COMP0050 Coursework FAQ
• Is the page limit a hard constraint?
No, if you write slightly more than the allocated number of pages it is fine,
but you should not overdo it.
• Are figures and tables included in the page count?
Yes, figures are included in the page count. The idea being that you should
decide which figures and tables are important to convey your message.
One exception is if you have some very large figures or tables (e.g. one
that takes an entire page, typical examples are figures that show
correlations between the features of your dataset, or tables that contain a
detailed description of the dataset), in which case you can put it as an
appendix.
• Should references be included?
Yes, it is good practice to include references in a report. However, you
should include references that are relevant in the context of your report, not
just for the sake of having a list of references.
• Do references count for the page limit?
No, references are excluded from the page limit.
• Should an abstract be included?
This is optional, but it in general good to include a short abstract. This
would not count towards the page limit.
• How many methods should I use for my analysis?
There is no general answer to this. The coursework is relatively free for
what concerns its execution, and you can decide what specifically to focus
on. A possibility may be to use several methods and compare their
performance. At the opposite side of the spectrum of possibilities one could
focus on a single method and perform a very detailed analysis for that.

• The method I considered gives a poor result, am I going to be
penalized for that?
Negative results are fine. As long as the process you used is sound, if it
turns out a model has poor predictive performance you will not be
penalized because of that. Clearly, if your model has poor performance for
an obvious reason that could have been solved in the context of the
method you have selected, this would have an impact.
• Can I add an appendix?
You can put supporting material in an appendix, which does not count
towards the total number of pages. The appendix cannot however be used
as a substitute for the main text (e.g. one cannot put all pictures and tables
in an appendix and then systematically refer to them in the main text). The
main pictures and tables that are needed to understand results should be in
the main text. If you for instance have a very large picture that would take
up a lot of space, then it's okay to put it in the appendix. Similarly, if you
wish to add code, or you need large tables related for instance to the data,
those can go in an appendix.
In summary, an appendix is perfectly fine as long as it is used to add
supplementary material not necessary to understand the main text.

• Should I submit the code?

Only the report will be marked. You can upload the code if you wish, or add
it as an appendix, but it is optional.

• Should I use “I” or “We” in the report, as the latter appears more
formal in academic writing?

We would suggest the use of “I”, but both options are fine.
• Should I structure the report as Task 1 (introduction, methods,
results, etc) followed by Task 2 (introduction, methods, results,
etc, or should I combine Task 1 and Task 2 into the same
sections?

We would suggest the former (essentially merging two reports, one per
task, into the same document).