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Author Topic: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings  (Read 829192 times)  Share 

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DisaFear

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #150 on: November 23, 2013, 12:53:23 am »
+7
Subject Code/Name: SCI2010 - Scientific Practice and Communication

Workload:
  • 1x 2hr lecture
  • 1x 2hr workshop
Assessment:
  • Abstract - 2.5%
  • Tute participation & weekly quizzes - 7.5%
  • Oral presentation - 10%
  • Annotated Bibliography - 10%
  • Literature Review - 20%
  • End of Semester Examination - 50%
(This seems to have changed in the 2014 handbook!)

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  Yes, a few. No answers available ( ;) ) but Moodle is active

Textbook Recommendation:  Don't even go there, the only thing from the two 'textbooks' are two diagrams or so, fully covered in the lecture notes

Lecturer(s):
  • Professor Roslyn Gleadow
  • A few guest speakers
Year & Semester of completion: 2013, Semester 2

Rating:  3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: TBA

Comments:
  • Core Science unit for all Science kids except Eng/Sci
  • Some bits of this unit are moderately interesting, when on the topic of Ethics and Psuedoscience - rest is pretty dry, what you'd call common sense - aka, how does science operate, method of science, process, etc - all the 'formal' stuff, the 'paperwork' as you'd call it
  • Do the assignments early! The assignments are probably the hardest part of this unit. The literature review is really tough, don't under-estimate it
  • There is a lecture where a famous illusionist is invited to perform magic tricks, don't miss that lecture! It's pretty fun :)
  • If you need extra resources, PM me and I'll send you the goods
  • There will be library help sessions for the major assignments - I found attending these really helpful, do recommend
  • It's a big unit, there were 600 kids doing it this semester - plenty of opportunities to make friends!
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:54:37 am by alondouek »



(AN chocolate) <tisaraiscool> Does it taste like b^3's brain?
BSc (Hons) @ Monash (Double major in Chemistry)

steph753

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #151 on: November 23, 2013, 03:11:03 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: MGF2661 - Human Resource Management

Workload:
1 x 1.5 hour lecture per week and 1 x 1.5 hour tutorial each week

Assessment: 
Inclass essay – 15%
Guided readings weeks 1-4 – 5%
Group essay  - 15%
Group presentation 10%
Guided readings weeks 5-11 – 5%
Exam - 50%

Recorded Lectures: 
Lectures are recorded

Past exams available: 
No past exam available, however there was one practice exam provided. This was very beneficial in exam preparation

Textbook Recommendation:
Human Resource Managament by Nankervis et al. 7th edition. This textbook is vital for this subject. Especially for the inclass essay and exam.

Lecturer(s): Dr Susan Mayson

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2013

Rating:  5/5

Your Mark/Grade: (Pending)

Comments:
This was a really well run subject that prepares you for third year human resource subjects. It provides the foundation knowledge and it is quite easy to do well in this subject.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:54:57 am by alondouek »

steph753

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #152 on: November 23, 2013, 03:16:39 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: BTF1010 - Commercial Law

Workload:
1 x 2 hour lecture per week and 1 x 1 hour tutorial each week

Assessment: 
Inclass test (one question like what features on the exam) – 20%
Online quizzes (weekly) – 20%
Exam - 60%

Recorded Lectures: 
Lectures are recorded

Past exams available: 
No past exams available, however there was one practice exam provided in week 12.

Textbook Recommendation:
Law in Commerce 4ed by  Sweeney, O’Reilly and Coleman. Essential for weekly quizzes, in class essay and exam. The subject is pretty much taught out of this textbook

Lecturer(s): Mark Bender

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2013

Rating:  4/5

Your Mark/Grade: 91 HD

Comments:
This was a pretty good subject, with easy straightforward assessments. You need to really keep on top of weekly readings in order to do well in this subject and preparing summary notes, especially of cases throughout the semester is extremely helpful when it comes to exam time as the exam is open book.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:55:22 am by alondouek »

steph753

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #153 on: November 23, 2013, 03:23:16 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: MGF1100 - Managerial Communication

Workload:
1 x 1 hour lecture per week and 1 x 2 hour tutorial each week

Assessment: 
Self-analysis essay – 20%
Group project – 25% (10% for a group presentation and 15% for an individual essay on group dynamics)
Persuasive presentation – 10%
Participation – 5%
Exam – 40%

Recorded Lectures: 
Lectures are not recorded

Past exams available: 
No past exams available, however there was one practice exam provided in week 12.

Textbook Recommendation:
The textbook for this subject (Interpersonal skills in Organsations) was not very useful. It contained information that is common sense. This subject is engaging at times however it is pretty much what most people know about communicating in the workplace

Lecturer(s): Viv Interrigi

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2013

Rating:  3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 85 HD

Comments:
As mentioned above, this subject is fairly straightforward with very easy assessments. I managed to get a HD with barely any work undertaken outside the contact hours. This is a core subject of Bachelor of Business – majoring in management. If this is your major, I advise to get this subject done early in your degree as you will go insane if you leave it to late in your degree
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:55:36 am by alondouek »

Reckoner

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #154 on: November 23, 2013, 09:14:43 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: AFC1030 - Introduction to Financial Accounting

Workload:  Two 1-hour lecture plus one 1.5-hour tutorial = 3.5 hours

Assessment:
  • Two tests worth - 2 x 10% = 20%
  • Tutorial participation and preparation - 10%
  • Tutorial group presentation - 5%
  • Exam - 65%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  Yes, about 7 all with solutions

Textbook Recommendation:
Introduction To Financial Accounting 2ed - Gerrand J & Hardy L & Contessotto C: Not a particularly helpful book to learn the material covered, but it has the tute questions in it, so you'd better get a copy.

Accounting handbook - this is what contains all of the accounting standards. Is recommended, and you're allowed to take it into the exam and tests with underlining (no writing). I hardly used it at all really, all of the relevant standards are covered in the lecture notes well enough, and its not too difficult to just remember the important aspects. If you're planning on doing more accounting, or have a really poor memory, or don't like studying then I suggest getting it, but if you aren't sure then maybe postpone buying it until you know whether it would be useful.

Lecturer(s):
Alan Serry: packs a lot into his lectures, but goes through things step by step and logically. Definitely worth going to his lectures. Also, he leaves part of the slides blank, so you at least have to watch them online to get all of the journal entries.

John Gerrand: As much as I love John, his lectures weren't particularly helpful. Although he did cover the more boring topics, so its not his fault. 

Year & Semester of completion: 2013 Semester 2

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 90 HD

Comments:
This unit essentially continues on from the accounting topic in AFC1000, but in more detail. The main topics are:

Week 1 - Conceptual Framework + capital maintenance
Not a whole lot in week 1. You should already be familiar with the conceptual framework from 1000, and capital maintenance is to do with how much profit can be distributed while maintaining the wealth of the business.

