NM4401: Finishing your Honours Thesis

Before anything else, I just want to say I am proud of you! If you are here reading this, you must be contemplating doing your honours thesis (HT) or in the midst of it and either way, give yourself a pat on the back for even considering the exhausting HT or having survived so far in your HT journey! Instead of the usual module review, I’ll be throwing in some tips (and also kinda like a guide) on what worked for me on my HT journey and hopefully they will be help you in deciding if it’s really for you OR to prepare you for your own HT journey ahead!

First things first, what is NM4401? NM4401 is the module code for CNM’s honours thesis and this is what will be reflected on your transcript and edurec after you have officially signed up for it! Completing your HT awards you with 15MCs, equivalent to x3 level 4K modules. Typically, HT is a submission of a 12000-word research paper. For this post, I will be focusing on the research-based approach as that was the one I completed. However, CNM has recently introduced a second way to fulfil your HT requirements, calling it a practice-based approach. Since it is still relatively new, do look towards resources provided by CNM to decide which would be a better fit for you. Do also note that one of the pre-requisites for taking HT is to complete NM4102, you can also complete the module concurrently while you are doing your HT, though I will advise against this unless you really have no choice.

Yes, I want to write a paper instead of doing 3x 4K modules, what’s next? What’s next is materialising your research interest! What I like about CNM’s HT is that we are free to choose our topics and then find a Prof who is aligned in their research interest. What’s even better is that you don’t have to scramble to find Profs, CNM lets you do a ranking and this helps ensure that you will be guaranteed a supervising Prof! Of course, if you have crossed paths with certain Profs and want them to supervise you, you can also reach out to them prior to the application process as well to ask and let them know that you would like them to supervise you. If you already have a research interest, great! Work towards it and formulate the area of research you want to focus on. If you’re unsure, have a look at your previous work or the things around you that have piqued your interests! When I was thinking about my research topic, I was constantly looking at the things around me e.g. the use of self-deprecating humour, the widespread COVID-19 communications, the use of emojis and what it means to different people, etc. I finally settled on a topic close to heart when a celebrity I really liked passed away, prompting me to look more into parasocial relationships and our relations with the dead on social media.

From there, I read up more into the topic itself and that’s when I formulated a preliminary research topic and “question” that I wanted to answer. Accompanying this was also filling out all the paperwork, re-reading past lecture notes to figure out how to actually properly formulate the initial stages of research, and giving a thorough read through the list of professors. Around week 5 was when I got approval and was assigned my supevising prof and I reached out (or she reached out) via email to set up an appointment! The first meeting was more for sharing of ideas and feel free to voice out any concerns you might have with your prof or any expectations moving forward and what works. It is pretty much a highly self-disciplined pace of work where you set your own deadlines, for me it was up to me to decide when it was time for me to meet my Prof again to share with us updates or new directions in my research. I mostly did once every two weeks or until I had enough progress to the next stage before arranging a meeting with her. For every meeting, it helped me greatly to prepare work in progress decks just to better illustrate my thoughts and also give my Prof a clear indication on the things I was explaining.

Update slide on proposed methodology

On my end, I planned a timeline for myself (see below) or the rough dates I wanted to get portions done, this way I ensured that I was always working on my HT amidst all the other things that were going on like other modules I was enrolled in. Of course, I wasn’t super on scedule but having a rough timeline helped!

Setting of timelines for myself

The next thing to lay out after getting the research topic and methods of the way is to get into intensive literature review, sieving out the information that you might need that will further help you in crafting any reseach methods you have or inform it. This part was honestly confusing for me because you’re going through so much text every day. One thing I found really useful was to use OneNote (see below) to organise my thoughts along with all other things related like To-Dos for HT and guiding points for myself for portions of the research paper.

Main text on the right and the different categories I organised my Lit Revew into

Extremely crucial is to do citations as you go! Just prepare for this as you do your lit review so it doesn’t come back to haunt you. I numbered the texts I read starting from 1 to 56 and would make references to where I got the notes from by numbering the text with the corresponding text (I know this sounds confusing but see below for what I mean!)

Numbering text with (5) which corresponds to:

Citation No. 5

While doing all the lit review, it’s also time to start pondering on your research methods and it’s best to get it settled early because it will require time to get approvals with DERC and IRB dependent on what kind of research methods you’re doing. Again, lots of paperwork for this and forms to fill out. If unclear of anything, the CNM help email is always available to you (lord knows I bugged them way too many times haha). Remember to factor in the time it takes to get all these approvals, you will be unable to start on your research until you get the green light to proceed which can hinder your timeline and progress.

