DORDT COLLEGE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Spring Semester, 2011

HOMEWORK STANDARDS
For Professor De Boer's Classes

Learn by Showing Others How
The overall goal of doing homework is to learn by showing how problems are solved. You need to present a clear sequence of rational statements to show how a problem is solved, not simply a correct answer.

Skipped steps may be interpreted as a lack of understanding on your part and may be graded down accordingly.

If the answer is given, you must write something to show how you solved the problem. (After all, you cannot expect credit for simply copying the answer!) Oftentimes you will use equations and math to show how you solved the problem, but sometimes you will need to explain how you solved the problem by using a sentence or two.

Type of Paper
FOR HOMEWORK
    —Use letter size paper (about 8.5" x 11")
    —Paper ripped out of a spiral binder is not acceptable unless
         you neatly cut off the ragged edge.
    —Engineering paper is recommended but not required.

FOR LAB REPORTS
    —Use letter size paper (about 8.5" x 11")
    —Use unruled white paper as is typically used in a
         computer printer.
    —Engineering paper is completely prohibited.    

Staple
Staple in the upper left corner if there is more than one page.

One Side Only
Write on only one side of each sheet of paper. Do not write on the back side of the paper. Exception: Computer-printed pages may be printed on both sides in order to conserve paper.

Use a Pencil
Most engineering problems include too much detail to hold in your head without writing intermediate steps down. Thus you need to write in order to think. But then mistakes happen because you started writing before thinking all the way through the problem. By using a pencil you can erase your mistakes. Writing, thinking, writing more, erasing, re-writing, and so forth is the best and fastest way to solve engineering problems. Keeping a neat and easy-to-read page by erasing and re-writing is the right way to work. Write a lot and when needed, erase.

A good quality 0.5 mm mechanical pencil (e.g. Pentel brand or equivalent) and a good white plastic eraser (e.g. Pentel "Click") will pay for themselves many times over with time saved when used generously. This equipment is available at the Dordt Bookstore and at other local merchants such as The Pencil Box and Walmart.

Page Heading
Put the course number, problem set number, date, and your name at the top of each sheet of paper. Example:

EGR 999                       PS#99           9/9/99    Van VanderVander


Neat Page Layout
Write legibly. Consider using white space to set off important parts of the problem or answers. Boxes and underlining can also be helpful for the grader. You may be graded down if the grader has difficulty deciphering what you have written or finding an answer.

One Problem Per Page (usually)
Start each new problem at the top of a new page. Exception: if the problem is short enough to finish it on the same page you started it. If the problem takes more than one page, that is OK, you may continue on second and subsequent pages if needed, but only if the problem started at the top of a new page. You may be graded down for violating this rule.

Problem Summary Required
Start each problem with a summary of the problem statement. As an alternative, you may photocopy the problem statement page, cut the problem statement out of the photocopy, and paste it onto your homework with a glue stick.

Units
When the problem statement includes units (seconds, volts, etc.) then the answer should include appropriate units.

Significant Digits, No Leading Decimals
Use an appropriate number of significant digits for your answers (often 3 digits unless the answer is obviously an integer quantity) and use engineering or scientific notation appropriately. Do not allow leading decimals. (Right: 0.125, Wrong: .125)

Graphs--Label Axes and Make 'em BIG
Graphs should be an appropriate size. If the graph is an answer, this usually means at least two inches high and 3 inches wide. It is also necessary that the graph be appropriately scaled. If you can cover the interesting area of the graph with your thumb, the graph is either too small or not scaled appropriately. Title the graph and label both axes with quantity and units where appropriate. See Figure 1 below.


Figure 1. An example of a properly labeled
graph that is large enough.


Proofs (Also "Show," "Explain," "Derive," Etc.)
You cannot convince most people by simply telling them the "correct answer." People want to know more. Sometimes we need proof. Note: Words like "show," "explain," "derive," etc. usually mean the same thing as "prove."

