Course Organisation
| Units and hours |
| The first week is about Getting to Know the College: Extended Orientation. In the remaining weeks, there will be 6 weeks of topical lectures, interspersed with 3 weeks of tutorials, 2 weeks of academic skills lectures and one writing workshop; each occasion will be 3 class hours. |
| Class size |
| The class size will be ~75 for lectures. |
| Tutorial organisation |
| The whole class will be divided into ~5 tutorial sections of up to 18 students each. Each section attends three tutorials.
Detailed instructions will be announced on the CUHK eLearning platform. |
| Reading |
| The required reading will be of modest quantity (say 20–30 pages per week). A list of suggested reading will be provided, and it is hoped that students will read a selection, possibly in relation to the preparation of the term paper.
The required reading for each lecture will be available on Blackboard. To help students who may initially have difficulties with English, Chinese translations of parts of some of the lectures will also be placed on Blackboard. The purpose is not to avoid English texts, but to help students in the process of transition in reading lengthier and more difficult text in English. The content of the required reading will be the subject of a quiz at the end of the relevant lecture. In addition to the Lecture Notes, which constitute the required reading, a Manual on academic skills will also be available on Blackboard, to supplement the short lectures on these topics. |
| Term paper |
| A term paper is required, relatively short because this may be the first academic term paper that the students have ever written: 1,500 words in English or 2,000 words in Chinese. In addition to the final product, there will be a series of intermediate tasks correlated to modules on academic writing embedded into the course.
Detailed instructions will be announced on the CUHK eLearning platform. |
| Quizzes |
| There will be a short quiz at the end of each topical lecture L1, … , L6. Each quiz will cover the pre-assigned reading and the lecture just delivered. There will be no examination at the end of term. The quizzes will consist of multiple-choice questions and/ or questions requiring short answers; in the latter case, the questions may be answered in either English or Chinese. One purpose of the quizzes is to promote the habit of close reading.
Only the best 5 out of 6 quizzes will be counted, i.e., the lowest score will be discarded. Students may be approved for absence if there are medical or other unavoidable reasons. Such absence request should be made to the College office on or before the relevant lecture with suitable documentary proof (e.g., medical certificate). Upon approval, the scores of the remaining quizzes will be scaled up. For example, if one quiz is missed with approval, then the best 4 out of 5 (instead of 5 out of 6) will be counted, and the total score scaled up by a factor of 5/4. If two or more quizzes are missed, some make-up arrangements may be necessary. For any absence with personal reasons*, the missed quiz will be scored as zero. In other words, it will be the one that is discarded, and the remaining quizzes will be counted as 5 out of 5. * Including, for example, attending a graduation ceremony back at high school, or attending non-mandatory activities in the major department (mandatory activities should not conflict with scheduled class hours) or participation in activities of student clubs. |
Assessment scheme
| Tutorial participation [1] | 20% |
| Term paper [2] | 40% |
| Quizzes | 40% |
Notes
| [1] | A form of peer assessment may be introduced for the tutorial component, in part for formative purpose. |
| [2] | Including any intermediate tasks. |
| Language |
| The vision of CW Chu College includes internationality, and the College expects to enrol more than the average percentage of students from outside Hong Kong. This first College course should have the function of integrating students from different backgrounds into a single community, through a shared learning experience. With this in mind, the lectures will be conducted in English. The College would also encourage tutorials to be conducted in English, in order that ideas can be shared among students with different backgrounds. However, students who initially have difficulties may be assigned to tutorials with special arrangements.
Bilingual versions (or choices) may be available for some items in the suggested reading lists. Term papers and short answers quizzes may be written in either English or Chinese. Course organisation is subject to review from time to time. Current students should refer to the latest updates and arrangements sent via email and/or announced on the CUHK eLearning platform. |
College Office
G/F, CW Chu College
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR
