Points were taken off the pre-project for
• not stating goals or objectives
• not including a block diagram
• not including circuit diagrams
• not giving calculations for 555 R1, R2 & C, T1, T2, frequency, and duty cycle (when using a 555 for the flasher circuit)
• not explaining how the circuit was supposed to work (mostly for logic around the counter)
• not turning on something other than the LED after N counts

Points were taken off the project report for
• not including a full final circuit using elements, not just chip pin to pin wiring diagram (half point lost for not using PSPICE, spreading circuit over several pages, not labeling circuit elements on hand drawings, neatness, etc.)
• not talking about changes in original goals
• not mentioning changes in circuit to meet goals or explaining how the fixed circuit worked or why original didn't work
• not including personal responsibilities (this has always been required although it wasn't mentioned - about half or more lost because of this)
• not getting a witness signature

In general, sloppiness and too many typos resulted in a lost point