(Updated) NUS AY15/16 Sem 2 Module Review

Note: First posted on March 20, 2016

The modules I’m currently taking this semester are:

Economics (Major)

EC3304: Econometrics II 

Lecture: 2h every week (webcasted); tutorials (2h) odd/even weeks

Lecturer: Eric Fesselmeyer

Content wise, the lecture progresses as a slower pace as compared to EC3303 when I took it under Prof Denis. I guess it’s a good thing to take a module that is more rigorous and demanding so it won’t be too traumatising when you take the next one. As compared to EC3303 which covered more or less of the first half of the econometrics textbook, EC3304 focuses on the second half of the textbook on forecasting (autoregressions etc). There are, in my opinion, much lesser mathematical proofs required for this course than EC3303. But the mathematical proofs are not easy either and require time to fully understand.

Tutorials comprise of two components, one is the usual tutorial questions i.e from past year papers/textbook and the second component comprises of STATA questions. I recommend to get a version of STATA on your computer so that it’ll be more convenient to do the questions at home instead of heading over to AS7.

Post semester thoughts:

Finals was a pretty interesting experience. Many students ended their paper early, and this was the first time I saw so many students leaving early for an economics final paper. Not too sure whether it was because they felt it was too do-able or too challenging and decided to not waste any more time…but it was nonetheless…a bit intimidating. I think that the paper was do-able in the sense that there were similar practice questions uploaded but somehow I just couldn’t straighten out my thoughts under exam conditions and ended up doing badly.

There were five tutorial sessions in total, and since there were around 20 students in my tutorial slot and around 5-7 per week, I think presenting at least once would be sufficient to secure tutorial participation marks. There was also an extra credit assignment that was released for students who wanted to gain more credit under tutorial participation. The prof was nice enough to drop some hints during lecture before the deadline of the assignment. It was an eye-opening experience, having to test and decide what type of analysis and tests you had to do to reach an accurate prediction – I didn’t do the method that was done by the prof, but he did give feedback on the types of mistakes that students committed.

EC3342: International Trade I

Lecture: 2h every week (not webcasted); tutorials (1h) every week

Individual Assignment x2: before midterms and after midterms

Lecturer: Ma Lin

Content-wise, the first half of the semester focuses on the more classical models, such as the Ricardian model, Specific-factors model and Heckscher-Olin Model. Some of the models can be seen as ‘improvements’ of each other, building up on a previous model by incorporating more realistic assumptions in a sense. The second half of the semester focuses on policies such as tariffs, export/import subsidies. I like how this module actually gives a better understanding towards the works of economists and how their carefully formulated models have successfully predicted trade patterns in their time period or how past models have become increasing inaccurate in predicting current and future trade patterns due to changing trade dynamics across the globe.

Generally, many did really well for the midterms so the bellcurve was really steep. I know that the module is actually harder in previous semesters, so I think it was because the Professor decided to remove the topic of Labour movement/Migration from the topics covered and maybe he lowered the level of difficulty for this semester. I’m not sure how difficult the finals will be, but I bet it will be harder.

For the two assignments, the level of difficulty on a scale of 1-5 ranges between 3 -4 out of 5. The first assignment had a question that required the plotting of a graph based on the given data on excel, which is useful as it will help hone basic graph plotting excel skills. The second assignment questions were all derived from the finals of the previous semester, so it actually provided practice as well as a good gauge for the level of difficulty that finals will offer. Many did well for both assignments, and the average was pretty high.

Post semester thoughts: 

Finals comprised of 5 questions if I remember correctly, and unlike previous finals papers, there was no MCQ section (to save ourselves some marks). As the parts of the question (i.e entire Q1) were linked to one another/build up from previous parts, it is very crucial to avoid making any careless mistakes during the first few parts to prevent yourself from being unable to complete the later 5 parts. However, some of the later parts may not be directly linked to the earlier portions (should you be unable to solve them correctly) so the question could be salvaged.

