Term paper, final version
Term paper, final version
Complete the final version of your term paper.
Assignment
Complete the final version of your term paper. Use LaTeX and make a PDF. Upload your PDF to Canvas.
Requirements
- Please read the feedback on the first and second drafts of your term paper. Please read the advice at the bottom of this web page.
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Your paper should be complete.
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Formatting your bibliography:
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AMS Citation Style (just the basics)
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Use LaTeX to produce a PDF with reasonable formatting, similar to homework.
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Readability: Please use reasonable margins (at least 1 inch), a 12-point option such as
\documentclass[12pt]{amsart}, and\linespread{2.4}to produce something like double-spaced lines. -
LaTeX Environments: Please use LaTeX environments such as
\begin{theorem}...\end{theorem},proof, etc. See for example Overleaf’s tutorial on theorems and proofs.
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Advice
You might like to review advice that was included in earlier term paper assignments. Two more pieces of advice to share are:
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Telling an interesting story is more important than trying to capture the most up-to-date, cutting edge research. This is a term paper assignment, not a research project. You should identify a math idea that you are able to explain in an interesting way, even if there are more recent, stronger results. Usually, the best, most cutting-edge research results are highly technical. Even if they are understandable, they are usually written in research papers, for a research audience–not students. For this term paper assignment, there is no expectation for you to work through cutting-edge, technical research work. The expectation is for you to find a topic that you can explain in an interesting way. That might involve an earlier, weaker, simpler theorem.
Of course, if you’re able to absorb and explain a research result, that’s great. Just be aware, before you commit to that, that it’s not the expectation for this term paper.
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Think about the target audience for your paper. Write your paper to a specific, concrete target reader. Your target reader might be a composite person (“a typical peer student in this class”, “a typical first-year math major”) or might be a specific actual person you know. As you write your paper, imagine that you are communicating with that target reader. Which parts of your paper will you need to explain, or skip over? Which parts do they already know?
To oversimplify a bit, mathematical knowledge has a threshold or cutoff: your target reader should know everything “before” some point, although you might want to include some reminders of some details. Imagining a concrete, specific target reader is supposed to help you sense where that threshold might be. Reality is more complicated than that, but for the purpose of writing, this will at least give you somewhere to start. If you were telling your target reader about this term paper topic, use your imagination to tell at what points you would have to slow down and explain, or remind them of something; or skip over things that they already know.
What kinds of examples or applications will your reader be interested in? What will motivate them to read your paper? How quickly or slowly should you move through the paper, to keep them interested without getting bored (too slow) or confused (too quick)?
Resources
The Writing Center can help you write, edit, and complete your term paper, including the bibliography. I strongly encourage you to work with the Writing Center, and also to work together with other students in the class, as you complete your term paper.