Author Topic: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings (Read 778539 times) Tweet Share

This is a thread for subject or majors reviews only. If you have any questions, then please PM the member who wrote the review. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the opinions of the university. Keep in mind that despite best efforts, information provided may not be accurate. To request a review, please use the review request thread.

We encourage you to review the subject(s) you have completed, even if someone else has already reviewed your subject(s). The more reviews we have, the more helpful this resource will be. Please try to avoid overly denigrating lecturers and keep your review relatively objective.

Please use the following template for subject reviews:

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[b]Subject Code/Name:[/b] [url=insert link here]SUBJECT CODE - SUBJECT NAME[/url]  Please insert the handbook link for the subject, and replace SUBJECT CODE - SUBJECT NAME with the appropriate details

[b]Workload:[/b]  (specify how many lectures, pracs, tutes etc. and their duration)

[b]Assessment:[/b]  (Outline the various assessments which make up the subject and how much each counts for)

[b]Recorded Lectures:[/b]  Yes, with/without screen capture

[b]Past exams available:[/b]  Yes, how many?  No. Was there a sample exam?

[b]Textbook Recommendation:[/b]  What must you buy?  What is "recommended"?  Do you need it?

[b]Lecturer(s):[/b]

[b]Year & Semester of completion:[/b]

[b]Rating:[/b]  out of 5

[b]Your Mark/Grade:[/b] (Optional)

[b]Comments:[/b] Give your overall opinion of the subject, lecturers, assessment etc. and a recommendation, plus anything else which you feel is relevant.

and the following template for majors reviews:

Code: [Select]

[b]Major:[/b] [url=http://insert link here]Major Name[/url]  Replace "insert link here" with the handbook url for the major and replace "Major Name" in the URL tags with the appropriate name of the major. Also delete this text. 

[b]First Year Subjects:[/b]

[b]Second Year Subjects:[/b]

[b]Third Year Subjects:[/b]

[b]Year of completion:[/b]

[b]Rating:[/b]  out of 5

[b]Comments:[/b] Please include all relevant comments about the major, briefly explaining how you found individual subjects and giving some background about the major itself. Feel free to detail your personal experiences, though do not include unnecessary rancour. Including where you hope the major to take you, or indeed where it has taken you is also very welcome!

http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/

Template courtesy of stonecold's University of Melbourne subject review page.

Mod edit (AW): Original 1st post ends here.

Subject Code/Name: ENG1060 - Computing for Engineers

Workload: Weekly 3 x 1hr lectures, 1 x 3hr lab.

Assessment: 30% Internal Marks (9x2% lab, 1x2% library test, 1x10% Assignment), 70% 3hr end of sem exam.

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: About 5 years of Sem1/2 exams (10), although the course had changed a little so not all questions might be relevant.

Textbook Recommendation: Highly Recommended to get a copy of Matlab on your personal computer. It makes preparation much more convenient. I don't recommend getting the prescribed textbook for this unit as the lecture notes covers just about everything, and there are heaps of copies available in the library.

Lecturer(s): Dr. Wai Ho Li

Year & Semester of completion: 2011 Sem 1

Rating: 4.5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 94 - HD

Comments: I kind of enjoyed this subject as it gave me an insight as to how basic codes operates. However, if you are not interested in computers/electronics, then you would truly hate this subject.

Generally, I would say that this subject is quite easy. The main chunk of the course is basically memorizing codes and knowing how to apply them, along with some straightforward numbers plugging and basic algebra). This subject may seem overwhelming during the first few weeks when you are unfamiliar with the program, but once you get the hang of it, you'll see that there's nothing really difficult.

Lab Classes: Every week, we are given 5 tasks which are to be completed during the lab. However, they are normally released on the weekend before the lab, so if you are prepared to spend some of your time finishing off the lab work at home, you basically go to your labs to get your work marked. I spent 2-5 hrs prior to each lab finishing off the lab work and easily scored full marks for all my labs.(Generally if you prepare well for the labs, you should be getting close to full marks).

