James: Off topic for a moment, adding critical thinking questions is great because one of the ways students learn to think critically is by practicing and actually doing it. Extra credit rewards the slakers in my opinion and devalues your grading system. A bonus question, curve grading, or weighted answers make more sense than to give extra points when required work was not done, or done poorly. If it's important to the course, it should be added to the required, graded material, which is fair and equal for all. As you point out, better performing students will not appreciate knowing their work and grades were impacted. Regards, Barry