GEK1549/ ES1531 Critical Thinking and Writing

Taken in SEM 1 AY14/15

Module Overview:
English mod

Review:
As of the 2014/15 cohort, this is a mandatory critical thinking and writing module done in sectional teaching which is also a science GEM (Group B). It’s not like GP although good grammar and such is still required. I think it’s a rather technical learning of English where we have to identify the type of argument, the basis for an argument, and the assumptions the writer has when forming his argument. The first assignment is individual where you’re given a passage and asked to give a summary and critique the argument using the tools learnt in the first few lessons. The second is a group paper where you form your own arguments as propositions to solve on problem on (whatever the theme is for the semester). There was quite a bit of frustration over the way my tutor teaches. Ask her a question and basically you get more confused with more question. But it seems like that’s the way all the tutors teach. I think the workload isn’t very heavy but it is a burden to those who don’t excel in writing. Fancy language is not required at all but trying to phrase your argument so that it is concise and effective can be a challenge. Finals was hard. You’d think writing GP essays for 2 years that writing another would be fine but when we saw the paper: mindblank. Those who got an A for GP can take ES1501X in place and GEK1549 and also be exempted from ES2331, another compulsory communication module for engineers, but if you’re not confident of your writing abilities I suggest taking GEK instead so you have a better chance with the bell curve. The cohort for ES1501X is small so there isn’t any bell curve and from the friends that took ES it’s rather abstract.

Webcast: No webcast, it's sectional teaching
Textbook: None

Grading:
There is finals for this module (30%) and 2 assignments, each 30%. The last 10% is from class participation, which also includes your reflections on the 2 assignments.

Expected Grade: B+
Final Grade: A-