Rules on the homework and getting the most value of doing it

Getting the most value of doing the homework

Why we assign homework

• Some of the questions reinforce the concepts presented in class and in the textbook by asking you to apply them to specific, concrete examples and scenarios.
• Some of the questions extend the material by asking you to consider variations of concepts presented in class and in the textbook.
• Some of the questions are intended to sharpen your problem-solving skills by asking you to solve problems that use the concepts taught in class and in the textbook but may also require some additional thought or insight. These questions may be useful practice for the types of questions that are often asked in technical interviews.

Do the homework yourself

You will get the most out of these questions if you attempt them yourself. Over the long term, skill at problem solving is far more important than knowing the solution to a specific question through memorization or passive learning.

If you get stuck on a question:

• Review the relevant portions of the lecture notes and the textbook
• Ask questions in Office hours or in Discussion sections
• Ask questions on Ed Discussion.
• Keep in mind that the more specific your question, the better the answer you are likely to get, particularly if your post is on Ed Discussion. Also, a public post on Ed Discussion will receive higher priority than a private post that should have been a public post.

After you turn in your homework …

When the answers are posted, check your answers against the posted solutions. If you are not sure whether your answer is correct, ask. Make sure you understand how to do the question correctly.

After your graded homework is returned …

If the grader marked an answer wrong or took off points, there is probably a reason. If you are not sure why, ask.

We do occasionally make grading mistakes, which is why we offer regrades. However, do keep in mind that the homework is worth only a small fraction of your grade. Stubborn insistence on getting more points on an incorrect homework solution will not result in a higher grade than learning from your error and getting a similar question correct on an exam, should such a question appear.

As stated in the previous paragraph, we sometimes make mistakes. One common mistake is missing an error in your solution and not taking off points that we should have. Also, many questions are graded on "good faith effort" rather than correcness. So as noted above, be sure to check all your answers against the posted solutions.

Rules on the homework

Collaboration

• List all students in the class with whom you collaborated on the homework paper that you turn in. These students should list you as well.

Copying solutions from other sources

Copying solutions from other sources and turning them in as your own work (even with minor modifications) is plagiarism, and is neither recommended nor allowed. If you turn in work written by a ChatBot it is still plagiarism. Even if you make minor modifications to the text, it is still plagiarism.

We may not catch all instances where this is done, but we do discover some of them. For what happens if we discover you doing it, see below.

If you are copying solutions from some other source rather than answering the questions yourself, even if you "get away with it," what is the net benefit to you? You may receive a few more points on an assignment that is worth a small fraction of the grade. In the process you have avoided learning what you could have learned from that assignment. This leads to the larger question: if you are not here to learn the subject matter, why are you here?

What happens if we discover you violating these rules?

• A warning from a TA, a Reader, or the Instructor
• A score of zero on questions within an assignment or perhaps the assignment, depending on the circumstances.
• In truly egregious cases, we will treat this as Academic Dishonesty and proceed accordingly.

Last modified: January 5, 2025