Library Test: This is the biggest waste of time ever. During one of your lab class, you will be brought to the library and will have to endure through an hour or so of the most boring presentation in the universe. At the end of that ordeal, you would be required to answer a series of question(a quiz) regarding the usage of the library systems etc etc. If unsure, just ask the presenter and they'll sort of tell you the answers.

Assignment: The assignment is fairly challenging. Ask your peers, discuss with others on discussion boards along with getting Wai Ho to give hints(prepared to get trolled

). Just tackle the problems one step at a time and it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

Exam: There are 2 sections. In my opinion, Section A is the section which seems 'easy', but this is the section which most people would lose marks on as there are a couple of tricks lying about. The type of questions asked in this section revolves around the functions of certain codes, as well as interpreting codes. This part is generally easy if you are familiar with the codes and are willing to read carefully and slowly.
In Section B, we are asked to apply different types of numerical methods. This basically involves repetitive number plugging into formulas which are provided. There's an extremely high chance that you'll lose marks here, not due to insufficient skills/knowledge, but due to plugging incorrect numbers into the calculator(I did this on the exam

) Other than that, there's not much thinking required for this section.

Lecturer: Wai Ho is one of my preferred lecturer as he explains new material fairly well. He also cracks random jokes during the lectures which would've kept me awake if the lecture halls aren't heated to that prefect temperature for sleeping... Another plus for Wai Ho is that he replies questions posted on the discussion boards quite quickly, along with the occasional trolling. He plays StarCraft II

Mao · « **Reply #2 on:** July 08, 2011, 11:54:35 pm »

Subject Code/Name: MTH3360 - Fluid Dynamics

Workload: 3 Lectures/week. 10 Tutes/semester. 2 tests. 1 Assignment. 1 exam.

Assessment: Attendance to tutes count for 10%. In week 2 there is a 5% vector calculus test (brush up on MTH2010). The mid-semester test is quite easy (every question is a proof question). The assignment is quite challenging. Final exam isn't easy, but mostly straight forward.

Recorded Lectures: Yes, but why bother?

Past exams available: Yes. Many. With solutions. (Solutions often have mistakes, as we expect)

Textbook Recommendation: Lecture notes. Buy them/print them out. Actual textbooks aren't necessary.

Lecturer(s): Rosemary Mardling (if she is in the country). Louis Moresi.

Year & Semester of completion: 2011 S1

Rating: 3 Out of 5

Comments: Rosemary's section is essentially a continuation of MTH2032. Louis teaches some quite challenging concepts in the second part of the course. And whilst he knows his stuff, he doesn't communicate it well. Few people understand what he means, most will feel like they're failing. But he does provide quite a few videos as supplementary resources, which are quite helpful. These will teach you more than going to the lectures. Lectures are useless. Stay home and read the notes. Do the tute questions, go to the tutes. Ask questions there.

Mao · « **Reply #3 on:** July 09, 2011, 12:07:11 am »

Subject Code/Name: CHM3911 - Advanced Physical Chemistry

Workload: HEAPS.
Weekly labs + lab reports. Some are computational labs (requiring a lot of computer work, graphing, long reports, answering theory questions). The chemistry involved are quite 'physics-esque' and can be heavy on the maths side.
Many assignments. You will almost always be spending time every week on some assignment or other, ALONGSIDE your lab reports.
Mid-semester test. (20%)
Final exam. (Mid-sem materials not examinable)

Assessment: refer to above

Recorded Lectures: Yes, but why bother? (Most phys. chemists are dicks)

Past exams available: You're joking right? (No, maybe 1 including irrelevant coursework)

Textbook Recommendation: Print all lecture notes. Definitely get a book on molecular symmetry. If you can spare the cash, also get a copy of Atkins.

Lecturer(s): Many. Who can keep count?

