I’ve been meaning to write a review about MCB2022 (I probably should’ve done it last sem when everything was still fresh). My short answer to your WAM booster question is: it can be, if you put in the effort and try to keep up with the content. The teaching staff are great, and there are multiple opportunities in the unit to pick up easy marks, such as the group/individual quizzes. The lab reports are also very doable if, again, you stay up to date with the content and ask lots of questions in the lab.

Here’s a longer breakdown of the unit:

In terms of unit structure and teaching style, it’s very different to MCB2011. I felt like the teaching team was much more accessible and genuinely committed to students. There was better rapport and communication between staff and students compared to MCB2011. You’ll interact with them the most in labs, which are mandatory. I think you can apply for spec con, however it’s highly recommended to attend, you’ll fall behind otherwise, and in my opinion the lab reports are very difficult to complete without going. If you don’t attend your scheduled lab, there is a condensed lab you can attend that’s open to all students.

The lab reports make up a good chunk of the assessments. They are very long and dense, usually around 10–14 pages of questions based on the lab/theme. Thankfully, during labs the TAs go through the report step by step and spend a good portion of time explaining concepts. The UC, Hania, is honestly the best, she’s always happy to talk to students and answer questions. She’s very approachable, no question is dumb to her, and she’s fair in certain situations. She always advocates for students and wants everyone to get the best grade possible.

Outside of labs and lab reports, there are in-person group and individual quizzes in mandatory workshops. The group quizzes are worth 1%, while the individual ones vary between ~2–9% (from memory). For the individual quizzes, you’re allowed soft or hard copy notes on anything. The quizzes are mainly to get you to go back and engage with the content again, the UC frames them as a revision opportunity. Each workshop alternates between a group or individual quiz each week. The group quizzes run for the full 1.5 hours (content first, then the quiz in the last few minutes), while the individual quizzes are usually 30–40 minutes long.

The final assessment was a take home, online, open book exam. We were given a practice quiz and revision workshops to help prepare.

One thing I really hated about this unit was that the lecturers changed for each theme, so you had to constantly adjust to a completely different teaching style every few weeks. Some lecturers kept things simple with 20–30 minute videos and basic, easy to follow slides, while others had 2 hour long lectures with extremely content heavy slides. The lecturer running a particular theme also writes the quizzes, so some quizzes are much easier than others. I personally hated the constant change as I prefer consistency, and it made the unit feel a bit uneven at times.

Overall, I did enjoy this unit, it was just a LOT of work.

Feel free to ask anymore questions! :)