MIT (Spring 2013)   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

I encourage you to collaborate and form study groups with other students. It
is permitted to work and exchange information with other students,  meaning:
hints, general ideas, pitfalls to avoid and so on.  You can learn a lot from
other students, and vice versa.

This, however, has to be done 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 solution
somewhere!

A MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA is:

       When you write your final answer, you must do so 100% alone,
       with full understanding of every dot that goes there.   Even
       if you worked together with others, as explained above,  the
     *** final writing of the answer should be done individually, ***
     *** and in your own words, not copying from a group master.  ***
       This is the only way that you can be sure that you actually
       understood everything that goes into the problem answer.

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** 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 a problem (or **
** part of it) again,  in front of the instructor,  and to explain your **
** steps. If this process indicates that you do not understand your own **
** answer,    you may loose up to all the credit for the entire problem **
** set, depending on how severe the situation is.                       **
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Note that a few (randomly selected) students may be called up to explain
their answers, as a way of gauging how well the class is following the
materiel.

			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.
        ** If in doubt, ASK the instructor **
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.
   List also the names of the members of your study group.

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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