Year & Semester of completion: 2011 S1

Rating: 3 Out of 5

Comments: Lab reports can be a bitch. Spend time on it. Assignments ARE bitches. Definitely spend time on it. Many people skipped assignments/lab reports, because the commitment this subject demands can at times be unrealistic. (Even I skipped certain lab reports, it's just not worth it). Definitely plan your schedule around this subject.

Most people don't enjoy this subject, because they innately hate physics, and the workload makes it that much worse. Anyone who isn't fascinated by the physical and mathematical interpretation of chemistry, you'd do well to avoid this subject. If you are interested, however, the learning experience will be very rewarding. Despite the horrendous workload and poor administration, it is still my favourite subject.

Course is poorly organised, many parts are poorly taught. You'll need to do your own research on most of the stuff (lectures, labs, assignments. The fact that they don't relate to each other is not surprising at all.) Learn to use scientific databases, they are important.

Spheniscidaphile · « **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2011, 04:58:38 am »

Subject Code/Name: ATS1091 - German Studies 1

Workload: Weekly 1 x 2hr culture lecture, 3 x 1hr language tute

Assessment: 25% Culture Exam, Language component 75%, comprising 4 mini tests, 4 homeworks, 2 dialogues, two larger tests, all in-semester, and a language test and oral test during exam period (worth ~30% or total mark).

Recorded Lectures: No recordings available.

Past exams available: No past exams available.

Textbook Recommendation: You need the coursebook for the language component, which contains all the assessable material. Readings for the culture component are provided. There is a recommended book for the Culture side, but it's not essential and you could get by with wiki.

Lecturer(s): Dr. A. Fliethman, J. Beckman

Year & Semester of completion: 2011/sem 1

Rating: 4.5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: HD.

Comments:

I found this subject to be more interesting than I had expected. The culture component touched on German history from the medieval period through to the 19th century, with an emphasis on the change to social structures over that time. There was also some discussion of aesthetics, philosophy, political theory and comparison to contemporary australia. Dr. A was fairly flexible and encouraged discussion around the edges of the subject areas.
One downside was the lack of past exams for the culture component, so that we weren't quite sure what to expect for most of the semester. Recordings would have been nice too! Since there aren't recordings, you have to actually attend (9am

). There was only one written assessment for Culture, the final exam, which wasn't too hard if you'd done the readings. I would really recommend doing the readings and taking notes on them or thinking about them before the lectures as you get more out of it. 1 page or so of revision notes was enough to prepare for the culture exam.

As for the language component, it was taught very well, in a relaxed (except for the dialogue/orals stress) and almost fun atmosphere. There seemed to be loads of small assessments (15 or so), but each was only worth a small percentage, so easy to make up for a bad one. Basic conversational german was covered, with noun cases, adjectives, the present and some of the past tenses. The hardest part was vocab of course, and remembering the genders of nouns. Some more descriptive vocab would have been nice.

Spheniscidaphile · « **Reply #5 on:** July 10, 2011, 05:01:19 am »

Subject Code/Name: ATS1338 - The Language Game: Why do we talk the way we do?

Workload: 2 x 1hr lectures, 1 x 1hr tute.

Assessment: 1 x short literature review 15% , 2 x short answer exercises 35% total, tutorial presentations 10%, exam 40%.

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: One past exam, provided by lecturer towards the end of semester.

Textbook Recommendation: The textbook, "Introduction to Language" is useful, but you don't need to buy it. It's expensive (~$100) and there are lots of different editions out there - easy to get the wrong one. The Matheson has a fair few copies and additional weekly readings are provided online.

Lecturer(s): Dr. H. Manns, and several (6 or more) specialist guest lecturers during semester.

Year & Semester of completion: 2011/sem 1

Rating: 4 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: not released yet.

