#ay1920sem1

[ay201920review]

EL1101E review

Semester taken in: AY2019/20, Semester 1

Assessment:

Class participation: 30% (tutorial attendance: 10%, tutorial participation: 30%, tutorial presentation: 10%)

Midterm 1: 20%

Midterm 2: 20%

Midterm 3 (closed-book): 30%

Lecturer: Dr Nala Lee Huiying Tutor: Mei Yunbo

Overview: This module briefly touches upon each of the major areas of linguistics, from phonetics up to neurolinguistics. Content gradually increases in difficulty as the semester progresses.

Workload: Each week we were given a problem set to complete based on the topic we'd covered in the previous week. They are about 3-4 pages in length and by about week 9 or 10 you won't be assigned any more of them. On your own, it would take you about an hour or less to complete the entire problem set, but our tutor asked us to work in groups, so doing our own individual parts took no more than 20 minutes. You are asked to present your answers to the class so you can't skip out on doing them.

Lecturer: Dr Nala is very friendly and nice. She's quite approachable too and throughout the semester you can clarify your doubts with her by posting on the forum on LumiNUS (she normally replies within a day). She also mentioned that she wouldn't be teaching this module much longer though.

Tutor: Yunbo is quite approachable. Because tutorials were really just going through questions, marking them and doing corrections, we normally had like 30 minutes left even after finishing our presentations. Despite that, even though nobody had any doubts, she would still explain the logic behind the answers anyway so that even people who were too shy to raise their hands would understand the content. She also accepted questions through email.

Readings: There were one or two readings every week. It's mostly the same stuff stated in the lecture slides, but I'd recommend you read them anyway, even though they're pretty dense — sometimes they'd be 20 pages. However, they're not complicated, just content-heavy. You'll get lost very quickly if you don't read them before coming to the lecture. I got complacent towards the end, which is reflected in my grade.

Exams: The midterms are a lot easier than the final exam, honestly. They're all MCQ, so your mileage may vary depending on whether you're better at open-ended questions or multiple choice. The tutorial problem sets are great practice for the midterms as it's basically the same kinds of questions, but I got pretty blindsided by the final because as I mentioned earlier we stopped being given problem sets by about week 9, after which we continued to learn about psycho/neurolinguistics. That means that although these topics are tested on the final, you won't have any practice with them at all, so make sure you understand that content thoroughly. I'd also add that the questions can be kind of confusingly-phrased, to the point where Dr Nala would email us and say she'd given us all the mark for a certain question because she'd realised it could be interpreted multiple ways. So make sure you read everything properly.

Should you take this module?: Only if you want to major in linguistics or English, which I do. A lot of people who only took this mod to clear requirements mentioned that they hated it because it required practice and studying and they found it boring. Some girl also told me she couldn't differentiate American and British accents (???), so she had difficulty transcribing things in IPA on the exams. If that sounds like you, don't take this mod.

Expected grade: A

Actual grade: B+

[ay201920review]

EN1101E review

Semester taken in: AY2019/20, Semester 1

Assessment:

Midterm: 15%

Essay 1: 15%

Essay 2: 20%

Tutorial particiaption: 10%

Final exam: 40%

Lecturer: Dr Tania Roy (and various guest lecturers) Tutor: Lim Shu Ying Grace

Overview: This module introduces you to literary analysis through five works of different types and contexts.

Workload: Tutorials are every week. Your tutor will email you a list of questions to discuss beforehand. The classroom is small and they will make you present your answer. There are also five texts to go through (a film, a play, a book of poetry, a collection of short stories and a novel) which you're expected to have read beforehand. Most of us found the workload pretty overwhelming for a level 1000 module.

Lecturer: Dr Roy (and also Dr Susan Ang, who did a guest lecture) are clearly really passionate about literature and definitely come across as experts on the subject. However, they are really long-winded. Their lecture presentations were usually ~200 slides long, and usually they didn't finish going through them. I also found that Dr Roy tends to go really in-depth explaining some philosophical/literary theory or other, which was at times unnecessary for her to get her point across.

Tutor: Grace was really nice and encouraging. She'd never openly tell us that our analysis made no sense but instead would prompt us to explain how we interpreted something, so we could convince her of our points or so she could show us that our interpretation of a text lacked textual evidence. She seemed to really like literature a lot and I think that really helped.

