Math Phase Two Paper Home Page
Overview
To graduate from MIT, all regular students who entered by the fall of
1999 must complete two writing requirements:
Phase One and Phase Two. For more information on these
requirements, see The
MIT Writing Requirement. Many math students write a paper to satisfy the
Phase Two requirement (see Writing a Math Phase
Two Paper). The paper must be accepted by the Phase
Two Coordinator by registration day of the semester the student
plans to graduate.
However, students must submit their first drafts early
to allow time for several revisions, as described below.
The procedure for submitting the paper is as follows.
The student submits the paper
to the Coordinator, who reads it to evaluate the quality of the
writing. The Coordinator then meets with the department's
Writing TA to discuss the paper. One or the other contacts the
student and sets up an initial appointment to discuss the areas
of the paper that need revision. The student revises the
paper as often as deemed necessary by the TA or the Coordinator,
and then resubmits the paper to the Coordinator for final approval.
before the start of the semester in which the student plans to
graduate.
Students who fail to complete the Phase II paper in time must
file a petition with the Writing Requirement
Office to take one of the approved
writing courses in the Spring term.
For the year 2004-2005
The Phase II Coordinator is Professor
Steven Kleiman. His office is 2-278 and his e-mail address is kleiman@math.mit.edu. Feel free
to email him with any and all questions.
The absolute deadline for students who intend to graduate in June 2005 is
January 31, 2005.
For students wishing to graduate in June 2005, the deadline for
submitting first drafts is January 3, 2005.
Papers first received after this date may not make it through the
revision process in time.
Useful Resources
-
Writing a Math Phase Two Paper. This paper is a primer on
mathematical writing, especially the writing of a short math paper. This
paper is intended to be a model of the format, language, and style of such
a paper. First, it reviews the general purpose of the MIT writing
requirement and the specific way it must be completed for the math department.
Then it explains how to write a short math paper: the organization into
sections, the use of language, and the presentation of mathematics.
Finally, it gives an example of mathematical writing.
- Checklist. This Checklist is
an index to the primer above. Use this Checklist to find material
in the primer and as a checklist of points to consider. Before
a student submits their Phase Two paper to the Coordinator for the
first time, he or she
should go through the Checklist. It helps highlight the conventions
stated in the primer on what belongs and what does not belong in
a short math paper. Failure to adhere to these guidelines is the
most common reason why a paper is not accepted.
- Writing a Math Phase Two Paper with Latex.
This document explains how to use a Latex style file
to produce papers
in the same format and style as the paper "Writing a Math Phase Two
Paper" referred to above.
- The MIT
Writing Requirement. This web page gives an Institute-wide
overview of the program. Look here for more information about
deadlines, Phase One, petitions, and writing courses.
- Writing
Resources on the World Wide Web. A collection of links you
may find interesting or useful.
In case any of the advice given here contradicts that given in
Writing a Math Phase Two Paper, it is
preferable to follow the latter.
- Writing Guidelines
for Engineering and Science Students. Originally set up
as The Craft of
Scientific Writing: A WWW Companion Guide by Michael Alley.
Among other things, it has lots of
exercises that help reinforce the rules of grammar and punctuation
expounded in the Alley's book cited in the first reference above.
-
The
not so Short Introduction to LaTeX2e or LaTeX2e in 92 minutes
by Tobias Oetiker is a good starter for those of you who don't know LaTeX
and a useful reference for the others. Keep it in your directory and
read it online to save paper and use the full potential of Acrobat Reader.
On the TeX Users Group Home Page web page
you will find links to TeX and LaTeX manuals and free implementations
for all systems. For those who prefer to consult a book, we suggest
you find The LaTeX Companion written by Goossens, Mittelbach
and Samarin.
-
Undergraduate Journal of Mathematics
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Last modified: 8 February 2005, by kleiman@math.mit.edu.