Comments:
   This subject tries to give a broad overview of most of the areas of study in linguistics, and some idea as to the content and methodologies used. As a result, you won't study any particular aspect to great depth, but neither will you be expected to write a thesis on them. At times it felt like a 12 week advertisement for the linguistics dept.
   Expect to cover some phonology, syntax, historical linguistics, pragmatics, language acquisition, psychology of language and stylistics. The textbook contains all you will need for assessment, and loads of additional (and optional!) resources are supplied if you want to read further. Much of the course content was interesting and relevant, especially complementary if you're doing arts subjects or languages. However, how much you get out of each topic will depend on your interests, so expect to be bored at least some of the time.
   If you've done the English Language VCE subject before, this unit is a bit of a bludge, but still slightly more rigorous than EL.
The lecturers were all good and really knew their stuff, and Dr. Manns is especially entertaining - it's like watching stand-up. There was free wine, beer and nibbles at the party after the final lecture! FREE. BEER.

Spheniscidaphile · « **Reply #6 on:** July 10, 2011, 05:02:45 am »

Subject Code/Name: ATS1340 - Words Work: Academic Skills for Arts

Workload: 1 x 1hr lecture, 1 x 2hr tute.

Assessment: 1 x major essay 40%, exam 20%, 2 shorter written pieces 15% each, an oral presentation/critique 10%.

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: Don't think so, but didn't look.

Textbook Recommendation: Coursebooks are provided, no purchases necessary.

Lecturer(s): Dr. M. Piscioneri

Year & Semester of completion: 2011/sem 1

Rating: 5 of 5

Your Mark/Grade: D

Comments:
   The handbook entry describes this course pretty accurately, so look there for that. This would be a good unit for someone without good writing/research skills, or for international students to get used to the local academic style & expectations.
   If you're confident in your essay writing skills, then it's probably not worth your while, and you could just use the learning unit to polish your academic style (search monash AALLU). It's basically to train you to research and prepare essays of a reasonable academic standard, and will probably add a few marks to your submitted work in other subjects for the rest of your degree.
   This was easily the most interesting and thought provoking subject I took this semester, mostly due to the history of ideas element. I found it more difficult than I expected and got swamped with readings. I would point out though, that these were readings I chose for my major essay, and if I had taken to heart the advice about research reading given in the lectures, I would have saved myself a lot of pain and time. Dr. Piscioneri is a really good teacher (anyone in the class would vouch for that) and presents material quite clearly.

gemgem49 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 10, 2011, 01:04:22 pm »

Subject Code/Name: ATS2559 - Global Studies

Workload: 1x 1h lecture, 1x 1h tutorial for duration of semester

Assessment:
1500 word critical analysis on the three readings from the first week - 20%
2000 word research essay on a cultural issue from the country you are studying abroad in (you make up the topic yourself) - 50%,
1 hr exam - 20%
Tutorial participation which is made up from a group presentation - 10%

Recorded Lectures: Yes

Past exams available: Unknown

Textbook Recommendation: University reader with all the readings provided which you must buy, as the first assignment is based on readings in it.

Lecturer(s): Jo Hook, various guest lecturers.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2011. Completion: N/A

Rating: 1/5

Your Mark/Grade: N/A

Comments: This is a core unit for those completing the Bachelor of Arts (Global) degree. The only good thing about this subject was getting to meet other people who were all planning to study abroad and discussing the application process and potential universities with them (because their knowledge is much more obtainable and thorough than anything the study abroad office will give you).

The assessment written on the handbook entry for this subject is wrong. I have written the correct assessment. The marks for tutorial participation come from a group assignment (you are split into groups based on the region you are studying abroad to). Your group must run one tutorial and present ideas, information and run class discussions.

The readings are the most intense I have ever had to do as an Arts student - the reader is huge. The readings are exceptionally bland and the topics are not cohesive at all. I gave up after about week 5, no one in my class did the readings so we all kind of just sat there talking about study abroad when split into groups. I would say it is not crucial that you do complete all readings as tutorial participation comes from your presentation and they're not really necessary for any other parts of the course (i.e. the exam is a combination of basic knowledge learnt from lectures + the ability to bullshit how it relates to cultural 'self and identity'.) The first assignment is explained very badly and I know a lot of students were confused. I would recommend going directly to your tutor and finding out exactly what THEY want you to do, as they're the ones marking it and there were a lot of conflicting messages from the lecturer and tutor.

