Welcome to the Mathematics
Department
Who am I ?
Dr Paul Glaister
Director of Teaching and Learning
Studying
Mathematics at
Reading
- the
essential A-Z guide
Disclaimer
This is an informal guide for the convenience of students.
Formal Ordinances and Regulations are given in the
University Calendar and in the Programme Specification;
should there be, or appear to be, any conflict between
statements in this guide and the full Ordinances,
Regulations and Programme Specifications, the latter shall
prevail.
Although the information in this guide is accurate at the time
of publication, aspects of the programme and of School
practice may be subject to modification and revision.
Information provided by the School in the course of the
year should be regarded, where appropriate, as superseding
the information in this guide.
A is for MA11A
Introduction to Analysis
For the Autumn Term only :
 Mondays at 2 pm, Chemistry Lecture 2
and Fridays at 2 pm, FURS Small Lecture
Theatre
 Dr T W Hilberdink
B is for MA11B
Calculus and Applications
For the Autumn Term only :
 Mondays at 3 pm, Chemistry Lecture
Theatre 2 and Wednesdays at 11 am
in Physics Ditchburn Theatre
(except week 1 when this lecture
is in Meteorology GU01)
 Dr B Pelloni
C is for MA11C
Matrices, Vectors and Applications
For the Autumn Term only :
 Wednesdays at 9am in Chemistry Lecture
Theatre 2 and Fridays at 12 noon in Physics
Ditchburn Theatre
 Dr P Glaister and Ms J V Morgan
D is for MA11D
Introduction to Algebra
For the Autumn Term only :
 Mondays at 5 pm, Chemistry Lecture
Theatre 2 and Thursdays at 4 pm, Chemistry
Lecture Theatre 2
 Dr G D Williams
E is for E-mail (Communication)
The main ways that staff will contact you
are
 e-mail – check this every 24 hours
 the pigeon holes in the Common Room,
Room 112 in the Mathematics Department
 the notice board in the Common Room
 lectures and tutorials
 the internal mail system
F is for Facts (books)
You are advised to purchase the following
recommended texts
 MA11B,C : Mathematical Techniques
(publ:OUP) by D W Jordan and P Smith
 MA11A : Mathematical Analysis and Proof
(publ:Albion) by D S G Stirling
G is for Getting through
You will be assessed on each of your modules
MA11A,MA11B,MA11C and MA11D as follows
 3 hour examination in May/June contributing 80%
 module tests and/or assignments contributing 20%
You will proceed to Part 2 if you
 pass Part 1 by obtaining at least 30% in each module and
achieving an average over all Part 1 modules of at least
40%
and
 fulfil the requirements of your choice of programme, e.g.
for Mathematics (BSc or MMath) an average over modules
MA11A,MA11B,MA11C and MA11D of at least 40%
H is for Help (Drop-in surgery)
This facility is available for ‘A’ level
support
 who ? - anyone taking MA11A,B,C or D
 when ? -Tuesdays 9:30-11:30 am this term
 where ? - Palmer Building: Room 101 (until 11),
Room G03 (after 11)
 what ? - help is available from a member of staff on
specific problems of an ‘A’ level nature
 why ? - variation in background of students
I is for Information Technology
 IT Services provide general
access to facilities, e.g. WWW,
e-mail
 If you are not already familiar
with a word processing
language we strongly advise
you to learn Microsoft WORD
(preferably with the equation
editor). Details of courses are
available from IT Services
 Above all, don’t be frightened
to use the computing facilities
J is for Juggling your
commitments
You will need to strike
a balance between
your various
activities, but
academic work must
come first
K is for Key publications
You will find the following sources
valuable during your time at Reading





Departmental Handbook
Programme Handbook for Part 1
Guide for Undergraduate Students
Guide to Examinations (sent to you in March)
Timetable - available from Room 204, Mathematics, with
updates posted on the Notice Board in the Common Room
L is for Learning (part 1)
 the content and way mathematics is taught at university
can be very different from school and college, so it is
particularly important for you to plan carefully how you
will study
 there is a greater responsibility on you to monitor your
own learning than perhaps you have been used to
 most teaching is in lectures: guided by the lecturer it is
your responsibility to read your notes, determine to
understand them and verify your understanding by
practising the techniques on examples
L is for Learning (part 2)
 examples may form the basis for discussion at tutorials,
and you will be required to hand in a number of your
solutions each week for marking
 the responsibility to ensure that you have studied your
notes enough and practised enough examples to understand
everything will be yours
M is for MMath
 MMath is a four year programme
 MMath and BSc are identical for Parts 1 and 2, i.e. until
October of year 3
 permission for transfer to MMath from BSc is granted by
the Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr P Glaister, for
those students whom, in his opinion, would benefit from a
four year programme
 if you are interested in the MMath then have a chat with
your tutor in the first instance - a good time to request a
transfer is after your Part 1 results in the Summer Term
N is for Not always
plain sailing
Most students progress through their
programme with few problems
If you are experiencing academic,
personal or financial difficulties then it is
important to seek help early on by
talking to your tutor
O is for Out in the
big wide world
You should make good use of the Careers
Advisory Service which offers
 consultations with staff without appointment 10.30-16.30




(term times) and 11.00-16.00 (outside term times)
programme of events each term, e.g. interview technique,
completing application forms
vacancy lists, including vacation work
employer presentations
Job Shop
P is for Personal Tutor
Each student at Reading has a tutor
whose main responsibilities are:
 Initially to help you in the transition as you settle in to
university, and to help you make the most of your time at
Reading;
 To advise and support you in your studies, and help you
with any academic or personal difficulties that may affect
your progress;
 To support you in developing your
Personal and Academic Record
(PAR);
 To provide reports and references
for future academic or career choices.
