(Here I quote verbatim from the course information sheet of Prof. Moh):  Your semester grade is based on a total of 500 points
distributed as follows.  Homework and quizzes combined count 100 points.  There will be two mid-term exams which count 100 points
each, and final exam which counts 200 points.  The final exam is a common multiple-choice final exam. <BR>
(N.B. We will likely not have any quizzes, so in the above you may replace 'Homework and quizzes' with 'Homework'.)<BR>
<BR> <BR>
Grades will be distributed in the following way.  There will be a common final exam across all the sections; the students will be
ranked according to the scores on the final exam, and using this ranking a 'quota' of A's, B's, C's, etc... will be determined for
each section.  Then, based on your rank among your classmates (within your particular section), you will be assigned the
corresponding grade.  Therefore, your grade depends on two things.  First, it depends upon your 'rank' within the class.  Second, it depends on how your
section compares (roughly speaking) with the rest of the sections.  The second factor may not have such a great effect,
since it is fairly likely that the distribution will be rather even (under certain statistical hypotheses which may or may
not hold for various reasons).<BR>
<BR>
<! I urge you to view your grade as secondary to your learning experience, and also not to take it too seriously.  After
many years of this, youre probably already hardwired one way or another, but I hope theres still time to adjust.  

It is
possible for a student to have a succesful learning experience while acheiving a fairly ordinary grade, and conversely it
is possible for a student to get a stellar grade but walk away with almost nothing gained.  Of course, theyre not
so completely uncorrelated as to be useless, but try not to let it define your learning experience.  Grades test what you
said on a given day, not what you know or do months or years later. !>