While trying to remain objective, this subject was run so poorly and one of the reasons I decided to leave Monash. The research essay can be okay if you choose a topic you're interested in, as is the group presentation. But the tutorials were a waste of time, the tutor I had was unhelpful and the lectures were an accumulation of dry, historical information that didn't attempt to relate back to key themes at all.

slothpomba · « **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2011, 12:28:15 am »

Subject Code/Name: BIO1011 - Biology I

Workload: 2 x One Hour Lectures. 1 x Three hour lab.

Assessment: Exam(Not a hurdle, you don't need to pass the exam to pass the unit) - 40%
Mastering Biology Pre-lecture Readings Quizes - 5%
Blackboard Quizes - 15%
Practical Reports - 30%
Essay - Draft -2%
Essay - Final - 8%

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: No past exams available. They rework the previous exam year to year. There was however, a quiz on blackboard that had practice questions.

Textbook Recommendation: Biology 8th edition. Campbell, Reece, Meyers. Not really necessary. Exam is based on lecture material only. You need it to do the reading before the lectures and the quizes associated with these. Nothing you couldn't manage by borrowing it from the uni library i guess. Its only 2 hour loan/overnight loan i think though. Still useful to have.

Lecturer(s): Heaps, not going to list them all here.

Year & Semester of completion: S1 2011

Rating: 4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 70

Comments: Very good unit overall. It only has 2 x 1 hour lectures instead of 3 lectures a week, like most of the other science subjects which is nice. As someone who has done VCE biology however, a lot of the stuff is repeated, in a little more depth but still not worth it i think. Monash doesn't stream biology, there isn't a biology unit for people who have done VCE and for people who haven't. There are some other subjects that weren't covered in VCE like parasites, sponges, other kinds of animals. More indepth stuff about plant diversity. This isn't really anything i'm interested in though.

It is incredibly broad and i guess "thin" in some places. Evolution had only 2-4 lectures. I noticed a lot of people didn't get certain concepts, especially if they didn't do VCE Bio. 2-4 Lectures isn't really enough to get a good grasp of evolution. In VCE we had weeks and weeks, i'm thankful i came in with that knowledge. I reckon it would of been a much harder ride for me without it. It's because im lazy though haha, definetly do-able.

Practical lessons were alright, no complaints there.

I don't really have any major criticisms for the unit except for the minor stuff mentioned above.

taiga · « **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2011, 01:25:45 am »

Subject Code/Name: ETC1000 - Business and Economic Statistics

Workload: 12x1.5 hr lectures, 13x45 min online lectures (need these for real lectures), 12x1.5hr Tutes

Assessment: 3x5% Online multi choice tests, 5x3% Tute pracs, 70% exam

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available: Many past exams available, 3 with solutions + Practice exam with solutions

Textbook Recommendation: Never ever used the textbook

Lecturer(s): Brett Inder - Pretty cool guy, pretty interesting to listen to, funny. Can be a bit strict with noise, but fair enough.

Year & Semester of completion: 2011 Sem 1

Rating: 3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 86/HD

Comments: Found the lectures boring, not because of the lecturer, but the fact that I never watched the online videos, and the content was stuff that you could read and learn very quickly. Ended up attending two lectures in the semester, but this subject is very easy to study for if you're a quick learner. Everything you need to know is in the notes. I do warn people doing it that the Multi Choice tests will give you a surprise, as they are highly mathematical in some instances. Come exam time, getting a hold of more past exam solutions will help you a lot. That said not everyone learns in the same way, so I definitely suggest you attend the first few lectures.

Muuru · « **Reply #10 on:** July 11, 2011, 02:58:29 pm »

Subject Code/Name: ATS2407 – Reading Freud and Jung (this unit is currently only offered as ATS3407)

Workload: 1 x 2 hour seminar per week

Assessment:

1000 word seminar paper and presentation (20%)
2500 word research essay (60%)
2 hour class test (20%)

Recorded Lectures: No

Past exams available: No

Textbook Recommendation: The unit coordinator will instruct you to purchase The Essentials of Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud (ed.) as well as The Portable Jung by Carl G. Jung, but all of the weekly readings will be uploaded to Blackboard anyway.

