Taken in AY 18/19 Semester 2

• 1.5 hours weekly lecture (webcasted)
• 1.5 hours tutorials on alternate weeks

Grading Components:

• Midterms 50%  (60 MCQs + 4 short essays)
• Finals 50% (Same as midterms)
• Research Participation (6 hours)

Took this module out of interest as I wanted to have a better understanding of Psychology. Didn’t really know how to prepare for this module because it was my first time taking a Psych module and the content seemed to be really heavy too. It wasn’t exactly comforting to know that 4 essays would be tested in the examinations (implying that you really have to know the content well if you want to score well for this module). From knowing the functions of the different components of the brain to understanding the fundamentals of sensation, perception, memory, emotion, motivation and mental disorders, there is surely lots of stuff to know in the short duration of 13 weeks. So in order to do well for this module, I made sure that i went through the required textbook readings every week.

Besides reading the textbook, I think it would be better to just focus on the key points that were mentioned in the lecture as opposed to reading off the entire textbook because the lecturer ended up not testing alot of things in the textbook. As for the tutorials, I felt that they weren’t very helpful at all cos there wasn’t much room for us to apply the knowledge that we had gained from the lectures. So i ended up skipping the tutorials towards the latter half of the semester. But it is still important to take note of the things that were mentioned in tutorial (a painful lesson that I learnt due to the valuable marks lost for the midterms). The exams are very content-based so it is quite easy to do well if you put in the effort to know the content.

All in all, I felt that I benefited from this module as it has given me a  better understanding of what Psychology is- a social science that goes beyond just understanding the behavior of others but instead examines the intertwining of different perspectives which contributes to behavior.

Expected Grade: A-

Actual Grade: A

 

Taken in AY 18/19  Semester 2

• 2  1.5 hours lecture weekly (webcasted)

Grading Components

• Midterms (40 MCQ+2 essay) 20%
• Graphic Commentary 20%
• Written Commentary 20%
• Finals (80 MCQ) 40%

Took this module because the module name sounds interesting. Initially thought that I would be learning about the impact of drugs on society ( somewhere along the lines of moral implications of drugs) but it didn’t turn out that way. For the first half of the semester, we learnt how drugs like stimulants, depressants, opiates and other poisons affect the health of individuals. This would have seemed like a really content heavy module to take but we were allowed to bring in a one-sided cheat sheet for mid-terms so it is actually possible to squeeze in most of the important stuff. However, I felt that it was still essential to know the underlying ideas for some of the drugs as the time given is actually too short for you to constantly refer to your cheat sheet for the answers.

For the Graphic commentary,we were required to submit an illustration along with a write-up to show what we have learnt from this module. It was really difficult to think of a relevant learning point for this module since it is just merely talking of the effects of drugs and poisons. As for the written commentary, we were required to do an evaluation on one of the topics that were given to us. This component was relatively easy to do cos you just need to do some research on the topic and provide some of your own thoughts on the topic (or paraphrase what you have learnt from your sources). The only shortcoming of this assignment was the difficulty of making insightful comments on the topic itself ( the factor which distinguished the As from the Bs for this assignment). As for Finals, we were tested on the Pharma industry, Performance-enhancing drugs and Medicines. I felt that these topics gave me a better understanding of the role played by Pharmaceuticals in our society as opposed to the topics that were learnt in the first half of the semester.

To sum it up, I wouldn’t say that this module was very interesting or useful as I am probably forget most of the content that I have learnt for this module. But I would say that this is a pretty good module for people who are really busy and just wanna take a General Education module that doesn’t have a very heavy workload.

Expected Grade: A-

Actual Grade: A

 

Taken in AY 18/19 Semester 1

1.5 hours tutorial

Assessment:

• Attendance and Participation 20%
• Blog (600-800 words) 35%
• Oral Presentation 35%
• Reflection 10%

One of the compulsory modules that all Year 1 FASS students have to take (provided that you have cleared the QET). For the first part of the semester, your tutor will teach you how to write an email and a blog. Basically, this module is about writing for non-academic purposes or writing that is essential for the workplace. For the email assignment, it is just an introduction of yourself and your goals for this module, and this assignment isn’t graded anyway so you don’t have to put too much effort into it. The key thing to take note for this assignment is to follow the format and practise concise writing (300 word limit).

