Students often report that WebAssign is “not accepting
their correct answers”. Here are some
possible reasons why those ‘correct’ answers aren’t truly correct:
1. Pay attention
to the variable. You may be used to
using x in every problem, but it’s time to get over that. Our text uses a variety of variables, and you
will need to pay careful attention to this in your homework (both hand-written
and computer-based) as well as on exams.
2. Leaving
out parentheses is not the careless mistake you think it is. Remember, x*(x+2)
is not the same as x*x+2, so leaving out the parentheses give you a WRONG
expression, whether you’re writing this by hand or on the computer. The previewer (eye symbol) goes a long way to help you here.
3. Don’t forget
that some functions require special notation in WebAssign. Be sure to check the “Symbolic Formatting
Help” button frequently (and BEFORE submitting something you’re uncertain
of!) In these cases, the preview may look right, but WebAssign won’t
understand the expression.
4. If WebAssign
just marked your attempt wrong, DO NOT enter an equivalent answer next! If you just entered x*(x+2) and it was wrong,
do you really think (x+2)*x will do the trick? (WebAssign ‘understands’ that these are
equivalent). Instructors have seen 4 and
5 attempts made with equivalent expressions, all marked wrong. The students
prefer to think that the program will only accept the answer in one way rather
than accept the fact that they are just wrong and need to re-do the problem.
Most likely, if WebAssign is marking your answer wrong, it’s
because it really is wrong, either in terms of notation or actual value.
Additional tips:
* Remember, this is your homework – you should be sitting
down and working through each problem on paper before submitting an
answer.
* In case you don’t see the importance of the statement
above, you should realize that I can't help you if you don't record your work
clearly on paper. If you can't remember what you did to get your answer two
days ago, I certainly can't.
*Guessing is a bad idea, since your number of attempts is limited. Trial and error is also NOT an efficient way
to answer a problem with a small number of attempts allowed. That particular
strategy is useless on an exam, so why rely on it here? After all, one of the purposes of doing homework
is to help you prepare for your exams.
* After two attempts (when 5 are allowed), stop and redo
the problem. Common sense goes out the window after two attempts. Instructors
have observed many multiple tries where the entries are so radically different
you have to wonder what the students were thinking! Trial and error takes over
and it's a shame because, in many cases, the first attempt was the best.
* You just worked out a derivative and your result looks fairly complicated to
enter. You have two choices. One choice is to enter that mess and take your
chances. I won't accept that as a final answer when the instructions say
"simplify your final answer", however. You've just lost out on that
practice. That choice will also cost you on the exam. Your second choice is to
simplify your answer and then enter that. If your answer is marked wrong,
you'll need to determine if your original derivative calculation was wrong or
if your simplification is wrong. Checking both is the best practice you can
get.
* Not reading the problem carefully has consequences. You've just used up an
attempt. But the advantage here is that you find that out immediately instead
of two or three days later when you get your graded paper back. Pay attention
to the detail.
* Did you struggle with a hand-written assignment but "easily"
completed the corresponding WebAssign assignment? This sounds similar to the
"I did all the homework just fine, but I can't do
your tests". There are connections between the problems in each case, and
finding them is part of the learning process. Can you summarize what you did in
this section/assignment? Can you use any of the approaches you used in the
WebAssign problems? When approaching any
new problem, look for ways that it may relate to something else you have done –
the relationship is there, you just need to learn to find it on your own.