Guidelines for homework preparation


An important part of mathematics is being able to write clearly and concisely. Most problems will have solutions that can be expressed pretty compactly once you've really understood what you're doing. (I will warn you of exceptions.) So please try to write efficiently, and do not try to talk problems to death.

Format

  • Use standard 8 by 11 sheets of paper with no ragged edges.
  • Your name should appear at the top of each page. Pages should be numbered and stapled together.
  • You should have a cover page that gives your name and a table with three columns. The first column lists each of the assigned problems in the order that they appear on the assignment (whether you did them all or not). The second column contains the number of the page of your work where the solution to the problem appears (or the words ``Not done'' if you did not do it.) The third column is left blank for me to record the score.
  • Submissions in TeX are strongly preferred, and may become mandatory if I have trouble with your handwriting.

    Collaboration etc.

    While you'll generally understand the material best if you solve the problems yourself, discussing problems (with other students or with me) can also be helpful, particularly when you're stuck. Spending hours getting nowhere is usually not the best use of your time; on the other hand, before seeking outside input it's almost always beneficial to at least spend enough time with a problem to feel you've understood the difficulties. A few ground rules:
  • No written work related to an assignment should be given to or obtained from others. Write-ups should be done independently, meaning, in particular, that you should not be sitting with other students when writing solutions.
  • You're always welcome to come discuss problems with me, with the understanding that I'll usually do my best to provide some guidance without essentially telling you how to do a problem.
  • Solutions to the problems can often be found in the books on reserve or other literature. If you do read about a problem elsewhere, then you should (a) do your write-up of the problem "closed book'' and (b) properly acknowledge the source (see below). It should be stressed that you don't do yourself much good following this route: understanding the solution to a problem doesn't convey nearly the same benefit as finding the solution yourself (or in collaboration).
  • Any outside input (discussions, hints received, use of other sources, etc.) should be acknowledged following your write-up of a problem.