[Late] homeworks [The word late is missing but it is clear that he means it.] A problem set is homework, students do it at home and hand it in. Homework has to be handed in by a specific date, called "the due date." Homework that is handed in after the due date is called "late homework."

homeworks Most English speakers treat "homework" as a collective noun that has no plural. The general rule in this course is that the instructors do not accept late homework.

If you're extenuating circumstances The lecturer misreads from his notes. It should be "If you have extenuating circumstances."

prior arrangements = arrangements that are made before a certain date; usually the due date or deadline for some assignment or project. The word prior can also be used in the expression: prior to: You must pay for your tickets at list 24 hours prior to the event.

administrative stuff The word stuff is informal and a little dismissive. The professor wants to show that administrative stuff is necessary but boring and less important than the subject matter of the course.

turn in = Hand it, submit

you should be talking The Progressive Infinitive is used because he is talking about a rule that will apply on many occasions throughout the semester.

as well as This is a conjunction that usually connects two things. (You can find bread in the kitchen as well as raisins and tea.) It is not clear what it connects in this sentence.

drill repeating practice; usually fire drill or military drill

I highly recommend I very much recommend

I recommend you doing the exercises = I recommend that you do the exercises. This is an "object + participle" construction. We recommend that you use the simpler construction. There are verbs with which this construction is more common: I saw you doing the exercises.

exercises have this way of finding themselves = We sometimes include those exercises as questions on quizzes. This is a joke: he says that exercises do it by themselves, he doesn't know how, and they themselves are a little surprised to find themselves on quizzes.

cover (some material) = to go over, explain

every term = every semester

there's a couple of students = There are a couple of students. The form there's is used in colloquial speech with plural nouns.

they pretend like = They pretend that; They pretend as if. The word like is often used in non-standard ways in today's American English. See comment below.

a non-linear effect This whole passage is a little bit of a joke. He explains the grading policy in mathematical terms. The grade is a function of how many problems you skip. It is not a linear function. For zero skipped problems, the effect is zero. For one skipped problem, the effect is 1/100 of the grade, and it will not change your letter grade.

letter grade The possible grades are A, B, C, D, and F (failing grade). All grades except F can have a plus or a minus after it: A+ (the best), B-, and so on. There are two numerical systems. One simply copies letters to numbers: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. For +, 1/3 is added; for minus 1/3 is subtracted. The other numeric system goes from 100 to 0, but anything below 55 or so is considered an F. Losing one point in this system (from 100 to 99) has no effect on your letter grade.

by the time you've skipped ...five letter grades The lecturer misspoke: he meant "five problems," and he later corrects himself.

you've skipped, like, five letter grades The word like here means "approximately, something like." This use of like has become very common in the last decade or so. People say things like: He's ill, like, every other week. (= He is ill about every other week), or even: And I'm like "What's going on in here?" and he's like, "We're not friends any more." (Meaning that he said something like "We are not friends any more.")

collaboration = Working together

collaboration policy A set of rules about how you can collaborate and what you should not do when you collaborate

like that's gonna wake anyone up The lecturer expresses doubt that his words will wake anyone up. Most likely, he saw that there were students in the room who were falling asleep and felt that a joke would help them wake up. Note the use of like.

Professor Demaine's and my philosophy Since the topic is important, he makes it clear that he expresses the common opinion, and he refers to Erik formally, as Professor Demaine.

philosophy = A set of beliefs that explains behavior and policy.

stuck = Unable to move forward (The car got stuck in the mud. I am stuck on this problem.) This is Past Participle of the irregular verb to stick stuck stuck.

you are in no better shape = You are not in a better condition

when the exam rolls around = When the exam comes. Here the exam is compared to a ball that rolls upon you from the future. An exam is an event. Verbs of motion are often used to describe the beginning of an event: When the exam comes, arrives, descends upon you, rolls around.

You owe it to yourself to do X = It is in your interest to do X.

study group meeting A meeting of a study group. A study group is a group of people who study together.

up to speed = prepared.

after 35 ... He earlier said "half an hour to 45 minutes," so he corrects himself and repeats the same times.

banging your head against it A common expression is "bang your head against the wall." It means "to try to move forward when it is impossible; try to make a hole in the wall by banging your head against it."

you have issues with having time A complex way of saying "you don't have enough time." See Unit 1, "have an issue of not wanting to be on the video tape."

on your hands = In your possession

Like it's not there. Another use of "like."

don't go banging your head = Don't continue, don't keep on banging your head

or whatever When you have listed several things, and there are other possibilities, but there are too many of them, or it would take too much time to list them all, or you don't know them all, or whatever, then that's what you say: or whatever.

help out more specific than simply help it suggests helping in a situation when you're stuck and need help getting out.

go and do that Go where? Do what? More or less clear from context.

coordinate with other students Study groups often find it difficult to schedule meetings, to find times when everybody is free. Homework labs are scheduled for specific times, so it is easier to coordinate meetings.

X is unable to do Y X cannot do Y; X is incapable of doing Y.

This is how you go about X. This is how you do X; this is a proper procedure for doing X.

write up = Write the results of some procedure or experiment. Write up a lab. Write up a problem.

on their own - on your own The lecturer misspoke and corrected himself.

on your own = Alone, by yourself.

And you should, on your problem sets ... Students who have collaborated with others on their homework must say so. It is dishonest to use somebody else's work but not say about it. This is called "plagiarism." It is a big problem in American universities. They all have strict policies about plagiarism. (See the next segment.)

with so and so with some person

affect = influence, have an impact, have an effect. Note the difference in spelling between the verb affect and the noun effect.

orally in speech, not in writing

I didn't copy them, you know = I didn't copy those solutions.

the presumption is Actually, presumption is something you assume before you see any facts. In the scenario he describes, this is a conclusion.

cheated This is a very strong word. Cheating is very bad. A student caught cheating can be given an F for the course, or even expelled from the university for a year.

stuff This word is again used as a colloquial equivalent of more specific words.

So don't write up stuff Because the point is very important, he repeats it three more times.

Exams is when we evaluate you. It should be Exams are ... . He means "Exams, together, form one special time; this time is when we evaluate you."

X is mandatory X must be done. "Lecture attendance is mandatory" means: "You must attend the lectures."

The lectures ... are mandatory in that you have to know them. This is an indirect way of saying that attending the lectures is NOT mandatory. He doesn't want to say that directly, but everybody understands.

kinda colloquial pronunciation of "kind of;" similarly sorta for "sort of"

show up attend, be present

even if you've been watching them Present Perfect tense, to indicate action that goes on over a period of time up to a certain point. The word them clearly refers to lectures.

transgress do something wrong, violate the rules

best is = The best thing to do is. This is very colloquial.

work something out Find a solution, a way out of a difficult situation.

a third party A case of cheating involves two participants, or parties: the course staff and the cheating student. A third party is somebody who is not the cheater and not on the course staff. It may be another student.

analyses plural of analysis

things get messy A formal investigation of cheating is a long and messy procedure. Nobody likes to do that.

for some reason or another = For some reason, whatever it may be.

class Usually class means an individual lecture or recitation within a course, but here it clearly means the entire course.

Let's talk content. Usually you talk about something, but you can use a direct object to indicate a kind and manner of talking. Common examples are "talk business" and "talk nonsense." Talking content is very different from talking administrative stuff, and much more fun.