EE133 Lab Writeup Grading Rubric

 

General Note:

Lab writeups in EE133 will be more rigorous than what you might be used to in classes like EE122. In addition, they will be done individually, not in pairs. Although lab partners may exchange data and clarify circuit elements to each other, writeups are to be done separately. In general, this system serves a few functions: 1) to give you practice at synthesizing your lab work into a cohesive report, as might be presented in an electronics journal or other publication; 2) to show us that each of you understands the circuit blocks you are building and thus allow us to assess your individual progress; and 3) to serve as a reference later in the quarter as you return to modify/replace/adjust old circuit blocks.

 

Lab Notebooks:

We will require that each of you keeps a lab notebook during the course of the quarter. What goes in your notebook? In short, everything. These notebooks should be neatly organized and include all of your observations, results, plots, etc. from both prelabs and labs. Having a neat and readable lab notebook will be immeasurably helpful when it comes to referencing past work on your final project.

 

The Nitty Gritty:

We will be grading your lab writeups on the following criteria and point scale. Obviously we hope that nobody will dig into the lower point ranges, but we include them for consistency. Please see the “Lab Writeups” section of the web page for a detailed description of the writeup structure.

 

Neatness/Clarity (3 points)

3 points –    Neatly formatted presentation of material. No major spelling or grammatical errors. Clear, well-constructed sentences with coherent flow. Readable tables and well-labeled plots.

2 points –    Mostly neat and clear, with occasional ambiguities. A few incoherent or superfluous sentences.

0-1 points –    Numerous spelling and grammatical errors. Unlabeled plots, no reference to included figures in text. Generally incoherent or messy.

 

Circuit Design (5 points)

Bonus points -    Exceptional discussion of circuit design process. Insightful thinking and exploration demonstrated beyond given scope of lab handouts. Clear demonstration of understanding of material. No major conceptual errors. Good use of circuit or block diagrams when necessary.

5 points –    Thorough explanation of circuit design process and clear demonstration of understanding of material. No major conceptual errors. Good use of circuit or block diagrams when necessary.

4 points –    Solid explanation of circuit blocks, with a few minor conceptual errors. Good use of circuit or block diagrams.

3 points -    Multiple conceptual errors. Some details missing or incorrect.

0-2 points -    Demonstrated lack of understanding. Little or no explanation given for design of most blocks.

 

Lab Results (5 points)

Bonus points -    Results (correctly measured and recorded) meet and/or surpass criteria specified in lab handouts. All key results displayed in concise and neat format. All included figures are referenced in writeup text. Information well-organized.

5 points –    Key results displayed in concise and neat format (i.e. tables and graphs). All required results included (i.e. all questions in lab handouts answered). All included figures are referenced in writeup text. Information well-organized.

3-4 points –    Most of required results are presented. Some superfluous values included in figures and not referenced in text. Generally well organized.

0-2 points –    Few of required results given. Presentation of results not organized.

 

Discussion (7 points)

Bonus points -    Exemplary comparison of results and theory. Discussion demonstrates thorough understanding of material with comprehensive investigations into practical discrepancies with theory and thoughtful suggestions for improvement. No major conceptual errors.

 7 points –    Complete and thorough description of results as they compare to theoretical outcomes. Thoughtful explanations of discrepancies with theory. Description of challenges overcome or suggestions for improvement included. No major conceptual errors.

5-6 points –    Mostly complete comparison of results to theory. Some details overlooked. Good explanations of discrepancies. Suggestions for improvement included. A few minor conceptual errors.

2-4 points -   Some comparison of results to theory. Omission of some key points. Limited explanation of lab results. Multiple conceptual errors.

0-2 points -    Very little or incorrect discussion of results. Major conceptual errors.

 

Total = 20 points/writeup