Exam expectations

There will be two parts in the exam, one "essay" part and one "model-based" part. Both parts count equally, but you need to pass both in order to pass the exam.

In the essay, we expect that the form follows a clear logical structure and that the content is informed by what you have learned in the course. We emphasize that, just like in a good newspaper commentary, it is OK to concentrate on a specific aspect of a larger problem or to give an interpretative overview of the problem's main components. Our aim is not to test whether you can memorize a lot of things and bring them to paper in a short amount of time, but to test whether you have control of the subject matter and can communicate clearly what you have understood. The same holds for the "model-based" part. For example, while setting up a optimization problem and solving for the first-order is necessary, it is is not sufficient: you should interpret your results.