#cs2008

PSA: 101% subjective. I didn’t even try to keep my opinions to myself so take it with, like, a truckload of salt.

COMPULSORY SHIT THEY MADE ME TAKE (i.e. cores)

1. CS2006 Visual Theories of Communication

Grade: B+

So in the shitstorm of WKW mods I had to take this sem, this was probably the one that made me feel the least like stabbing my eyes out. The lectures are tolerable. Plus it’s quite worth it la, the lecturers are engaging and the content is actually pretty interesting. I’d say just go for them, it’s a pain in the ass having to marathon recorded lectures three days before midterm.

Advice: just do the readings. Watch the supplementary videos. I pretty much didn’t touch the readings for the first 5 weeks or so, and I was so. LOST. during tutorials. There are loads of technical terms to get used to, so go familiarise yourself with them. Do the readings. TRUST ME.

Plus, for the midterm, the essay question was on an hour-long video supplement/documentary that probably less than half the cohort finished watching, including me fml.

But while this module was ok for the learning part, it’s a totally different story in the testing bit. Firstly, it’s really quite subjective. I mean, photography. And the tutors are vaguely encouraging in terms of their comments, which while being good for your self esteem, is not quite as good for your GPA.

Secondly, there are a LOT of photographers and videographers in WKW - which means, right from the start, the bell curve is already skewed beyond repair.

And the losers like me with a photography vocabulary that only extends as far as Instagram filters, just do your best. Team up with people who know how to use cameras during your final project. Go for a DSLR crash course, if possible, so that you won’t seem completely useless and inadequate (like I did).

On the bright side, hopefully your Instagramming skills will get levelled up after this mod. Maybe if you start getting more likes you can send a thank-you email to Nikki or Daniel.

Assessment: - Weekly quizzes - Midterm - Final project (individual + group)

2. CS2008 Fundamentals of Research

Grade: B

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Prof Rosenthal. He’s a damn good speaker and sometimes he’s even engaging enough to distract me from the mind-numbingly dull stuff he talks about. And his name v pretty also yay plus points.

But, ohmygosh, the content is SO. DRY. This was legit my least favourite mod this sem. The lectures are worth going to if just to indulge in Prof Rosenthal’s ‘verbal gold’. But the readings are AWFUL and the long words. The looooong words. I came across ‘explication’ so much that it stopped looking like a real word at all.

And the statistics, oh my gosh. As someone who didn’t take H2 Math, I pretty much died. Thankfully, for the final project, I had groupmates who could actually make head or tail of what all the numbers meant, because I sure as hell could not.

This mod is readings-heavy but not workload-heavy. Do your readings, go for lectures. Google every word as long as you only kindasorta understand it. Try not to cry when you’re doing the stats readings. You’ll live. Probably.

Assessment: - 2 Midterms - Twice-weekly quizzes - Final group project

UNRESTRICTED ELECTIVES:

3. LK9001 Korean Lvl. 1

Grade: B+

All right, so fine, the main reason I took this mod was because of my k-drama addiction. And all right, so taking a class full of ‘fake beginners’ while possessing a vocabulary consisting entirely of love declarations for my oppas was maybe not such a smart decision. And all right, so the fact that I couldn’t even pass my A-Level Chinese should seriously give some indication of my lack of talent in languages.

But seriously. 10/10 no regrets AT ALL.

I loved this mod so much??? I came in only after add/drop so I was really late and missed the first three tutorials. Like by the time I entered the class they’d already finished learning the alphabet and were moving on to basic vocab.

But I eventually managed to catch up, because the tutor would make me repeat sentences over and over and over again. I had to go back and mug the vocab that I missed during the first three lessons, and drill the alphabet like my life depended on it, but in general it was OK.

It’s not an easy mod, don’t get me wrong. There’s a shit-ton of homework and memorising and you can’t miss a single tutorial or you’ll be super behind.