An engineering proof is a chain of statements leading from given information to a conclusion. This chain of statements must be accompanied by the names of the relevant definitions, theorems, principles, and so forth. (In a normal problem solution you only show the chain of statements, omitting the names and assuming the reader will recognize the definitions, theorems, etc. that have been used.)

Engineering is about technical problems in a social context. Engineering is not simply applied math and science. This means that an engineering proof needs to convince people by exposing a thought process which establishes the believed truth of some statement. Generally, you cannot do a proof by computer because the computer does not expose the thought processes, it only gets "the right answer." The "right answer" alone is not convincing.

Use of Calculators and Computers
Use calculators and computers appropriately to perform routine and tedious operations and calculations. Computers are also ideal for producing clear and accurate graphs.

You may be graded down for using a calculator or computer to do a trivial operation. For some examples, you should know how to do simple definite integrals without needing a calculator. You should also know the sines and cosines of common angles such as cos(0) = 1, and you should know simple exponentials and logs such as exp(0) = 1 and ln(2e) = ln(2) + 1. Relying on a calculator for these is about as rewarding as watching your friend play your favorite video game instead of learning to excel at the game yourself.

If you will not be allowed to use a calculator during the tests, consider doing some homework calculations entirely by hand so that you are prepared better for the tests.

Never use a computerized symbolic math program (e.g. the "symbolics" menu in MathCAD or the equivalent in your calculator) to do work that you don't know how to check. Students who try this frequently get the answer wrong, have no way to realize the answer is wrong, and never learn how to solve the problem. Even if the answer is in some technical mathematical sense correct, it might be in a useless form which betrays your ignorance. Example:
f(t) = exp(it) + exp(–it) when a useful solution is
f(t) = 2cos(t) Those expressions of f(t) are technically equivalent, but would you know what the first one means?

If you use a computer program (e.g. Mathcad) to help you solve a problem, you must print the file and staple it to your homework. If you write a program (Matlab, Java, Visual Basic, etc.) print the source code (use a fixed pitch font such as "Courier New" if you have a choice) and print the output of the program too. Missing a printout? Credit may be denied!

If you use an unusual feature of your calculator, say an equation solver, definite integral solver, or matrix inverse operator, make a marginal note. (e.g. "Used matrix inverse on my TI-89 calculator.") If you use such a feature repeatedly, you only need to note your method once, near the first instance.

Reference Books
If you use a table of integrals or trig. ID or a theorem or other such material from a reference book, you need to cite the source. (e.g. "Used table of integrals in calc. book by Edwards & Penny, 4th edition." Subsequent citations can be even shorter, e.g. "Integral Table.") Since this is homework, a full citation (such as in IEEE or APA or MLA style) is not required so long as your classmates could reasonably find your source from the information given.

Do Your Own Work
This policy applies to the whole course, not just homework. In team situations (teams may be used in lab for example) the policy applies to the team rather than to an individual student.

Presenting someone else's work as your own work is called plagiarism. Working from another student's paper, or from an e-mail or a computer file that essentially contains the solution, or using someone else's graded homework from a previous offering of the course are just a few ways to commit plagiarism. Professor De Boer also counts giving such information as plagiarism. Keep your papers and computer files private.

It is a good thing to study in a group. It is also a good thing to hand in original work based on what you learned in a study group. It is bad when you copy work from others in a group (a copy group?). It is a very bad thing when there are deals made to use each other's work (e.g. "you do the even numbered problems, I'll do the odd numbered ones.")

Using the Internet or consulting friends to find resource materials to help you understand a subject so that you may solve a homework problem is acceptable, even laudable. In contrast, using the Internet to find or purchase solutions to assigned work to copy (or "work") from, is plagiarism.

Consider the value of verbal communications. For example, saying, "You need to use such-and-such a theorem to solve that problem," is helpful. "I think you made a math error because your method seems right," is another example of the right type of communication. Even "I got five point nine one for the answer," is acceptable. (Credit is given only for showing how to get the answer, not for the answer itself.) Verbal communications are almost always constructive.

