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MATH 400A, (2
credits, W) Winter Quarter 2001 MW, 1:30-2:20 p.m. |
Instructor: Gerald Folland
(folland@math.washington.edu) Office Hours: Friday 1:30-2:20 or by appointment Office: Padelford C-436 Phone: 543-7083 |
Math 400 is aimed at improving skills in writing and presenting mathematics. It is intended primarily for undergraduates who are majoring in the mathematical sciences (ACMS, Math, Stat, CSE), and it is designated as a W-course so that it can be used towards fulfilling the writing requirement.
The ability to communicate effectively, in writing and orally, is important in every profession, but we in the mathematical sciences face a distinctive set of challenges in writing and speaking about our subject. This course will be devoted mostly to mathematical writing, but with some attention to oral presentations. It will cover both small-scale issues such as the effective and grammatical use of symbols, and large-scale ones, such as organizing a logical argument, putting together a paper or lecture, etc. Some of these issues pertain to effective writing and speaking in general, but the emphasis will be on those that are peculiar to the mathematical sciences. There will also be tutorials in the computer lab on LaTeX (the best technical word-processing program) and graphics.
NOTE: This course is essentially the same as the course offered in Winter 1999 as AMATH 500D, in Spring 1999 as MATH 498A, and in Winter 2000 as Math 502A. Students who took the latter courses should not sign up for this one.
At least 15 credits in the mathematical sciences at the 300 or 400 level, including Math 307-8 or AMath 351-2. It is strongly recommended that these courses include at least one course at the 400 level.
There will be no exams in this course, but there will be weekly assignments and a term paper. The weekly assignments will count for half of the course grade, and the term paper will count for the other half. A proposal for the term paper is due on Wednesday, January 17, and a first draft is due on Wednesday, February 21. This draft will be graded and returned to you, and then you will be allowed to submit a revised version for a (presumably) better grade. The final draft is due on Friday, March 9. Click HERE for more information about the term paper.