Final Paper Project Assignment Guidelines
What is it?
A paper of roughly ten pages, on a subject relevant to the course.
What kind of subject?
Preferably something you want to learn about, not something you know everything about now. You should spend some time figuring out what it is all about. And then write.
What sort of paper?
Imagine you were to lecture to reasonably intelligent people about the subject. The paper can read like detailed notes on what you would say. Or it could be your paraphrase of some interesting or important theorem or method.
Will this take ten pages?
If you give definitions and examples and details, anything can take ten pages.
What do I do?
Here are the basic steps, and guidelines as to when to do them:
Steps and guidelines.| # | STEPS | DEADLINE |
|---|
| 1 | Choose a topic. This is the hardest step. Please choose one different from that chosen by anyone else in the class. To do this probably means letting someone (unfortunately probably me) know what you have chosen. Pick something you expect to interest you, but as noted already, you do not know everything about. | Ses #13 |
| 2 | Learn everything you can about the topic. Read papers and books, consult the internet, etc. While doing so, formulate a notion of what you want to write. | |
| 3 | Construct an outline of your paper and a first draft. | Ses #21 |
| 4 | Complete and submit your completed paper. | Ses #26 |
| 5 | [Paper will be reviewed and criticized unmercifully.] | |
| 6 | Revise paper following criticisms and submit final revised paper. | Ses #39 |
As an alternative...
Instead of a long, 10-page paper as described above, you can write up the details of each of your class presentations for a total of 10 pages over the semester. Hand these in as you complete them for mid-semester feedback and revisions.
Student Projects
These projects are courtesy of the students named, and used with permission.
Student project files.| TOPICS | AUTHORS |
|---|
| Tricolorability of knots (PDF - 1.0 MB) | Kayla Jacobs |
| Integration: The Feynman way (PDF) | Anonymous |
| Random walks and eventual returns (PDF) | The Anonymous Heroes of Mathematics |
Fundamental methods of numerical extrapolation with applications (PDF) | Eric Liu |
| The RSA cryptosystem (PDF) | Sylvia Robles |
| Surreal numbers (PDF) | Paul Chou |
| Compression algorithms (PDF) | Xing Yuan |
| Mathematical fallacy proofs (PDF) | Xing Yuan |