Consider the consequences of non-verbal communication. For example, giving your friend a copy of your notes to study from. This means your friend did not take good notes and maybe does not know how to take good notes. It would be better to force your friend to take notes or learn to take notes. Showing papers or computer files or any other non-verbal communication can be unhelpful in the long run. There are some legitimate exceptions, such as to help a friend who has been ill and could not attend class.

It is not OK to recite entire equations step-by-step leading to the solution. It is not OK to show your friend your solution or a part of your solution. If your friend is really stuck, you should probably refer him or her to the course instructor for help—that's what the instructor is here for after all. If you desire more help than this rule allows, see the section below, "Help is Available."

The above is in addition to Dordt's policy on Academic Dishonesty*

Professor C.S. Lewis was once asked by another professor what he did about plagiarism. Here is his advise, which Prof. De Boer thinks is insightful:

I told him I was not a detective nor even a schoolmaster, nor a nurse, and that I absolutely refused to take any precaution against this puerile trick; that I'd as soon think it my business to see that he washed behind his ears or wiped his bottom. He... [dropped out] of his own accord the next week and I never saw him again. I think you ought to make a general announcement of that sort.... It is bad for them to think this is "up to you." Flay them alive if you happen to detect them; but don't let them feel that you are a safeguard against the effects of their own idleness.
      What staggers me is how any man can prefer the galley-slave labour of transcription* to the freeman's work of attempting [the assignment] on his own.
                --Letter from Lewis to Dr. Alastair Fowler,
                  December 10, 1959.

*By "transcription," Lewis means copying with non-substantive variations so that it looks like your own work.
Lateness Policy
Professor De Boer handles each instance of late work (any kind of lateness including missed tests) on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, missed tests will not be rescheduled, even in the case of illness. Professor De Boer will work with you to come to some fair resolution of the matter that is respectful of our time and circumstances. If you know something will be late or know that you cannot take a test on schedule, discuss this with Professor De Boer before the due date or test date or as soon afterward as is practical.

If your work is late, Professor De Boer would still like you to do it, and you may still hand it in. However, you will have to depend on professor De Boer's judgement of how to grade your late work. Some factors that work to your benefit are:

—A semester-long record of otherwise on-time work.
—Turning the work in before solutions are posted.
—Giving notice before the due date or test date.
—The reason for the lateness.
—Evidence you may bring to support your credibility.
—The trend of your class and lab attendance and punctuality.
—Your grades on other work in the course (see next paragraph).

Often Professor De Boer will hold work turned in late until the end of the semester (the usual practice), but he might grade it anytime before that. At the end of the semester Professor De Boer will review your grades and look for zeros that are the consequence of late work not yet graded. He will temporarily change these zero grades to perfect grades. If this change did not change the course grade, Professor De Boer will return the grades on the late work to zero and leave the late work ungraded. If the course grade was changed, Professor De Boer will consider grading the held work and giving partial or full credit or he might just restore the original "zero" for the late work. Using your other grades in the course as a basis, Professor De Boer reserves the right to estimate a grade for late work without reading the work, or to grade late work on any other basis that he deems fitting to the circumstances.

Help is Available
For occasional help, you may call or visit Professor De Boer at his office (722-6245) during the daytimes. You may also call him at home Monday through Saturday before 10 PM ().

If you need (or want) help more frequently, consult the secretary at the ASK center and request "peer tutoring." (Or fill in an online form to make the request, see this page** and click on the "Peer Tutoring" link in the left panel to get started.) Professor De Boer believes that the grade of most any student can be improved by about a half or a full letter grade simply by routine participation in the tutorial services of the ASK center.

Tutorial help is available for many 100 and 200 numbered courses at Dordt College, and for some other courses too, so ASK!** When tutorial help is offered for a class, any student in the class may participate. The ASK center is located in the lower level of the library.

** Link only works on-campus or via VPN*.