Math 396
Communications in Math
Fall 2012 Schedule

August 29 class activities
Exercise on public speaking: introduce yourself.
Calclab orientation.
Discussion about writing a résumé. Notice that the Career Center makes available résumé templates, samples, and guides. Moreover, the Career Center has scheduled workshops about writing résumés (on September 4 and 5) in advance of the Sciences Career Fair (which takes place on September 13).
Assignment due at the beginning of class on September 5
Choose a topic for the technical paper. See the guidelines.
Upload your résumé using the turnitin tool inside eLearning. Bring to class a hardcopy printout as a backup. Here is a grading guideline:
  • focused, concise, and appealing objective (2 points)
  • relevant education, work experience, and activities, listed in reverse chronological order (2 points)
  • effective description of skills and accomplishments, using action verbs (2 points)
  • good mechanics and formatting: correct grammar, absence of typographical errors, consistent style, attractive layout (2 points)
  • overall impression (2 points)
September 5 class activities
Introduction to LaTeX.
As a TAMU student, you can access an electronic copy of a standard reference book, More Math into LaTeX, fourth edition, by George A. Grätzer. Point your browser to https://catalog.library.tamu.edu, run a title search on the string “More math into LaTeX”, and click on “Connect to the full text of this electronic book”. (If you are outside of the campus network, then you will be prompted for your NetID and password.)
Some other sources of information on LaTeX are The (Not So) Short Introduction to LaTeX2e by Tobias Oetiker et al., a set of tutorials by Andy Roberts, the Wikipedia article, and your favorite search engine.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on September 12

A sample LaTeX document: upload your compiled pdf file using the turnitin tool inside eLearning. (You need not submit the LaTeX source file. But if you would like my feedback on your LaTeX code, you may email the source file to me.)

The task (which we started in class on September 5) is to write a paragraph about your favorite mathematics class that you have taken. Then look up a source about the topic of that class on the web (for instance, at Wolfram MathWorld or the Wikipedia Mathematics Portal) and reproduce a couple of paragraphs of that source including some mathematical formulas.

There are two goals for this assignment. One goal is to warm up to the idea of writing in a mathematics class. The other goal is to get some initial experience with LaTeX, so that when you later write your technical paper, you can concentrate on the content rather than on computer issues. Here is a grading guideline: interesting, engaging, well-written paragraph about a previous mathematics class (5 points); correct, consistent, clean formatting of mathematics using LaTeX (5 points).

Some remarks about working with LaTeX: In class, we used the editor kile, which is a convenient environment in the Linux world (it can be installed too under Windows or Mac OS). You can, however, write your source file in any editor. (Personally, I most often use emacs.)

You need not be physically in a Calclab room to work on LaTeX projects. First of all, you can access the Calclab machines remotely from any of the university Open Access Labs. Alternatively, you can login remotely to Calclab from your own computer (if you are willing to download and install a free NX client). The ultimate in convenience is to install a LaTeX system on your own computer: well-regarded (and free!) options are MiKTeX for Windows, MacTeX for the Mac, and Tex Live for Linux (also Windows).