Tutorials for this module lean more towards the more slack end of the spectrum. My tutor tried to maintain a system of fairness for tutorial participation by rolling a dice (which was pretty interesting to be honest) for those who rose their hands. So if three students volunteered, he would assign the numbers 1 & 2 for the first student, 3 & 4 for the second etc  and then roll the dice to select a student. While indeed such a system is completely random, it can also be very unfair in a sense that whether you get to present or not is entirely based on chance. But fret not, the later half of the semester he did away with this dice rolling and assigned questions to students who have not presented yet. So yes, you will definitely have a chance to participate at least once or twice. There were also 2 tutorial sessions that focused on general discussion and application to real world examples (read: no math-sy homework) and 2 sessions that were dedicated to a general overview of the syllabus before midterms and finals. I felt that these sessions were really helpful in consolidating our understanding of the various topics that were covered.

Electives

GEK1520: Understanding the Universe

Lecture: 2x 2h every week (not webcasted); tutorials (2h) odd/even weeks

Individual Astronomy Photo Assignment (10%)

Individual 500- word essay based on news from group project (10%)

Group Project: Recorded Video Presentation on recent Astronomy News (20%)

Lecturer: Cindy Ng

As an arts student, the last time I’ve actually touched anything related to physics was in secondary school. Thankfully, the module rarely has any physics calculation related content in the lecture slides. Tutorials will introduce some simple formulas to enhance the conceptual understanding of students, but don’t worry, it isn’t hard – so far, this formulas taught in tutorials did not come out during the midterms.

I find the lecture content pretty interesting and eye-opening so far. Memory work is something that needs to be done for this module as well, so it is important to revise early, since there are only two tests and no finals. One midterm test and one final term test.

Post semester thoughts:

The midterm test was definitely more challenging than the final term test, which was better compared to having an easier midterm test and a killer finals in my opinion. As mentioned by other reviews, there is definitely memory work that needs to be done as well as a sustained level of interest towards the topics taught (most are quite interesting, don’t worry). To study and cement my knowledge and understanding towards the various topics, I managed to find educational videos on youtube (i.e Crash Course) that helped me quite a bit. 

Tutorials further expand and delve a little deeper into the content taught during lecture, and formulas are provided just for understanding purposes, there is no actual need to memorize or regurgitate formulas during the tests. The tutor was pretty patient in explaining and re-explaining concepts that students still felt unfamiliar with to the best of his ability through diagrams and other physics equipment he brought along for demonstration. 

If there are still doubts and uncertainties related to lecture content, there are two options. One, you can text a question to the SMS system and the prof will gladly explain and answer your question. Two,  you can just post your question on the forum and other students or the prof herself will get back to you. There were many questions that were asked by other students which I myself was puzzled over and thankfully the replies helped clear my doubts.

For the individual assignment, it is definitely good to start early (read: do not procrastinate) in the semester when you are relatively freer to capture any astronomical phenomenon i.e sunset/sunrise/moon/stars/any other special events occurring during the semester that the lecturer will highlight. Another option is to attend one of the night stargazing sessions organised on the fields outside of the science faculty. It is not compulsory, but you will be able to capture very clear images of the moon using the telescopes provided. I’m not really sure how the photos are actually graded, but the type of camera that you use to do so will of course influence the quality of the image you will be capturing. You need to take a photo of yourself with the astronomical event you captured as proof that you were the one who did the assignment.

TIPS:  ***It is highly important that you check the weather and cloud report on the day you decide to attempt to capture a photo. Cloudy days may be common during certain periods of time***    

(1) If you are just planning to use your mobile phone’s camera, I think taking the sunset would be a good choice. Check the sunset timings online. Also, I found the vscocam app to be helpful in taking sunset photos as the settings allow for a more focused shot of the object you want to capture. It is not advisable to capture anything at night with your camera phone i.e the moon because it cannot balance out the moon’s brightness and will appear as a very blurry round light (tried and tested and failed). If you live in the East, you can check out spots such as the Changi Village Boardwalk/Kallang Stadium for pretty good sunset photos. Or you can head to the MBS area during the evening as well. The best option (for lazy bums like me)is to take the sunset photos from my home.        

