Here are two sets of anwers that really reflect what I was hoping for in your take-home responses. Don't get me wrong - there were lots of good tests, so don't be bummed if neither of these is yours. However, if you lost points on a question and aren't really sure why, consider these to be model answers. The two tests here, along with several others, are of MUCH better quality than any from last year, by the way:-)
Test #2 (received 97/100) - I want to acknowledge that this person adhered to the word limit, while the other student did not (I don't think) - but Test #1 was of such high quality, and there really was no irrelevant info included, that I decided to let it slide.
If you compare the responses to question 3 (the Barack Obama one) you'll notice that these two students answered the question very differently, though equally effectively.- just to show you how open-ended these questions can be.