MIT (Spring 2012)   18.311  Rosales.
 Principles of Applied Mathematics.
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 Policies regarding the problem sets, PLEASE READ THEM:

As you know (from the syllabus), the course grade will be given on the basis
of problem sets --- containing problems of two types: regular  and  special.
There will be about  9 (plus or minus 1) problem sets --- one every 1 to 1.5
weeks, more or less. The regular problems will be graded by the TA,  and the
special ones by the instructor.

Note that there may also be "suggested readings",  "suggested problems"  and
other "suggested" things. These are for you alone to do or not do.  Thus: DO
NOT hand in these! I recommend that you do as much as possible though.

			POLICIES ON COLLABORATION

It is permitted to exchange information with other students, in the sense of
hints, general ideas, pitfalls to avoid and so on. That is: WITHIN REASON --
for example: "let me see/copy the answer" is NOT within reason. You can also
consult books,  and other materiel available in the library, for information
relevant to a problem you may have forgotten [but NOT to see if you can find
the problem done somewhere!].

The MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA, however is:

       When you write your final answer, you must do so 100% alone, with
       full understanding of every dot that goes there.  When doing this
       you can ONLY have on hand: the class textbooks  (as listed in the
       syllabus), the course notes provided by the instructor   (via the
       course WEB page or in-class hand-outs),   your own notes from the
       lectures, and nothing else. If you have any questions about these
       policies, ask the instructor.

You will be held responsible for everything that is in your answers, and the
instructor reserves the right to call you for an explanation of your answer.
Specifically:  you may be asked to do the problem (or part of it) again, in
front of the instructor, and explain your steps.   If this process indicates
that you do not understand your own answer, you may/will loose up to all the
credit for the entire problem set, depending on how severe the situation is.

			ADDTIONAL POLICIES

The keyword is: "reasonable". Reasonable actions are allowed. Reasonable is
defined in terms of the purpose.
For example: An assigned problem is aimed at both:  (1) Test your knowledge
	and understanding   (2) Provide a means for you to learn new things
	and practice your knowledge. If an action defeats any of these aims
	it is not reasonable.    Seaching for the answers somewhere defeats
	both purposes. Hence searching the internet, libraries, bookstores,
	whatever, for answers to the problems is not allowed.  The books in
	the syllabus, class notes, and the stuff in the course web page are
	allowed --- nothing else.
There may be billions of ways in which this policy  (reasonable actions are
allowed) can be deafeated. I cannot list them, I do not even know them, but
you should be able to judge on your own if something violates it.

			POLICIES ON PRESENTATION.

A) Hand in the regular and special homeworks SEPARATELY,  since they have to
   be graded separately. Put your name in every page and STAPLE the pages in
   each set, so they do not get lost.

B) Your hand outs must be written in clear ENGLISH and be LEGIBLE.
   This means:
    1) Don't use arrows and other "funny" symbols to avoid writing. Instead,
       explain your ideas in as plain and clear English as you can manage.
    2) If not TYPED, use a DARK pencil or INK and reasonably LARGE type.
    3) If your hand-writing is not clear, type the answers.
   Problems that are hard to read (either because of poor explanations, or
   hard to read writting) will NOT get full credit [may even get NO credit].

			GRADING.

The TA will grade a few problems in each set, selected randomly ---- answers
will be provided for all.  Please, do all the problems, this is the only way
to really learn the course materiel [besides: if you just happen to miss the
ones picked, you will get no credit ---  even if you did all the others].

The reason for this policy is that I would rather have the TA grade well a
few problems than attempt to grade all with "in-a-hurry" sort of grading.

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