Coursework and Grading
Throughout this course, you will complete 3 homework assignments and a final project. Your final raw grade (out of 100 points) is calculated as follows.
| Item | Released | Due | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | 10 | ||
| HW 1: ChatGPT vs. Wikipedia | 9/14 | 9/28 | 20 |
| HW 2: Candidates vs. Presidents | 10/12 | 10/26 | 20 |
| HW 3: Spam vs. Ham | 11/9 | 11/23 | 20 |
| Final Project: Voynich vs. Voynich | 12/14 | 12/18 | 30 |
| Total | 100 |
Full credit for participation is granted automatically, except in exceptional cases as determined by Sophie.
Release dates and due dates shown above are tentative and may be subject to change. Please refer to Gradescope for official release dates and due dates.
Coursework Descriptions
HW 1: ChatGPT vs. Wikipedia
You will use keyword analysis to compare the statistical characteristics of Wikipedia articles with those of summaries generated by ChatGPT.
HW 2: Candidates vs. Presidents
You will apply keyword analysis to US presidential inauguration speeches and nominating convention speeches by writing code to extract the text of speeches from webpages.
HW 3: Spam vs. Ham
You will create your own spam filter using Bayesian classification, and study the statistical cues used by your classifier to distinguish between spam and ham (non-spam) emails.
Final Project: Voynich vs. Voynich
You will apply the skills learned this semester to study the statistical characteristics of different parts of the Voynich Manuscript.
Submissions and Deadlines
Unless stated otherwise, all homework submission deadlines are on Mondays at 9:00 AM. The final project is due on Friday, December 18, at 11:59 PM.
Each coursework item will be released on Blackboard, and submissions and grading will take place on Gradescope. Materials for assignments and the final project are provided on GitHub.
Late Submissions
Unless stated otherwise, homework assignments that are submitted late will be penalized by 0.2 points (1 percentage point) for each hour, full or partial, that they are late. The minimum possible grade for a homework assignment is 0 points.
For example, a homework assignment with no errors and no extra credit (see “Extra Credit” below) will receive a grade of…
- 20 points if it is submitted at or before 9:00 AM on the due date
- 19.8 points (99%) if it is submitted at 9:30 AM on the due date
- 15.2 points (76%) if it is submitted at 9:00 AM on the day after the due date
- 0 points if it is submitted at or after 1:01 PM four days after the due date.
Grace Period and Extensions
You will have a grace period of 168 hours (7 days) over the entire semester during which you can submit late work without penalty. You do not have to ask permission to use the grace period; it will be calculated at the end of the semester so as to optimize your final grade.
Extensions for documented emergencies may be granted at Sophie’s discretion. Do not contact Romi for extension requests. Extensions will only be granted when there is a legitimate reason not to use your 168-hour grace period.
In some cases, extensions may be granted to the entire class without a late penalty.
Extra Credit
Extra credit may or may not be offered…
- for certain problems on homework assignments
- during lab activities
- in the form of optional homework exercises, in addition to the 3 required homework assignments
- for asking and/or answering questions on Piazza.
Extra credit problems on a homework assignment will earn you points on that assignment. The maximum possible grade for a homework assignment is 20 points, including extra credit and late submission penalties.
Extra credit points awarded during lab activities or from optional homework exercises will earn you points in your total homework grade for the semester. The maximum possible homework grade is 60 points.
Letter Grades
Your letter grade will be calculated according to the following scale, where points are rounded to the nearest .01.
| Raw Grade | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 93–1000 | A |
| 90–92.99 | A- |
| 88–89.99 | B+ |
| 83–87.99 | B |
| 0–82.99 | B- |
Grades of C+, F, or I may be assigned in exceptional cases as determined by Sophie, such as failure to submit a final exam. Depending on the distribution of raw grades in the class, you may receive a higher letter grade than what is indicated above. You will never receive a letter grade lower than the grade indicated above, unless you are assigned a grade of C+, F, or I. You will never receive a lower letter grade than another student whose raw grade is equal to or lower than yours, unless either you or the other student has been assigned a grade of C+, F, or I.