Lecturer(s) : Dr. Christiane Weller

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2011

Rating: 5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 85 (HD)

Comments: I eat critical theory up better than most, so this unit was a breeze for me. The unit is full of thought-provoking and dense readings from the whole gamut of Freud's and Jung's theories, so if you're after a bludge unit and have no interest in these theorists or psychoanalysis whatsoever, then this probably isn't for you.

Christiane was extremely knowledgeable about the subject matter and made the dense readings crystal clear. The seminar was also lively and full of interesting discussion, which is more than I can say for other arts units. The unit was taught extremely effectively and was well organised. I don't have any major criticisms to offer, other than the fact that the due date for the major essay and class test fell on the same day, haha.

Even though it was one of the more dense arts units I've completed, it was also one of the most rewarding! In particular, as an English major, this unit really helped clarify how psychoanalysis can be used as a literary device (most English lecturers just gloss over psychoanalytic concepts and expect you to know everything there is to know about the theory).

xZero · « **Reply #11 on:** July 11, 2011, 03:22:22 pm »

Subject Code/Name: MTH1112 - Numbers, Logic and Graphs

Workload: Three 1-hour lectures and one 1-hour support class per week

Assessment:
Examination (3 hours): 70%
Assignments and/or practicals: 30%

Recorded Lectures: No

Past exams available: Quite a few with solutions (many without)

Textbook Recommendation: Lecture notes, if you're struggling then I suggest you buy Peter Grossman - Discrete Mathematics for Computing (Grassroots) (2Ed,Palgrave Macmillan,2002), it helps alot

Lecturer(s): Dr Daniel Delbourgo, Dr Daniel Horsley

Year & Semester of completion:2011 Sem 1

Rating: 4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 80 (HD)

Comments: Loved the unit but lectures are boring and not too helpful, almost fell asleep every time. Lecturers decided to not record any lectures is so that student would show up to get solution for some work questions in our lecture notes which is stupid IMO. That being said I recommend you to pre-read lecture notes and decide which lecture you want to attend, eg the last 7 or so lectures are useless so skip. This unit might overwhelm you at the start with all these new theory and such but it gets easier later on. Exam is very easy, I mean they give you 7 questions and only 6 of them counts :S, just spam past exam and you'll be fine.

miss_academia · « **Reply #12 on:** July 11, 2011, 07:47:09 pm »

Subject Code/Name: ATS1316 - Medieval Europe

Workload: One two-hour lecture and one one-hour tute per week.

Assessment:
Short multiple choice test held in the lecture (10%)
1500 word historiography exercise (25%)
500 word response to questions on one week's readings and short group tute presentation on one or two of those questions (10%)
1500 word research essay (30%)
In-class test; 750 - 1000 word essay based on extracts from the documents in the course reader and a general essay question (25%)

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: Yes; we were given the previous year's in-class test two weeks prior to ours, so we were familiar with the format, and had the opportunity to write a practice essay.

Textbook Recommendation: Only the course reader was required for this subject, and you will need it, as it contains all of the primary and secondary documents studied in the unit, including the documents off which the historiography exercise and in-class test are based.

Lecturer(s): Clare Monagle, Constant Mews, Carolyn James, and a number of other guest lecturers.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2011.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Your Mark/Grade: 90 (HD).