In the end, I went with qualitative research method (because no SPSS lol) and because it suit my research questions better. That’s when I started to collect the data and then (very painfully) analysed them. Of course, I had troubles and was even anxious going through heaps of information, resorting to a strict regime for myself. I literally recall myself doing work in 2-hour or 4-hour blocks through the day starting from 8am and ending at 12am. This was also when I revisited a focus app I was introduced to back in JC — Forest App — which I then used to clock my hours on the things I was doing. Very gruelling but very helpful and hopeful to look at the hours I clocked in for myself.

Time clocked on Forest

With all that, further analysis and organisation of points, I was ready to get started on writing! I already laid the ground doing my introduction, lit review and methodology while waiting for DERC/IRB approvals so that was almost out of the way. What was next was fleshing out my research findings and analysis. Honestly, the writing part is always the fun part for me because you kind of already have everything, you just have to string it into words! On the word count part, I don’t have much advice on this because I usually don’t have issues with going over the limit but how I manage this would be to assign how many paragraphs I want each portion to have beforehand and to have that in mind while I write.

The last step was to get the final draft up, I sent a copy to my Prof for any comments before I final edits to the paper and sealing it all in. That moment was truly a glorious one! Fixing that in, I then worked on making sure my graphs were right, appendices were in order and that citations were all in. What a ride it was right? When it was all done and dusted, I couldn’t believe all the work I had put in either. But it was all really fulfilling knowing I had been able to research into an area of interest for myself and to have somehow placed the fruits of my learning over the past 4 years to work.

If you’ve read this far and are feeling inspired, go get them! The journey is a long and tough one but I promise it will be worth it. I know I said there will be tips but it kinda just happened that they are all strewn in together to be picked up as you read, as I recounted on my own HT journey as well. Nonetheless, wishing you a lovely HT journey!

Pie’s Note: This entry took me way too long to finish. Just been sitting in my draft for almost a year and am happy I’ve completed it (bc I got a break from work). It was nostalgic to look back but also I hope the information I shared is still relevant and not too dated! Wishing everyone luck as you traverse down this road~

JS2216 Review

Postwar Japanese Film and Anime

Taken in: AY20/21 Sem 2
Expected Grade: B
Actual Grade: B- (SUed)

Yes, just take this module if you like anime, it is worth a shot (and will be fun and chill if you have SUs)! Though, do be prepared because this module doesn’t just cover anime but films as well (it’s a half-half). In short, this is like a film class but with focus on postwar Japanese film and anime — as the title suggests, so there will be the use of film terms and techniques along the way but more importantly the themes of each movie and how they related to the postwar period.

Each lecture focuses on one anime/film with the very first lecture setting the stage and context on timelines and important dates to note that will help us understand the setting of each film better! There are also a couple of readings to do that will help you understand the themes (e.g. symbolism of Tokyo Tower, Japanese narrative of WWII, urbanisation and folklore, etc.) of each film but I did struggle with some of the readings as they were a little hard to understand. It would be helpful to watch the anime/film before the lecture and the titles chosen are mostly interesting (comedies are included!) so just treat it as a break from studying. Not much need to take notes during the show as the lecture will help to breakdown the show for you.

Assessment-wise, there were 2 critical reviews, one group project, class participation during tutorials and weekly lecture quizzes! We were supposed to critically review 2 of the assigned lecture readings and form an argument based on this. I butchered both because I was confused as to what to do and since I found some readings hard to understand. I do not have much advice to give but to consult your TA or the Prof where appropriate. Same with class participation, I was mostly at a loss if readings were being discussed. Nonetheless, it is still enjoyable knowing that others in the tutorial share similar interests with you just stressful when it came to discussion time (for me). The group project was more of a ‘fun’ project where we can choose a film and decide on the medium to present the film in a way that would entice others to watch it. It can be quite some work since it is a creative group project (e.g. video, IG account, travel guide) but it can be enjoyable if your group mates are fun and take it seriously (again, the quality depends on your group mates, pick wisely!).

Beyond the academic urge to do well and score well, I would really recommend this module for anyone interested in Japanese culture and history in general! Learning about it through films is arguably one of the easiest ways to ease into it in my opinion. If you’re looking to get an easy A, I don’t think this module is an easy A and you will have to work for it.

