Lessons:
1 hr lecture + 2 hr tutorials per week
Assessment:
Class Participation + Writing Tasks 20%
Assignment 1 (Critique) 35%
Assignment 2 (Position Paper) 45%
(Not sure if the school will change the format or not)
Description:
GER-Core module for some HSS students. Similar to JC GP.
You should attend lectures because there will be clicker activities, and you may be required to fill in the blanks on the lecture slides. Lecturer will also brief you regarding the assignments.
Tutorials are a MUST, because you will need the class participation marks. No tutorial homework as tutorial exercises will be done in class.
You need to purchase the textbook because it will be used in tutorial lessons.
NO FINAL EXAMS. Assignments are essays based on a certain topic and prescribed readings given.
Assignment 1 Critique is basically a 500-word essay to critic about an assigned article. You will need to know fallacies well in order to be able to find flaws in the article and critic on it. Thus, do pay extra attention during the lecture on Fallacies! The textbook also provide a good coverage on this topic so do read up. The critique samples and question examples given in the textbook were useful for me as well.
Assignment 2 Position Paper is a 1000-word essay, requiring you to argue for a stand, based on the assigned article. This essay requires you to find a lot of statistics/evidence, so it is important to cite properly. The textbook provides examples on citations, so do take a look at it.
In both assignments, it is important for you to phrase your answers PERSUASIVELY. Having strong points are important, but you will need to be persuasive when elaborating your points. Also, do not overwrite as there is a limited word count (which is really an obstacle for me as I tend to write nonstop). Be prepared to bring out your summary skills you learnt in secondary school or JC. In addition, the lecturer will advise you on the format of the paragraphs, etc. Make sure you follow them as the format is part of the criteria in the marking scheme.
Do not undermine the power of tutorial participation marks as it can really make a difference. Do attend and PARTICIPATE during tutorials.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
EE8086 Astronomy
Lessons:
3 hr lecture per week
Assessment:
Mid-terms 30%
Finals 70%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQs
Finals - MCQs
Description:
A heavy-content module studying the universe, such as the solar systems, different characteristics of the planets, stars formation and lifespan, etc. Quite Physics-intensive, will be advantageous if you have a background in Physics.
Recorded lectures are available. And lectures generally last for 2 hours, with the last hour used for showing videos, which is not compulsory.
Textbook not really required, most information are covered in the lecture notes.
I heard that there is a question bank available that provides good practice for the exams, though I have never seen the question bank before. So you may want to ask around for it.
The best thing about this module is that the exams are entirely MCQs. But because it is MCQs, this module is highly popular, and the bell curve is very steep, from what I heard. And even though it is mostly MCQs, there is still a lot of memorizing needed. The MCQs can be tricky also, and you will face situations where you have to decide between 2 or 3 choices which all seem correct. But there will be a lot of discussions after that exams regarding the answers, so maybe you can gauge how well you did and decide whether to S/U it or not.
PS: I'm selling the e-textbook (The essential cosmic perspective 6th edition) for $20. Comment if interested :)
3 hr lecture per week
Assessment:
Mid-terms 30%
Finals 70%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQs
Finals - MCQs
Description:
A heavy-content module studying the universe, such as the solar systems, different characteristics of the planets, stars formation and lifespan, etc. Quite Physics-intensive, will be advantageous if you have a background in Physics.
Recorded lectures are available. And lectures generally last for 2 hours, with the last hour used for showing videos, which is not compulsory.
Textbook not really required, most information are covered in the lecture notes.
I heard that there is a question bank available that provides good practice for the exams, though I have never seen the question bank before. So you may want to ask around for it.
The best thing about this module is that the exams are entirely MCQs. But because it is MCQs, this module is highly popular, and the bell curve is very steep, from what I heard. And even though it is mostly MCQs, there is still a lot of memorizing needed. The MCQs can be tricky also, and you will face situations where you have to decide between 2 or 3 choices which all seem correct. But there will be a lot of discussions after that exams regarding the answers, so maybe you can gauge how well you did and decide whether to S/U it or not.
