How to Get an A
CSCI 112 Programming and Algorithms II
Tyson Henry


At the end of the semester I assign a letter grade for the assignments and one for the exams.  The course grade is the average of these two grades.

This can be good news if you are good at assignments and hate exams.  If you get an A on the assignments and an F on the exams, your grade is (4.0 + 0.0)/2 == 2.0 which is a C.

However, if you want to get an A, you must get an A on both the assignments and the exams.  Since the assignment grade is the average of all assignments and the exam grade is the average of all the exams, you don't have to get an A on all assignments and exams, but you must average an A in both.  

Usually the percent cut off for an A on the assignments is around 92%.  Usually the percent cut off for an A on the exams is just below 90%.  However, grades are relative so this number will vary from semester to semester.

Students who get an A in this class usually do all of the following:
  1. Make friends with people in the class.  While you must do you own work (there are no team assignments), you are allowed to talk to other students and help each other (just be careful not to cross the line of helping too much).  Students who make friends and have other students to talk to about the assignments and other student to study with before the exams usually do much better.
  2. Start the assignments early.  The assignments can be deceptively time consuming. 
  3. Prepare for the first test.  Many students are shocked at how hard the tests are.  However, tests from past semesters are posted.  The students who practice on previous tests w/o notes are not surprised by the first tests.  After the first tests, students usually understand how hard the tests are and prepare accordingly.
  4. Write code to practice for the exams.  Sit down at a computer and write answers for previous semester's exams.  If you get them to work you will know your solution is correct.
  5. Attend all the labs and do all the exercises in the labs.  While the lab exercises are not graded, they require that you learn skills necessary for completing assignments.  If you don't learn these skills by doing the lab exercises, you will have to spend precious programming time learning what you did not learn in lab.

Students who get below a C- usually:
  1. Give up.  Almost all the failing grades go to students who gave up. 
  2. Skip one or more assignments.
  3. Start late on the assignments and turn the assignments in late.
  4. Cheat on the assignments (either by stealing them from others or getting so much help they have no idea how it works).
112 is a time consuming class that is the gateway to the Computer Science major.  If you want to major in Computer Science I strongly suggest you allocate lots of time and take this class seriously.  Doing well in 112 (especially on the assignments) will prepare you for the upper division classes and make your life as a Computer Science major much more pleasant.  Students who don't learn what they need to in 112 spend a lot of time struggling in the upper division classes.