Communicating Mathematics through Homework

Learning mathematics involves learning how to communicate your ideas effectively. As a student, much of this communication will be in the form of homework. Therefore, so that you may receive meaningful and worthwhile feedback, it is important that you put your homework in an easy to read, easy to navigate format. How you present your work should enhance the ideas you are trying to communicate, not impede them. The following are suggestions for submitting homework in a mathematics course.

Ø Your handwriting should be legible

Ø Homework with multiple pages should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner.

Ø In the upper right-hand corner you should write

o Your name

o Due date of the homework

Ø Problems should be clearly labeled and numbered on the left side of the page. There should also be a visible separation between problems.

Ø Each solution should begin with the original problem statement (unless the problem is a word problem).

Ø Some classes allow you to work jointly on assignments. You should write up your solutions by yourself, unless you are specifically told otherwise by your professor.

EASY TO READ HOMEWORK FORMAT

Name

Date

Section 3.1, page 87-88, Problems 2, 5, 7

2 [Problem here]

[Neatly written solution]

5 [Problem here]

[Neatly written solution]

7 [Problem]

[Neatly written solution]

Adapted from:

Communicating Mathematics through Homework. (2007, January). Focus, 27, 15.