(2) For a slightly better quality image, digital cameras can be used to take photos at night, but it really depends on how current and advanced your camera is. I managed to successfully capture the dark and light features of the moon using my digital camera after adjusting the ISO etc settings. Check for instructions online on how to obtain the most optimal settings to capture your photo.    

(3) Of course, using a DSLR to capture images would be highly ideal. But as someone without a DSLR, I think a digital camera is sufficient to capture a good photo for an assignment worth 10%.

Group Assignment-wise, I did it with my friends so it wasn’t that stressful. We finished researching for our articles and recorded our video presentation within a few days. The results of the project will be uploaded at the end of the semester. Don’t worry if you are intending to take this module alone – the lecturer will create a forum group especially for people who are looking for groupmates in the lecture group.

GEK2047: Exploring Chinese Cinema: Shanghai-Hong Kong-Singapore

Lecture: 2h every week (not webcasted); tutorials 2h odd/even weeks

Group Project: Presentation on two films; one from the syllabus

Individual Essay

Lecturer: Xu Lan Jun

This is a module that exposes students to the history of the Shaw Brothers and generally the development and expansion of Chinese cinema production in the 2oth Century. Apart from watching different movies every week (at your own time), I think this module is interesting because it allows me to learn more about Chinese cinema and how different types of Chinese movies (kungfu, martial arts, musicals) were influenced by the time period that they were produced as well as the cultural imaginations that they seek to construct for the Chinese diaspora.

So far, some of the movies that have been discussed during lectures/tutorials are

Love EterneA Touch of ZenSo Young, Our Times (tutorial)Farewell My ConcubineFist of FuryHero

One later lecture in the semester will also focus on Singaporean films such as 881 and That Girl in Pinafore as well.

Post semester thoughts:

Finals comprised of 2 essays (which I find to be okay compared to my past exams with 3 essays under 2 hours), I focused on some movies/themes in particular and was glad that I got to write about two of my favourite movies from this course. Basically, the question will be quite general, perhaps touching on youth subculture/experiences or the inter-asian connection and there will be an option to choose from any of the 2-3 movies listed. I personally found that the inter-asian connection was quite hard for me to digest (I did try to study but it didn’t really stick), so I focused more on the common themes that were highlighted across movies and built up from there. It is good to do the assigned readings and even better yet, search for more journals/readings yourself online from the school library portal/google if you’re aiming for a more than average grade. As reiterated by the prof, it is crucial to remember important scenes/moments in the films and write them down as supporting evidence in the essays. While the essay questions are not that challenging, I feel that it is pretty easy to write out of point sometimes, so it is good to spend at least 10 minutes to plan carefully first.

Individual written assignment can be focused on one film or at most two films. I decided that it was better to cover a greater scope of films so I chose the latter and tried to come up with an issue that examines already researched on topics but with a different slant. The tutors for this semester were quite helpful and willing to provide feedback for the essay topics. Before I embarked on the chosen topic, I emailed the tutors and got an ‘okay’ from them. Later on, I went for one of the consultation sessions with one of the tutors and her feedback helped me to find a better focus and also to tweak the angle that I was examining with my research question. 

Tutorials were quite slack, mostly generating further discussion on the movies covered or similar films of a certain genre covered during lectures (outside of the compulsory films list). Students are expected to at least watch the films before attending tutorials, which I feel a must to better understand what the tutorials are talking about. 

For group presentations, I realised that it was good to incorporate journal articles/readings into the presentation content (which my group did not do, but fortunately our movies barely had any readings on them) to have a more solid and convincing presentation. Whether the Q&A session is scary or not largely depends on the people in the tutorials who will be asking them. I felt that the tutors’ questions were manageable. 

JS1101E: Introduction to Japanese Studies

Lecture: 2h every week (not webcasted); tutorials (1h) every week

Group Research Paper

Lecturer: Scott Hislop

I think this module already has a certain reputation among students who have taken it. Two of my friends gave me similar feedback when I asked for their opinions on this module. In the end, I still decided to take this as I couldn’t really find any module that could fit into my timetable. The first few lectures focused on the different historical period in Japanese history (Heian, Meiji etc). There is a good amount of memory work required, and I think for me, the various Japanese names make it harder for me to remember.