Readings: There are a couple of readings on top of the mountain of texts you're expected to know like the back of your hand. One of them is a speech by Derek Walcott (who wrote the poetry anthology), and another is an essay he wrote. They are really, really dry and I honestly don't think they contributed to my understanding of the text at all so you'll probably be fine if you skip them. But, obviously, don't skip the texts. Also, you're required to buy your own copies of 3 of the texts which is about ~$60, and you're not allowed to bring in photocopies. I don't know about the policy on secondhand books though.

Project: There's no project for this module, just two essays. The first one has a really ridiculously low length limit (something like 500 words?) while the second one asks for 5 sides of A4 paper at font size 12, which sounds like a lot, but really isn't since you have to compare and contrast themes across two texts. I rushed both my essays because of personal reasons but I got A- for both of them. Most of my classmates got Bs. I don't think anyone got a C for these essays unless they well and truly messed up.

Exams: The midterm and the final exam are more or less the same format except the final exam covers more texts (obviously) and is longer. You really need to be mindful of the clock when you're writing the exams because you can and will run out of time, especially on the final. The questions come across as a little esoteric sometimes, but I heard they mark pretty leniently since they're aware it's a level 1000 mod. Still, you should be sure to know your text (you're allowed to bring it in for quotations) since the questions are about overarching themes or literary devices and if you haven't read the entire text you won't know how to answer them.

Should you take this module?: Not unless you really like writing and English literature. If you hate writing and take this mod just to clear your basket you'll be in hell for a semester. Even the people who planned on majoring in literature said they found it gruelling. The discussions in tutorial were ultimately really rewarding though. Keep in mind this isn't guided like A levels literature; it's closer to IB Language and Literature (which I took).

Expected grade: B

Actual grade: A+

[ay201920review]

SC1101E review

Semester taken in: AY2019/20, Semester 1

Assessment:

Tutorial attendance and participation: 15%

Tutorial quizzes: 10%

Midterm 2: 20%

Written assignment: 25%

Final exam: 50%

Lecturer: Dr Lou Antolihao, Dr George Baylon Radics Tutor: Dr George Baylon Radics

Overview: This module introduces you to different sociological perspectives and tries to get you to think from the viewpoints of different sociologists and theorists. Each week you are given a new theme to which you are expected to be able to apply these perspectives.

Workload: Tutorials are every other week, and usually we were emailed a brief set of questions to think about which we would discuss in tutorial. Dr Radics would ask each group to share their thoughts so you can't get around at least bullshitting some answers.

Lecturer: Dr Radics was very funny and made the topics very interesting. He taught the first half of the semester, and the second half was taught by Dr Lou. Most of my classmates and I thought Dr Lou's teaching style was a little bit dry. I can't really explain it, but his lectures were hard to follow. Still, he teaches the more confusing topics like political economy, so definitely attend the lectures even if they're boring. Neither lecturer just reads off the slides either, so you're at a definite disadvantage if you skip.

Tutor: Dr Radics was my tutor, so the same comments as above still apply here.

Readings: There is a reading every week, and the content of the readings will come out on the final exams, so you should read them. The first reading, The Sociological Imagination, is honestly really difficult to read (i.e. boring), but they get better as you progress towards the end of semester. You're also asked to buy a textbook by Joan Ferrante, but you can download it digitally or something if you really want. The textbook chapters are kinda long and can be dull if you're taking notes as you go but they're a goldmine for ethnographic examples to use in the final exam. They also explain the same concepts that are in the lectures, which can be helpful.

Project: We were asked to create a timeline of major events in our lives based on the sociological imagination, and examine how major events in Singapore's history affected our lives (foreign students were allowed to use their native country's history instead). I actually found this really difficult to do because I was constantly stumped trying to think about things that actually impacted my family in a meaningful way lol. Plus the word limit's pretty low (which could be good for you if you don't write a lot, but I'm long-winded, as you can tell...). Anyway, I half-assed it, but I did all right in the end.