The weightage for the class participation is very high so I think it is important for you to voice out if you want to get a decent grade for this module. Unless you are really great at presentations or writing otherwise it would be good to get those extra marks from the participation. Most people I knew got rather similar marks for both the blog and the presentation so just answer questions if possible and do the assigned work so that you can provide some constructive feedback (most people don’t bother getting these marks anyway).

For the blog, you have to write about a social issue from a certain perspective. The thing is, you will have to form a group with two other people who are interested in the same social issue as you. But this assignment is mostly just individual work because 90% of this assignment is based on your post alone. The remaining 10% will be based on the group’s blog design and the cohesion between the different posts ( having the same stand towards the issue).  Some important things to take note for this assignment include providing evidence to support your claims (very important as it contributes to a bulk of your marks), the use of concise writing which has been emphasised throughout the past few weeks and the use of persuasive elements taught in class which include the usage of ethos,pathos and logos. Adhering to all these important criteria will enable you to do decently well for this assignment even if your language isn’t very good.

In the latter half of the semester, the tutor will teach you important public speaking skills such as non-verbal communication which is made up of things like gestures, eye contact and rapport with the audience. For the tutorials, you just spend most of the time analysing Ted talks and presenting to the class when necessary as a way to build up your confidence. This is also the time when you start preparing for your group presentation based on the social issue that you have written for the blog. This presentation is by no means easy to score, as you are being graded on your ability to employ meaningful gestures, engage the audience and introduce thought-provoking ideas. It is also rather stressful as the weightage for this presentation is very high.

In conclusion, the workload for this module is very light. It doesn’t even deserve to be considered as a 4 MC module. On hindsight, I didn’t really learn a lot from this module but oh well, it is something that I have to clear as a FASS student.

Expected Grade: B

Actual Grade: B+

Taken in AY 18/19 Semester 1

1.5 hours lecture

Assessment:

• Tutorial Forum 20%
• Museum Reflection (700 words) 20%
• Term Paper (1800 words) 35%
• Movie Reflection (800 words) 25%

Took this module as it is compulsory for all university students to take general education modules (understanding about things unrelated to your major). I also took this module because there are no physical tutorials for this module. There are only 5 online tutorials where you are required to write a short response to a forum question. It also isn’t necessary for you to go the lectures because there are NO EXAMS for this module and you can retrieve whatever info you need for the tutorials from the readings/slides which explains why there are over 400 people taking this module (1 bid point though guess many people think that this is going to be a boring module).

For the online forum, there will be tutorials on weeks 3,5,7,9,11. The tutor will post the question on a Friday afternoon (after the lecture) and you have more than 2 days to post a response to that question. Often there will be word limits put in place so that people won’t write excessively long answers (which is good for lazy people). More often than not, you will have to do some readings to answer the questions or you are also able to answer them if you have some contextual knowledge about Singapore history. Most people don’t bother providing quality responses to the questions so it is easy to score well for this component if you put in some effort.

The Museum reflection assignment requires you to make a trip down to either the NUS museum or the National museum and write an essay on a designated exhibition. The exhibition at NUS was really hard to understand because there weren’t many artefacts or explanations so it is better to go to the National museum (you have two exhibitions to choose from instead of one). You are supposed to write how the exhibition has contributed or challenged your understanding of Singapore’s history through the use of elements in the exhibition. This assignment wasn’t really demanding as you are only required to write 700 words for this so it should be relatively fast to do (you have the whole recess week to do it). In the end, I got a B+ for this assignment which was rather decent considering the amount of effort I put into this.

The hardest part of this module has to be the term paper. In this paper, you are required to discuss on any form of popular culture in Singapore. You are also required to interview someone who has experienced this form of popular culture. In addition, you also need to find 5 academic sources to support your main argument. I would suggest starting on this assignment early (3 weeks to do it) by reading the journals on possible sources that you might be using and finding the similarities between the different journals so that you are able to construct a strong thesis for this assignment. I did a research on music which was rather easy to do due to the abundance of sources. In the end, I got an A- for this assignment which was satisfying. All the time spent reading the journals has not been wasted.

For the final assignment, you will have to do a movie reflection from a selection of local movies, exploring the reasons why these films have been made. This is not a standard film review as you are required to have an argument towards an underlying issue. The lecturer will show a movie during one of the lectures so you can just review that movie if you have no time to watch it on your own. You are also required to make use of 3 academic sources to support your points for this assignment. In the end, I got an A- for this paper.

