Agroecology Exam

Description of the Exam:

This exam is open everything (open notes, open book, open internet, open ChatGPT, etc.).  The only stipulation is that your work is your own.  You must provide your own original thoughts and back up your assertions with evidence and experiences you have picked up throughout the semester.  There is no single "right" answer to these exam questions.  I am most interested in your thinking process...how do you go about answering the question and supporting your answer? 

General Comments about Taking the Exam

• You should NOT take more than 2 hours to take the exam - budget your time accordingly

• There are point totals listed for each question.  Use these point totals to determine which questions you need to focus more on and which need a little less detail

• I value concise and direct speech.  Don't waste your time with overly-verbose answers.  Try to say what you want to say without resorting to "filler phrases".

• When the Exam is closed, it's closed!  No late exams will be accepted (except for qualified reasons) because I need time to grade.

Specific Features to be Included in each Answer:

• You MUST support your statements with evidence.  A statement without evidence is not useful here.

• You MUST use experiences from your field trip stops and class discussions.  I expect a lot of illustrations from your field trip and class experiences.

• Your answers MUST be in your own words

• You must endeavor to seamlessly synthesize your answer.  I expect it to be well written, flow, and be easy to understand.  If I have to work to try to understand what you are saying this will impact your grade

Grading of the Exam:

I provide a single percentage for each question.  This percentage corresponds to the following grade categories and their accompanying definitions:

• |A = 94 to 100| --> Excellent job...has gone above and beyond expectations and provided an excellent answer.  All features are included and show unique insight into the issues at hand.  An exemplary answer.

• |A- = 90 to 93 | --> Great job...still above expectations and all features are represented.  Still insightful but not quite as "above and beyond" as an "A"

• |B+= 87 to 89| --> Very good job...still slightly above basic expectations.  All or most features are represented.  

• |B = 84 to 86 | --> Good job...all basic expectations are met.  This is a solid answer.  Most features are represented.

• |B- = 80 to 83| --> Satisfactory job...all basic expectations are met and most features are represented.  Still a solid answer but some slight omissions or lacking clarity.

• |C+= 77 to 79| --> Meets most Expectations...most basic expectations are met and most features are represented.  A mostly solid answer with some omissions, lack of clarity, and/or misconceptions.

• |C = 74 to 76 | --> Meets many of Expectations...many basic expectations are met and many features are represented. This answer is getting a bit shaky with obvious omissions, lack of clarity, and/or misconceptions

• |C- = 69 to 73| --> Needs Improvement...some basic expectations are met and some features are represented.  Obvious omissions, lack of clarity, and/or misconceptions make answer incoherent at times and difficult to follow.

• |D = 60 to 68 | --> In Great Need of Improvement...a few basic expectations are met and a few features are represented.  Obvious omissions, lack of clarity, and/or misconceptions make answer largely incorrect and difficult to follow.

Please keep in mind:

• All of our field trip stops and the canoe trip

• All of the materials from class as well as discussions or guest speakers