Y1S2 AY15/16 + module reviews

Module Reviews

This sem I took

LSM1101

LSM1102

ST1232

SP1541

MKT1003X

LSM1101

Biochemistry of Biomolecules

Grade: A-

NO WEB CAST

Lectures were once a week (??), mass tutorials (fortnightly), lab work was fortnightly too.
Closed book all the way

Topics:

(from the top of my head; I transferred all of my notes into my hard drive already haha)

(You can always search for more details on google)

• Water + DNA properties (Prof Too Heng Phoon)
• Enzymes + Enzyme Kinetics + Inhibition + Haemoglobin (Dr Long Yun Chau)
• Carbs + Fats + Nucleic Acids (Dr Sudhakar Jha)

Prof Too - an okay lecturer

Dr Long - very passionate & enthusiastic lecturer. But a bit boring because he speaks too slowly for me haha

Dr Jha - Likes to talk about current research. Interesting yes. Content-wise.. I cried lol. Not an effective lecturer in my opinion because the microphone is always too far away from his mouth and even when I concentrated 100% I couldn't catch all he said???????? It was kind of frustrating.

Continuous Assessments (20% each)

First CA - 

all of Prof Too's topics plus half of Dr Long's.

Super difficult imo because Prof Too has the tendency to test on the smallest things that you think are totally unimportant lmao. Dr Long's parts are easy. But please remember your units for the kinetics questions wtf. 

43/100 (I think? It was below the median and mean mark)

Second CA -

Half of Dr Long's topics and half of Dr Jha's (we literally had the CA a day after Dr Jha finished carbohydrates SUPER RUSHED).

It was a killer imo because even though I got all of the MCQs correct, I was stunned by the open ended questions (how does the glycogenolysis cycle cause cancer + identification of cancer gene??).

For the open ended questions I wrote acceptable things, but Dr Jha was looking for concepts like CRISPR. Instead I was stuck with the RNA extraction concept :/

95/100 (I screamed when I saw this)

Lab work

Not graded at all, but important to have a great lab partner to make labs fun, as it is a 4 hour session.

(I got Diane as my lab partner and I am eternally grateful)

We did lab on things like

1. pH and Buffers
2. Quantitative Protein Estimation
3. Enzyme Kinetics
4. DNA gel electrophoresis

A great thing about the lab sessions are that they added onto the content we learnt at lectures. And they were really fun for me! I learnt many lab techniques (beginner level haha) which I really needed because I'm honestly fucking stupid at lab. Our lab reports were filled with ticks so a part of me is kinda sad that lab reports aren't graded but oh well!

Side note: Don't be a fucking jerk and just skip lab just because it isn't graded. Think of your assigned lab partner?? This girl in front of me had no lab partner for 3/4 of the labs, but she seemed really independent. When her lab partner came for one of the sessions, she was just a fucking noisy, annoying bimbo that hardly contributed to anything. I remember staring daggers @ her because she was talking so fucking loudly like shut the fuck up this isn't a market. 

*I think some questions in CA and the final are based on lab, but I can't recall*

Finals (60%)

I really don't remember anything. I can't recall the questions. I can't recall how I felt after the paper. Oh god.

Closed Book.

Okay there were multiple choice & open ended questions. 

For open ended, there were enzyme kinetics questions (calculations). The other questions were on Prof Too and Dr Jha's content. Basically, everything that was not tested in the CA was tested. I was quite dumb and didn't study well for the finals because I didn't know what else they can test since it felt like the CAs were pretty thorough lol 

I think I did pretty well for the final, considering how I wrecked my first CA. 

Conclusion: This module was really tough for me because I struggle with memory work. If you love memorising then it's perfect for you. Pay attention to what the lecturers emphasise, because more often than not, they test it. Of course understanding is important as well!

Lab is kind of important imo because it helped me reinforce concepts taught in lectures.

LSM1102

Molecular Genetics

Grade: A

YES WEB CAST

Topics:

• Chromosome organisation, cell division, genetic transfer (Dr. Wu Jin Lu)
• DNA replication, Transcription, Translation (Dr. Lou Yih Cherng)
• Mendelian genetics, population genetics, linkage etc (Dr. Chew Fook Tim)

Dr. Wu - Has a strong accent but accents never bother me. (I don't get why people complain.. Just shut up and listen to the lecture la) He is a great lecturer, goes into detail, answers email questions really quick. Not very boring

Dr. Lou - Kind of boring.......... Quite a funny lecturer. Overall not bad??

Dr. Chew - Very passionate about genetics lol. Open to questions. (I still don't get why every lecture 1948289748 people will go up to ask him questions like genetics isn't that hard??)

Continuous Assessments (15% each)

One CA for each lecturer.

First CA-

Dr. Wu's first 3 lectures. This the only CA I know my marks lol. Quite do-able. Read the textbook to get more content. Read the specified scientific publication he gives as it will be tested.

