There are 11 10 homework assignments scheduled (subject to change), usually one per week. Assignments are due at 11:59 pm as noted on the course schedule page. Assignments will generally be released 6 days before the due date. We drop 3 homework grades, meaning you can miss 3 homework assignments without any penalty to your grade. These drops are intended to cover illness, emergencies, or any other personal circumstances that may prevent you from being able to complete homework assignments. We do not track excuses for homework assignments, and we do not provide any additional drops.
Problem Types and Submission
Most homework assignments will have three theory problems and one applied problem.
- Theory problems Typically ask you to design and/or analyze algorithms using a combination of precise English descriptions, pseudocode, and mathematics. You must type all solutions – we will not accept handwritten solutions. We recommend but do not require the use of LaTeX, and we will provide .tex templates. Overleaf is a popular and free online no-install cloud editor for LaTeX. Overleaf also hosts an excellent tutorial on using LaTeX. You will submit on Gradescope, which will also be linked/integrated into Canvas.
- Applied problems generally ask you to design and/or implement algorithms in real code, benchmarking or experimenting with them empirically. Most applied problems have an autograder on Gradescope and the problem will describe how to submit. For these, you will be able to submit as often as you like up to the deadline, and will see your full score. Part of the score is for correctness, part is for efficiency.
If you work with a partner then you should submit one document on Gradescope and use the group submission feature. As a reminder, if you work with a partner, it is crucial that you independently understand every solution. — see the collaboration policy on the policies page for more detail.
Homework Purpose and Grading
Homework assignments are intended primarily for practice, learning, and feedback. They are not primarily for assessment. To facilitate low-stakes and low-stress practice and learning, you can submit as many times as you like for applied problems until you are satisfied with your score. For theory problems, we will use the following two step process.
- Homework will be marked for correctness and quality on each problem on Gradescope.
- These raw scores will be rounded before they are added to the Canvas gradebook. In general, you will get full credit for a problem solution that makes a significant effort using appropriate techniques and analysis (even if there are mistakes), partial credit for a significant attempt that does not use appropriate techniques and analysis, and no credit for no attempt or an insignificant attempt.
We will also drop the lowest problem (theory or applied) on each individual homework assignment.
Lateness
Homework will accepted late for 18 hours (that is, until 5:59 pm of the day after the due date) at a 10% penalty. If you will be unable to submit on time or in the late period, note that 3 homework grades will be dropped entirely. This is intended to accommodate any and all reasons for not being able to complete homework; we do not track excuses.