PS: I'm selling the e-textbook (The essential cosmic perspective 6th edition) for $20. Comment if interested :)
BS1001 Introductory Biology
Lessons:
2 hr lecture + 1 hr tutorial per week
Assessment:
Mid-term + 2 Lab Reports 30%
Finals 70%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQ
Finals - MCQs + Structured Questions
Description:
Basic Biology content. A great advantage for those with JC H2 Biology background (I'm not exactly sure about Poly though). BS majors with A in H2 Biology are exempted from this module.
Recorded lectures are available.
Tutorials are IMPORTANT! Tutorial homework will be given every week. A lot of questions in finals will be from the tutorials.
Textbook not a must, but since lecture notes are in point-forms, it may be easier to understand from the textbook. But you still have to read the lecture notes because the exams ask questions from lecture notes.
Practical lessons are 3 hr per session, but is not for the whole semester. There is only 4 practical lessons for the whole of the semester. There will be 2 experiments and you will have to complete 2 lab reports. Experiments can be done in pairs. From my experience, students from JC will be quite disadvantaged in labs because most of the apparatus are unfamiliar. Students from Poly know much better compared to JC students. There will also be student assistants to aid you in the practicals.
Mid-terms are done on the PC, and it consists of Single-Choice Answer and Multiple-Choice Answer. This difference is just that for the latter, there may be more than one correct option. For us, we weren't given our grades, but the answers will be given after a few weeks. MCQ format for the finals is same as midterms. Structured questions vary, some can be parts with short answers, some may be essay questions.
2 hr lecture + 1 hr tutorial per week
Assessment:
Mid-term + 2 Lab Reports 30%
Finals 70%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQ
Finals - MCQs + Structured Questions
Description:
Basic Biology content. A great advantage for those with JC H2 Biology background (I'm not exactly sure about Poly though). BS majors with A in H2 Biology are exempted from this module.
Recorded lectures are available.
Tutorials are IMPORTANT! Tutorial homework will be given every week. A lot of questions in finals will be from the tutorials.
Textbook not a must, but since lecture notes are in point-forms, it may be easier to understand from the textbook. But you still have to read the lecture notes because the exams ask questions from lecture notes.
Practical lessons are 3 hr per session, but is not for the whole semester. There is only 4 practical lessons for the whole of the semester. There will be 2 experiments and you will have to complete 2 lab reports. Experiments can be done in pairs. From my experience, students from JC will be quite disadvantaged in labs because most of the apparatus are unfamiliar. Students from Poly know much better compared to JC students. There will also be student assistants to aid you in the practicals.
Mid-terms are done on the PC, and it consists of Single-Choice Answer and Multiple-Choice Answer. This difference is just that for the latter, there may be more than one correct option. For us, we weren't given our grades, but the answers will be given after a few weeks. MCQ format for the finals is same as midterms. Structured questions vary, some can be parts with short answers, some may be essay questions.
HP1100 Fundamentals of Social Science Research
Lessons:
2 hr lecture + 1 hr tutorial per week
Assessment:
(updated)
Mid-terms 40%
Finals 60%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQs
Finals - MCQs + Long questions
Description:
A module on research methods and statistics. In my opinion, it is quite dry, unless you have a passion in research and statistical mathematics.
No recorded lectures, so it is better to turn up for lectures. Engage yourself in writing down notes to prevent yourself from falling asleep.
Textbooks are sold in a set. It is a MUST to buy the textbooks because exams may ask you the textbook definitions. And it is actually easier to understand the content by reading the textbook.
No tutorial homework. But you have to attend tutorials because the TAs will teach you how to use SPSS (a statistics software).
For midterms, it is better to read the textbook and understand definitions and concepts. For the finals, time management is important, especially if you are not a fast-worker when it comes to math. Finals emphasizes more on statistics. Formula list will be given for statistics so you do not have to memorise the formula. Bring calculators (with approval stamp from HSS)
What's good about this module is that not much memorizing is needed, and for statistics, if you understand the use of the formula and the methods to solve the questions, you can actually skim through the textbook quite fast. But you do need to spend some time practising the computation questions!