Here are the films / anime we watched:
1. University of Laughs, Dir: Hoshi Mamoru 2004
2. Rhapsody in August, Dir: Kurosawa Akira 1991
3. Sunset on Third Street 1, Dir: Yamazaki Takashi 2005
4. Sunset on Third Street Sequel, Dir: Yamazaki Takashi 2007
5. Welcome Back, Mr McDonald, Dir: Mitani Koki 1997
6. Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko, Dir: Takahata Isao 1994
7. Spirited Away, Dir: Miyazaki Hayao 2001
8. A Letter to Momo, Dir: Okiura Hiroyuki 2011 (my favourite!)
9. Your Name, Dir: Shinkai Makoto 2016

NM4249 Review

Media and Audiences

Taken in: AY20/21 Sem 2
Expected Grade: B+
Actual Grade: A

I loved this module for the topics taught! Very interesting look into media and portrayal of subjects that has once again sharpened my critical thinking (FASS selling point!!). Would recommend this class if you really enjoy or hold some opinions about the local media landscape because the module offers a dive into this. It is more of an academia module so expect the heavy readings that comes with a 4K module and the usual lead discussion for a selected reading as part of assessments.

Each seminar is packed with information and later seminars were filled with presentations from classmates about the readings as well. However, there were some issues with covering the intended topics on time due to the amount of content and there was quite a bit of rushing leading up to the mid-terms to ensure that we have the necessary information needed to write our mid-term paper. Plus points for this class is that the lecturer is very understanding of the difficulties and anxieties that come with class part and allows participation in the Zoom chat box (or from what I recall).

Assessment-wise, there are four major components: (1) lead discussion, (2) mid-term writing test, (3) term paper, (4) group project. The lead discussion is straight forward, present the main points and arguments of the readings and localise it with examples from Singapore, this is done in groups of two or three. The mid-terms requires us to analyse a media text (in our case, a video) and to decode it based on Stuart Hall’s three positions of reading (don’t worry too much about this, it will be taught in seminar). The term paper is a discussion paper centred on an issue brought up in seminar (e.g. I did my paper on prodused content, a new term coined for audiences who are now making their own content, think influencers, Tiktokers, YouTubers). It can be a fun paper to work on if you are passionate about a particular issue brought up in seminar. However, I did struggle a little with this as I wasn’t sure if the topic I chose aligned with what was taught in class. Of course, when in doubt, try to arrange for a consultation with the lecturer! Finally, there is a group project where we had to pick a local media text (be it film, drama or advertisement) and conduct a focus group interview with those who had watched it, to understand how it illustrates certain issues that were surrounding the film. I didn’t have the best experience with my group so it really always boils down to you have to choose your group mates well! If you are not in a position to choose, just make sure that roles are allocated well and everyone is in agreement during meetings before starting on work.

Overall, this module is still pretty manageable to me, in the sense that you don’t have to pay super close attention in lectures (nor do all the readings) to fully understand what’s going on. The only thing that eats into your time are the assessments so you just have to plan well for that. If not, you can let the seminar sit and go about your other tasks if you’re really packed on classes or assignments. Nonetheless, if your interests lie in media texts this is definitely a good module to take!

NM4248 Review

Lifestyle Writing

Taken in: AY20/21 Sem 2
Expected Grade: B+
Actual Grade: B+

I enjoy writing but I do not see myself as a good writer. Therefore, this was one of the most intimidating (to me at least) modules I ever took from selecting it till final submission. Already felt like I would be in for a ride when I read the module description and for once, the description accurately describes what you would be in for. So yes, whatever you have read on lumiNUS is what you can fully expect so if you feel even an inkling of “Can I really do this?” and are now looking elsewhere for other sources to help make your decision, you are at the right place.

On content covered, I felt that seminar content was well planned! Fundamentals in writing like techniques, grammar notes, and style were taught, which would greatly help in cleaning up your writing. The seminars were also planned in a way where as the weeks progressed, content would also align with your submission dates so if you follow through every lesson well and make the appropriate preparations, you will not fall too far behind. Beyond writing, this module also teaches you about pitching your story, so you will learn to understand and identify for yourself what would make a story interesting. There were also breakout rooms throughout the seminar where you would have to discuss what could be done better from a sample text, helping you to learn by example.

All these would culminate into the three writing assignments that would make up the bulk of the your grades – a review, a profile story and a feature story. From the initial stages of planning, sourcing for interviewees and finally doing the writing, the assignments really allows you to put on a hat of a lifestyle writer. But three stories in one semester? I thought it would be tough too but the class all managed to pull through. When it came to grading, the lecturer is strict in marking but he offers good feedback in every work submitted which I feel really helps in identifying the areas you would need to work on.

All in all, amidst the stress of worrying about sentence structures and grammar mistakes in my writing, I still thoroughly enjoyed this module through the new things I have explored thanks to the assignments. Ultimately, if you’re like me and unsure if your writing is good enough, this module would be a good place for you to practice or to discover if writing is for you. If you’re already good at writing and want to build on your writing samples, the assignments are a good way to boost on your current writing portfolio!