Exams: There isn't a sociology midterm, but there are two pop quizzes given the week before recess week and the week after it. They're 5 multiple choice questions. They aren't particularly hard, but if you don't know how to answer them then that means you should probably go do your readings again. The final exam wasn't MCQ for our cohort. It consisted of 10 short answer questions ("critical definitions") and one essay. I didn't find this that difficult because I've taken a subject that's basically this before, but I know a lot of people who came from JC found it kinda hard. For critical definitions you're asked to briefly define a term and maybe give an example to illustrate. I don't recommend dwelling on this too long or you'll run out of time. The essay requires you to go more in-depth and compare and contrast different sociological perspectives with definitions and examples from your readings, so please please please do your readings.

Should you take this module?: I honestly did enjoy this module, but because the scope of the module is really broad it could become a pain to study around exam season. If you're pretty left-leaning politically and enjoy reading you'll like the mod, but if you aren't a writing or reading person I wouldn't recommend it.

Expected grade: B

Actual grade: A

[ay201920review]

JS1101E review

Semester taken in: AY2019/20, Semester 1

Assessment:

Tutorial Attendance and Participation: 15%

Group Research Project: 35%

Final Exam: 50%

Lecturer: Dr Chris McMorran, Dr Yuen Shu Min (and various guest lecturers) Tutor: Tanaka Itsuko

Overview: This module gives you a brief history of Japan and introduces you to Japanese culture and society with a focus on elements of Japan that contradict popular beliefs about the country.

Workload: Tutorials are every week. Your tutor will email you a list of questions to discuss beforehand just like EN1101E. They divide you into groups based on where you're sitting and each group is expected to say at least something. There shouldn't be any homework.

Lecturer: Both professors are very funny and like to share anecdotes about when they lived in Japan to try and make the lecture topics more interesting (although the topics are already pretty interesting because it's about racism, sexism, war, etc). They're kind of intense but they're very happy to help and provide resources if you need them. A lot of people skip the lectures, which I could tell kind of pissed off Dr McMorran, and he gets really angry if you talk a lot during his lectures, for which I can't really blame him, so you shouldn't do that. The stuff he says is mostly on the slides anyway, but on the other hand they're super interesting and we even got to watch a Kyōgen performance in class once, so I never felt that it was a burden to attend.

Tutor: Itsuko was very friendly and since she is from Japan she has a lot of personal insight to offer about the topics we discussed every week. She's very strict in her expectations of the class though, and will count you as absent if you're more than 15 minutes late for tutorial, and also has very high standards of English for your final project, but she gives a lot of advice if you can catch her before she runs off to her office after class.

Readings: There are at least two readings per week. They're not bad, although the early readings can be dry since they're just recaps of Japanese history and are like 30 pages with tiny photocopied text, but if you like reading about samurai then you should be fine. The later ones are more interesting to me because they're academic papers, but that's just because I like reading academic papers lol. Anyway, a lot of the info in these readings will probably come in handy for your project and they definitely will be tested on the final.

Project: If you've taken the IB programme, this project will be a cakewalk, but if you're from JC you might find it a bit tough. It's basically baby's first research paper, with a word limit of 3500, and you can write about almost any aspect of Japanese culture except questionable stuff like JAVs or hentai or something. The professors also kinda dislike it if you write about geisha, samurai or manga because they've had a lot of weebs write low-quality papers about these topics before (but you can write about a specific anime if you're investigating a related aspect of Japanese culture though, e.g. my group examined the way protest is depicted in a movie). It has to be fairly argumentative, they don't just want you to recap what others have said. I did all right on this project (27/35 I think? Lol).

Exams: There's no midterm, just a digital final held at Computing. I didn't find the final that difficult, but you should make sure you've done your readings and gone over the slides thoroughly. This isn't like a history exam where they test you on pivotal aspects of history only. Instead, the history-based questions might ask you some seemingly minor detail that you skimmed over — for example, on my exam I got asked about Tokugawa-era wooden passports and their purpose. I half-assed the exam but the professor used one of my answers as a model answer anyway, so there you go. You'll have way, way more than enough time to finish the exam since it's digital; just remember to bring a fully-charged and working laptop plus your charging cable.

Should you take this module?: I dunno, I liked it a lot. I don't personally like Japan that much politically, so I liked that they focused on the negative aspects of the country instead of espousing its beauty for 13 weeks. If you love Japan I recommend taking this and having your worldview disturbed! If you dislike Japan like me, also take it and feel vindicated! You can't really slack, but it's interesting.

Expected grade: A

Actual grade: A