One thing that I like about this module is that the lecturer will generate some MCQs before the start of lecture to encourage students to think/ponder over the topics that will be taught so as to help us better consolidate our learning. However, do not be misled by these pre-lecture MCQs. They are by no means representative of the MCQ finals and are strictly for lecture purposes only.

A unique feature of this module is that the lecture notes will only be uploaded after the end of the lecture, on Saturday afternoon. As such, it is highly important to take down notes either on paper/laptop that are not mentioned on the lecture slides. While unique, I do not prefer such a learning method although it is supposed to help students better retain lecture material. Firstly, you have to take notes on a separate medium instead of the usual printed lecture notes. Personally, I feel that having all your written and printed lecture notes on the same place is easier and more convenient for revision. Secondly, the slides contain some to little information at times. As the images shown during lecture time cannot be distributed outside of the lecture, the uploaded slides will contain empty slides where the pictures once were. This thus results in some/continuous blank spaces in between slides which I find it to be quite vexing when you can’t remember what image was there during lecture that happened a few days ago. It kinda creates some discontinuity in learning in a sense. Lecture slides usually contain minimal information and thus I feel that it doesn’t really help with the consolidation of learning in the end. The text size in the slides are pretty large, so even when you print out the notes, it doesn’t feel particularly helpful because there isn’t much information and you will ultimately refer to your written/typed notes.

In such a case, the readings for the module become an important resource for more in depth information and is an important complement to the lecture material. I highly recommend completing the readings as religiously as possible every week and annotating/highlighting/even researching online for more information to plug in any missing gaps. It is good to make your own consolidated set of notes throughout the semester i.e incorporating lecture material + typed/written notes during lecture + readings together to create a comprehensive and easily understandable for exam revision. Furthermore, I think the final paper is one of the earliest dates and thus lesser time for revision for a content heavy modules – it is very important to have consistent revision. In my case, I found the Evernote App to be highly helpful for the consolidation of material because I can research and revise on my notes anywhere (using the school computers, on my laptop, revise material on the go on my phone).

The lectures after the midterm focuses on more contemporary issues such as Women, Religion and Discrimination which I found to be more interesting. However, I felt that these topics were not sufficiently covered in depth during lectures (unfortunately) due to time constraints but not to worry – the readings provide much more information.

Post finals thoughts:

Finals MCQ was definitely what I heard from my friends – pretty hard. But having said that, with consistent studying and understanding/memorizing of important names and facts, i think…it would be manageable to secure an average grade (take it with a pinch of salt). It is important to sustain a certain level of interest towards this module throughout the entire semester, granted that interest will wax and wane with the topics covered. Even with decent memory work, some of the questions were pretty tricky and make you doubt your choices every time you re-visit the question. I know that a considerable number of students left the exam venue before the paper ended but I stubbornly stayed on till the end to continue pondering over certain questions I had no idea whether my answer was correct or not. 

Tutorials were held at utown every week, which can be quite sad if you only have a 1h tutorial at utown and then need to rush over to arts where the rest of your lessons are at, so plan your timetable wisely and allocate enough travel time from utown to arts. I think my tutor was pretty good, she kept the tutorial content interesting and kept sharing new interesting information with the class. Awkwardness was kept to a bare minimal as compared to my other discussion-type tutorials. Tutorial participation – it is good to speak up at least once or twice during tutorials. Usually one person will share the group’s discussion to the rest of the class, so I think it’s good to rotate between group members during tutorial so everyone has a chance to talk and gain their tutorial participation points.

In terms of the group research paper, it was quite a headache because the requirements were to have a new and interesting research question that had not been addressed in earlier scholarly writing (i.e another slant towards a certain topic/case study of something that has not been studied before). It doesn’t mean that you can’t apply the general research that has been done, but try to integrate it as supporting evidence into your topic. This finding of topic requires much thought and research, so please start thinking of topics earlier and consult your tutor’s advice should you hit a roadblock.

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