Comments: While this wasn't my favourite subject, it was certainly a good break from my other very contemporary subjects, and covered a wide range of topics within the medieval period. I now know a lot more about farming methods, monks who behave like Disney princes (Francis of Assisi, always communicating with animals...), and the origins of modern religious practices than I ever would have otherwise. The readings were tedious at times, mainly due to the apparent inability of medieval writers to STOP RAMBLING (I kid you not, at one point in a primary document, the writer admitted how awful his writing was and then said that he intended to continue on anyway :tickedoff:), but the lecture quality was very high and the tute discussions interesting. The assessment is not difficult, as knowledge outside of the lecture/reading content is not required. While I am not continuing onto the second-semester unit Renaissance Europe, I would still recommend this unit, as I found it refreshing to study the medieval period after four years of modern history in high school.

taiga · « **Reply #13 on:** July 11, 2011, 08:10:00 pm »

Subject Code/Name: ENG1091 - Maths for Engineers

Workload: 36x1 hour lectures, 12x2 hour tutes

Assessment: 4x6% assignments, 1x6% mid semester test, 70% exam

Recorded Lectures: No, no screen capture. Lecture notes + in class projector notes are on Blackboard

Past exams available: Yes, I believe 4 with solutions, it is more than enough for preparation.

Textbook Recommendation: Mathematics for Engineers Glyn James, only really need 24 pages of this throughout the year for lectures. I didn't find it particularly useful for study, but if you're studious doing everything out of the book (from relevant chapters) will prepare you very well for this subject.

Lecturer(s): Chris Hough, Alireza. Chris knows his stuff, does have a few bad jokes, but covers the content pretty well, you need to pay attention to him though. Alireza has better notes than Chris, but I didn't find the lectures to be particularly helpful after a certain stage (missing 1 or 2 lectures can render the next 4-5 of them meaningless to you) so you pretty much need to attend all of them if you wan't to have a decent idea. The notes are pretty useless unless they are filled out, and the lectures aren't recorded so you can find yourself needing quite a bit of help at the end of the semester.

Year & Semester of completion: S1/2011

Rating: 3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 91/HD

Comments: Overall I liked the subject, the work was pretty interesting if you're into maths and like learning more. That said if you wan't to learn the stuff during your uni hours, you need to be very attentive in lectures and be consistent with filling up the lecture notes etc. I personally didn't find the lectures that useful after a certain stage, but I would probably still recommend you attend all. The assignments are relatively straightforward, but if you don't know your stuff you will lose some silly marks. If you stay in touch with the work the non-exam assessment is very straightforward. Come exam time I personally had to cram in most of the course in a few days, that's when I came to realize the course wasn't too long or difficult. The best preparation is to do all the practice exams available as at least 75% of available marks on the exam are questions you will have seen before (with some numbers changed here or there), but please note that this can obviously change from year to year depending on the exam writer. My advice is to probably try and stay ahead of the lectures and you'll find the subject a walk in the park.

miss_academia · « **Reply #14 on:** July 11, 2011, 08:24:51 pm »

Subject Code/Name: ATS1365 - Introduction to Sociology I

Workload: One two-hour lecture and one one-hour tute per week.

Assessment:
Annotated bibliography (10%)
1000 word research essay based on a documentary shown in the lecture (15%)
2000 word research essay (30%)
Two-hour extended response exam (40%)
Tutorial participation (5%)

Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available: No, as in previous years the exam format had been multiple choice, not extended response.

Textbook Recommendation: Germov and Poole's book is the only one required, and was very helpful, as it contains Australian statistics and examples, was often closely linked to the lecture content, and could easily be used as a legitimate reference for both of the essays.

Lecturer(s): Alan Petersen, Anna Halafoff, Jo Lindsay, and various guest lecturers.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2011.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Your Mark/Grade: 80 (HD).

Comments: There were so many great things about this subject (none of which were the 8 AM lectures). The spread of topics (general intro, Media & Consumerism, Religion & Society and Family & Relationships), the passionate lecturers, the choice of topics for the major essay. But what made it, in my experience, was the tutes. Get Rachel Goff as your tutor, whatever it takes. She not only knows her stuff, but is down-to-earth and treats all of her students as individuals. Hands down, the best lecturer/tutor/ANYTHING I have encountered at Monash (although Jo Lindsay is also fantastic). Not only am I continuing this subject next semester with Intro to Sociology II, but I intend to major in the discipline. That's how good it is.

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