Mid-Term Exam

Remember, we understand how NUS grading works

and we graded you appropriately.
We are asking for clarication on the current
grading policy and if we can release your grades to
you, we will (that s Dr. Hislop s preference. He likes
transparency).
We wrote some comments on your exams to help
you understand how to do better.
Now, some general comments.
You should always ask yourselves questions about
lectures. These can range from how might I tell that
lecture otherwise? to why was x the way it is? to
(for the really clever among you) what kind of test
question might that dude ask about this? (That dude
was excellent at this kind of question when he was
an undergrad). Write these things down in your
notes.
It s a good way to really learn the material.
It s an excellent way to develop your faculties of
thought.
Writing
Since you have several written assignments coming
up, this exam was an excellent way for us to assess
some aspects of your skills. I think it is fair to say
that almost every one of you can improve (I would
say the same thing about myself for what that s
worth).
Some of you did really well.
A. You ve been thinking about the course
B. You have a good sense of what is logical and what
is not.
C. You were able to provide convincing evidence for
a thesis in a short period of time
Brilliant!
But some of you do not know what a thesis is (not
knowing is ne. Not learning is bad so thank for
asking).
Since this is not a class on writing, I need to refer
you to a couple of sources.
1. 5 Paragraph Essay Style: https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Five-paragraph_essay
A basic description of this very common Anglophone
essay structure (including critiques of it). Worth a
look if you have not been taught this style in primary
and secondary school.
(We were aiming for the second kind of 5 paragraph
essay described in this article)
And
2. The Craft of Research (Wayne Booth and others).
This is a classic among classics for writing. It s been
around for years but has also been continuously
revised. (The dude used in 1982 in Frosh Writing at
Stanford and we were all expected to keep a copy of
it for our other writing intensive courses as well).
But: 1982 = no internet so get a current copy so you
can get help with internet materials in research.
This is a book you work through and with. You can
not really learn to write by just reading the book.
Next week: I will give you some specic comments
on the book report after I have spent a bit more time
thinking about how the exams you wrote relate to the
book report project.
NB: No tutorials next week. Prepare for your
presentation.