Reading a specification

An FRQ (free-response question) hands you a specification and asks for code that satisfies it. Reading the spec precisely is half the task. Every AP-style spec names:

• the method signature — name, parameter types, return type. Match it exactly; the graders' tests call YOUR method with THEIR types.
• preconditions — what's guaranteed true before the call ("the list has at least one element"). You may rely on these; never re-check them for points, never violate them.
• postconditions — what must be true after the call ("returns the number of..."). This is the contract you must deliver.

// Precondition: wordCount >= 0
// Postcondition: returns the total number of characters across
// wordCount words, given their lengths
public static int totalChars(int[] lengths, int wordCount)

Write the postcondition as a comment in your own words BEFORE coding. If your restatement is wrong, every line after it is wrong too.