How to Get a Good Grade on Assignments and Exams

Note: These standards are always in effect, regardless of whether an assignment or exam question mentions them explicitly. Individual assignments may also have criteria specific to the assignment.

• Hand it in on time and correct.
• Read, understand, and answer the question that is being asked.
• Type your answer, or write legibly and clearly. If there are diagrams required, use a drawing program or a ruler. If we can't read it, we can't give you any marks for it.

It is surprising how many students lose marks because of these first three points. They are true for any course you are taking, and they are even more true in the `real world'. For this course, the TA and I will be marking in three categories:

1.

The quality of your solution.

Is your digital circuit or assembly language program efficient? Is it well structured? Does it make good use of components or assembly language instructions? Does it effectively incorporate the techniques that you've been taught in the course?

2.

The correctness of your solution.

In part, you demonstrate this through your design documentation. Also, if test data is appropriate, does your design work correctly for any example data supplied with the assignment? Does it work correctly on other data sets or inputs? Does it work correctly for extreme data points or trivial cases?

3.

The quality of your documentation.

Have you clearly explained the process and techniques that you used to create your circuit or program? Have you justified your design choices? Have you clearly explained the operation of your circuit or program? Note that answers without documentation will at best get you partial marks for guessing. Undocumented code or schematics will not be marked.

In general, it is your responsibility to provide an answer on an assignment or exam which is adequate to convince the TA or instructor that you understand the material. It is not the responsibility of the TA or instructor to come up with an interpretation of your answer which could be considered correct. When the assignment requires that you design a digital circuit, you will be expected to submit a copy of the schematic diagram along with documentation describing how your circuit operates and how you designed it. If the assignment involves simulation using LogicWorks, you will be expected to submit documentation describing how you chose the inputs you used to test the circuit, and a timing diagram which demonstrates that your circuit operates correctly. LogicWorks provides the facilities to print hard copies of schematic diagrams and timing diagrams.

For any assembly language programs you write during the course, you will be expected to submit a hard copy of your program, and documentation describing how your program works and how you designed it. You may (if we get this working) be required to submit an electronic copy of your program, which the TA will use to determine how well your program works. Please keep in mind that for electronic submission, your programs must work in the assignment lab environment. If you purchase software used in the course and work on your home computer, it is in your best interest to bring the program in and test it in the assignment lab environment before you submit it.