Tip Thursday: What to Do with Subjective Questions

Not all questions are quite this... objective.

As many of you have noticed, some textbooks ask some pretty subjective questions. For instance, a business communications text might ask you to create an email or an ethics book might ask your opinion on an ethical issue. Even a math book may ask a question that involves you thinking more deeply and critically. Per our post on the topic, yes, some of these problems are unsolvable. But not ALL of them are unsolvable. Let's clear up the distinction between a solvable opinion-based question and an unsolvable one.

What is unsolvable:
A problem is unsovable if it is not only personal, but asks you to...
a) work in a group
b) look up OUTSIDE SOURCES
c) refer to other resources to answer it
d) refer to the textbook and use their content in some highly specific way (see below)

This is an example of an unsolvable question:

"Convert Table 2.2 on page 41 to presentation slides so that the content is easily readable in a large conference room. Decide whether to use free-form or structured slides and decide how much content will be on the slides and how much will be spoken by the presenter. Provide speaker's notes along with your slides."

You can't solve this because it asks you to convert something directly from the book. Now, it would be possible to solve this if you just had to talk generally about how to split up the content and how to present the slides. Then you could talk more generally.

Pretty much everything else is solvable.

What is solvable: 
You'd be surprised how many of these types of questions we consider to be solvable. Think about the question from the student's perspective. If you needed help on this problem, what kind of help would you seek out? You likely wouldn't want to read someone else's opinion or a cut-and-dry answer. That wouldn't help one bit. Rather, you'd want to read what types of things to consider, what key ideas to include, and what a proper conclusive answer might look like. You can certainly offer an example of a personal opinion as well.

So a question is still solvable even if it asks for you to think about a concept in-depth (i.e. "What do ethics mean in the context of XYZ" or "What do you think is the appropriate response to an ethical dilemma?").

Some examples of solutions that are solvable and how the authors approached them in a few different disciplines. If you have examples of your own you'd like to share, please send them to me via email! I'd love to share them with the group.

Sample Subjective Question - Business 2

Business Sample - Ethics

How to Write True/False, Multiple Choice, and Matching Solutions

A debate for another day...

Ryan and I have been getting a ton of questions from the expert community about the best way to approach those darned multiple choice, true/false, and matching questions. This post in particular was inspired by two business experts who were stuck with true/false and multiple choice problems in their discipline. It would seem so simple to just write the answer and be done with it. However, students looking for help on questions of this type need context for your answer. You're there to save their day (or night, as we know students often working into the wee hours of the morning), and we know you are up to the task! 

To help you do your job, here are best practices for answering these tricky question types.

True/False
The below solution is a perfect example of how to approach a True/False solution. The expert details the main idea behind the question (what a monopoly is) then goes on to define the key terms needed and use examples to elaborate on what the question is really getting at. Then the author concludes with a sample statement, "The provided statement is false". Notice she even boxed the final answer at the end. Beautiful!

The main things to keep in mind for true/false questions are:

• Don't simply write "True" or "False". We will reject these solutions.
• Don't simply write one sentence saying "This statement is true". 
• At the VERY least, write "This statement is true because...". Then add a sentence or two to elaborate on why it's true. Refer to other relevant concepts or use an example. Students will thank you!

A Lovely True/False Example

Multiple Choice
These can be a bit trickier and they do require a bit more time. However, once you get the hang of these (they usually come in bunches in a textbook), you can get a solid template going and get moving quickly. You need to go over each and every option provided. Simply stating that the correct answer is "A" and defining what "A" means is NOT enough. If a student needs help with a problem of this type, they need more context than that.

The main things to keep in mind for multiple choice questions are:

• Don't simply write "A" or "B" and the answer. 
• Include definitions (in your OWN WORDS) of the other options. Perhaps talk about why that is not the correct answer.
• Conclude with the correct option and box it. You can either box just the letter answer or, if the option is short, box both the letter and the answer option. You'll want to explain this one a little more in-depth, perhaps with examples, to enlighten the student further.

A Wonderful Multiple Choice Example

Matching
I am not including a matching example here, as they are so similar to multiple choice. Except these are actually even easier, since you have the same answer options for a whole set of questions. That means you can create a template and re-use it. Just make sure that you always end with the correct letter answer and explain a bit more in-depth why it is correct.

The main things to keep in mind for matching questions are:

• Again, never simple state the answer without explanation.
• Always include all answer options with a short definition/explanation for each.
• Make a template! You will save yourself worlds of time!

I hope these tips help. As always, email either me or Ryan if you have further questions. Many of our blog posts come from questions from our experts, so keep 'em comin'!

