sure you get the Prof. Swarup, Prof. Ganesh and Prof. Yuan combination. They make things much easier to understand and their questions are easier to answer as well, compared to the other semester's lecturers, whom I have conveniently forgotten their names.

This is it for this one. On to the next~


LSM2103 - CELL BIOLOGY

Cell biology. Hmm... This module has 'research papers' written all over it. Especially for Prof. Thilo Hagen's parts. He makes us read thick research papers and write our own commentary on one of them. His exam questions are really easy though, if you read his research papers thoroughly and know where to look for the answers. The profs for this module are crazy. Last semester, there were only 4 IVLE quizzes for 5% of the grade. This semester, there were 8 of them. And I bet they are going to increase the number of quizzes next semester as well. And it's all for the same 5%. The good thing is, you get to google the questions, although it doesn't always work. Yes, I googled all of them. xP

Oh, did I mention that the MCQs are all True/False questions? Well, there is a technique to answering T/F questions. If there is only one possible answer for that question (eg. calculation question), and you have no idea what the answer is, like you attack the calculator and still can't get any of the options given, then just shade False for all the options. At least you get marks for all the options except one. And there is negative marking too. So remember this trick, and improvise on other questions.

SSA2215 - THE BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF SINGAPORE

Ahah! Singapore Studies module. My least favourite type of module. I really hate learning about Singapore. It's just boring..!

So anyway, this module teaches you what the title said it would, the biophysical environment of Singapore. It's more like a geography module than anything else, just that it focuses on the Singapore geography.

They have 4 'lab sessions', you have to attend those. There is a quiz at the end of each lab session so make sure you attend them. Each quiz is 10% of your grade, no kidding. CA is also 10%. It's not very difficult, just remember the types of rocks in Singapore and the age of those rocks, and where they can be found. Mostly rocks is tested in the CA because the other lectures on mangroves and climate haven't really started.

The final exam is 50%. The format is similar to the CA. Fill in the blanks and some MCQs. With an additional essay portion from each lecturer (this is not in the CA). You can spot questions, really. It is quite obvious what the essays would be on. Practise as much as you can on the mock papers given to you, because some of the questions are repeated in the CA and final exam. I mean seriously, they recycle some of the questions!

ST1232 - STATISTICS FOR LIFE SCIENCES

Last, but not least, statistics. The enjoyment of this module really depends on which lecturer you get. I got Prof. Teo YY. And he is just one of the most adorable lecturers I have ever met in NUS. His jokes are lame, yes, but he can entertain! I am not kidding. Statistics suddenly actually doesn't seem so bad once you've met Prof. Teo.

Prof. Teo likes to set killer CAs and easy finals. The CA is all probability stuff, calculations and all. The final exam is more on analysis and has no calculations at all. If you can score well for the CA, you are definitely one of the top students in module. Because the final exam is so easy, everyone is going to get almost the same grade for the finals. So the deciding factor of your overall grade is on the CA. Get in a lot of practice with past year papers and understand the concepts really well, is all I can tell you. The finals are really easy, like really easy. It is possible to get full marks for the final exam, really.

I can't help you much if you get the other lecturer for this module though. I just know that he has a totally different style of teaching from Prof. Teo.

And...... That's it for the module reviews! See you again soon~

Wake UP!

Here is another post to help you out in school. No, it's not academical, so these tips aren't getting you the A's. Those, you have to work hard for yourselves.

Some of us have to wake up real early for lessons, and since I would expect most of us (including myself) haven't been sleeping early during the holidays, it's going to be quite difficult to focus on morning lessons while still half asleep. These are some things to do after you get out of the bed to work some blood into your brain and I hope sort of 'activates' you for the day's work.

Study Snacking

Hey people. Since the semester has already begun, most would still be slacking through lessons, for now. But as the real work starts coming, pulling all nighters and rushing from lesson to lesson without time to buy food to fill up your stomach is a common problem for all of us. Here are a few tips to avoid going hungry and energizing up for those late nights, sleepiness in lectures, and back-to-back lessons.

Kimbap 김밥

I am having trouble finding lunch, or any food at all, to eat during school hours these days. I have lessons from 8am to 6pm or even till 8pm on the days that I have to be in school. I tried making a yogurt parfait.. Then realised yogurt cannot be kept for more than a few hours out of the fridge, and I'm kind of only able to eat the yogurt at least 3 hours after I remove it from the fridge. So I'm thinking.. Maybe kimbap would work. At least it can be kept a little longer, at most half a day, without spoiling the rice. Also, it is a both healthy and filling, making it a nutritious meal on-the-go.

