[quote=jhan523;111123]It wasn't that there was so much details, it's mainly that there so much information. The book covers such a large range of information that it makes it hard to know everything. I found the questions to be kind of random, but what can be expected since it's impossible to test every component of the book... even in 118 questions.[/quote



yeh that's right.... how can you know an entire textbook? its way to specific... this should be like a 4 unit course.

Originally Posted by Infinity

yeh that's right.... how can you know an entire textbook? its way to specific... this should be like a 4 unit course.

I'm actually content that there was minimal questions that had organism names incorporated within. All those names just flew over my head while I was studying.

Well, just be glad you didn't take this course as an elective

Originally Posted by jhan523

I'm actually content that there was minimal questions that had organism names incorporated within. All those names just flew over my head while I was studying.

I tried to remember some... they are just to hard to pronounce and try to remember, its so confusing.. and I don't understand why we are getting test on this... i mean scientists have resources available for this its not like they need to memorize what bacteria is where.

Originally Posted by Fight0

Well, just be glad you didn't take this course as an elective

Lol, it doesn't make me happy to know that I didn't have a decision in taking the course >.<

Originally Posted by Infinity

I tried to remember some... they are just to hard to pronounce and try to remember, its so confusing.. and I don't understand why we are getting test on this... i mean scientists have resources available for this its not like they need to memorize what bacteria is where.

Yeah, but the same thing can be said about everything else. Except for problem based questions. I would gladly take these questions over multiple problem based questions that requires a lot of background information/methods and intense thinking.

It's good to memorize most things so you don't have to search for it all the time.

Originally Posted by Fight0

Well, just be glad you didn't take this course as an elective

it was actually my elective :[

haha this brings to mind a Simpsons episode..it was a recent one, with the techy substitute teacher

Teacher(to Martin): Are you telling me you memorized that fact? You memorized something that any moron with a cell phone could have just looked up in 2 minutes?

Martin: IVE WASTED MY LIFE FILLING MY BRAIN WITH ALL THIS USELESS KNOWLEDGE!!


hahah good stuff...just be glad its over guys..move on, whats done is done

Originally Posted by Infinity

it was actually my elective :[

Well at least you can say that you memorized an entire textbook now.

well, i think the exam was totally fair given that fact that he pretty much hinted a major portion of the questions at the review class, he even put specific diagrams back up that were in the short answer (i.e. analog question)...

like if one did readings like he suggested after every lecture (which is hard but not impossible) the studying for the final would not have been bad...like ya some questions were out there but a lot of it were from content in the review lecture, it just sucked that he had to be out of town the week before so we couldnt get that review lecture earlier for earlier studying.. but still

i personally loved dr.xu, his stories and of course the bonus mark thing.. like i told my friends and they were like what? 4% is like a whole grade jump from a 10 to a 11 or a 11 to a 12... the labs were also marked so easily ..

overall i would recommend this course to students were like (or can tolerate) sitting down and making notes off the textbook and does well from studying those notes...

just my two bits
good luck to everyone on their finals

I thought it wasnt too bad....I found it stright forward

Originally Posted by pinkpiggydoe

well, i think the exam was totally fair given that fact that he pretty much hinted a major portion of the questions at the review class, he even put specific diagrams back up that were in the short answer (i.e. analog question)...

like if one did readings like he suggested after every lecture (which is hard but not impossible) the studying for the final would not have been bad...like ya some questions were out there but a lot of it were from content in the review lecture, it just sucked that he had to be out of town the week before so we couldnt get that review lecture earlier for earlier studying.. but still

i personally loved dr.xu, his stories and of course the bonus mark thing.. like i told my friends and they were like what? 4% is like a whole grade jump from a 10 to a 11 or a 11 to a 12... the labs were also marked so easily ..

overall i would recommend this course to students were like (or can tolerate) sitting down and making notes off the textbook and does well from studying those notes...

just my two bits
good luck to everyone on their finals

Dr. Xu is a great guy. But the way this course is structured is terrible. And labs were marked easy? Are you kidding!?!?! One T.A. that I will not name is a total hardcore moron. It marked are labs sooooooooooo hard its not even funny. Me and a freind did a lab together he gets like perfect, i fail. TA bias.... i was pissed but what can you do? Its not fair for us who had to put up with a T.A. that marks hard while everyone doesn't have to work as hard and gets easy marks. And that review class should have been the very last lecture... that would have gave us plenty of time to study.... He could have at least posted the review slides which he just copy pasted straight from the notes anyway ahead of time... that could have helped to...

Originally Posted by Infinity

And that review class should have been the very last lecture... that would have gave us plenty of time to study.... He could have at least posted the review slides which he just copy pasted straight from the notes anyway ahead of time... that could have helped to...

He has no obligation to even hold a review class...it was nice of him to put anything together..besides he said he was at a conference most of the week prior to the review class so i dont think he was able to create any review...but in any case he could have posted/made them earlier...but be glad there was a session at all!

Originally Posted by Scrub

He has no obligation to even hold a review class...it was nice of him to put anything together..besides he said he was at a conference most of the week prior to the review class so i dont think he was able to create any review...but in any case he could have posted/made them earlier...but be glad there was a session at all!

ya thats wat i mean.. like some profs don't hold review sessions and i found dr.xu's extremely helpful and he prolly put it together last minute too cuz don't profs have other stuff to do? like most profs arent only teachers as in they have research and other seminars? but still i agree with both of you that obviously it woulda helped that it was posted earlier.. but if he made the last class a review lecture, then we would be missing out on some content of the course (not that i'd miss NOT studying for the last bit..)

Originally Posted by Infinity

Dr. Xu is a great guy. But the way this course is structured is terrible. And labs were marked easy? Are you kidding!?!?! One T.A. that I will not name is a total hardcore moron. It marked are labs sooooooooooo hard its not even funny. Me and a freind did a lab together he gets like perfect, i fail. TA bias.... i was pissed but what can you do? Its not fair for us who had to put up with a T.A. that marks hard while everyone doesn't have to work as hard and gets easy marks. And that review class should have been the very last lecture... that would have gave us plenty of time to study.... He could have at least posted the review slides which he just copy pasted straight from the notes anyway ahead of time... that could have helped to...

and that sucks =( sorry to hear about your bad TA.. i hope you submitted a bad TA evaluation XD hopefully it'll make them do better or at least not let them TA again (but most of the TA's are Dr.Xu's personal students right..?)