Week 2 - Incomplete records, internal control
Involves the reconstruction of accounts, which is important for the later lecture on cash flows. The main part of internal control discussed is bank reconciliation.

Week 3 - Inventory
Looks at AASB102, and covers what is included as part of the cost of inventory, and that inventories should be recorded at the lower of cost and Net Realisable Value (NRV)   

Week 4 - Balance day adjustments
Prepayments, accruals, straight line and reducing balance depreciation, and allowance for doubtful debts.

Week 5 - Background to financial regulation (zzzzz)
The various regulatory bodies of financial reporting, really dry stuff.

Week 6 - Companies
Also pretty dry, introduces goodwill and the purchase of companies, as well as the creation of a new company and issuing of shares via a prospectus.

Week 7 - Non-current assets
What is included as part of the cost of a non-current asset, and their subsequent revaluation and impairment. Also intangible assets. 

Week 8 - Liabilities/Leases
Looks at liabilities, operating and finance leases, provisions and contingent liabilities

Week 9 - Income
Looks at when to recognise income, and construction contracts (which weren't covered this semester, John ran out of time in his lecture)

Week 10 - Expenses and intangibles
Looks at whether particular items should be recognised as an asset or expense, such as oil exploration and research and development.

Week 11 - Cash flow statements
Primarily involves being given an income statement and balance sheet, and you have to create a cash flow statement.

Week 12 - Agriculture
The valuation of biological assets, tension/conflict between accounting standards and the conceptual framework (touched on in earlier weeks too) and revision.


The two tests are pretty straight forward, if you can do the tute questions you should be ok. The first one was almost entirely practical, but the second one had a bit more theory. The exam was VERY similar to the past papers, so if you work through them all then you can get through the exam fairly easily.

I didn't enjoy this unit much at all really. It's not particularly difficult, and doesn't involve much actual "study" I found. If you can force yourself to do the tute questions each week and read the lecture slides, then all should fall into place. It's just getting used to applying the various rules that you learn in a practical sense, which can be done easily from doing the past exams. Apart from the regulation week that is, I really do feel for anyone who has to endure that week, and also for John who has to give that lecture again... 

You'll be doing this unit of you want to major in accounting, but if you know that you're not going to major in accounting, I suggest doing something else as an elective. Sure it's not too taxing, but can be very dry which makes its not very enjoyable and difficult to force yourself through if you don't have an interest. Leases were my favourite part of the course, the rest was all pretty similar.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2014, 10:01:20 pm by Reckoner »

nerdgasm

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #155 on: November 23, 2013, 09:56:48 pm »
+10
Subject Code/Name: CHM2922 - Spectroscopy and Analytical Chemistry 

Workload:
3 x 1 hour lectures per week
1 x 4 hour lab per week

Assessment: 
Practical work: 30% (consists of 8 Lab Reports and a Moot Court Presentation)
Three online Moodle Tests - 3.33% each (10%)
One Mid-semester test - 20%
Final exam - 40%
NOTE: Prac work is a hurdle requirement; you need at least 50% in the prac component to pass the unit.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  Yes, several from past years available on the Monash Library Database. No solutions provided. Note that not all topics in these past exams may be relevant, because the topics assessed in the mid-semester test and final exam occasionally get switched around (more on this later).

Textbook Recommendation:  Principles of Instrumental Analysis, by Skoog, Holler and Crouch. (6ed. in Semester 2, 2013).
 Did not consult much throughout the semester.

Lecturer(s):
General analytical principles, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Atomic Spectroscopy, Chromatography: Mike Grace
Mass spectrometry, Electrochemistry: Chris Thompson
Fluorescence, IR spectoscopy, Raman spectroscopy: Toby Bell

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2013

Rating: 4.75/5

Your Mark/Grade: Unknown at this point.

Comments:
This subject is a prerequisite for most 3rd-year chemistry units. (so definitely a must if you wish to major in Chemistry).

Each of the three lecturers mentioned above takes four weeks of content:

Mike's section begins with an introduction to analytical chemistry, which is about key terminology in describing experimental results and methods (such as sensitivity, selectivity, accuracy, precision and so forth), and a brief description of what analytical chemistry is used for (as DisaFear mentions, there is an emphasis on forensic applications in this unit). The actual chemistry starts off with UV-Visible spectroscopy, and extends on from your first-year knowledge of the Beer Lambert Law, with complications and additional techniques introduced. We then move on to Atomic Absorption and Emission spectroscopy - so we learn about the Boltzmann distribution, briefly cover Grotian diagrams, and learn about the different types of techniques (e.g. Graphite Furnace AAS, Flame Ionisation Detection). Finally, we learn more about chromatography, with HPLC and GC techniques, along with general chromatographic principles such as gradient elution and resolution.

Chris' section starts off with an extension of the Mass Spectrometry you learnt in Year 12, except now it goes into more detail, like why you're likely to find certain fragments at certain intensity values, how isotopes affect mass spectra (behold, the BINOMIAL THEOREM!), and how fragmentation actually occurs (through the use of 'mechanisms', not dissimilar to mechanisms in organic chemistry)! Again, we go through the techniques and instrumentation (such as 'hard' and 'soft' methods of ionisation, and different kinds of detectors). Electrochemistry begins with a review of your standard Year 12 Redox section (so once again, we have the electrochemical series, salt bridges, anodes and cathodes and all that), before moving on to the Nernst equation, which FINALLY allows you to work out cell potentials under NON-STANDARD CONDITIONS!! We also further the concept of 'activity' versus 'concentration', and learn about the Debye-Huckel equation, and the ionic strength of a solution. We then learn about potentiometry, which is about how we can use electrochemistry to measure the concentrations of things, and go into some detail about the various electrodes used. There was meant to be a lecture on voltammetry, it got cancelled this year, but still appeared on the exam! Grrrr. . .

Toby's section is an introduction to the process of fluorescence, which covers the physical chemistry of fluorescence with Jablonski diagrams (basically more fancy energy level diagrams), Kasha's Rule, and some calculations on the kinetics of fluorescence (we get rate constants here too, and natural lifetimes). We also have a short bit on molecular orbital theory, and how it applies to more complicated molecules, and a bit on chemical and biological luminescence. We then move on to IR spectroscopy, but now we actually see why only some vibrations of some molecules show up on an IR spectra (if you do physics, this will be a piece of cake, if not, don't fret!). We consider IR instrumentation, as well as a modified form of the Beer-Lambert Law. Finally, we look at Raman spectroscopy, and how it differs from IR spectroscopy, Stokes and Anti-Stokes radiation, and applications such as monitoring ozone levels, and rocket fuel.

