Extended essays and the term paper

Math 420

Spring 2008

Your evaluation for this course will be made up of five parts for a total of six units.  These parts will include

• Homework assignments (probably one/week), having the cumulative weight of one unit.
• Three extended essays, each worth one unit.  These will be papers responding to a topic specified at least two weeks before the due date of the paper.  I will either specify a single topic, or give you a choice of topics from which you may pick one to respond to.  Each extended essay will develop an idea from the course discussion so far, will include appropriate citations and the use of sources beyond the textbooks and the web, and will be graded in part on the quality of writing and clarity of expression.
• A term paper, having the weight of two units.  This will be an opportunity to further explore a topic in the history of mathematics, including topics not covered in lectures or readings.  Topics for this could include, for example, topics in
  • History of Indian mathematics
  • History of Chinese mathematics
  • Medieval mathematics
  • Renaissance mathematics
  • More detail on topics in modern mathematics, including biography (except for Poincaré - I'm working on that)
  • Other possibilities as they occur to you
  The term paper is intended to be a substantial scholarly work carrying you beyond the textbooks used in the class.  Although web references can be useful, the term paper will require you to use, in addition to the textbooks used in the course, books and published papers.  You may, of course, use books and (refereed) papers that are published on the web, but the intention is that you use written materials or materials intended to be published in scholarly books or refereed journals.  Although the assessment of your term paper will be primarily on the content of the paper, a significant portion of your term paper grade will depend on organization, clarity of expression, and quality of writing.

Schedule for extended essays:

• Extended Essay #1 will be due Friday, February 22 (was Feb. 15)
• Extended Essay#2 will be due Friday, March 28 (was Friday, March 14)
• Extended Essay#3 will be due Friday, May 1 (note change in due date)
• Math 420 has a final exam scheduled for Monday, May 12, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM.  The term paper will be due at this time (no later than 6:00 Monday, May 12).  We will not have a final exam in this class

Term paper milestones:

• Monday, February 11: Discussion of paper
• Monday, March 3: Paper proposals due. I will return them by the following Monday.  This is worth 5% of your term paper grade.  Email is OK for this milestone only.
• Wednesday, March 26:  Annotated paper bibliography due.   Please note also that this is 10% of your term paper grade.  Please also note that this is Monday after Spring Break.  Early submissions cheerfully accepted.  An annotated bibliography, for the purposes of this class, is a list of sources you intend to use, a brief description of the source, and why the source is appropriate for your paper.  A short paragraph for each source. Please note change in due date.
• Friday, April 18:  Substantial draft due.  Please note that this is 25% of your overall term paper grade.  This is intended to be a substantial (i.e., nearly completed - drafts with sections labeled "to be added" or words to that effect do not get very many points) draft that I can comment on and make suggestions for the final draft. 
• Monday, May 12.  All materials due by 6:00 PM

Papers should be at least 10 pages in length and supported by a substantial bibliography (5 - 10 items, of which only a small number can be web references). I may change this before our initial paper discussion on February 11.

Please note that substantial penalties will be assessed for missed deadlines for the term paper. Milestones will be assessed as follows:

• Proposal: 5 pts.
• Bibliography: 10 pts.
• First Draft: 25 pts.
• Final paper submission:  60 points.