PAST AND FUTURE HANDWRITTEN HOMEWORKS

#1) The reader recently confirmed my impression that there was a definite improvement in the handwritten set turned in after the first was returned graded in harmony with the instructions:

"There will typically be one problem to be written out by hand. These problems are to be carefully written out. They will typically require some descriptive text. Sentences should have subjects and verbs and make understandable statements. Variables used should be named when appropriate. E.g., "Let x denote the distance of the ball from the ground." Math sentences should be punctuated correctly (e.g, f(x is not ok), and all reasoning, whether verbal or mathematical, should be clearly presented. The reader will grade these aspects of the problem. You will already have confirmation of your math from WebWork or answers in the text."

These instructions were supplemented in an email of 30 January:

"In doing these problems, make your paper self-contained; it should contain the problem statement."

Here is another way to summarize their intent:

"Write this problem so that if you give it to a person who is either in or has completed Math 3C, that person can read what you wrote and follow it without undue pain and without reference to your text or the source of the problem. Moreover, make sure an English major would not criticize your sentences."

#2) However, quite a few people are still not following these instructions.

#3) Moreover, quite a few people are not writing up these problems.

#4) The reader, who impresses me very well, remarked "I never had to write anything like this in math before I got to Math 8. It would have been great to have this sort of training in advance of Math 8. It was a shock to try and explain things clearly all of a sudden."

#5) Communication is important in every field. It is a general goal of the University of California, systemwide, to train students to write and communicate better. Employers bemoan the inability of UC grads to write reasoned documents and, in general, to express themselves. All departments on all campuses should address this issue.

#6) Thanks to Webwork, we have this modest opportunity to help you develop your ability to communicate mathematics. If you work at this, over time you will find that the very way you think about mathematics will be affected. It requires a different point of view, a different involvement in what you are doing than merely trying to "get the answer".

#7) Maybe you don't care about developing your abilities, you only care about points. To take care of this view you may have, I will have the last set graded this way assigned about 2 BAZILLION points. If you do not follow the instructions above on this last set, you will miss one sizable bunch of points. Moreover, if you do not have the feedback from previous sets, you will be lost. The goal from the beginning was to help you develop some elementary skills, so the final handwritten assignment represents the "final exam" on this portion of our course.

#8) My advice, in view of all of the above, is that you do indeed attempt the remaining handwritten problems, and that you devote a serious amount of effort to the task.