This was a nice unit. All the lecturers were really helpful at answering questions during and after lectures, and all taught logically and clearly. If you've somehow taken it upon yourself to read my summary of the course above, you'll notice that I mention "instrumentation" and "techniques" a lot. This is because this unit has a focus on not only the chemistry involved, but also on being a good experimental chemist. To this end, you're expected to learn a very basic knowledge of how instruments work (something as simple as knowing examples of a source of light, what kind of devices are used to select a particular wavelength, or how we can differentiate ions by their mass/charge ratio), as well as 'practical considerations' - where certain laws don't always hold, what kinds of things can interfere with your experiment and how to deal with them, and some statistical treatment of your results, with confidence intervals, standard deviations, and other related things.

Of course, the same focus on being a good experimental chemist also shows up in the lab. Being meticulous is encouraged (though after a few weeks, I think everyone just starts to slacken a bit on that), because you really want good experimental results (you get some marks for that, and also it comes in handy for the Moot Court). Often, you are asked to make multiple samples and readings, and then use statistical analysis on them in your lab reports, in order to demonstrate your findings. On that note, if you've done CHM2911 (Synthetic chemistry), I shall say now that the lab reports are a lot more involved than those proformas. You're now expected to do a formal write up of your experiment, due on the next lab session(with introduction, method, results, analysis, discussion and conclusion). I was spending at least 5 hours each week writing the lab reports, just trying to get a decent mark. The lab work is always done in groups of two or three, and the lab you do might not be related to what part of the course you're currently on.

For a couple of weeks, you don't have to write up a lab report; instead your group gets questioned by your demonstrator at the end of the prac, on the theory and results you have. This can sound a bit intimidating, so doing a bit of reading up on the theory beforehand helps. Usually though, the demonstrators try to guide you along and aren't too harsh (I definitely said a couple of things that were wrong, but still got a reasonable mark). And it's honestly a nice feeling to not have to write up a lab report.

Finally, there's the Moot Court. This is where you use your data from one of the pracs throughout the semester, and try to argue a pseudo-legal case against another group from your prac session (who are also given the same prac). You'll have to give a copy of your data to the other group for scrutiny, and in turn, they will give their data to you, so make sure you take good records, and perform your experiments well! Then, you have a week to prepare your case and argue it in front of a "judge" and "jury". This takes you all the way back to those key analytical chemistry terms at the start of the semester, as well as all those experimental considerations with the techniques used in the prac. It's honestly a lot of fun, some students dress up in suits, and you get to ask questions of your opposing group, and let your inner lawyer rule.

In terms of the assessment, I've already gone over the lab reports. The online tests are of a reasonable standard. Sometimes, you get to practice on a 'tutorial' mode before you undertake the 'assessment mode', and it's no surprises that lots of people just wrote down all the answers from the tutorial mode, and put them in to the assessment mode.

The mid-semester test was on Mike's section this year. A key thing is that the stuff on the mid-semester test doesn't appear on the final exam. The week beforehand, there was no practical, and instead Mike generously went through a past paper in the prac section, which really helped. Make sure you revise for it, as it's worth 20%, and can really put you in a good position before the final exam.

The final exam was on Chris and Toby's section this year. It wasn't incredibly difficult, but there was definitely a fair bit of time pressure on, and a few challenging questions in there. It definitely would end up separating students. In SWOTVAC, both Chris and Toby held a revision session (and there was free pizza afterwards!) where they also went through typical exam questions, so it's really worth going to those.

This unit could be tiring at times, and its experimental focus can be annoying to the theory-minded amongst us (as Mike said, "If you think 'analytical chemistry' is overly pedantic, look at the first four letters of 'analytic'. Does that make sense now?"), but the lecturers were simply awesome, had a great connection with the students, and all had a great sense of humour. If you want to major in Chemistry, you'll be taking this unit anyway, so I can't really tell you to take it or not. But it certainly offers perspective into 'real-world' chemistry, so I'd recommend to make the most of it.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:56:13 am by alondouek »

Reckoner

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Re: Monash University - Subject reviews & ratings
« Reply #156 on: November 23, 2013, 10:31:18 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: ECC1100 - Principles of Macroeconomics

Workload:  One 2-hour lecture + one 1-hour tutorial = 3 hours

Assessment:
  • Tute attendance/participation - 5%
  • Three online tests - 3 x 5% = 15%
  • Multiple choice mid-semester test - 20%
  • Exam (multiple choice and short answer) - 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, but but Dinusha does a bit of work on transparencies that are not recorded.

Past exams available:  Nothing unfortunately.

Textbook Recommendation:  principles of macroeconomics seventh edition - Taylor, Weerapana. Prescribed. Contains the weekly tute questions, and isn't too bad at explaining the concepts. I recommend getting it. 

Lecturer(s):
Dinusha Dharmaratna - Knows her stuff. The lectures are very well structured imo, and are pretty helpful. Just about all you need to learn the content. 

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2 2013

Rating: 4 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 91

Comments:
The main topics covered are:
  • Measuring production (i.e GDP) through the income, expenditure and value added approach. Introduces the idea of real GDP, where price levels are kept constant and adjusted for inflation, using either the CPI or GDP deflator
  • Unemployment - the definition of unemployed, and various indicators including the unemployment rate, employed to working age ratio and labour force participation rate. Defines various categories of unemployment, and also possible explanations for why unemployment isn't at 0%
  • Capital and financial markets - discusses the various types of financial capital, and also touches on the GFC
  • Economic growth Looks at productivity, the production function, modern growth theory, and the importance of technology for increasing productivity.
  • Business cycles and aggregate demand Covers economic fluctuations from potential GDP, and introduces the Keynesian cross and multiplier
  • Fiscal policy - The federal budget, and how fiscal policy (changing gov spending and taxes) may be able to restore GDP to potential
  • Money and monetary policy - defines money, its various forms and measurements of the money supply. Introduces banking, and how the central bank can manipulate interest rates, and change the money supply
  • Exchange rates and what impacts them (inflation, interest rates etc.)
  • Aggregate equilibrium - effectively puts the last few weeks together
  • Globalisation and economic development World trade and globalisation, currency/monetary/trade unions

Enjoyable unit if you're interested in economics. The first half of the unit is primarily focused on defining relevant terms and ideas, and the second half is where you get into more economic analysis with monetary and fiscal policies. ECC1000 (microeconomics) is recommended before you do this unit, but definitely not necessary. The topics assume minimal prior economic knowledge, and what is assumed can be picked up very quickly. There is no maths beyond about year 7/8 level. Dinusha puts a slide on the maths and calculus behind the concepts, but its not discussed too heavily and you don't need to know it at all for the assessments   

The exam is a 50-50 split between multiple choice covering the whole course, and short answer questions relating to week 6 on-wards. It's not too difficult to guess the essence of the short answer questions. The online tests are fairly straightforward, if you have the textbook next to you should be able to do most of the questions, as the answers often come straight from the text. The mid-sem is entirely multiple choice with no real tricks thrown in.