Well, here's a simple recipe and steps for kimbap making. Enjoy~

Ingredients for Rice:

• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix the rice, sesame oil and salt thoroughly, but carefully so as to not mush up the rice.

Ingredients for Fillings:

• cucumber
• pickled radish
• sausage/hotdogs/any meat you wish
• omelet
• crabsticks

Dried seaweed sheets

Make sure all the fillings are cut into strips of the same thickness.

Directions:

Place the shiny side of the seaweed sheet down. Spread some rice over ⅔ of the seaweed sheet. Place the fillings you have prepared nicely on the rice.

Roll the seaweed sheet.

Rolling it tightly is important.

Roll the kimbap with the bamboo mat.

Squeeze it hard so that it gets a good shape.

Put some sesame oil on the surface of the kimbap for flavor and shine.

Cut the kimbap into 2cm thick pieces, or any thickness you like, but not too thick.

Credits go to http://aeriskitchen.com/2008/11/kimbap-%EA%B9%80%EB%B0%A5/ for the pictures. Thank you all and enjoy making kimbap~

Module Review 3

On to AY12/13 Year 2 Sem 1

I should be able to say more accurate things about this particular semester than the last two since it ended just 2 months ago after all.

GEK1542 -  FORENSIC SCIENCE

Right. Forensic science is not for people who do not wish to stay until 10pm on a friday. Trust me when I say this. It can make TGIF feel like a crap load of rubbish. If you're taking this module, you will never say TGIF. It's more like TGIS (S for saturday)..

This is actually a really fun module. The lecturers are prosecutors, forensic pathologists and police, taking time out of their jobs to give us lectures. Now you know why the lectures are always late at night. The lectures are very interesting! The prosecutor lecturer actually invited us to go visit him on his rape/rage of modesty case at Court. I never got to go as I wasn't free then. We can also sign up for a visit to the Supreme Court as well. I didn't manage to go for that too.. Pity..

The lab was pretty simple by theory, but actually pretty hard to carry out. It's just a matter of taking your own fingerprints using various methods and manually (instead of using the forensic's high-tech computer) comparing two of your own fingerprint (same finger) to prove its the same person. It can be pretty fun at first since the first time you try to lift the print onto the scotchtape can be quite a fun experience. Then, when the natural oil in your finger runs out, you start using the oil from your face to get prints.. I know it's pretty gross. But minutes later, you see everyone doing it as well, then you get desperate because you can't get a perfect print to lift onto your very precious lifter to bring home to scan and enlarge, you just desperately get prints over and over again to brush for the perfect one to lift. It's actually quite a tedious task that requires a lot of concentration and tack to actually obtain a nice print that is usable in the lab report... That was one hell of a day, I tell ya..

The CA and final paper were pretty doable. The CA consists of short structured questions. It's surprisingly fun to do the paper actually. None of the stress you feel when you normally take an exam or test. Probably because the questions in the CA are quite laughable. The names for the application questions are like Ah Beng, Ah Lian, and stuff like that. Haha. You'll be so amused by the questions that you can't feel the stress. My first enjoyable test in NUS.

The final paper is 100 MCQs. Just read and re-read the notes until you understand all the procedures and know them by heart. It's forensics, not that difficult. Just do your best to remember as much as you can. The questions can be quite tricky though, so be careful as well.

LAK3201 - KOREAN 3

Again, I will be comparing this to Korean 2. This is a very rigorous module. If you do not have the passion for Korean or languages in general, don't take this. Most of the vocabulary are self-study. The lecturers expect you to already know them and they won't explain anything on new vocabulary. The teaching of grammar is very fast paced as well as heavy. It is still a fun module, not stressful for those who like Korean. But for those who are not into the language, stress might be very real.

Oral and skit presentation requires much more effort and practice as well. The lecturers are more strict in this module as it's a higher level of proficiency we are expected to have already. Homework load is heavier as well, so more effort is required as compared to Korean 2. The exam styles are similar throughout all the Korean language modules. So just expect little time to read the passages, unless you can already read as fast as you can read in your Mother Tongue, or even better, as fast as you read in English.

LSM2101 - METABOLISM AND REGULATION

This module is basically a pretty boring module. A more detailed version of what we learnt in JC. Sad to say this.. but I failed this module.. Wasn't totally unexpected.. The final paper was pretty hard.. And since I have a habit of forgetting the details of bad experiences, I will review this module again after I have gotten a B or better yet, an A, after this current semester.

LSM2102 - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

This module's lecture is right after LSM2101. So I basically slept through both lectures if I fell asleep in the first one. LOL! The notes are enough to get you by. Just read carefully. The bell curve helps a little. I got a better grade than I expected.. I actually thought I would fail this module rather than LSM2101.. But I guess the MCQ final paper lessened the difficulty by a little. Since everyone thought it was a difficult module, the bell curve really helps!