But oh my gosh it was SO MUCH FUN. The tutor is really engaging and funny, and I totally love how she uses Hallyu icons to illustrate sentence structure and stuff, like Teacher likes Kim Woo-Bin vs. Kim Woo-Bin likes Teacher. And I think in the midst of all the theory-centred WKW mods this sem, learning something tangible that I could actually use made it that much more compelling.

I’m seriously considering taking Korean Lvl 2 even though I’m not even all that good at it, because I loved it so much. Like it’s not even about the k-dramas anymore, it’s just that it’s, well, fun. I looked forward to every single tutorial and I think that goes to say a lot. 한국어를 어렵지만 재미있어요!! (Korean is difficult but fun!!)

Assessment: - Listening + Written Quiz - Midterm - Essay - Oral Presentation

4. HZ9101 Intro to Creative Writing

Grade: B+

This was definitely one of my favourite mods this sem as well. 3-hour seminars, doing basically nothing but writing and discussing writing? Dream. Come. True.

But heads up: it’s all really subjective, plus tbh if you don’t have a solid foundation in English, it’s pretty much suicide to take this mod. Plus the bell curve is steep, it’s hard to get an A, and you have to be really quite thick-skinned when it comes to getting your writing critiqued. But what can I say, it’s fuuuuun. *cries*

There’s very little theory involved, and tbh there’s not much teaching involved either. I’d say this is more of an exposure module - for me, I’ve never cared much for indie or local authors, but I read a few of the short stories that was introduced to us in the readings and, like, wow. It was really inspiring, actually, to see how local culture and quality writing aren’t mutually exclusive.

You’re going to have to write quite a bit. As I said, not much theory, much more practical. It’s super hard at first tbh, ‘cause I mostly go by feel, right, but learning to turn the writing-tap on and off at will is a skill that you’ll develop in this class.

But, fair warning: this is a graded class and it’s still going to affect your GPA. Passion or emotion alone won’t cut it. If you don’t have a strong command of English, I would seriously not recommend this mod. This isn’t an English class, nobody’s gonna bother to try and fix your mistakes - at most it’ll just be an offhand comment, like, 'your grammar could use some cleaning up’ and stuff like that. But the overall impression is going to be, well, pretty shitty, really. Just saaaayin’.

ON THE OTHER HAND there IS a segment where you could possibly salvage your grade - the multimedia project. I’ve seen plenty of my classmates who were maybe not so great at writing, but once they combined their words with their other talents - art, for example, or videography - it really upped the level of their piece quite a lot. So, if you’re not so good at English but you still wanna take this mod, all is not lost - as long as you have another fantastic talent.

And if you don’t - well, there’s always S/U ☺️

Assessment: - Fiction Assignment - Poetry Assignment - Multimedia Project - Reading & Writing Journal (pure fluff)

5. HP1000 Intro to Psych

Grade: A

I took this in Sem 2 and the lecturer was pretty shitty. Couldn’t hear her half the time and when I could hear her, I couldn’t understand her cos her accent was pretty thick. She showed us lots of videos tho, which were mostly cool.

Thankfully, you’ll probably be able to coast through with the slides and especially the textbook. Textbook is v v v important, def need to buy. Tutorials are good for in-depth explanations and demonstrations of concepts, and to ask questions. Go for tutorials. If you don’t understand stuff, ask. Also, attendance is marked, so.

The content was interesting enough to compensate for the crap lecturer and crap lecture slot (9.30 kill me). A lot of memorising, not just understanding. But it’s honestly quite fascinating, so that makes it a lil easier.

If you take it in Sem 1 you’ll be competing with the year-1 Psych students. It’s a compulsory mod for them so they can’t S/U, which means they’ll be studying extra hard to do well. The bell curve will be hell. But it’s also a foundation mod for the Psych students, so imo there’ll be less chance of a crap lecturer. Choose when to take the mod at your own discretion.

Assessment: - Midterm - Final Examination

So, well, that’s it. Tbh I’m glad to see the end of this semester, my core modules were really quite terrible and my UEs were far from easy. I think I’ll cut myself some slack next sem.