I do recommend this unit if you have a spare elective spot if you have an interest in the subject. It doesn't take up a large amount of time (no assignments, unless you want to count the online tests which take 20 mins each) and can be interesting. Although if you go into this unit without at least some interest in economics I can see how it could be seen as pretty dull. A few eng people take this unit as an elective and from what I saw, a chunk (as well as some com students) lost interest in about week 6. 
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:56:37 am by alondouek »

Reckoner

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #157 on: November 24, 2013, 03:04:09 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: ETC1010 - Data Modelling and Computing

Workload: Two 1-hour lectures and one 1.5-hour tutorial/computer lab = 3.5 hours

Assessment:
  • Tute attendance* - 8%
  • Assignment 1 - 12%
  • Assignment 2 - 10%
  • Exam - 70%

*Only applies to the first 4 tutes, 2 marks for each. Later tutes have no attendance marks.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  Yes, heaps most with solutions, some have incomplete solutions though

Textbook Recommendation:  Introductory econometrics by Wooldridge is recommended. Do NOT buy this textbook just for this unit. It only applies to about 4/5 weeks of the unit, and the lecture notes cover everything you need to know. Not needed at all for this subject. Save your money, unless you are planning on doing more econometrics.   

Lecturer(s):
Lee Gordon-Brown - Topic 1: spreadsheet/computer modelling (I think he may be leaving though?)

Donald Proskitt - Topic 2: Multiple regression

Graham Forbes - Topic 3: Actuarial stats (also may be leaving I think)

Year & Semester of completion: 2013 Semester 2

Rating:  3 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 87

Comments:
So this is a core unit for students in bachelors of economics and its double degrees. If you're in commerce, you'll be choosing this unit as part of an actuarial, econometrics or business modeling major. It's split up into 3 topics, so I'll review them one at a time.

Topic 1
Topic 1 covers spreadsheet modelling. Is VERY PRACTICAL, and is almost an excel tutorial. The whole topic is based on making decisions to optimise a certain output variable (eg profit). Lectures involved Lee effectively running through the construction of a model, and its interpretation. You learn a few handy excel functions, concept diagrams and sensitivity analysis. There is also a tiny bit of conditional probability chucked on the end, which isn't very demanding especially if you've done Maths Methods. That being said, the lectures aren't too important in terms of the exam. More on that later

I really enjoyed the lectures. Lee was very engaging, and you could immediately see that the stuff you were being taught was very applicable to the real world. I've already used some of the stuff we used at work.

The first assignment is from this topic, and you have to create a spreadsheet model and interpret it by answering a few questions. It's not too difficult (most people, myself included, tried to make it more complex than it really needed to be) but there are a few things that you can lose easy marks on. This included not identifying/highlighting your decision and output variables in the concept diagram and model; and not referring to specific figures from you model in the report. As in don't just say "Dodo power and gas should be chosen", say "the optimal decision in order to minimise average complaints is to choose Dodo Power and gas, because *insert values from the model here*". If you do these things you should be able to get a fairly good mark.

Tutes are very similar to the assignment, in the sense that you create a model and interpret it. Can be pretty fun if you have a good tute and tutor (Behrooz!!!) and your attendance is marked, so best to show up.

Topic 2
Multiple regression. Lectures were not particularly helpful here to be perfectly honest. Most of the stuff was covered in ETC1000. New parts were prediction intervals, taking the log of the dependent and independent variables, and interaction terms (you don't even have to know how to interpret them, just know that they exist and can change interpretations) all of which is covered thoroughly in the notes. But yeah, all of the hypothesis testing, dummy variables, confidence intervals and coefficient interpretation was covered in ETC1000.

Tutes are no longer marked, and are also no longer helpful as well, unless you have specific questions to ask the tutor. To be fair, I did this unit at the same time as ETC2410 (intro econometrics) so had done all of the new material 3 or 4 weeks prior, so don't really know how helpful the tutes and lectures were for learning this stuff personally. From speaking with other people though they too said they were not particularly beneficial.

All that you need to know for the assignment for this topic is covered in the lecture notes. If you have them next to you while doing it you shouldn't have too many hiccups. Just phrase your interpretations and set out your hypothesis tests the way they do in the notes and you're set.   

Topic 3
A very basic introduction to actuarial studies. Seems almost like a sales pitch trying to get more actuary majors. Covers compound interest and time value of money (If you've done AFC1000 you know this stuff already, even further maths and you should be sweet), demography (life tables, population pyramids) and also what insurance is, various types of policies, and introduces a few probability distributions that actuaries may use. Not a great deal of maths, all the formulas are given to you and you basically only have to know the names of the various distributions. A little bit on the principle of equivalence too.

All the topics are very introductory, and can be easily learned from the lecture slides and the past papers. Some people had stopped coming to the lectures after topic 2, and they follow the lecture slides extremely closely.

No assignments for this topic either. Tutes can be worth it, life tables may take a little getting used to so they can help with that. Decide for yourself. I personally didn't get much out of them (still went because my tute was good fun) but others found them to be pretty helpful.

Exam
The exam is made of of 20 marks from topic 1, 40 from topic 2 and 40 from topic 3. The structure is very similar to the past papers, so definitely work through them.

Topic 1 is always create a concept diagram for, and interpret, a model given to you. Also about 4 marks of conditional probability tacked on the end.

Topic 2 is interpreting a regression, perform hypothesis tests etc. If you can do the assignment and past papers you'll be set.

Topic 3 is a whole bunch of 1 and 2 mark questions, again not too difficult if you've done the past papers and at least read the lecture slides.

Overall the exam isn't too challenging, I was a bit pushed for time though so don't take it too leisurely. I had to rush the last 20 or so marks because I spent way too long on the concept diagram. I recommend doing topic 1 last.



Overall I liked this unit, mainly for topic 1. Involves minimal study throughout the semester, just the assignments. If you are half decent at maths, and didn't mind ETC1000 definitely worth it if you're looking for a not too taxing unit. That being said topics 2 and 3 aren't the most interesting things, especially if you've already done ETC2410, and lots of people hate it. So while I liked it, I'm doing an econometrics major. If you're doing accounting/marketing etc. it may not be your thing. Topic 1 is very practical and useful though, unless you are already very familiar with excel.     
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:57:05 am by alondouek »

d3stiny

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #158 on: November 24, 2013, 03:23:17 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: BTC1110 - Business Law

Workload:
Semester 1
1 x 3hr lectorial
Semester 2
1 x 2hr lecture, 1 x 1hr tutorial

Assessment: 
  • Mid Semester Test/Exam - 20%
    Weekly Multiple Choice Quizzes (MCQ) - 20%
  • Final exam - 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, audio only

Past exams available:  1 past exam (2012) with sample answer guide

Textbook Recommendation:
Concise Australian Commercial Law 2ed (Prescribed) - You will most likely need this book.
Law in Commerce 5ed (Highly Recommended) - Not needed if you have CACL.