Overall, this module is definitely one of the best modules that you are going to do in NUS. Although I didn’t really learn a lot from this module (wanted to take another module that seemed interesting but seems hard to score), it was a good opportunity for me to practise writing again (after more than 2 years in the army) and I got to take this module with my friends from another faculty so it is worth it!

Expected Grade: A-

Actual Grade: A

Taken in AY 18/19 Semester 1

• 1.5 hours lecture (webcasted)
• 45 minutes tutorial

Assessment:

• Attendance and Participation 15%
• Group Research Project 35%
• Finals 50%

Took this module to clear my Asian Studies basket (requirement for FASS students). This seems like a rather interesting module to take as opposed to other modules in the same basket which include South Asian studies and South East Asian studies. Furthermore, if you like anime or Japanese culture, this is definitely a module that you should take.

For this module, you will be covering topics on Japanese history, culture and society. The readings for this module can be considered heavy for some people (about 50 pages a week) but some of the readings are rather interesting so it isn’t that bad though you will have to spend a few hours to read them. I think it is really important to make weekly summaries on what you have learnt so that you can refer to them before the finals( something that i didn’t bother doing but I think it saves you the effort of reading through all the notes again which was very painful considering the number of readings you have at the end of the semester).

For the weekly tutorials, you will have to attempt some questions and discuss them in groups during tutorials. The teacher won’t check your work but it is important for you to put some effort into attempting these questions if you want to provide some insightful comments during class so as to get the participation marks. Most people don’t put much effort into answering these questions or merely provide comments which aren’t really helpful but the teacher will acknowledge your participation anyway so just try to say something constructive even if you have no idea how to answer the questions. The median for this component is 9/15 ( 5 marks should be attendance) but if you are getting 9, it means you have not contributed at all to the class discussion (very lenient marking for the participation).

The group project is a 3500 word report on a particular aspect (anything ranging from food,culture to gender issues) of Japan. You are also required to find academic sources to back up your research which can be a pain ( finding relevant sources to your research topic)  so it is important to divide the work properly so that you won’t spend too much time on this assignment. It is also important to decide on your area of focus at the start and start working on this project as early as possible, especially if you don’t want to rush it at the end of the semester when you need to revise for your other modules. In the end, I got a B+ for this project which was a little disappointing considering the effort that my team put in for this project.

Finals

• 25 MCQs (1 mark each)
• 1 definition question ( choose 1 out of 3 terms) 5 marks
• 1 essay question (broad question) 20 marks

The MCQs should be relatively straightforward if you have done your readings/ focused during the lectures. However, there are some questions which are rather tricky or rather minor details that you may not have taken notice of.

For the definition question, you are given three options (mine was otaku, hafu and cram school) to choose from. This should be terms that you are familiar with ( if you are not, the English definitions are even given to you). You are required to define the term and explain the significance of the term to Japan. This question was rather easy to score ( I think) as you are just required to link to Japanese society. Anyway it’s just 5 marks so don’t spend too much time on it because the essay is gonna take up a lot of your time.

Prior to the finals, the lecturers have always given hints related to the essay question, asking us to focus on the diversity of Japan. Well, the question was really about the diversity of Japan. You are required to discuss two forms of diversity in Japan and how it supports or subverts norms in Japan. So to do well for this question, you really need to have an abundance of examples to support your essay or rather a few detailed examples at the back of your head so maybe it would be good to focus on several of the main topics like popular culture or demographic issues.

Overall, I didn’t regret taking this module. Though tutorials were dreadful (just listening to people talking and waiting for time to pass) and I spent a lot of time doing readings ( I’m a slow reader), I felt that I have indeed learnt many things about Japan, things that I would never have known if I did not take this module. And for those who are interested in Japanese culture, I am sure they enjoyed this module a lot more than I did.

Expected Grade: B+

Actual Grade: B+

Taken in AY 18/19 Semester 1

• 1.5 hours lecture (webcasted)
• 45 minutes tutorial

 

Assessment:

• Lecture Quizzes 15%  (3 attempts for max score)
• Participation and Attendance 10%
• Mid-terms 25%   (All MCQs)
• Finals 50%  (All MCQs)

The content for this module is very manageable. Basically, you cover micro topics in the first half of the semester and macro topics in the second half of the semester. For the micro topics, you will be covering concepts like demand & supply, elasticities and market structure which has already been covered in the A levels. The macro part will be slightly more challenging as it is slightly different from what was taught at the tertiary level (topics like money).

