Saturday, July 29, 2006

Lingustics 100 Post Mortem

Linguistics this evening wasn't the best of all papers. It kinda reminds me of my JC math papers, where I struggled through each question, not knowing whether what I was doing was correct. Of course, the only difference between the JC math papers and this paper is that the JC papers were never the final grade; only my A levels mattered, and I breezed through that one. Rather, this paper was difficult by my own standards. Of 100 marks, I estimate 20 will be deducted. If I am lucky, and have less than 13 marks deducted, I will still have an A+ grade overall, even though I wouldn't get one for the final paper. If not, I will get an A overall.

Study Method
Linguistics is a subject that requires constant practise. Right now, looking back, it seems I didn't give myself enough of the right kind of practise. X' schema trees definitely stumped me badly, and it ate into quite a bit of my time. This is one example of a failure in study method.

Exam Strategy
I found it quite puzzling that I answered the question on Standard Dialects, Regional Dialects and Official Dialects/Langauges, rather than Lingua Franca, Pidgin and Creole Languages. The latter I had revised well, and the former, I was not as well-prepared for. So after the paper, it stumped me that I had actually chosen the former. I believe I didn't read the question carefully enough, resulting in this particular slip.

Other Factors
What else could it be? Perhaps the poor time (it's at night), or the short coursework period (giving little time for practise). But these are not excuses, neither are they reasons. Fact is, I didn't pre-read my materials enough, and I took for granted the ease of 100-level courses.

Implications
This means that come Science One in September, as well as Philosophy this August, I will have to buck up in my attitude. Yes, it's all in the head. No more lax attitude; dilligence and consistency will be my keywords from now on.

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