LSM2203 - EXPERIMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY

Ahah! This module is pretty fun, but extremely taxing with its 6-hour lab every other week. With no breaks in between, it is very possible to go thirsty and hungry pretty fast using up a lot of brain cells.

The 4 lab reports, just do some research and answer the side questions as best as you can. Put as much details in it as possible. Every result and number you have obtained in the experiments, put them in. Don't leave anything out. It is possible to get an A for the lab reports.

The CA, as I have told my friends taking this module the current semester, is very simple. As long as you almost memorised the notes from the 4 lectures and the names of the bacteria in the practical notes and how to identify them, the CA is practically free points for all. I got only a B for the CA because I thought anything from the practicals wouldn't be tested.. The CA is a theory test, but the practical notes have some theory elements in them, so just go through them as well.

The practical exam.. That's the more difficult one. I said Korean final paper was a race against time... This practical exam cannot even compare.. There is no time at all. You have to do loads of gram staining, and I re-did some of them because I just couldn't see what I had stained, in the end I should have just trusted myself that I stained them properly and that there was nothing to see.. Remember all the biochemical tests, which and how much chemical to add first or next. Remember the traits of the bacteria that are mentioned in the practicals and how to identify them. The practical part of the exam is the busy part, staining and whatnot. The theory and application parts are the difficult parts. It can be quite difficult to use your results from the rush and find out the answers to the questions. Just read through your lecture notes as you have done for the CA and memorise every single experimental results that can be obtained from each of the tests or stain methods used or mentioned in the practicals. You can definitely get an A for this. Even though I didn't... =.=

Module Review 2

Let's continue with AY11/12 Year 1 Sem 2

LAJ1201 - JAPANESE 1

This was easy peasy! I kind of cheated in this module. I already knew a little of Japanese when I took this. Actually I was at intermediate level.. xP Thank goodness it paid off, because this is my very first A in NUS. Probably my last as well..

My advice for this is memorise all the conversations in the textbook. However, I heard that they changed the style for the exams and the oral components, so memorising wouldn't work anymore. If that is truly the case, then do what I said for Korean 1 in my previous post. Memorising the vocabulary and grammar styles would a lot as well.

It's basically an introduction module, very easy to score, especially since you can pick up a lot of grammar just by watching and listening closely to anime and Japanese dramas and movies.

The cons about this module is that it takes up A LOT of time with 7 hours of class time per week. Homework is quite heavy as well. I would suggest anybody who wishes to take a language module, especially Japanese language, to take it during your first year or your graduating year. These 2 years are probably the slackest (in comparison with other years, not saying that these years are 'slack' by definition..), so you might have more time to spend on language modules.

LAK2201 - KOREAN 2

I am going to compare this to LAK1201 - KOREAN 1, since I already reviewed that one, making it easier for me. xP

Well, compared to Korean 1, Korean 2 has a faster pace. More grammars and vocabulary are taught. More assignments. Oral is a little more difficult. Final paper is even more of a race against time. But otherwise, it's exactly the same. Other than the fact that we had more videos, singing and fun during lectures and tutorials. This is a very enjoyable module, so enjoy it!

LSM1101 - BIOCHEMISTRY OF BIOMOLECULES

This is the Chemistry part of Biology. And as I have said in previous posts, I really hate Chemistry. Memorising is the key. And practice. I should have taken an Arts major, don't you think?

LSM1102 - MOLECULAR GENETICS

Ohhohoh. This is a heavy content module. Not that you had to memorise everything to do well. It's just that the contents are pretty confusing. Anything to do with genetics always take awhile to register anyway. The lab reports are pretty straightforward. My partner was a very hardworking genius. It's thanks to him that I got a pretty good grade for our lab reports. I didn't bother with the readings, though. So I guess if you're looking for an A for this module, you might want to read up on those? I got a B+, since I didn't read them. I can't vouch that you will get an A if you did read them, okay?

LSM1202 - HUMAN ANATOMY

All I can say for this module is... MEMORISE EVERYTHING ON THE LECTURE NOTES. I mean seriously memorise EVERYTHING. All the questions tested on the things found in the notes. I didn't manage to memorise everything, hence the very bad grade. Take my advice, take the time and effort to really memorise every little detail. Those who managed to do that got a really good grade. Memorise at the end of the lecture, and test yourself every week or something. Don't leave it to the day before the exam, because that did not help me.. *bitter laugh*

Revelation

After reading many blogs by fellow NUS students, I realised mine sucks. I have been rambling about rubbish and useless things since I created this blog. Well, except for the (scarce) book reviews.

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