There will be seven closed book exams/quizzes: six quizzes and a short final exam. Each of these (including the final) will be 25 minutes long. See the lecture schedule for the dates.
Quizzes 1-6 will be taken in our classroom starting at 9:05. The quiz itself will be on moodle. So you will need to bring a laptop or table to class to take the quiz. Also bring a writing implement and your photo ID.
There are also two makeup dates on the schedule. You can make up ONE missed quiz at each of these dates. (You may not use these to retake a quiz that you've already taken.)
Quizzes must be taken entirely in the classroom. Please read the detailed instructions below.
The final (quiz 7) will be similar in format to the earlier quizzes and will be given during our official final exam timeslot (see the schedule page).
The skills lists below should be regarded as tentative until a week before each quiz. The quizzes for 4-hour students will also include questions on reading material posted below. This will typically be 1-2 conference papers or short journal papers, or perhaps a set of smaller items (e.g. news stories) with similar total content.
| Quiz | Skills list | 4-hour readings |
|---|---|---|
| Quiz 1 | Quiz 1 skills | Porter 1980
Chung and Pennebaker 2007 |
| Quiz 2 | Quiz 2 skills | |
| Quiz 3 | Quiz 3 skills | |
| Quiz 4 | Quiz 4 skills | |
| Quiz 5 | Quiz 5 skills | |
| Quiz 6 | Quiz 6 skills | |
| Quiz 7 (= final exam) |
Quiz 7 skills |
Here are some old exams from Fall 2019. This version of the course had two midterms and a final. Also, all the questions in 2019 were open answer and many of these have now been converted to multiple choice. But these exams should give you a general sense of what will be asked.
The quizzes are closed book and must be taken in our classroom. You may not use notes, communicate with other people, consult the web, etc.
You will need to bring
You may also bring blank scratch paper.
Ask the proctors for help if you run into problems. Email the instructor afterwards if you had a problem that may not have been fully addressed at the time. (Among other things, this gives us an accurate record of your name.)
Points may be deducted for solutions which are correct but excessively complicated, hard to understand, poorly explained, incomplete, or excessively hard to read.
Open answer questions do not require long answers. However, some of the prompts ask general questions for which a complete (full-point) answer may require mentioning several points, e.g. several reasons or several types of examples. It is your job to figure out how to give us an answer that shows your full understanding of the situation or concept.
Assume that answers require brief justification or work, unless there is clear indication to the contrary (e.g. it's a multiple-choice question or it's asking you to repeat back a standard formula).
Read the prompts carefully and make sure your answer addresses the main question(s) asked by the prompt. Answering a related, but different, question will typically get you few or no points.
When you arrive to take each quiz, you will collect a card (usually colored) from the proctors at one of the entrances.
After you sit down, print your name and netID legibly on the card. Your card should look like this (except for being your own information rather than Harry's).
When you leave the classroom, you will drop the card into a box at the proctor table.
The quiz will open at 9:05 and will close at 9:30. Please stay in your seat during this entire period.
Please plan to arrive around the start of the class period (9am), so that you have time to fill in your card and get settled into your seat. If you arrive more than a couple minutes late, you will be asked to sign in.
The proctors use the white tables at the top and bottom of the room. Please do not sit there.
Open a browser window on your device, navigate to moodle, and select the appropriate quiz on moodle. There will be different versions for the 3-hour and 4-hour students. The moodle app on tablets has a history of problems, so tablet users should open moodle via a browser app.
If you run out of time without explicitly submitting your quiz, moodle automatically submits it for you.
While taking the quiz, your screen must be clearly visible to the proctors and the only thing open on it should be the browser with the quiz window.
You may not do anything else on general-purpose electronic devices during the quiz period.
If you tend to finish early and expect to get bored, please bring a non-electronic form of amusement such as a book or a single-purpose electronic device such as an e-reader.
Please send your DRES letter to the instructor well ahead of the first quiz. Some accommodations (esp. use of DRES Testing) require a bit of lead time to set up. If you need only 1.5x extended time and perhaps earplugs, you can take the quiz in the normal classroom. In this case, your quiz will close at 9:43. Please sit in the front corner near the podium, so that we can easily proctor the extended-time quizzes and so you will be less disturbed by other folks leaving the room at 9:30.
If our normal in-class quizzes won't work for some reason (e.g. you need quiet conditions or 2.0x extended time), you should book a time at the DRES Testing Center .
If the quiz interface freezes, quit and restart your browser window. If your whole computer freezes, restart the computer. Moodle saves frequently and will allow you to re-open the quiz and continue your work. (If this doesn't solve the problem quickly, obviously talk to the proctors.)
If you open the wrong version of the quiz by mistake, close it and open the correct one. After the quiz, send an email to the instructor. If you have spent a long time working on the wrong version, talk to the proctors.
In the case of more serious issues, such as hardware failure, please work with the proctors. We may be able to improvise a solution or, worst case, have you make up the quiz later.
If you have an emergency need to leave the room early, you must give us your card as you leave and you may not continue working on the quiz. Please contact the instructor about whether the circumstances entitle you to retake the quiz.