Saturday, July 6
NUS Module Reviews
I've officially completed my freshman year at NUS, and I've taken 11 modules. I'll write down my thoughts on the modules and some tips here if I have any :)
Because I am a Computing student, most of this are CS core modules.
Also also
~*my grades have improved*~ and I meet my requirement for my concurrent degree now oyay oyay!!
(T_T now to keep that up)
P.S. You can find the files for all my modules here.
CS1101s Programming Methodology
Programming in javascript. I died in this module. Workload is intense. They get you to recursion in like, what, week two?! I hated this module but I don't regret taking it because it forced me to work. Beginners in programming have to work extra hard or they will die.
They use this web game system where you earn points whenever you solve a programming problem, which usually comes with a backstory. You get a heck load of assignments each week. It's like 35% of your final grade. There are extra problems too, but everybody does them anyway because they're all kiasu/crazy competitive. I bugged my tutor michael yong every day because I didn't know how to solve almost everything :( All the tutors are very dedicated and they know the course puts you through real shit and will do their best to address all your issues.
For the project, you get to program a robot.
To do well in this module, program a lot and bug your tutor.
I didn't put in as much effort as my coursemates (but I did try, ok) and was possibly one of the last in my cohort. I got a B+. Take it if you really want to improve yourself. You will learn a lot.
CS1231 Discrete Structures
HAHA I got a really shitty grade for this module (my worst grade) and I don't really remember shit. I think there are some
logic and proving thingys lol sorry I'm not really helpful!!!! I skipped most of the lectures because I didn't understand shit and did none of the tutorials. Also lectures were 3 hours and were in the morning, who goes to those?! For the finals, I didn't even know what I was writing.
Prof Bressan is really nice tho!!
And the other prof, Prof sim, dressed up as
buzz lightyear to teach us the topic of Infinity.
Oh yeah, but I remember being good at the exam
MCQ portion, so use that to score!
My friend has a summary of the syllabus which is immensely helpful -
here.
MA1101R Linear Algebra
I don't remember much about this module too. I remember uh, dimensions and matrices ^^;
I skipped most of the lectures. They are skippable.
Do lots of past year papers. I don't know how to do well for this.
PH1102e Introduction to Philosophy
To me, this is an easy A module.
Just look at the
final paper! 2 hours for 20 MCQ questions which most people finish in half an hour.
Half of your final grade is taken up by your
weekly summaries of readings (
200 words each) though, so you've got to be decent at summarizing stuff. I mostly got 8-10 marks for them. The summaries are very short, they don't take long to do. I don't read the readings completely.
What I loved most was the content. IT WAS SO DAMN
INTERESTING. I love the lecturer,
Prof Pelczar. He reminds me of Dean Pelton of
Community. I've never voluntarily paid attention to ANYONE before, that's how good he is. He makes everything so funny and he's so sarcastic. He's awesome.
I have notes -
here - which are short summaries of each chapter.
NM2101 Theories of Communication & New Media
Some theories. Lecturer Gui was funny. He likes to talk about his children.
Content is dry but easy to understand.
I didn't like the long and boring readings, so I didn't read them. I think you're supposed to read them because tutorials are based off them.
The module is annoying because you have to participate in the forums. Ugh. And during class :(
All I did was make notes -
here. I got a B+ in the end, which is ok considering I abandoned this module til the last minute.
MA1521 Calculus for Computing
Mm math :) I don't know why lots of people hate this module. I think it was okay. Lecturer was Wang Fei, and he's super nice! He's trying to set easier papers.
To do well, do your
tutorials and past year papers. It's a
self study module.
I guess you can try to pay attention during lectures.
I stopped attending tutorials halfway. They are not very important. They give solutions anyway.
There are three
graded assignments. Do them with friends.
CS1020 Data Structures & Algorithms I
Programming in java. Module was super easy at the start but difficulty increased exponentially towards the end. I don't have much to say about this module.
I hated the
Sit-In Labs :( Always failed those. Only got full marks for one.
Be familiar with Data Structures and their complexities when it comes to searching, inserting, deleting. Know the sorts. Know binary search. Know recursion. Know that an O(log n) uses divide and conquer.
Try to program more!!!
CS2100 Computer Organisation
I don't remember what I learnt for this one. Let me recall.
-Logic gates look like dicks.
-Not-Logic gates look like dicks with gonorrhea.
-You learn this machine language called MIPS.
-You get to fuck with circuits during labs.
-You learn about how data moves about/is stored in the computer. Registers and shit.
...
LSM1301 General Biology
Another easy A module. Sec 4 biology.
Just be familiar with the lecture powerpoint notes.
One or two days to study it is enough.
There are 6 labs which are all very doable. Don't forget your lab coat kids.
Go for the
lectures. The first part especially; they bring live samples and it's super interesting.
Only gripe is climbing up the hill to reach LT32.
GEK1055 The Theatre Experience
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ugh, this module scarred me for
life!!! My tutor was
horrible. I've never been so angry at a teacher/tutor before! He was so unfair, I had to see the head lecturer, Dr Paul Rae, about what he did/said to me. Who agreed that he was being a total dick to me. I am so glad I did!
Paul Rae is very nice.
You get to watch stuff during lectures, but i found the content quite boring.
I didn't bother with the readings.
There is no exam for this module but you have to do reviews of a film and a production. That means you need $$$ and
good essay writing skills!
Going to esplanade to watch the play was a nice experience.
There's a group project and I met this cool group mate who was into indie concerts and good music. I drove him to school for awhile. He gave me some CDs featuring some bands. He introduced me to Barcelona, this awesome sounding band. Doing the group project was fun. My bestie was in my group too! ^o^
CS3240 Interaction Design
This module was ABSOLUTELY
amazing. I had so much fun. Because during class, you get to
draw a lot. And you had to draw fast. You also had to
interview people. You look at other's ideas and drawings. I had fun doing all that! The lecturer, Bimlesh, was also super nice :)) It also helped that I had good friends to do this module with!
Guys, I even drew a
porn comic about phones and they let me stick it on the whiteboard for
days.
Example of thing I drew during class activity.
We were given like 3 minutes to draw that.
Also, the
labs teach you useful stuff like
Bootstrap and Flash!
There's a
group project (35%) in which you have to plan and create a prototype to solve a problem. Find good members. We had this member who didn't do anything and we had to tell the teacher about him.
Final exam tests your speed writing skills. I almost didn't finish the paper. ;_;
I made this new friend who kept bugs and reptiles.
Here are my notes! They're made from the textbook and seminars. You still need to look at the powerpoint notes though.
Cooking
Food I've made during the holidays with my beloved friends:
- Fried rice
- Teriyaki salmon
- Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin mashed potato with roasted garlic
- Greentea cheesecake with oreo crust
- Lasagna
They all tasted awesome!!
Am also learning how to cook vegetables!
Shopping
I got clothes. I went to the new mall in Jurong, Jem.
Lol i saw this in Bershka!!
Eyeshadow palette
Hair
I'm going to cut it next week. n__n
Hope it goes well.
Art
I bought watercolors!
Painting in coffeeshops! ♥
Making quick cards!
Making bookmarks!
(For the teachers who had to set new exam papers for me.)
You can get this set of watercolors at
artfriend for $6. The brand is
Reeves.
Or you can try
Lyra too. They are cheap and good.
Looking to make
adventure time fanart!
diarrhea dance
I'm teaching this to everybody.
Labels: art, baking, cs3240, hair, module reviews, NUS module reviews, shopping
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