10/15

Second CA-

Dr. Lou's first 3 lectures. Do-able. Quite easy even if you study and remember all content & what he emphasised during lectures. Do the tutorial.

Third CA-

Dr. Chew just anyhow bombed us lol. It was an open universe exam (the other two were closed book). So we could discuss, but at a low noise level. We relied on Diane's smart friend (I still dk who you are since I witnessed your prowess on whatsapp, but thanks!!) because we dont know how to calculate the probability wtf???

Lab work (15%)

Lab is graded via lab reports, lab work ability & lab notebook. Hence it pays to be active and ask (smart) questions during lab. (Diane was my lab partner again!!!!!!!!!!!)

Our lab topics are:

1. Gel electrophoresis
2. Transformation
3. Yeast Mutagenesis (group project)

If you really don't know how to answer the discussion questions for the lab report, please go ask the lecturers / your TA! Diane and I were arguing back and forth for our first lab report so I decided to email Dr. Wu. He was really nice and thorough dissecting my questionable draft for the lab report lol

Overall, lab was great because I had a good lab partner (fucking important for this mod because lab reports are graded, plus the group project!) Iy also helped reinforce concepts like 1101's lab did.

Finals (40%)

Honestly, really tough. 80 MCQs. Each lecturer's portion was equally tested. 

The annoying thing was that the calculation questions (dr chew) are all at the back and I knew how to do NONE. I just randomly chose my answer wtf. 

Conclusion: A relatively enjoyable module, albeit extremely content heavy. Consistency is key!! The many CAs we have will actually force you to study and ultimately help for your finals, as in a way, you study less during reading week since you've already studied most of the content beforehand. Lab is important, don't neglect it. All lecturers are extremely approachable and just ask them if you have any doubts.

ST1232
Statistics for Life Sciences
Grade: A

YES WEB CAST

Topics:

1. Exploratory Data Analysis
2. Data Collection
3. Probability
4. Theoretical Probability Distributions
5. Confidence Intervals
6. Comparing Means
7. Nonparametric Tests
8. Linear Regression
9. Categorical Data Analysis
10. Logistic Regression

Lectures were twice a week. Tutorials once a week (attendance taken, 10% of grade). One mid-term, then finals & closed book all the way.

Ms Wong(??) took the first half and then Daisy Pham took the rest after probability distributions I think! I think both were extremely good lecturers. For this module, I webcasted all the way. Most of the time even though I went for the lectures, my soul would leave my body halfway LOL so I had no choice but to webcast it. I actually quite like this module because

a) Lecturers know what they are teaching
b) Tutorial questions given mostly reflect what was thought and not some random thing

Tutorials (10%)
Tbh.. I only went for 3 tutorials lol the rest I asked Gerald to help me sign the attendance sheet wtf (thanks gerald omfg) because.. I didn't do tutorials on time so going there is like a waste?? (I just sleep lol) BUT I finished all tutorial qns before finals and I think they were super useful for application of concepts learnt!!

Mid term (30%)
Essential in securing your grade for this module.
I got 27/30 and it was so scary because 1 point = 1%???? wtf
I honestly studied a lot a lot for this test and I am happy it paid off

Finals (60%??)
Very huge percentage wtf please study everything! Even though they won't test everything. The first question was simple probability and I was STUNNED because I keep doubting if the question is really this easy wtf damn paranoid.
Funny story: I thought the stats exam was @ 9am... So I got my dad to send me to school... But no... it was at... 1pm?? So I almost cried upon realisation wtf and I called my dad to come back and send me home lol im fucking burden!!! But super touched because my dad isn't normally this nice HAHHA i think cox he saw me panic lolz

Conclusion: Do the tutorials, familiarise yourself with the content (VERY IMPORTANT because a lot of people confuse certain concepts and get penalised unnecessarily), do extra practices from text book if you really need (I didn't cox I had no time lol).
This module was the only module I expected an A from (the rest if I get B+ I will dance alrd lol) because of the confidence I got for my mid terms. So again consistency is key!!!

SP1541

Exploring Science Communication through Popular Science

Grade: B+

• Synthesis writing
• Essay draft 1, 2 & final
• Peer review of a classmate's essay
• Group presentation 1& 2 (graded)
• Individual presentation (graded)

This is required mod for all science students, unless you stay in a residential college and take some modules that are able to replace this.

Overall, this is an extremely workload-heavy module. There were group presentations for almost every lesson. My classmates and I had the horrid habit of preparing such ungraded presentations the night before the lesson! Thankfully we didn't do so for the actual graded ones.

Summary of the stuff I did:

Synthesis writing- formulate your own (intellectual) opinion after considering several articles/ given material of a given topic.

Ungraded group presentations- almost every lesson. Our teacher will give us the topic to research and our groupings a few days before class. (There're 2 lessons every week)

Ungraded essay outline presentation- basically give the teacher an idea of what you wish to write on for your essay. Then they can tell you where you should go from there/ if can you even write this topic lol

Graded Essay Drafts- First essay draft is like super raw. Then comes the peer review. Then your second draft. Then your final draft. PLEASE HAND UP ON TIME!!!!! I HANDED UP A DAY LATE AND I GOT PENALISED 20% FUCK MY LIFE I COULD HAVE GOTTEN A- MAYBE??? IDEK SOBS

Peer Review- help your beloved classmates by giving constructive criticism!! It helped me too because I realised my own essay had the same problems as the ones I was reviewing. I think I reviewed Claud's and Shu Kai's, even though I only had to officially do one! 

Graded Group Presentation- We could form our own groups, but different group members for the two presentations we had to do. Choose your own topic, but don't choose something that your group mates are writing their essay on/ same as other groups. Topic should be from or at least inspired by topics from the readings given.

Graded Individual Presentation- This is when you get to present what exactly your essay is about! A tip I would give is make sure to tell everyone (and yourself) why exactly did you choose the topic you have. I feel that passion for a topic is important to formulate a good product (aka your essay + presentation) because you will put more effort into it. Personally I did on the birth control pill (I argued for institutions to educate women on the effects of the pill and other better/ on par alternatives.) (don't copy cox... PLAGIARISM LOL its a really serious offence ok)

I didn't get the best tutor, but I did try my best to understand the requirements of this module by constantly bombarding my tutor with questions. Thinking back I think she probably hates me.
I met the best best best ultimate best classmates from this module. Shukai's nonsense was a breath of fresh air and Claudia's no nonsense kept me really grounded?? HAHAH

MKT1003X
Introduction to Marketing
Grade: A-

(a lot of topics I lazy to copy paste; refer to here)
(I got Prof Lau Geok Theng)

• Flipped classroom (had to watch a lot of videos but I gave up and read the transcript instead
• Real life lectures fortnightly
• Tutorials fortnightly

Tutorial Attendance and Participation  10%
My tutor was Mr Trevor Xie. I REALLY REALLY LIKE HIM because he was so chill but still got things done. He really engaged me and I learnt a lot in every tutorial.
Basically you do your work then go to tutorial to clear misconceptions you may have/ reinforce concepts (basically how all tutorials are HAHAH)
He's also super friendly!!

Subject Pool 10%
I think grad/ research biz students need people to survey LOL hence this subject pool thing. Basically you sign up for surveys to do. Each survey is typically 0.5h and you need to fulfil 3h worth of sessions. If you miss a session you signed up, you'll get a penalty of 1h I think!!

If you really don't want to do this subject pool you can request the lecturer to give you some assignment but why would you do that haha it's super easy to get that 10%

Individual Assignment 15%
You'll be assigned a case study and you have to answer the accompanying discussion questions.
I got Hada Labo and my case was about distribution channels. I think 5 people per tutorial class will get the same case study!
Each case study focuses on a different topic. Other people got pricing strategies and hmm ok I can't remember HAHA
My case study was really doable and I actually enjoyed it

Group Assignment 15%
Choose a company, get information about the company, and then analyse their marketing decisions.

Final Examination 50%

FUCKING DIFFICULT.
I COULDN'T DO HALF THE QUESTIONS I WAS NEAR TEARS DURING THE EXAM I WAS SO SURE I WAS GONNA GET A B- BECAUSE OF FINALS.
Finals tested everything I didn't study lmao
Showed me how spotting questions is always a terrible and gross idea. But everything turned out good I AM SO THANKFUL

_______________________________________________

Went to the national art gallery with chad and mabel!

Kinda awkz double date but it was fun!!

Went to engineering and SRC for reccee lol i almost died

But on this day i used innisfree's BB cushion (the anti oil wan) and it stayed all day wtf?

Took this photo because I thought brandon looked cute lol

Sangee's birthday!! it was a great day of just talking crap and catching up with everyone

First games trial ever lol almost died from screaming @ everyone

Random photo of 02 lab hahaha

Mabel's concert!!!!!! she was so good wtf

I remember this!!! we were studying before a lesson and as usual i didnt study and annoyed diane with snapchat

 Horrific face swap w mabel

Gross yeast that didn't mutate fakku

(ok i think its not the mutation wan i think this is the resistant/ not resistant wan idk)

(yes i am not coherent)

I really like this photo LOL

Brandon's exam welfare pack (i havent eaten most of the snacks.. haha)

Sister's bday celebration @ TYKF!

Javier's housewarming bbq!!!

ok so this semester.. omg what did I do apart from studying..

1) Wrote a lot of proposals lol

2) Did 2 game trials!!

3) Conducted OGL interviews

4) Studied with Diane a shitload

5) Had a SOW chinese new year meal which was fucking good we cleared the entire table hahha

6) Attended like 2 dance lessons lmao

Overall it was a good, albeit kinda boring sem! Thank you Mabel and Gerald for accompanying me during lectures. Thank you Michelle and Diane for helping me chope seat cox im always fucking late lmao. & thank you Diane for studying with me all the time!! Oh and huixian haha thank you for studying with me and choping seats @ science lib during reading week LOL