Cal Poly
dpaquin@calpoly.edu
Weekly Homework Submission Instructions
1. The homework assignments and due dates will be posted at least one week in advance on the Math 341
Weekly Homework Assignments page, accessible from PolyLearn and the Course Schedule page.
2. Clearly print your first and last name and the assignment number at the top of the first page of your
homework assignment.
3. Leave at least 4 lines of space between problems, and clearly label each problem. Restate the question/problem/statement to be proved.
4. If your homework is written in ink, please write on one side of the page only.
5. Staple your homework pages together.
6. You should work on the weekly homework problems after you’ve mastered the daily homework on the
same material. I strongly encourage you to form study groups to work on the daily homework.
7. Although you may discuss the weekly homework problems with other students, I strongly recommend
that you write your solutions on your own, without help from fellow students. The weekly homework
assignments serve as practice for the in-class quizzes and exams, so it is important that you make sure
before the quizzes and exams that you can to the problems by yourself.
8. I will not solve the weekly homework assignments at the board during class discussion of homework
problems, but I will provide hints as appropriate. If you are having trouble with one of the weekly
homework problems, I encourage you to find and work on a similar problem, and to work through a
similar problem with me during office hours.
9. Illegible homework will not earn any credit.
10. No late homework will be accepted, but your lowest homework grade will be dropped in order to allow
for exceptional circumstances.
11. Solutions to the weekly homework assignments will be posted in the Weekly Homework Assignments
section in PolyLearn.
Tips for Good Mathematical Writing
1. Your weekly homework submissions should be clear, neat, and well-written. Communicating mathematics well is an important part of doing mathematics! You should focus not only on solving
the problems, but on explaining your solutions carefully, completely, and concisely. You may need to
write several drafts of each problem before you are ready to write the final version. You should not
expect your first draft to be perfect, and you’ll find that when you review your writing, you’ll see ways
to shorten and/or clarify your argument.
2. Your solutions will be graded partly on clarity and conciseness (in addition to correctness).
3. Use complete sentences! Even an equation should have punctuation that helps you see where the equation
fits in the larger context. Consider, for example, the following piece of writing:
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Weekly Homework
Cal Poly
dpaquin@calpoly.edu
Can you figure out what the writer is doing? What’s being assumed? What’s being proved? Where does
one thought end and another begin? What’s the relationship between these phrases? Some phrases are
dangling, and others, as statements, are not even true. The reader should not have to figure out what
the writer was thinking! Now consider the work of another writer who has attempted the same problem:
Here, the writer has clearly stated the problem and described her path to a solution. She has set an
invitational tone (e.g.. using the pronoun we rather than I), and every thought is expressed in a complete
sentence. Now it is clear that x > 0 is a condition, not a result. Notice the punctuation in equations:
one ended with a period because her thought was complete, the other ended with a comma because she
wanted to continue the thought. Since she assumed her audience could do algebra, she didn’t bore them
with trivial algebraic manipulation, which would only obscure the thread of her arguments. But she
did show the most interesting parts: the resulting polynomial and its factoring. And she made sure she
answered the original question. Always think about whether or not your solution would make sense to
someone else!
4. Avoid shorthand in formal writing. In informal writing, or when you’re pressed for time (such as during
an in-class quiz or test), it’s common (and accepted) to use shorthand and symbols such as ∀, ∃, iff, ⇔,
etc. In formal writing, however, such shorthand should be avoided.
5. Decide what’s important to say. Writing well does not mean writing more. A well-written solution will
present just enough details and highlight the most interesting or unexpected parts of the argument. Step
back and simplify! After writing a proof, step back and re-read your proof and ask yourself how you
might simplify or clarify your argument.
6. It’s important to acknowledge any support that you received. In compiling this document, I benefited
significantly from Francis Su’s tips on good mathematical writing!
7. To become a good mathematical writer, it’s useful to read mathematics! Spend some time reading the
textbook and learning the form and style of the example solutions and proofs of theorems.
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