First Year INGS subjects: What to expect

                     First year INGS units: What to expect                                                                            

First of all; 

Congratulations on getting in to BIGS at USYD! 

Hope that you will enjoy the course and USYD and that this article helps

This year you will study two compulsory INGS units, one each semester;

-  INGS1001 Power and Money in Global Society hosted by the Government and International Relations and Political Economy departments 

-  INGS1002 Global Culture and Society hosted by the Sociology and Anthropology departments 

INGS1001

The favorite out of the two INGS units was by far INGS1001... by pretty much everybody

The content was a little heavy at first, especially in the readings and some lectures may feel too long but after a few weeks you will be adjusted and the content is very interesting. Just pay special attention in the first few weeks (especially if you haven't studied economics or political based subjects before).
In the end it was very enjoyable.

The best thing to focus on is grasping the main theories; Marxism, (Neo)Liberalism, Realism, Constructivism 

Assessments (2014) were a short essay which tested our compressing ability, a major essay on your chosen topic of given topics, a tutorial presentation with partner/s and a 'mini-essay' based final exam

They weren't too difficult but you may find them to be somewhat difficult due to the differences between university assessments and HSC style, don't worry you'll get used to it.     

Where I personally slipped up was referencing and having a clear essay structure and strong thesis

For referencing you will need to used Harvard style (Author Surname, Date: pg).
Make sure the bibliography is on a separate page to the last part of your essay, is in alphabetical order and pages are numbered (I lost marks for this)


INGS1002
This subject was a bit of a struggle, the content wasn't overwhelmingly exciting, lectures weren't that great, many of us found the content, assessment questions and unit in general a little waffly and unclear. If you do sociology or anthropology as your major you may have a better experience of this subject.

Advice would be to email your tutor about every assessment and try to get as much of their approval of what you've done/plan to do before you submit as you can. Make sure to link whichever topic you focus on for an assessment back to the notion of globalisation

It is possible to get a D or HD for this subject but it requires effort and patience with bad explanations and unclear instructions and waffly readings.

Assessments (2014) include a minor essay, weekly 'journal' submissions based on readings via Blackboard (BB), a tutorial presentation with partner/s and a major essay which acts as your final exam. All readings were also posted on BB which was handy for those who didn't want to buy the reader.

NO FINAL EXAM - possibly the best thing about the subject.

*Note
This is based on the 2014 units please check the USYD websites for updated information regarding assessments etc.
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/undergraduate/international_and_global_studies.shtml

Best of luck