Policies and guidelines for taking quizzes and exams.

Both quizzes and exams are to be taken individually, without soliciting or accepting aid from other people, whether face-to-face or on-line.

1 Quizzes

1. Quizzes and exams are to be taken individually, without soliciting or accepting aid from other people, whether face-to-face or on-line.

2. Any mathematics you present on a quiz must be readable. You may use any of the techniques from Module 1, as appropriate, but it is your responsibility to present your work clearly – it is not the graders’ responsibility to guess at what you might have meant.

3. If a question asks you to create a formal language (whether as an automaton, regular expression, or grammar), you must use the Editor link provided in the question to create and submit your answer.

   • Submit your answer by using the Save button to obtain a URL. In the Canvas exam question itself, type your Midas ID as a signal to the grader (and a reminder to yourself) that you have answered that question/

   • Hand-written or typed descriptions will not be accepted. Languages created using other links (e.g. found in the course lecture notes) will not be accepted.

4. If a question asks you to describe the states of an automaton you have created, you must describe the sets of strings that would end in that state.

   • Do not simply echo the mechanics of the automaton itself (“q5 is entered from q4 when a ‘0’ is input”). We can see that already from your automaton.

5. If a question asks you to relate the structure of your automaton to an expression, you should break down the components of the expression and explain how each one is recognized by your automaton.

6. If a question asks you to describe the language accepted by an automaton, the answer must be primarily in natural language (English). Regular expressions or other mathematical notation may be used only to describe portions of the language or automaton significantly smaller than the totality. The point of these questions is to see if you understand what is being shown, not to see if you can parrot it back in a related formal notation.

7. Beginning in module 7, you may be asked to show derivations and/or parse trees. The rules for these are the same as for creating formal languages, above.

8. A few problems may indicate that providing languages, derivations, or diagrams is optional. In these you may use the provided Editor link or ignore it, as you see fit.

   • The procedure for saving your answers is slightly different. When you use the Save button, you will be presented with a URL. Copy and paste that URL into your answer area in Canvas.
   • If you want to provide 2 or more of these items, you can re-use the same Editor link and save multiple URLs in your answer.

2 Exams

The midterm and final exam are subject to all of the guidelines given above. In addition…

1. Exams are due on the date shown as "Due:’ in Canvas and as announced in the Outline.
2. The exams for this course require the use of SmarterProctoring.

   You will have the option of

   1. Taking the exam at an ODU-affiliated or other Testing Center,
   2. Arranging for an ODU-approved individual proctor, or
   3. Using an on-line proctoring system (ProctorU Live).

   About 2 weeks in advance of any exam, you should use the SmarterProctoring link in Canvas to select your proctoring method and make any necessary appointments.

3. You will have access to the course website during the exam. Other internet resources are not permitted.

4. The exams will have a time limit. Time counts against that limit from when you first open the exam until you submit it. If you leave the exam and return later, the clock continues to run while you are away.
5. Do not forget to “Submit” before you leave the exam!
   • If you do not “Submit”, you may be recorded as having gone over the permitted time.