2 hr lecture + 1 hr tutorial per week
Assessment:
(updated)
Mid-terms 40%
Finals 60%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQs
Finals - MCQs + Long questions
Description:
A module on research methods and statistics. In my opinion, it is quite dry, unless you have a passion in research and statistical mathematics.
No recorded lectures, so it is better to turn up for lectures. Engage yourself in writing down notes to prevent yourself from falling asleep.
Textbooks are sold in a set. It is a MUST to buy the textbooks because exams may ask you the textbook definitions. And it is actually easier to understand the content by reading the textbook.
No tutorial homework. But you have to attend tutorials because the TAs will teach you how to use SPSS (a statistics software).
For midterms, it is better to read the textbook and understand definitions and concepts. For the finals, time management is important, especially if you are not a fast-worker when it comes to math. Finals emphasizes more on statistics. Formula list will be given for statistics so you do not have to memorise the formula. Bring calculators (with approval stamp from HSS)
What's good about this module is that not much memorizing is needed, and for statistics, if you understand the use of the formula and the methods to solve the questions, you can actually skim through the textbook quite fast. But you do need to spend some time practising the computation questions!
HP1000 Introduction to Psychology
Lessons:
2 hr lecture + 1 hr tutorial per week
Assessment:
Class Participation 10%
Research Participation 5%
Mid-terms 35%
Finals 50%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQs + Short-Answer Questions
Finals - MCQs + Fill in the blanks + Short Essay Questions
Description:
An interesting module, gives us basic insights on the main areas of Psychology, such as brain functions, humans' developmental changes, social influences on behaviours, sleep and dreams, psychological disorders, etc.
Readings are quite heavy, each chapter with an average of 40 pages of the textbook.
No tutorial homework, but still have to attend tutorials for the class participation marks. How the tutorials are carried out depends on your teacher.
There's no recorded lectures. And lecture content can mostly be found in the textbook. Lecturers often show interesting videos during the lectures, which can help you to understand the content better, so it is good to turn up for lectures.
Textbook is a MUST because exams will test on content in the textbook. Lecture notes is definitely inadequate.
Research participation is required. Generally, it is just taking surveys or simple psychological tasks, depending on the search that you sign up for. You will be required to complete 10 credits, and each credit takes about 30min or less. If you are really unwilling to be a research subject, you can opt to do an essay instead, which is a really unpopular choice.
For the mid-terms, most of the content require memorizing, but for the finals, understanding of the concepts and theories will be more important as there will be some application questions. Finals emphasizes on content covered after midterms and it's manageable, with enough time for checking.
However, there will be many Psychology majors taking that module in the first semester so it may be quite competitive because it is their core and they will study hard for it.
2 hr lecture + 1 hr tutorial per week
Assessment:
Class Participation 10%
Research Participation 5%
Mid-terms 35%
Finals 50%
Exam Format:
Midterms - MCQs + Short-Answer Questions
Finals - MCQs + Fill in the blanks + Short Essay Questions
Description:
An interesting module, gives us basic insights on the main areas of Psychology, such as brain functions, humans' developmental changes, social influences on behaviours, sleep and dreams, psychological disorders, etc.
Readings are quite heavy, each chapter with an average of 40 pages of the textbook.
No tutorial homework, but still have to attend tutorials for the class participation marks. How the tutorials are carried out depends on your teacher.
There's no recorded lectures. And lecture content can mostly be found in the textbook. Lecturers often show interesting videos during the lectures, which can help you to understand the content better, so it is good to turn up for lectures.
Textbook is a MUST because exams will test on content in the textbook. Lecture notes is definitely inadequate.
Research participation is required. Generally, it is just taking surveys or simple psychological tasks, depending on the search that you sign up for. You will be required to complete 10 credits, and each credit takes about 30min or less. If you are really unwilling to be a research subject, you can opt to do an essay instead, which is a really unpopular choice.
For the mid-terms, most of the content require memorizing, but for the finals, understanding of the concepts and theories will be more important as there will be some application questions. Finals emphasizes on content covered after midterms and it's manageable, with enough time for checking.
However, there will be many Psychology majors taking that module in the first semester so it may be quite competitive because it is their core and they will study hard for it.
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