FAQ: Assessed Programming Exercises in CA166
An assessed exercise which contributes to your mark for the module must be done on your own without copying or collusion. The basic rules are explained on the CA166 web page which includes links to the University's and the School's policies on plagiarism. The most important rule regarding assessed programming exercises in CA166 is that all the programming code you submit must have been thought up and written by yourself.
Some frequently asked questions regarding assessed programming exercises in CA166 are answered below.
Q. Can my friend and I work together on a joint solution to the exercise?
A. No
Q. My older sister is in final year. Is it ok if we write the program jointly?
A. No.
Q. I have a difficulty understanding a part of the problem. Can I ask a friend to explain it to me?
A. Yes
Q. A classmate and I want to work through the problem statement together to make sure we understand it. Is that okay?.
A. Yes
Q. Having understood the problem, can my classmate and I discuss in a general way how best to proceed?
A. Yes
Q. My classmate and I have each come up independently with an idea for how to structure a program into classes. Can we discuss our approaches?
A. Yes
Q. My classmate and I are each struggling to come up with an algorithm underlying a particular method we need to code. Can we discuss it?
A. Yes.
Q. My classmate and I have discussed an algorithm together. Can we code it together?
A. No
Q. Can I give a copy of my code to a friend, not for copying purposes but just to show her how I have done it?
A. No
Q. A classmate is having difficulty with a particular method. Can I show him my coding of the method to help him to understand how to proceed?
A. No
Q. Can I publish some of my code on a message board in response to a discussion on some technical point?
A. No
Q. Can I publish my solution on part of it on a message board after
the hand-in deadline has passed?
Q. If I publish some of my code on a message board and a classmate includes it in his submission, will I also be subject to disciplinary proceedings?
A. Yes
Q. If I'm stuck, where can I get help?
A. The course provides support at tutorials, lectures, labs, and (in some cases) clinics and help desks.
Q. If I use an idea that a tutor on the course has given me, need I acknowledge that in the program preamble?
A. You may freely use the ideas which a tutor on the course gives you, without acknowledgement.
Q. If a tutor or lab assistant on the course gives me some code, need I acknowledge that in the program preamble?
A. Members of the course team may occasionally suggest a few lines of code, and that need not be acknowledged. Exceptionally and very rarely, a tutor may develop a larger chunk of code with you (such as a complete method) because you are completely stuck. In that case you must acknowledge it in the preamble.
Q. I e-mailed my program to a classmate just to show her what I had done, but she then included parts of it in her submission. Will I also be subject to disciplinary proceedings?
A. Yes
Q. Can I ask someone not connected with the course to write some code for me, as long as I understand the code?
A. No
Q. Can I re-use code taken straight from the lecture notes, without acknowledgement?
A. Yes
Q. If I find a class or a method somewhere, such as on the web or in a text book or on a message board, can I use it?
A. No, unless you acknowledge it in the program preamble in which case you may lose credit.
Q. My friend and I have both completed the program. Can we show our solutions to one another to compare how we each did it?
A. Yes, as long as you don't facilitate copying (such as by giving your friend a printout of your code, or by e-mailing it to him). If you give your friend a printout and he subsequently borrows some of your code to improve his solution you will both have engaged in copying.
Q. My friend and I have both completed the program and compared our solutions. I then realise that my way of coding a particular method can sometimes lead to an error. Can I re-write the method in the light of what I have discovered?
A. Yes, as long as you code it yourself from scratch and do not borrow your friend's code.
Q. So as long as I strictly follow all the rules above, my submission will be regarded as my own. Is that right?
A. Yes, as long as the totality is substantially your own work. On the other hand, if you get help from a collection of friends to the extent that you have done little yourself – even though each piece of help taken on its own is allowable – you may be given zero credit and indeed you may be deemed to have crossed the boundary into copying. The purpose of an assessed exercise is to develop your practical skills in developing a program from specification to working code, and if you do not use the exercise in that way yet seek to gain credit for it you are cheating.