Lecturer(s):
Sem 1 - Roger Gamble
Sem 2 - Mathews Thomas

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2 2013

Rating: 4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 85 HD

Comments:
Enjoyable and challenging unit. Compulsory for all Commerce students at Clayton except Comm/Law students. If you have Mathews as a lecturer he will divide the classes into the usual lectures and tutorials but the other semester's lecturer (Roger) will combine the classes into one 3 hour long lectorial. No idea whether the lectorials are better or not but conventional lectures/tutorials work for me.
Make sure to print out all the Acts and statutes provided and have a concise summary of all the important cases (i.e. ones that are frequently mentioned in lectures etc.). It's emphasized so much through out the course but keeping them neat and organized really will help greatly in this subject, as you will need to constantly refer to cases and statutes in your answers.
Tutes aren't compulsory but they are pretty much the only source of getting answers to questions and such, since sample answers are rarely uploaded to Moodle and when they are, it's only to a question or two.

If you have Mathews as a tutor you will find that his teaching style is quite different, and you may find that he somewhat undermines or belittles students in a light hearted manner but i guess its just to set students straight haha. While others may not like him, he does a good job of teaching the material although being a tightass (especially with lateness to lectures). He says his methods are more suited to Science and Engineering students and I would say I'd agree, so if you happen to Sci or Eng at least give him a go.
One of the librarians, Tami Castillo holds two sets of seminars in the matheson library throughout the unit to assist with note taking and exam prep. The exam prep one was recorded but the exam prep wasnt, so you really have to attend them if you don't want to miss out. Just a word of warning that they get booked out super quick, as I found.

Concise Australian Commerical Law is needed for the tutorial questions. Not sure if the 1st edition is the same but apparently it is. Law in Commerce is the book used in Caulfield and was recommended by Mathews as it had better explanations of certain topics toward the end of the course, so it might be worth borrowing it and having a look. The multiple choice quizzes are a bit tricky but 10 out of the 20 marks available are pretty doable. Apparently Moodle stuffed up the displaying of the results so don't count on immediate results (they usually take a week or two and different weeks pop up randomly), and there are no reviews available. Going through the lectures will help you with them greatly.
 
Topics covered are:
  • Australian Legal System (Week 1) - Basic outline of the history of Australian Law and how it operates, etc. Not covered in the mid sem or exam but it still pays to have a good understanding how the law works, especially if you are fresh to law like me.
  • Contract Law (Weeks 2-6) - An introduction to contracts and its constituents. It's the primary focus of the midsemester test but is not covered to an extent in the exam.
  • Consumer Protection (Weeks 7- 8 ) - A bit of an expansion to contract law and how the Australian Consumer Law applies to certain consumer contracts.
  • Tort Law (Week 9) - Intro to torts and where they apply in commercial situations
  • Agency (Week 10) - What is agency is and how it is formed, etc.
  • Partners (Week 11) - Explanation of the partnership business model and how partners can be liable in different financial transactions. Related to agency.
  • Company Law (Week 12) - What companies are and how they differ from partnerships. Directors and their fiduciary duties are covered.

As said by Mathews himself, it's probably the hardest first year compulsory Commerce unit, and with a high fail rate and low HD rate. However it is just a first year unit so it's still manageable, I'd say. Be prepared for lots of logical thinking and a loong 3.5 hr exam. However if you have an interest in Law and how it all works, you'll go a long way in this unit.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:57:28 am by alondouek »
2012 VCE
2013 BCom/BE @ Monash
Tutoring Methods/Specialist in 2015.

Reckoner

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #159 on: November 24, 2013, 04:04:16 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: ETC2410/3440 - Introductory Econometrics

While I took ETC2410, this can apply for ETC3440 as well. Everything is exactly the same, but 3440 students have one extra 5 mark question on the exam. Assignments/lectures/tutes are exactly the same otherwise.

Workload: Two 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour tutorial/computer lab = 4 hours

Assessment:
  • 3 Assignments (10%, 20%, 10%) - 40%
  • Exam - 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  Yes, about 4 were given out with solutions, but there are quite a few on the library database without solutions.

Textbook Recommendation: Introductory econometrics 4th edition - Wooldridge. A pretty good textbook, the course follows it very closely, but you are given pretty comprehensive notes so its not entirely necessary. I bought it with the eviews software package, which you'll need if you want to do the assignments at home. I personally found buying it worthwhile, others didn't use it at all. Wait a week or two and see how you go. 

Lecturer(s):
Phil Edwards - cross sectional data

David Harris - Time series + regression with matrices

Year & Semester of completion: 2013 semester 2

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 86 HD

Comments:
I liked this a lot. You basically look into OLS. The underlying assumptions, when it is unbiased, what happens when the assumptions fail etc.

You start off looking at deriving the formula for B0_hat and B1_hat under OLS, and then go into proving their unbiasedness using summation notation. The Gauss-markov assumptions are introduced, which when they hold show the OLS is BLUE (best linear un-biased estimator). You then move onto omitted variable bias, functional form, inference and hypothesis testing, prediction intervals, dummy variables and interaction terms, and heteroskedasticity. Some of these topics can take a little while to get your head around, but the first 2 assignments help a lot with learning the material. Phil covered these topics. His lectures did seem a bit rushed, but he knew his stuff and I found them helpful. That being said, the textbook and notes could suffice.

David took over from week 8, and went into time series regression for a couple of weeks. You get a few new assumptions, and go into FDL, AR and ARDL models, and the interpretation of coefficients using lag multipliers. Pretty interesting stuff. David's lectures are much more structured, and he taught the stuff using an example, checking assumptions as we go. He finishes off by basically re-teaching the first part of the course, but using matrices rather than summation notation. Very good revision for the exam.

The assignments can be tough, but if you can work through them you'll be set for the exam, as the exam is pretty well the assignment regressions and questions with a few more in-depth theory questions attached. Make sure you are very clear with all of your explanations, and perform a billion hypothesis tests. There are no word limits so go nuts if you want to get a high mark. They're not too difficult to pass though, but to get 80+ on the assignments you have to put in a fair bit of time.

Tutes are very helpful. You learn how to use eviews here (essential for the assignments) and basically run through a few questions, while the tutor teaches some of the important parts of the theory. While there are no tute marks, I do suggest going as the questions that you run through in the tutes are similar to the assignments. Eviews is very simple to use and shouldn't take too long to pick up.

As mentioned before, the exam is primarily interpreting regression outputs, performing tests for heteroskedasticity and various hypothesis tests with some OLS theory chucked on. About 20% is theory based, while the rest is mainly interpreting and practical. The 3440 students have 1 extra question worth 5 marks on the theory of OLS, otherwise exactly the same.

This is required for an econometrics major, and can count towards economics (2410) and finance (3440) as well as a fair few others. ETC1010 used to be a pre-requisite but no longer is. I did 1010 at the same time as 2410, and found that 1010 didn't help a great deal with 2410, but 2410 helps a lot with 1010. ETC1000 (or equivalent intro stats unit) is all you really need.

