Grading
Computation of the Final Grade
There are three main components to this course:
- About 8 quizzes, worth a total of 15% of the final grade (you get to
drop your worst quiz).
- 5 machine problems, worth a total of 50% of the final grade.
- 1 comprehensive final exam, worth 35% of the final grade.
Your final grade is therefore computed as
0.15*quizzes + 0.5*machine problems + 0.35*final. However, if
you turn in all your quizzes, and you obtain at least
two-thirds of the points counting only quizzes, then your final grade is
computed as the maximum between the weighted average above and the final
(that is, if you work during the semester, a good grade in the final is
a good grade in the class).
Given this grading structure, what do you need to do well in this course?
You need all of the following:
- Do not skip lectures: I will not repeat there what you have
in your reading assignments, I will explain to you what is in there. And
this will hopefully make it much easier for you to solve your machine
problems.
- Have a look at your reading assignments *before* coming to
class. But do not study them in depth, spend maybe an hour trying
to get an idea of what is the material about. That way, my explanations
will make more sense to you, and you will be able to absorb much more of
the lectures.
- Study your reading assignments after class, but do not try to
read everything in full detail, study carefully only those parts that
you will need to solve your machine problems. These reading assignments
will contain much more material than you will be able to absorb in a
reasonable amount of time. I want you to learn to weed out the parts
you don't need, and focus on what you do need. That is how things are
in real life, so might as well start now...
- Do *all* your quizzes and machine problems. There is no way
you will be able to survive in this class if you do not work hard on these.
- Do not wait to start on your machine problems until a couple of
days before the submission deadline. Not all, but some of the machine
problems will be *long*. Pace yourself appropriately: this is also a skill
you will need in real life, so again might as well start now.
Note that the final grade is the maximum between the grade in the final
exam, and a weighted average of the quizzes / machine problems / final.
But do *not* infer from this that you can take it easy for the whole
semester and then cram for the final. This option is available to
you only if you work throughout the semester (and I make sure of that by
asking that you do decently in the quizzes). And furthermore, the final
will be comprehensive, and I promise you will not be able to do well in
it if you didn't develop some understanding on the ideas I will try to
convey to you during the semester.
There is something I think I cannot overemphasize enough: if you do not
work hard on your machine problems, you will most likely flunk this class.
It would be completely unrealistic from your part to expect to be able to
take it easy during the semester, and then ace the final. But at the same
time, if you obtain consistently good grades in your machine problems and
quizzes, you will most likely ace this class. So make sure you take
advantage of all the resources that will be available to you (TAs, study
materials, office hours) to do well in your machine problems. That is
your best bet.
Academic Integrity
As with all other classes at Cornell, you are expected to maintain a
high level of ethical standards and integrity in this course. This means
that all work you submit must be the result of your own individual effort.
You may discuss homework problems with other students in the class, but
you may not collaborate on the actual writing of the problem sets or
development of solutions. Under no circumstances would it be acceptable
for two or more students to turn in substantially similar answers to a
homework problem, or to have possession of each others' homeworks. It
is your responsibility to protect your work from unauthorized access.
Everyone with whom you discussed the homework set must be cited on the
submitted homeworks. No part of the homework may be copied from or be
based on solution sets on the web - also keep in mind that the solution
sets on the web are often incomplete and incorrect.
Any violations of the academic integrity code will be penalized according
to the Cornell Academic Integrity Policy, and may result in failure in the
course, suspension, or expulsion from the university.