The usual end of the semester stuff

I have an idea. It is admittedly a very very strange idea. My idea is that your grade in my class should be based on your knowledge of the material we covered in that class, NOT your ability to write extra credit papers!!??!! Why is it that people who couldn't be bothered to hardly show up for class, much less take the time to study for the tests suddenly are SO VERY MOTIVATED. But they're not motivated to study for my final NOOO they want to write extra credit papers.
Astroprof said it well:

How do they come to think that if the course work is too difficult for them that they can just do something else different from the rest of the class?

Yeah... that.