Q is for Quality
One of the ways that we monitor our modules and
programmes is by having elected student
representatives from each year who are members of
 Staff-Student Committee
 Module Evaluation Committee
Each of these meets once per term, the former to
discuss current issues, and the latter to discuss
feedback at the end of modules
R is for Registration
 You should see your tutor at least once a term (as a
bare minimum), and also in the middle of the term
for your PAR interview
 From now on you should sign the attendance list
at the beginning of each term in the Common
Room, Room 112 in the Mathematics Department
 At the end of the Summer Terms (or the beginning
of the Autumn Terms) in each year you need to see
your programme adviser to select your modules
S is for Sport
For those so inclined, there
are many opportunities
to take part in the
sporting activities on
offer at Reading
T is for Tutorial support
The weekly tutorial arrangements for your modules are
as follows
 MA11A,D - one hour practical class for each subject
 MA11B,C - one hour tutorial with an instructor + one
office hour when the instructor is available
plus
 Drop-in surgery for ‘A’ level support, Tuesdays 9:3011:30 am, Palmer Building:
Rooms 101 (until 11) and G03 (after 11)
Tutorial arrangements will be made in week 2 - keep a look
out on the Notice Board in the Common Room. Note that
each week you only attend one hour for MA11A and one
hour for MA11D - you will be told which ones to attend
U is for Using your
time wisely (part 1)
 Organise your time - decide where and when you work
best and then stick to that pattern
 Lectures - always read through your notes after each
lecture and make sure you can understand them. If there
are any problems ask your lecturer or instructor. You
should also try to read through the notes of the previous
lecture immediately before the next one as this will help
you refresh your memory of the material
 Tutorials and practical classes - these are to aid your
understanding, so it is important that you have read your
lecture notes, attempted the relevant work, and that you
come prepared with questions
U is for Using your
time wisely (part 2)
 Exercises - to understand mathematical ideas it is essential
to do exercises and practise techniques
 Library - the library is a valuable resource with many
undergraduate text books. Lecturers may suggest suitable
books - you should find the one whose explanations and
style are most helpful to you
 Working together - when you are working through the
lecture notes it is often helpful to talk over the material
with other members of the class. By talking together about
the material you will help each other to understand the
module better and you will often be able to resolve
misconceptions. Of course, any work that you hand in
should be your own
V is for Valuable resources
You should make full
use of the valuable
resources on offer,
including
 the IT facilities
 the library
 your tutor
 the staff
 the parkland
W is for the World Wide Web
The URL for some useful Reading pages :
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Maths/
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Library/
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/ITS/
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Careers/
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/InfOff/studlife.html
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/UnivRead/vr/FacSci/
X is for Xtra curricula
activities
There are many clubs
and societies at the
University. We
encourage you to
continue with
interests that you
already have, and
maybe to get
involved with some
new ones
Y is for Your weekly work
Most module lecturers will set work on a weekly basis,
usually in the form of a problem sheet. You should
deliver your solutions to your Instructor’s office (for
MA11B,C), or to the appropriate basket outside Room
212, Mathematics (for MA11A,D)
Completion of the work set is not only important for
your learning, but also in borderline pass/fail cases
where the frequency and quality of your work is
taken into account
Z is for
zzzzzz……………
Do you need help with a topic
from ‘A’ level Maths ?
Are you taking modules
MA11A,B,C or D ?
If you answer YES to both of these questions then read on.
Throughout this term a drop-in surgery will
be taking place on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30 am
in the Palmer Building:
Room 101 (until 11) and G03 (after 11).
So, if you find differentiation difficult, trigonometry tricky,
integration impossible, or just have a quick query, please drop-in.
D is for Development
Developing skills that can be used in other contexts - such as the ability to
solve problems, communicate well, learn quickly, organise your time are called transferable skills and these will be of particular interest to
potential employers who will be concerned with the overall
contribution you can make to their organisation. If you can convince
an employer that you can work well within a team, solve problems,
organise, innovate, adapt, and so forth, you will outshine your
competitors in the job market. Skills which you should pay particular
attention to are :
 Communication (written and oral)
 Problem-solving and Team Working
 Use of Information Technology
 Business awareness and Information Handling
 Numeracy !!