I think it is quite important to secure the full marks for the lecture quizzes, considering that you have three attempts. So try to ask around for the answers so that you can secure the full marks for this component. As for the tutorials, you are required to discuss the tutorial questions in groups and present it to the rest of the class. Felt that the tutorials weren’t really helpful as you can just understand the problems by reading the solutions which will be given at the end of the week (or you might have access to them from your seniors).

Do not be fooled by the amount of time you have for a MCQ paper!!! For the mid-terms, you are required to complete 36 questions in an hour which may seem decent but the questions are rather tricky and there are multiple combinations of answers to choose from. I had to guess a few questions because i didn’t have enough time to complete the paper. Also, the bell curve for this paper is high which is obvious because it is a MCQ paper. The median was 27/36 so you have to really know the underlying principles if you want to have an edge over your peers.

For the finals, you had to complete 72 questions in 2 hours but the questions weren’t easy too! Going through all the lecture quizzes and tutorials might still be insufficient for you to do well in the finals. Overall, I would like to recommend those who are clearing the social science basket (requirement of FASS) to take this module, especially those who want an easy life or those who are planning to overload with other content-heavy modules.

Expected Grade: B+

Actual Grade: A

Taken in AY 18/19 Semester 1

• 1.5 hours lectures (webcasted)
• 45 mins tutorial

Another one of the compulsory modules that you have to clear if you are planning to major in Economics. I would recommend taking this module instead of EC1101E if you are unsure of whether you are planning to major in Economics as this module gives you a better understanding of what you will be doing in higher level modules as opposed to exposure modules which tend to provide you with a narrow perception of what you will have to face in the future.

Assessment:

• Attendance 10%
• Participation 10%
• Group Project 5%
• Mid-terms 25%
• Finals 50%

If you look at the syllabus for this module, it may seem rather daunting at first as you will be covering things like multi-variable calculus and optimisation. But it isn’t that hard as most problems only require you to apply formulas to solve the questions. Furthermore, many of the topics covered are those that have already been taught in the A levels which include topics like functions, differentiation and integration.

Bad thing about this module is you will have to read the textbook if you want to get a thorough understanding of the concepts because the content in the lecture is just a summary of the main content. But the lecturer is AMAZING! He is able to explain difficult concepts with ease, which makes the mastery of concepts much easier for this module. So do watch the lectures if you have difficulty understanding some of the concepts, it saves you a lot of time rather than trying to understand it by yourself.

For the class participation component, there is no group discussion beforehand so you literally come in to class and present your answers for the tutorial. Do try to volunteer at every opportunity as it is not that hard to get the full marks for this module. You just have to go up to the board and write your answers and probably just talk a couple of lines at most and the tutor will give you credit for participation. As for the group project, you don’t really have to put in much effort because everyone gets the full 5% as long as you construct an optimisation question and present it to the class. It is group work by the way but it is possible for one person to just do the entire thing.

To score well in the midterms, you should attempt all the past mid-term papers that have been given out to you. Often the questions that come out in the papers are very similar to those that have been tested in previous years so it is possible to score above average if you understand the solutions of the past year papers. The mid-terms comprises of 15 MCQs which you will have to complete in 70 minutes. To be honest, it is quite manageable if you manage your time well because there are some questions which really test simple concepts like basic differentiation and integration. The most frustrating thing about this test was the inclusion of the ‘none of the above’ option in the MCQs, so it is not possible to know if you have made a careless mistake. The bell curve for this paper is also very high with a median of 10/15.

So finals was rather challenging as you have to complete 5 structured questions in 2 hours. The paper is set in such a way that there are easy questions so that people will do decently for the paper but there are some questions which are really tough (questions that you would have never gotten correct even if you practised all the past year papers). So if you aren’t someone who is very good at math, you need to ensure that you do not make any careless mistakes throughout the paper if you want to get a B+ for this paper which I felt was very demanding. One careless mistake and you are below average.

Overall, I feel that the workload for this module is very light. You only have several problems to do for your weekly tutorials which won’t take up too much for your time. It might take you some time if you are planning to read the textbook but most people don’t read the textbook anyway. They just go to the lecture and focus on the important stuff taught by the lecturer which should be sufficient for you to score well for this module. But there tends to be a disjuncture between the difficulty of the problems sets and that of those tested in the exams so don’t be too happy if you think that the tutorials are too easy because everyone else is probably feeling the same way too!

Expected Grade: B+

Actual Grade: A