Overall it is a fairly challenging unit with a fair amount of content to cover. Unless you're very strong at maths/stats already it will take a fair chunk of study to understand the topics completely. I spent about as much time on this unit as my other 3 commerce units combined and still felt I could have been more prepared and spent more time on it. While the maths behind it isn't too tough (methods is all you need to start off with), knowing summation notation and matrix algebra prior would help a lot with the proofs. You could just wrote learn them, but better to learn the small amount of maths so that you properly understand them. I did like the content though, and I recommend it. Pretty interesting and useful stuff on the whole.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:57:50 am by alondouek »

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #160 on: November 24, 2013, 04:42:41 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: AFC3240 - International Finance

Workload:

1 x 2hr Lecture
1 x 1hr Tutorial

Assessment:

Mid-Semester Test - 20%
Group Assignment - 20%
Exam - 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  One past exam (2012) but without the answers and the MCQ's

Textbook Recommendation:  Multinational Business Finance 13ed, (Eiteman, Stonehill and Moffett). There will be some tute questions from this book most weeks, so it's worth considering getting a copy. Alternatively you could photocopy pages from a library copy each week. The book itself covers most of the course material, though it isn't really essential reading. Some chapters use different terms and don't cover all the material. In terms of study you'd be better off generally doing the readings (articles are put up weekly on relevant topics), looking over the slides and doing the tutorial questions.

Lecturer(s):

Dr Mohan Nandha (First semester)
Assoc Prof Elaine Hutson (Second semester)

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2013

Rating:  4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: TBA

Comments: This is one of the better finance subjects at Monash in my opinion, and it mostly examines exchange rates and their impact on financial institutions. The first week is pretty much introductory stuff on the relevance of international finance. Week two introduces some exchange rate terminology and standards (probably a recap for most commerce students) and then covers the history of international monetary systems and currency regimes. Week 3 is the influence of the balance of payments on exchange rates, week 4 is a study of the Eurozone crisis and GFC. The next few weeks are then about the determinants of exchange rates in terms of interest rates, inflation etc. - this stuff is largely theory based (purchasing power parity, the fisher effect...) but none of it is particularly difficult; some if it was covered briefly in AFC2000 and I imagine it would be particularly easy for those studying economics. The mid-sem covered the first five weeks and was held the week 8 lecture. The content being tested largely related to the tute questions and was fairly expected. There aren't many calculations in this unit, particularly early in the course, to the extent that there isn't a formula sheet given. The best method of studying for the MST (and the exam) is to know the tute questions well. It's a good idea to go to the tutes for this, as although they aren't marked, solutions aren't generally released (except for calculation questions). You'll want to focus on some theory questions from the book, but also those that relate to the article readings as these are usually tested to an extent.

After the MST it's probably worth starting on the group assignment. This semester it was a 2000 word research essay on the 'carry trade' due at the end of week 10. Groups were self-organised, 3-5 people per group. I recommend using google doc's to write it all up together; research can basically all be done through journal databases (Econlit, ABInform etc.). Having a group essay was a strange piece of assessment I thought, an essay would usually be an individual task. Splitting it up can be a bit of a pain, but it's not too hard, and I thought the topic was interesting.

The lectures from week 9 to 11 cover currency derivatives and their use in firms preventing exchange rate exposure. Currency derivatives is pretty much a re-hash of the stuff you'd do in options in Advanced Corporate Finance. If you've done options then there's probably no need to show up for week 9. This part of the course has more calculations type questions, though there's still theory and practical examples from the readings. If there's an options question you'll get the formula in the exam though, so it's fairly straightforward. Probably the most difficult part of the course is the hedging of foreign currency receivables/payables in week 10-11, and this is usually on the exam. Week 12 was international portfolio finance - simple enough if you've done a few finance subjects (e.g. Equities), this week was only covered on the MCQ section of the exam. The exam this semester was 25 multi choice questions (worth 0.8 marks each, so 20 marks total), and 5 20 mark questions, of which you choose 4 = 80 marks; therefore a total of 100 marks. The multiple choice questions are fairly easy and are largely comprehension stuff - study the slides and the questions. The short answer questions are largely what you'd expect, although one question involved a 14 mark analysis of a certain reading - you'd have to know the readings fairly well to be able to answer that, so I (and a lot of other people) pretty much had to skip that question out of the 5.

Overall, a good unit. Covers a lot of real life examples and doesn't get too bogged down in theory. I took this unit s2 2013, so the lecturer was Elaine Hutson, it may be a bit different in s1 as I believe another lecturer takes it generally. Lectures were good if you went to them (recorded if you couldn't make it), Elaine knows her stuff and doesn't just read off the slides. Tutes, as mentioned, are probably more important though in terms of knowing the getting the answers down, as the mid sem and exam are generally not dissimilar.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:58:04 am by alondouek »

nerdgasm

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #161 on: November 24, 2013, 11:57:23 pm »
+8
Subject Code/Name: MTH2032 - Differential Equations with Modelling 

Workload: 
3 x 1 hour lectures per week
1 x 2 hour tutorial per week (Technically not compulsory, but you'll be attending most weeks for the quizzes and assignments).

Assessment: 
Five quizzes (in tutorials): 2% each (10%)
Three assignments: 5% each (15%)
One mid-semester test (in tutorials): 15%
Final exam: 60%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture. For Weeks 1- 6 (Jerome's section), he wrote on a tablet and what he wrote on the tablet is the "video" for the recorded lecture. He also uploaded his writings on Moodle. For Weeks 7 - 12 (Rosemary's section), she did most of her writing on transparencies, which do not show up on the recorded lectures. However, most of what she writes is same as in the lecture notes booklet.

Past exams available:  Yes, two. One had answers.

Textbook Recommendation: E. Kreysig, Advanced Engineering Mathematics (9th edition).
Did not buy, so definitely not compulsory.

Lecturer(s):
Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs): Jerome Droniou, Weeks 1 - 6
Partial Differential Equations (PDEs): Rosemary Mardling, Weeks 7 - 12

Year & Semester of completion:
Semester 2, 2013

Rating: 4.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: Unknown at this point.

Comments:
This subject revises and extends upon the concepts covered in the Differential Equations part of MTH1030, as well as providing an introduction to Partial Differential Equations, and some applications of both ODEs and PDEs.

Firstly, I'd encourage you all to go and buy the lecture notes (if available). They are really helpful in both sections of the course. For ODEs, they contain all the theory and necessary algorithms (if a bit verbose and densely-written at times), and for PDEs, they are an almost exact copy of what Rosemary writes on her transparencies. They also contain tutorial questions, two of the assignments you need to do, as well as the solutions to the tutorial questions for PDEs.