MathType Tips: How to Remove Italics

Just a quick Thursday tip for all of your writers who use MathType, which I happen to know is most of you...

You may have noticed that we often tell you not to italicize units in MathType or we ask you kindly to add a space between the unit and the value, but maybe you're not sure how to un-italicize them because you're stuck in "Math" mode. Well, here's how to easily fix that issue. No more italicized units or weird formatting problems.

Italicized units look like this screenshot, and you'll confuse students if you randomly italicize something like "feet", "meters", or "inches" for no good reason.

 To fix this, just double-click on the Mathtype and the editing box will open. Then highlight the right side of the equation (you want that L' variable to remain italicized, so leave that little guy alone). From there, go to "Style". You'll see that "Math" is selected by default. This automatically assumes you're typing equations so it will italicize everything and will not allow you to input spaces at all. Instead, click "Text" style.

Voila! This screenshot below is exactly what you want to see:

Then when you exit out of the box, make sure to hit "Save". Your answer will now look proper and lovely and have the correct italics or non-italics. 

Now, on to the next solution... 

How To Create a Template in Word (.dot)

Happy Friday! We're bringing you another helpful tip on authoring today to close out the week.

This week's tip is a HUGE time-saver. We're teaching you how to create templates in Word. Do this now and save yourself hours and hours of boring formatting work over the long run! That means more solutions written, more productivity, and more money for you. That's good all around.

Now, let's get started. We'll go over what a template is, how to create one, and how to save it. If you have further questions, ask them here on the blog or on the LinkedIn group.

What is a template?
A template is a document that saves all of its formatting (fonts, delimiters, margins, page size, headers) so you can easily duplicate your solution format again and again. Imagine all the tedious time saved! A template saves in a .dot format, so make sure that when you finish each solution and save it, you change the name and convert this to .docx. More on that in the final part of this tutorial.

How do I create a template?
It's super easy. For our purposes, you can actually use our template document that we send you when you start a project, and then just go to File>Save As>Word Template. Alternatively, create your own template for certain types of solutions (i.e. maybe you have a lot of similar discussion questions or accounting questions with similar tables). Now, each time you open that file, it will preserve all formatting so you can start fresh with each new solution. Voila!

How do I save each solution?
Now, you know you'll need to change certain things in each file, like the chapter ID and problem ID, possibly the date (unless you also make that update automatically too, smart idea.). Then you're all done writing the solution. You can't simply hit Ctrl+S. You'll need to go to the file menu and Save As. Just hit .docx, update the file name to reflect your BookID-ChapID-ProbID, and then you're all set.

It's as easy as that. Imagine how much time that will save you in the long run if you set that up now. In solutions authoring, time really is the same thing as money, so we recommend you do this today!

For more information on this, check out Microsoft's tutorial on their website. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Templates for Solutions Using Maple, Mathematica, Matlab, TI

If you're working on a textbook where you are using any of the following software programs to write your solutions, then you are in luck! We're providing you with templates for exactly how to write these problems. The templates include solutions to problems using:

Maple
Mathematica
MATLAB
TI Graphing Calculator

Download the files by clicking the link above. Then solve away!

Tips on Diagrams and Graphing

Too bad all of your graphs
can't be this simple...

Another round of helpful tips for all of you authors working on books that contain a lot of diagrams, tables, etc. These can be a pain, we know! To help out, we've created a list of (1) rules, (2) recommended software, and (3) templates for referring to diagrams/figures/tables

General rules to follow for how to deal with diagrams and graphing:

• For all tables over 15 rows, you need only recreate the first 15 rows or simply describe the table. Otherwise, just recreate it, making sure it fits within the page margins. Center it.
• If a diagram is far too complicated to re-create AND you will not be needing to manipulate it to solve the problem, simply refer to the diagram. There are very specific ways to do this. More on that below.
• Center and make sure all diagrams are "in line with text". 

Top recommended software for creating diagrams and graphs:

• DrawPlus
• Geogebra (for geometry)
• Avogadro (for 3D chem diagramming)
• CorelDraw (chem diagramming)
• Maxima (for 2D and 3D graphs)
• Aepryus (graphing)
• Skitch (for marking up screenshots). This program is a part of Evernote, which I also highly recommend for a variety of purposes.

How do you refer to a diagram, figure, or table?

The easiest way to refer to a diagram is to describe it briefly. Do NOT mention page numbers, figure numbers, problem numbers, chapter numbers, as these things can change from one edition to the next. Instead, saying something like:

For Diagrams:

"In this problem, we are given a diagram of a box with a length of 10cm, a width of 5 cm, and a height of 4 cm. We are asked to calculate the area of this box, so first we must use the formula for calculating area..."

