Guidelines for homework


Most problems will have solutions that can be expressed pretty compactly once you've really understood what you're doing. (I will warn you of exceptions.)
Fair warning: I won't grade solutions that are excessively long, circuitous, or hard to decipher. Do not try to talk problems to death.
Writing clearly/precisely/efficiently is not easy but is an important part of mathematics. Your first version of a solution will rarely be the best you can do, and you should regard rewriting as part of the process. Of course this is much more painful if you don't use TeX.

Format

  • Please include a cover page with your name and a table with one row for each part of each problem and three columns. The first column lists all problems in the assigned order (not just those you did); the second gives the number(s) of the page(s) where your solution appears, or says ``not done'' if that's the case; the third is for scores and should be left blank.
  • Submissions in TeX (font at least 11) are strongly preferred and become mandatory if I have any trouble with your handwriting.

    Collaboration etc.

    You'll understand the material better if you solve the problems yourself; merely understanding solutions doesn't convey nearly the same benefit (just as listening to the lectures is no substitute for doing the problems). On the other hand, discussing ideas can certainly be helpful, especially once you've spent enough time with a problem to feel you've understood its difficulties. You're always welcome to discuss a problem with me, with the understanding that I'll usually do my best to provide some guidance without essentially telling you how to do it.
  • Even if you arrive at a solution collaboratively, your writeup should be your own (based on your understanding of the solution, not on someone else's writeup or something else you've read).
  • Solutions to problems can often be found in the books on reserve or elsewhere. I'm not forbidding this but, again, you don't do yourself much good by looking up solutions.
  • Any outside input (discussions, hints, other sources ...) should be acknowledged following your write-up of a problem.