CS-12 FAQ

This page contains answers to common questions along with some tips and tricks that we have found useful and presented here as questions.

1. Where can I get an add code for the class?
2. How do I get early notification of my grade?
3. What are the details on the extra credit for homework and lab reports?
4. I am in a hurry and don't have much time. Can I turn in a fast report?
5. What is the best way to study for the class?
6. Where are the homework boxes?
7. Why can't everything be turned in on-line?
8. What is the policy on late home work?
9. What about the juniors, seniors, and graduate students in the class?
10. Since it is a curve doesn't somebody have to fail?
11. I need an A in this class - What can you tell me in 20 minutes to assure that?
12. Won't the material in this class be outdated soon?

Where can I get an add code for the class?

Add codes may be obtained in Engineering 1, Room 2104.

How do I get early notification of my grade?

The Registrar runs an Internet site where grades can be obtained as soon as they are filed.

What are the details on the extra credit for homework and lab reports?

Both homework and labs are eligible for extra credit.  The credit is awarded for making the grading job easier.  It is not an entitlement. 

First the work must be legible.  If the work is difficult to decipher, ambiguous, or the like then the work is not eligible for credit. Work that is too faint to read is also ineligible. 

A single staple is all that is required.  If you like to use industrial sized staples, bits of soldered wires, electronic components or the like you would would not receive extra credit.

Submit your work on standard sized 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.  European metric sizes are OK and some note book paper is 8 by 10 and that is OK, too.  But taping or gluing sheets together, or paper that is larger than 9 by 12 is definitely out. 

Write only on one side of each sheet. Papers received written on both sides are not eligible for credit.  The best paper costs  less than 1 cent per sheet ($5 per ream), much less if you use re-cycle.  

All writing and print out must be in 10 point type or larger. Again, if the instructor can't read your work, you don't get credit. 

All problem solutions must appear in numerical sequence.  If you make your work difficult to grade then no extra credit.  Underline or circle or otherwise identify your key steps and answers.  If is difficult to find your final answer then no extra credit.  If your paper looks like a collegiate version of "Find Waldo" then you risk receiving credit at all.  

You code needs to be effectively commented. Mindless, tautologial comments are a short-cut to no credit. Program documentation that you keep "in your head" receives no credit.

Your work must be on time. If it is late for any reason and does not get graded with the main batch, it is not eligible for credit.  All work must be submitted in class. There is no midnight drop off or other such homework box.  Hand your work (both homework and lab) directly to the instructor by the end of class session.

 A cover sheet is passed out with each homework assignment.  Work submitted without the cover sheet (properly oriented)  get no extra credit.

All reports and homeworks are subject to the same standard.  Reports and homeworks that are illegible run the risk of being returned ungraded.  If you decide to re-submit the lab/homework late penalties still apply.

What is the best way to study for the class?

The best way to get understanding is by working problems because problems focus your attention. It is also not too surprising that individuals who do well on the problem sets do well on the exams.

Where are the homework boxes?

There are none. All homework and lab reports are to be turned in during class.

Why can't everything be turned in on-line?

Source code files are turned in through e-mail but the finished report for full credit must be a collegiate-level written report.  It is part of the educational process.

What is the policy on late home work?

You can turn in homework late but it isn't recommended for the following reasons:

1. The home work will not be returned with the main batch. If you use it to study with for exams you'll miss it.
   
2. Late home work is usually graded more strictly since you have had more time to work on it.
   
3. Late home work is subject to a penalty.  The penalty for each class session late is usually 10 points. There is no drop off point or homework collection boxes. Hand them in directly to the instructor.
   
4. You will miss the benefit of doing it since exam questions are usually based on homework problems.

What about the juniors, seniors, and graduate students in the class?

Even though this is intended to to be a lower division class it continues to enroll significant numbers of upper division and even a few graduate students. It turns out that the upper level students do not appear to affect the class curve as much as one would think. Why? No one knows for sure but possible reasons are:

1. They figure it is an easy class and attempt to mini-max the grade. This generally doesn't work because the class grade is built on consistency of effort and understanding of the material.
   
2. Figure that since they already know the material, they can skip the home work and programming projects. That approach generally leads to less than optimum results as well since they usually don't know as much as they think they know and a third of the grade is on homework and programming. By the time they figure this out it is too late.
   
3. Decide that they will just wing it and use their keen sense of guessing and legendary luck to master the material during the test. Another recipe for disaster since there is usually too many questions to ponder every one and there is no alternative if you get even temporarily stuck. You can't fly into the test with your training wheels down and expect to do well.

Since it is a curve doesn't somebody have to fail?

Not at all. If everyone demonstrated a reasonable understanding of the material then there would be all high grades. As it is (unfortunately) this doesn't seem to occur. Every quarter there seems to be a group that turns in all the homework (with pains taken to get it right), reasonably answers every question on the tests, and demonstrates a fair amount of creativity in writing the programs.

Then there is a group that gets most of the home work right (some wrong, some missing), skips or can't answer several problems on each test, and does not attend class for one reason or another.

Then there are some that miss exams (especially near the end of the term), skip the homework, excuse themselves from the programming assignments, and all but disappear.

You can be in any group that you choose.

I absolutely need an A in this class - What can you tell me in 20 minutes to assure that?

People have been searching for the Royal Road to Knowledge since about 300 BC.

Hasn't been found yet. Also, no one has figured out how to jack-in and download knowledge directly to the neurological circuitry (although it has been "predicted").

Not likely to be found during this quarter.

Won't the material in this class be outdated soon?

Once you graduate, the half-life of the specific information that you have learned is about 3 or 4 years (and that may be optimistic). To remain viable in the computer science field you absolutely must keep learning.

As far as this class is concerned, the specifics of programming with C also has a  limited lifetime.   Through the years there have been several fads in the academic community programming languages such as Pascal, Java, and Forth. C is slowly giving way to C++ as programming expectations rise.  The value of C is to understand and apply the fundamentals of computer programming.