Extended essays and the term paper

Math 420

Spring 2011

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

• Homework assignments (probably one/week), having the cumulative weight of one unit.
• Four 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.  These will run in parallel with homework assignments.  That is it may happen that both a homework assignment and an essay might be due on the same day (I'll try and avoid it, but it may happen).
• 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
• Some term paper topics from the Spring 2008 class included
• The Book Nobody Read (from a book by Owen Gingerich of the same title - the transmission of Copernicus' De Revolutionibus)
• The Golden Ratio
• History of computer science
• History of dynamical systems
• Maria Gaetana Agnesi
• The Poincare conjecture
• The Origins of Modern Algebra
• Women in Mathematics
• 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 (as it will in homework assignments and extended essays) on organization, clarity of expression, and quality of writing.

Schedule for extended essays:

• Extended Essay #1 will be due Friday, February 25
• Extended Essay#2 will be due Friday, March 25
• Extended Essay #3 will be due Friday, April 22.  Please note that extended essay #4 will be assigned before this is due so that the due date for extended essay #3 does not conflict with the due date for the term paper draft.
• Extanded Essay #4 will be due Wednesday, May 4 (last day of class)
• Math 420 has a final exam scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, from noon to 2:00 PM.  The term paper will be due at this time (no later than 2:00 Wednesday, May 11).  We will not have a final exam in this class

Term paper milestones:

• Monday, February 14: Discussion of paper
• Monday, February 28: 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 23:  Annotated paper bibliography due.   Please note also that this is 10% of your term paper grade.  Please also note that this is the Monday following 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.
• Friday, April 15:  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) draft. Drafts with sections labeled "to be added" or words to that effect do not get very many points.  I am looking for a draft that I can comment on and make suggestions for the final draft. 
• Wednesday, May 11.  All materials due by 2:00 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 14.

Email is OK for the paper proposal only.  All other documents should be printed (word processor) on paper.

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.