Jerome's section focused on ODEs. We start off with some basic terminology relating to DEs - linear, homogeneous, 1st and 2nd order etc. Then, we revisit some of the techniques you used in MTH1030 to solve 1st-order ODEs, except in a slightly more rigorous manner. For example, you will probably notice "separable" ODEs are the ones where you could go or something similar in MTH1030. "Linear" ODEs are the ones where you would use "the integrating factor", except now we cover it a bit more rigorously through understanding the "homogeneous" and "particular" solutions, and the principle of superposition. We also go through two new types of 1st-order ODEs, which are 'exact' and 'homogeneous type' ODEs. These have their own solving methods.

We then look at how we can turn higher-order ODEs into 1st order ODEs, except now with vectors replacing variables. Unfortunately, this does not make them any easier to solve (and most of us were questioning why we would even do such a thing), but it does allow us to more easily state if a solution exists. Remember Euler's method from Specialist Maths? Well, we revisit it, and learn that it is in fact a relatively poor approximation scheme. We look at Heun's method, which is more accurate, and work out a rough guide to "accuracy" of a general class of approximation schemes, which both Euler's and Heun's methods fall under.

Next, we turn to 2nd order ODEs. You probably learnt how to solve ones with constant coefficients in MTH1030; we do that again here. However, we also learn some new techniques for solving 2nd order linear ODEs, with non-constant coefficients, such as the method of "variation of parameters", and the humble "trial solutions" method. We learn how to check if solutions to an ODE are linearly independent (this is important because it is a necessary requirement for many of out solution methods), through the Wronskian matrix. Then, we learn about how to deal with ODEs where we might not have an present, or a present, even if is present (and things like that).

Finally, we learn about series solutions to ODEs. Sometimes, it is very difficult for us to see if a particular ODE has a solution. So what we can try and do is see if an infinite polynomial solution works (much like a Taylor series). There was also a section on Bessel's functions, Legendre's and Frobenius' methods, but we never got around to learning those in lectures.

Throughout this part of the course, there are applications mainly to simple harmonic motion and harmonic oscillators, but also things such as radioactive decay, Newton's Law of Cooling and curves of pursuit are covered. There are also a number of "fundamental theorems", which are basically statements that do not solve an equation, but tell you that a solution exists, or some property of the solutions. You will soon see that it is very important to know the conditions under which these apply, and to invoke them appropriately.

Rosemary's section is focused on PDEs. The general terminology is covered again, before we then look at the ways in which a PDE is different to an ODE (for example, you no longer get arbitrary constants when you integrate, but arbitrary functions). We look at boundary and initial conditions, and learn some relatively simple methods for solving PDEs (e.g. noticing it is similar to an ODE and the method of separation of variables).

We then move on to Fourier Series. Basically, the point of this section is to show you that any periodic function (a function that repeats itself after some time), can be modelled as a (potentially infinite) sum of sine and cosine graphs. Fourier Series solutions to differential equations actually make up the majority of solutions you're likely to see in the Heat and Wave equation parts, so it's really worth your while to make sure you understand this part of the course well. We look at periodic extensions of functions with limited domain, too.

After learning about Fourier Series, we look at the Heat Equation, which models how the temperature of a rod changes over time. We go over Taylor Series in two variables again, before deriving and solving the Heat Equation, given some initial and boundary conditions. Next, we learn about the Advection equation, which models how objects might float along a stream of some kind, and about "characteristics". Finally, we look at the Wave Equation, and how to solve it. We also see an alternative method of solving the Wave Equation (the solution of d'Alembert), which represents a wave as a sum of two travelling waves (if you do Physics, this should jog your memory), which interfere with each other. If nothing else, that's pretty cool.

This unit was a reasonable unit. Unfortunately, most students found it difficult to understand what Jerome was trying to teach, probably because he didn't really explain his derivations very well, and didn't have a good grasp of when he was talking about a difficult concept that he needed to spend more time on. Either that, or he expected us to work through any difficulties we faced at home. Rosemary was a pretty clear lecturer who had fairly good explanations.

In this unit, explanations are important. It's always a good idea to state what you're doing as you're doing it (even if it seems incredibly obvious to you), because there are always marks allocated for explanations. Knowing when to invoke theorems, writing down what class of DE we have, and things like that are all easy to forget, but cost you marks in the end.

The tutorial quizzes last for 20 minutes each, and were initially at the start of the tutorial, before we asked Jerome to put them at the end (so we could actually ask our tutors for help). The ODE quizzes were reasonably challenging and had a fair bit of time pressure. The PDE quizzes were a bit easier.

The first assignment was a typical maths assignment where you answer questions from a sheet. The latter two are more of a computer modelling exercise (using Excel, MATLAB, or other computer software), where you numerically approximate Fourier Series and the Heat Equation, respectively.

The mid-semester test is on Jerome's section of the course, and goes for an hour. It's not impossible, but does test several different areas of the course. The final exam is roughly of the same difficulty of the midsemester test, just covering the whole course. There were some tricky questions in both sections.

All in all, there were areas where the unit could have been improved, but it is certainly a useful unit if you wish to do maths or science, as DEs appear almost everywhere in those fields.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:58:29 am by alondouek »

Dallas45

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #162 on: November 28, 2013, 02:01:03 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: ATS2610 - Ancient Religions

Workload:  1 x 2 hour lecture + 1 x 1 hour tutorial per week

Assessment: 

Analytical Exercise | Worth 10%. Relatively simple task in which you are required to answer a few
                                questions in relation to a particular article or chapter and summarise/analyse
                                the main points. Completed by Week 4.

Oral Presentation  | Worth 10%. During one of the tutorials (weeks 2-11) you are required to give a
                                max 10 minute presentation on one of the readings for that week. It is your
                                choice what week you do the presentation and which reading you present on.

Long Essay            | Worth 50%. For the essay you have to write 1800-2000 words on a topic of
                                your choice. It could be related to an overall theme from the lectures/tutorials,
                                a particular ancient religion or something that caught your interest in one of
                                the tutorial readings.

Exam                      | Worth 30%. Comprised two sections. The first section, a short essay (700ish
                                 words) is on one of the lecture themes and is chosen by the lecturer. The
                                 second section, another short essay of approximately 700 words, is chosen by
                                 you and relates to one of the studied religions. The essays do not require you
                                 to "argue" anything but instead simply require you to summarise the lecture or
                                 aspect of a particular religion in question.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  No and there was no sample exam.

Textbook Recommendation:  Ancient Religions - Sarah Iles Johnston. Prescribed and required as the lectures are based on this book specifically, with lecture one corresponding to chapter 1, lecture two to chapter 2 and so on.

Lecturer(s): Tamara Prosic

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2013

Rating:  4 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: High Distinction 82

Comments: Overall, ATS2610 is interesting. Some weeks are more interesting than others which will depend on your personal interests. Each two hour lecture is broken into two sections with the first looking at a particular theme (e.g. Monotheism vs. polytheism; magic; law and ethics) and the second focusing on a particular religion (e.g. Egypt, Hittite, Early Christian).

