CS 2104 In-class Exercise Writeup Requirements


General Requirements

The purpose of the written presentation is not merely to state the solution the group derived and explain why it is a solution (although the written presentation should certainly do that).

First of all, the written presentation should state the names and email PIDs of all the group members, and the role each member played.

Second, the problem statement should be given.

Third, there must be a section that describes the discussions that took place within the group during the in-class portion of the exercise.  This should be somewhat similar to the sample solver/listener transcripts given in the Whimbey/Lochead text used in the course.  Another example can be found in Beyond Problem Solving and Comprehension text by Arthur Whimbey, Jack Lochhead available online through Google Books starting in Chapter One on page 5.  Ideally this will indicate what was said both by the solver and by the listeners, and identify who said what (to the extent that is possible).  This may also include diagrams or tables or mathematical work; it may involve stating inferences you reached from the given information in the problem statement or from other knowledge possessed by the group.

Finally, there should be a clear statement of the solution to the problem.  There is no requirement that alternative solutions be presented; one correct solution is sufficient.  The presentation of the solution should justify the claim that it is, in fact, a valid solution to the given problem.

Each group will, ideally, submit exactly one file to the Curator.  You are allowed to make multiple submissions, but you are not allowed to make "dissenting" submissions.  We will evaluate the last submission made for each group.

 

Length and File Format Requirements

The statement of the solution and the justification that it is a solution should probably not be more than a single-spaced page in length, and may be much shorter than that in some cases.  The presentation of the group discussion and analysis of the problem will generally be substantially longer than that.  I would suggest that an answer using less than two single-spaced pages is probably inadequate and one that uses more than (say) ten pages is almost certainly badly organized and excessive.  If you have any questions about that with regard to a specific assignment, feel free to ask me about it.

Plain text files and MS Word documents (including docx) are acceptable.  Plain text is preferred unless you need to include diagrams or some other graphical element.  If you want to use other tools, especially Mac or Linux tools, convert the resulting file to PDF format for submission.  (If we can't open your file, we cannot evaluate it.)  For non-text files, use a 10 or 12 point font.

And submit a single file... not a collection of separate files.  And do not submit a zipped collection of files.