AY2012-2013 Semester 1 Module Review

EC1101E Introduction to Economic Analysis 

This module is basically divided into two parts, micro and macro. Micro is covered during the first half of the semester by Dr. Connie Chung while macro is covered during the second half of the semester by Prof Ho Kong Weng. If you had taken H2 Econs in JC, this module should be of little difficulty to you. But having said that, most of the people should already have had some background prior to taking this module. Hence, the bell curve for this module is relatively steep. I strongly recommend getting the textbook for this module.

Weightage
Tutorial attendance and participation: 10%
Group project (4 or 5 in a group): 20%
Macro quiz: 20%
Finals: 50%

(The above information might not be entirely correct as this module was taken quite sometime ago.)

The project requires students to source for articles online and apply microeconomic theories in analyzing the articles. The word limit is 500 words and I should say it is really quite a feat to keep to the word limit. The project score will be uploaded onto IVLE nearing Week 12 or 13. For my semester, it was simply a "Fair", "Good", "Very Good". I got "Very Good".

The macro quiz consisted of 20 MCQ. I did not do well for this component as I neglected many facts in the book and many questions were a test of your memory rather than concepts. But I never knew what my exact score is though I checked with my peers and know which questions were answered incorrectly.

The finals was again MCQ. I was actually pretty taken aback with the standard of the questions that Dr. Chung had set since her lecture style is close to atrocious but the questions she had set actually required a lot more thinking than the macro questions.

Result: B+
I guess the micro component really pulled me down a lot since I scored an overall B+ despite doing very well for the project component. Nevertheless, one should do well for this module by revising consistently and understanding the concepts well.

GEK2001/SSA2202 Changing Landscapes of Singapore 

This module is more of general knowledge rather than geography. I should think as long as you have a good grasp of landscapes in Singapore, there should be absolutely no problem in scoring for this module. I strongly recommend taking this module to clear your SS module due to the light workload and easy content.

Weightage
Tutorial participation: 13%
Mid-terms: 12%
Group project: 25%
Finals: 50%

(The above information might again be inaccurate.)

Mid-terms was on ageing landscapes, which happened to be the topic of my project so I did not study for it. I got a B+ for it. Midterms were returned during tutorials.

The project was tedious as students had to do research, collect data and personally visit the landscape they are doing (if it is in Singapore) to take photos and include them in the paper. However, I finished the project within 2 days and chucked it aside for the rest of the time, hence ending up with a mediocre grade, B.

The questions in the finals might be phrased in a way such that it isn't easy to understand what is required of you. But just stay calm as it is highly likely that people around you are going through the same difficulties. Anyway, the bell curve for this module isn't steep at all, if that helps a bit. Or rather, I think this would help a lot more: I only began revision for the finals on the day itself after a paper in the morning.

Result: B+

MA1100 Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics

This module was taken by Prof Victor Tan. He is a very good prof and is extremely helpful. Because homework questions were from the textbook, it is almost compulsory to get the textbook. This module focuses on proofs for topics ranging from number theory to sets and functions. For students who are not inclined towards doing proofs, they will face difficulties with this module. I actually took this module only because I thought I would do a second major in Mathematics.

Weightage
Lecture quizzes: 8% (would have to find a clicker buddy)
Tutorial attendance: 2%
Homework: 10%
Midterms: 20% (helpsheet allowed)
Finals: 60% (helpsheet allowed)

Almost everyone in the cohort will secure the lecture quizzes component as well as the homework.

The midterms was relatively easy as compared to the finals. The average was 28/40. I got 31. There was only one slightly challenging question on number theory which many people couldn't do. But Prof VT actually said the question was taken from the textbook. So practising the textbook questions will be helpful. However, there are no detailed solutions for many questions and even if there are, it might take quite some time to understand the proofs. Midterms were returned to students during tutorials.

Finals paper was easy at the start but there were 2 or 3 challenging questions at the back.

Result: B 
The last question in the finals was worth 10 marks and mathematical induction could be used to solve it. However, I only thought of the method right after my paper was collected. The important thing is to remain calm during exam and recall all the concepts learnt during class to try to see if they can be applied to the questions. Proper presentation of working also matters a lot for this module as that was also another reason why I did badly.

MA1102R Calculus

This module was taken by Dr Goh Say Song and Dr Wang Fei. Both are very helpful lecturers and will reply to students' queries promptly. Though many have said that Dr Goh's lectures are better than Wang Fei's, I thought that Wang Fei's lectures were fine as well (my lecturer was Wang Fei). But both have very different lecture styles; Dr Goh's is a lot more hands-on in the sense that you have to fill in the empty pages during the lectures. However, I skipped the lectures towards the end of the semester. I think the only difficulty in this module for most people is the epsilon-delta part. As all maths and stats majors will know, the bell curve for this module is very steep.

Weightage
Maple quiz: 5%
Homework: 15%
Midterms: 20%
Finals: 60%

Most people can secure close to full marks for the maple quiz and homework. However, I couldn't as I did them independently and my concepts weren't very strong then.

The average for the midterms was 45/70. I got a very atrocious score of 38. Basically, I screwed up because I panicked very badly during the midterms. But in all honesty, upon attempting the paper again, I could get all the answers so the midterms is really doable. Midterms were returned during tutorials.

Finals was pretty standard as typical of calculus papers. I don't think there was a problem of time constraint at all. Several proofs on Rolle's Theorem, FTC and MVT came out for finals.

Result: B+
Practise, practise and practise. You can really score for this module with sufficient practice.

SC1101E Making Sense of Society

This module was not in the least interesting to me. It covers themes like gender and globalisation, etc. Personally, lectures are useless but that could just be my biased opinion as most people seem to enjoy the lectures.

Weightage:
Tutorial participation: 10%
Mid-terms: 20%
Individual essay: 20%
Finals: 60%

I did fairly well for the mid-term and essay component, scoring A- for both. However, the finals probably screwed me up very badly. Most of the time, I felt like I was just writing fluff on my answer booklet. Anyway, you have to collect your individual essay from the general office and midterms will be... I actually never got to see my midterms scripts again but I asked the TA for my grade.

Result: B+
I have no advice as to how one should go about studying for this module. I guess it boils down to your writing skills during the finals.