Tamara is a good lecturer and tutorials helped to clarify anything as required. Tutorials were relatively small with around 12-15 students.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2014, 12:59:00 am by alondouek »
2010 | Texts and Traditions - 30

2011 | History: Revolutions - 37 ; French - 33 ; Biology - 31 ; National Politics - 31 ; English - 41 (ATAR 85.85)

2012 | Monash Arts w/ Archaeology and History Double Major

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

Dallas45

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #163 on: November 28, 2013, 02:31:59 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: ATS2617 - American Civil War

Workload:  1 x 1.5 hour lecture + 1 x 1 hour tutorial per week

Assessment:

"Free Writing Task":     Worth 5%. Due in the first tutorial. This is a simple task which simply asks
                                     you to write about 250 words on why you are studying the subject, what
                                     you hope to learn etc. Easy marks basically.

2 x Film Reviews:          Worth 10% or 5% each. You MUST submit both reviews to receive credit.
                                     The first review is based on Birth of a Nation and the second is based on a
                                     movie of your choice (e.g. Cold Mountain, Django Unchained) which is taken
                                     from a given list. It sounds easy and to some extent it was. However, the
                                     tight word limit of 250 words is incredibly restrictive. The lecturer screens a
                                     number of the listed films as a class at Caulfield at night which was handy.

Convention Response: Worth 10%. Part of the course is a counter-factual role play in week 6.
                                     Basically, in the lecture we have to complete a role play in which we pretend
                                     we are negotiating to avoid the secession of the South from the US. This
                                     response is based on this event and you are required to answer one of
                                     about 4 or 5 questions.

Essay:                          Worth 35%. The essay topic is your choice of 12 given topics which included
                                     the home front, the global civil war, women in the war, soldiers' experiences
                                     etc. You are provided with some starting sources in the unit reader and the
                                     unit guide. You only have 2000 words at 2nd year and 2500 at 3rd year and
                                     you will find this incredibly hard to stick to as block quotes take up a lot of
                                     words, especially when the lecturer does not allow for the +/- 10% rule.

Exam:                           Worth 20%. Comprised 50 questions at 2nd year level and 60 at 3rd year
                                     level. It was an online exam of 2 hours and therefore was essentially
                                     open-book. It was also multiple choice/ true or false questions in its entirety
                                     and so was relatively easy as long as you attended the lectures and did
                                     some basic study.

Tutorial Participation:   Worth 20%. Participation marks were based upon your attendance at
                                     tutorials and completion of the weekly reading guide questions which were
                                     based on the weekly readings.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  No and no sample exam.

Textbook Recommendation:  There is no textbook and instead you are required to buy the course reader. You must buy this as all readings and course info is found in this book.

Lecturer(s):  Taylor Spence. He is an American lecturer who only started at Monash last year. He is a hard marker and doesn't allow the +/- 10% rule which can be a real pain in terms of essays.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2013

Rating:  5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: TBA

Comments: This course is definitely one of the most interesting I've taken so far. The course content can be heavy at times but the lecturer is great and makes it easy enough to follow. In comparison to previous years, Taylor additionally looks at the "West" as opposed to only the North vs. South idea as well as incorporating "the Global Civil War" where he looks at the effects of the civil war on places as far away as Australia and New Zealand. The course covers the antebellum US, the war years and the Reconstruction era which followed.

The Convention in week 6 is a great experience in which you have to work together as a lecture group to try negotiate and avoid war. Each tutorial takes on the role of a particular group such as the free blacks, the abolitionists or staunchest supporters of slavery. It's a fun experience, especially if you have drama students in the class who put their all into the performance as we did!

Assessment is good in that if you fail one piece of assessment it doesn't necessarily mean you will fail the class as there are many small assessments rather than one or two high percentage ones.

Tutorials are good with Taylor, the lecturer, and two other tutors taking the classes. Each tutorial was a mix of second and third years.

I would particularly recommend this course to anyone interested in military history, strategy and the like as Taylor Spence is particularly interested in this area and includes a lot of this type of information in addition to the social, cultural and political facets of the war.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2013, 05:42:02 pm by alondouek »
2010 | Texts and Traditions - 30

2011 | History: Revolutions - 37 ; French - 33 ; Biology - 31 ; National Politics - 31 ; English - 41 (ATAR 85.85)

2012 | Monash Arts w/ Archaeology and History Double Major

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

Dallas45

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  • Posts: 49
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  • School: St Columba's College
  • School Grad Year: 2011
Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #164 on: November 28, 2013, 02:47:09 pm »
+4
Subject Code/Name: ATS2352 - Egypt's Golden Age

Workload:  2 x 1 hour lectures + 1 x 1 hour tutorial per week

Assessment: 

Tutorial Participation:                    Worth 10%. This comprises not only attendance and participation
                                                      in tutorial discussions but also the completion/submission of a
                                                      reading summary each week.

Tutorial Presentation:                   Worth 10%. During one of the tutorials you must give an oral
                                                      presentation on the readings for that week. The exact week you
                                                      present is your choice.

Annotated Essay Bibliography:     Worth 10%. A few weeks before the major essay is due you need
                                                      to submit an annotated bibliography of at least 10 sources in
                                                      which you explain why you will be using them in your essay.

Essay:                                           Worth 50%. Topic is chosen from a given list.

2 x Exam:                                      There is no exam in the examination period. Instead you must
                                                     complete 2 slide tests, one in week 6 and the other in week
                                                     12/SWOTVAC. These tests comprise 10 powerpoint slides and you
                                                     have 5 minutes to answer each slide. Each slide comprises an
                                                     image of some sort, perhaps a particular artefact or building or a
                                                     photo of an excavator. You must answer the given questions
                                                     relating to that slide. Each image is taken from the lecture slides
                                                     and each exam is worth 10%

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture.

Past exams available:  No.

Textbook Recommendation:  Oxford history of Ancient Egypt.

Lecturer(s): Colin Hope.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2013

Rating:  5 Out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: TBA

Comments:

This course is particularly interesting and looks at the so-called Golden Age of Egypt. You will look at the reigns of kings/queens such as Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Hatshepsut as well as aspects of Egyptian culture and life such as religion, political administration, and conspiracy. You also look at particular archaeological sites such as Deir El-Medina.

The tutorials are really good, but like any unit there will always be some weeks where the readings are particularly boring. Tutorial and lecture size are relatively small with only 10-12 people in tutorials and maybe 40-50 in the lectures.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2013, 05:39:51 pm by alondouek »
2010 | Texts and Traditions - 30

2011 | History: Revolutions - 37 ; French - 33 ; Biology - 31 ; National Politics - 31 ; English - 41 (ATAR 85.85)

2012 | Monash Arts w/ Archaeology and History Double Major

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."