For Tables:

"To solve this problem, refer to the table that lists the monthly spending of Company C in USD from January 2010 to February 2012."

A Note on Unsolvable Problems

Ever find yourself frustrated by a problem that you can't solve?  No, not that you don't want to solve (because we know that just doesn't happen), but that you actually can't solve?  Carrie and I have put together a list of reasons why we'd consider a problem unsolvable.  If you ever find yourself confronted by a problem(s) that meets this criteria, please email your project manager with a list of the problems you consider unsolvable.  You can easily do this by copying and pasting the problems from your solution list into a new Excel document.  Just a heads up, if you find yourself intensely staring at your screen for any period of time over ten minutes, take a look at this list to see if you can save yourself the headache.

• Web Based
• When a problem requires the use of a website.
• Activity/Observation Based
• If a question is based on an observation or the completion of a physical activity.
• Data Insufficient Questions
• If there is not enough information in a question for it to be solved.
• Experiment Based
• If a problem requires you to conduct an experiment in order to arrive at your own unique answer.
• Project Based
• If you are required to work on a project over a noted period of time that will result in a unique answer.
• Software Dependent
• When you are asked to solve a problem using software that is no longer available.  If the software is available and you don't have access to it, please consult your project manager before attempting to purchase any kind of software.  Chegg may not reimburse for it.
• Questions Involving Data Collection
• If a question asks you to compile and show large amounts of data from either real life or online sources in order to arrive at an answer.
• Opinion-Based or Personal 
• If the question asks you to give your opinion on something or relate it to a personal experience, you do not need to solve the problem. This is different, though, than if a business text were to ask you to think through an ethical dilemma or something of that nature. You should approach those in a more general way.

Templates: The Secret to Writing Quick, Quality Solutions

One of the most effective ways to write quick, high-quality solutions is to create your own template for your work and fill it in with each subsequent problem. We've spoken to our most efficient and highest-scoring authors, and they've all said that they do some variation of this. Maybe the bulk of the solution cannot be cloned, but at least you can have ready the key elements of a solution and duplicate them over again to maintain consistency and quality overall. But first, what are these key elements of a good solution? We need to know that first and create the skeleton of the solution in each template.

Key Elements of a High-Quality Textbook Solution:

1. Introductory sentence. This can be short and just sums up what is being asked in your own words. This gives your solution a clear direction. 
2. If needed, a diagram to set up the problem. Point out the relevant areas in the diagram and label with Times New Roman size 12 font.
3. Set-up problem-solving tactic. Briefly describe how you plan to work through the problem. The textbook you're working from may specify a specific procedure. Make sure you review the worked out solutions in the book. 
4. Individual steps separated by delimiters (single lines). Steps should be direct and not get off track. You don't want to confuse students with unnecessary information. 
5. A conclusion that re-states the answer in a full sentence. 
6. A box around the final numerical answer. See how to do that in our blog post on the subject.

So you can see that you could easily have a template at-ready with your heading setup, delimiters in place, and a general introductory sentence in place. Once you have one top-quality solution, why not duplicate that quality over and again?

We highly recommend you create your own template that fits your style and your text. But to get you started, we'll link you to some of the best solutions we've seen in physics, statistics, engineering, and business. If you find these helpful and want to see more, just email me or Ryan. We'll be happy to set you up with templates. We may even have one for the book you're working on! Imagine all the time saved! Imagine all the money earned! 

• A Business Template (This is for a matching problem and can be used for any discipline): Here. 
• Several Engineering Templates in One Word Document: Here. 
• A Physics Template: Here. 
• A Statistics Template: Here. 
• A few levels of math templates can be found in another blog post: Here.

Staying Motivated During the Whirl of the Holidays

Photo via Escobar's Highland Farm

What is it about the holiday season that has us feeling so spirited and excited at home and so dull and lifeless at work in the evenings? In the morning, I stop by my local coffee shop and grab a pumpkin-spice-cinnamon-caramel-whatever-else-tastes-like-Christmas latte before my commute, and I'm practically skipping down the street, loving all the fall colors and feeling so grateful and caffeinated. And then by 3 PM, I'm about 15 degrees from lying down in my office chair. All I want to do is sit in front of a fire and decorate my Christmas tree and eat sugar cookies.

