Hi,

I know there are reviews for both courses (I think), and I pretty much went over both of them but seeing that the reviews are 3 years old. Did anyone recently take either one of these courses in 2010-2011 with Mercier? If so, do you have any comments, suggestions and feedback on the course? I'm taking these two as electives and are not mandatory for me to take but they fit into my schedule perfectly. I'm not a strong writer at all, but I do start my work on time and hopefully that will continue throughout my university life. I ask for help when needed and try to do as expected. Also...question about the labs..they're not actual labs right? They're more like tutorials right from what I read? It wouldn't matter where I place them in my schedule right? Like before or after my core?

No geog students on? xD

I was also hoping for a recent review of the course if there are any.. thank you!

Originally Posted by herBs

Hi,

I know there are reviews for both courses (I think), and I pretty much went over both of them but seeing that the reviews are 3 years old. Did anyone recently take either one of these courses in 2010-2011 with Mercier? If so, do you have any comments, suggestions and feedback on the course? I'm taking these two as electives and are not mandatory for me to take but they fit into my schedule perfectly. I'm not a strong writer at all, but I do start my work on time and hopefully that will continue throughout my university life. I ask for help when needed and try to do as expected. Also...question about the labs..they're not actual labs right? They're more like tutorials right from what I read? It wouldn't matter where I place them in my schedule right? Like before or after my core?

I had Mercier when I took the course back in 2009-2010, and my buddy took it with the same prof in 2010-2011, so I assume the course stays essentially the same.
Overall, I really liked the class - the material was really easy, and I thought Mercier was a good lecturer. The only thing you need to look out for with him is that you'll need to attend his lectures to get the complete notes. When I took it, I just used my notes to study for the tests and I did fine (think I ended up with a 11 or a 10, I took both courses as well).
Don't worry about being a strong writer in this class as well - its a well designed first year class in the sense that it teaches you how to properly write a university essay (the grading is more or less focused on research skills, arguments, citations, plagiarism), and as long as you follow what the instructions are you'll do fine. IIRC, the first written assignment was a summary of a academic article.
You're right about the labs, its much more like a tutorial - I found them to be verrry useless, the t.a just talks for two hours about assignments and you watch videos - I didn't write anything down in them. Try and show up for all of them as well as I believe you and get an extra 3% overall final grade if you attend everyone (I believe its okay if you miss one)
Overall, class is easy and enjoyable. Just make sure to keep on top of the work and you'll be fine.

I took these classes in 2010-2011 . Dr. Mercer is a very good prof and he explains things really well. As mentioned above you pretty much have to attend his lectures to get complete notes. His test are pretty fair and you have to learn how to finish his tests within the time limit. For labs as mentioned are like tutorial but they can get boring and it's better to show up in all of them because of the 3% participation mark.
Overall a very enjoyable class.

Originally Posted by herBs

Hi,

I know there are reviews for both courses (I think), and I pretty much went over both of them but seeing that the reviews are 3 years old. Did anyone recently take either one of these courses in 2010-2011 with Mercier? If so, do you have any comments, suggestions and feedback on the course? I'm taking these two as electives and are not mandatory for me to take but they fit into my schedule perfectly. I'm not a strong writer at all, but I do start my work on time and hopefully that will continue throughout my university life. I ask for help when needed and try to do as expected. Also...question about the labs..they're not actual labs right? They're more like tutorials right from what I read? It wouldn't matter where I place them in my schedule right? Like before or after my core?

I only took 1HA3 this past year with Mercier. He's a good lecturer/prof, you can tell he cares about what he's teaching and he doesn't just drone on and on about things. He's also willing to help students and wants them to do well. I did have the problem with writing his tests, I ran out of time on both the midterm and final :( but not everyone will have that problem. Yes the labs are more like tutorials and it shouldn't matter where you put them in your schedule unless you want more time during the week for assignments, in which case try and put the lab near the end of the week.

Originally Posted by dreamer21

I only took 1HA3 this past year with Mercier. He's a good lecturer/prof, you can tell he cares about what he's teaching and he doesn't just drone on and on about things. He's also willing to help students and wants them to do well. I did have the problem with writing his tests, I ran out of time on both the midterm and final :( but not everyone will have that problem. Yes the labs are more like tutorials and it shouldn't matter where you put them in your schedule unless you want more time during the week for assignments, in which case try and put the lab near the end of the week.

Ah right that makes sense..but people say to avoid having too much on Friday as Econ midterms and math tests happen on Friday.

Originally Posted by herBs

Ah right that makes sense..but people say to avoid having too much on Friday as Econ midterms and math tests happen on Friday.

Well of course it's up to you and your schedule and what you think will work the best for you. I didn't take econ and didn't have math that term so it wasn't an issue for me. You could always try to get your lab on Wednesday or Thursday if you still want some extra time to finish assignments without having it on the Friday.