MCS-177 Homework Guidelines

Type or write (neatly) your assignment on notebook-sized paper. If you handwrite your assignments, use a pen, since I find pencilled writing hard to read.
Make sure that I can understand what the problem is without having to look it up.
Be sure to leave plenty of space for comments. Usually you should leave a fifth of a page per problem, plus nice-sized margins.
Be sure to staple the pages together. You should own a stapler by now, but if you forget, there is a stapler in the third floor computer lab.
Make sure that you cut off the squigglies on paper ripped out of a spiral notembook.
Use full English sentences where appropriate (namely almost everywhere, including in mathematical proofs or derivations). Proofread what you have written to make sure it makes sense.
Show enough work so that any student in the class can follow your solution. Just writing the answer is never enough.
When the problem is to write a procedure, you should do more than simply write the procedure. When you're doing the homework, you should write the procedure, test it, debug it, rewrite it, test it some more, and so on. When you write up that problem, you should tell me what the procedure is supposed to do, present the procedure, explain why you know it does what it's supposed to do, and show me some convincing testing. Again, just writing the procedure (answer) is never enough.
Use diagrams, tables, programs, and calculations as supporting components of English writing, not in isolation. Remember that your goal is to communicate clearly, and that the appearance of these technical items plays a role in this communication process.
Grading criteria for induction proofs
Don't try to bullshit your way through a proof or a procedure. Instead, if there is a gap in your proof, acknowledge it. If you have a bug in your code, tell me what it is and why you think it happens. Better yet, come talk with me beforehand and see if I can help you.
Finally, remember to put your name on your homework.