It's a great conflict that I'm sure you're all facing as the holidays approach and the weather gets colder. I know we can all use a little motivation sometimes, so I'm sharing some of my tactics  for staying motivated and on-task when it seems only visions of sugarplums or cinnamon lattes or egg nog will dance in your head:

1. Make a to-do list at the beginning of each day. I usually do this after the coffee has kicked in, so I feel more ambitious. Then my to-do list contains items like "5. Fix everything ever having to do with the QA of solutions" and "6. Build a massive treehouse from scratch outside of the Chegg office. Make sure to include an elevator and multiple restrooms for visitors."
2. Save the snacking for specific times. Just say no to that plate of cookies that is sure to make you feel lethargic.
3. Have a plan of action for each task. If you're writing a solution, set up the template, write a quick draft, and then get to typing everything up. Write a really messy first draft and then come back to it later.
4. Take Facebook breaks. I kid you not. I have a reflex where I take about 30 seconds every hour to look at Facebook and see that nothing new has been posted. Then I get back to it.
5. Take real breaks in addition to the Facebook breaks. Take time to have a good lunch and see the people who matter to you. 
6. Set up alerts. Whether you use Outlook or Any.do or Google calendar, set up alarms for yourself and allocate specific amounts of time for each task you need to complete.
7. If you're studying for exams right now, make sure you prioritize that above all else. You can't take back a bad grade, but you can certainly fix other mistakes. Yes, even writing textbook solutions for pay. You can re-do a solution, but you can't take back a bad grade.
8. Sleep. I should probably take my own advice more often with this one, but sleep will work wonders on your productivity. Supplement with exercise. 
9. If all else fails, coffee works for a few hours. Coffee will carry you through quite a lot. 

If you've got any suggestions of your own, feel free to share. 

Very happy holidays from the Chegg Homework Team! 

How To Box Your Answers in Word

Many of you have asked me or Ryan how you go about boxing answers in Word without MathType. In MathType, it's simple. You just highlight the text you need, and you click the box option, like so:

But if you don't use MathType (because you use Word's Equation Editor 3.0 or because your text isn't equation-oriented), there is another option for you in Microsoft Word. To box the answer, you just highlight the final answer and click “Outside Borders” in the Paragraph menu.You should not box with a text box. This is way easier anyway, so I'm not so sure why you'd even want to! :-)

What's Your Solution Authoring Strategy?

We hope you're not using a typewriter...

As some of you may know, we've been working hard to improve the quality of our engineering solutions authoring program. We actually conducted a short survey for our engineering authors about six weeks ago, and we learned all kinds of tactics and approaches that some of you take to tackle the problems assigned to you. 

We were so impressed by some of the feedback that we've decided to share it with everyone here. Read on for tips and tricks, and then share your strategies in the comments! If you work differently, we'd love to hear how you attack the difficult stuff.

Best free program for creating diagrams:

• DrawPlus (http://www.serif.com/free-graphic-design-software/). Once you are familiar with how to use this program, it becomes very easy to use. Our authors say it is just as useful as CorelDraw.
• For geometry, try Geogebra.

Best way to approach problem-solving:

1. Solve on paper first quickly, grouping similar problems so that you can concentrate on one topic/equation/method at once (if you need to explain these concepts more than once, you can even copy-paste your descriptions).
2. Then begin to create any helpful diagrams you need. If a problem does not require that you manipulate the diagram at all, save time by referring to the diagram in the text. Say something like, “See the diagram of the pulley-system with a length of 5 ft. and…”. Do not refer to page numbers, figure numbers, or problem numbers, as these change from edition to edition while many of the problems remain the same.
3. Finally, begin typing up the solutions.
4. Save time by creating a universal introduction template and/or filling in the blanks in a template for similar problems.
5. Start by inputting just the MathType equations, and then decide the best places to add in student-friendly explanations. Place delimiters (steps) before each short written explanation.  
6. Never include more than 4 lines of MathType. Instead, break up these lines and add written explanation between them, separating each step with delimiters.
7. Always box the final numeric answer.

Some tactics from our authors that help them work more quickly:

• Derive on scratch paper before typing.
• Try to use the best suited equation for given parameters of the problem.
• If the problem is very simple, don’t use scratch paper! Instead, type directly in order to minimize the time it takes to write the problem.
• For harder problems, quickly solve the solution on paper first and then transfer to Word.
• Verify the final answer with the available software that you have.
• Work on one section or topic at a time.
• Type the solutions in the same section on the same day so your brain is all warmed up for that particular type of problem, rather than typing one problem a day.
• Spend time creating meaningful diagrams and sketches, because they help to make the solution easier to understand for the student. This initial time investment will also save you from getting sent back solutions and having to create them all over again.
• Provide a logical order to the solution process so that the reasoning behind the solution is easy to follow.
• Break up lengthy solutions into logical, modular segments, in a similar fashion as writing very lengthy software. This makes it easy to review the solution and to spot mistakes.