September 12 class activities
Discussion on interview techniques.
The Career Center has a section about interviewing (you need to log in with your NetID).
September 12 after-class activities
The Career Center is hosting a “mix and mingle” event to meet recruiters and former Science students, 5:00–6:30pm in Koldus 209.
The Math Club is hosting a panel discussion with employers and former Mathematics students, 7:00–8:30pm in Blocker 166. Refreshments will be provided.
Tomorrow, September 13, is the Sciences Career Fair in the MSC, 10:00am–3:00pm.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on September 19
A preliminary list of references for your technical paper: at least one each of a website, a hard copy book, and a journal article. Please post your list using the discussion tool inside eLearning.
September 19 class activities
Discussion on technical writing: how does the audience matter?
Two helpful sources are a page at the TAMU Writing Center and a page at the UNC Writing Center.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on September 26
Turn in first draft of technical paper in LaTeX.
Remarks: Andrew Roberts has a tutorial on structuring a LaTeX document that includes pointers about constructing the bibliography, and he has posted the source file of a sample document. If you would like to see a full-blown real document, look at the source file of my article Julius and Julia: Mastering the art of the Schwarz lemma as it appears in the arXiv. (The published paper has a different format because the journal imposes its house style.)
Formatting the bibliography is an inherently complicated task. First of all, there are many styles for bibliographies, as you can see from the links at the University Writing Center and the guide at the university library. The fundamental principle is to be consistent in whatever style you choose. The second issue is how to implement your bibliography style in LaTeX. From the sample files just mentioned, you should be able to see how to use LaTeX's “thebibliography” environment. (If you were writing a document with many references, then you might want to learn about bibliography-database tools such as BibTeX, but there is no need for such powerful tools if the bibliography is short.)
Here is a grading guideline.
  • Content (2 points): topic is developed with an appropriate level of detail, ideas are explained well, the mathematics is sound.
  • Organization (2 points): there is a clear structure with an interesting introduction, a structured body, and a satisfying conclusion.
  • Audience (2 points): exposition is appropriate for an audience of peers.
  • References (2 points, 1 of which you have already earned for the preliminary list submitted last week): sources are documented and cited according to some consistent scheme.
  • Mechanics (2 points): standard LaTeX formatting of author, title, bibliography, and mathematical formulas; correct grammar and punctuation.
September 26 class activities
Discussion on making effective presentations.
The PowerPoint slides from the consultant's talk are available at the University Writing Center website. Notice that the slides do not display quite right on the Calclab computers (apparently because LibreOffice does not fully support .pptx files; the older .ppt format is safer).
Assignment due at the beginning of class on October 3
Research a company and prepare for a job interview with that company.
Aylor, Elizabeth S., Emily, Kala, and Sarah volunteered to do their mock interviews today. The rest of the class can dress normally but should be prepared to be a good audience and to offer constructive comments.
October 3 class activities
Mock job interviews
The interviewer was Professor Peter Howard.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on October 10
Sarah (held over from last time), Ian, Ashley, Michelle, and Charlie volunteered to do their mock interviews today. The rest of the class can dress normally but should be prepared to be a good audience and to offer constructive comments.
October 10 class activities
Mock job interviews
The interviewer was Professor Maurice Rojas.
The Career Center has available a web-based tool to do your own private practice interview.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on October 17
Turn in final draft of technical paper.
October 17 class activities
Mock job interviews
Today's interviewees are Steven, Kat, Sarah B., Elizabeth B., and Kelly. The interviewer is Senior Lecturer Jill Zarestky.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on October 24
Turn in draft slides for your presentation of the technical paper.
You should take into account that your oral presentation likely will not cover everything in your technical paper, since the oral presentation will be between five and ten minutes long. Also remember that the slides are visual aids, but they are not the presentation: you are the focus of the presentation.
While preparing your slides and your presentation, you might like to consult some of the following resources.
October 24 class activities
Mock job interviews
Today's interviewees are Austin, Shamah, Jennifer, Devin, and Sam. The interviewer is Lecturer Jean Marie Linhart.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on October 31
If you are not presenting, then be prepared to be a good audience member and to offer constructive comments.
October 31 class activities
Kala, Emily, Ashley, Charlie, and Kelly will present their technical papers.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on November 7
If you are not presenting, then be prepared to be a good audience member and to offer constructive comments.
Notice that registration for the Department of Mathematics Derivative Bee closes at 5:00 this afternoon. The event itself takes place 6:00–8:00 tomorrow evening (November 8) in Blocker 149.
November 7 class activities
Emily (held over from last time), Elizabeth B., Michelle, Aylor, and Elizabeth S. present their technical papers today.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on November 14
Turn in first draft of two-page expository paper in LaTeX. See the guidelines.
November 14 class activities
Steven, Ian, Jennifer, Sarah R., and Samuel present their technical papers today.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on November 21
If you are not presenting, then be prepared to be a good audience member and to offer constructive comments.
November 21 class activities
Everyone who has not presented yet should be prepared to present today.
Assignment due at the beginning of class on November 28
Turn in final draft of two-page expository paper in LaTeX.
November 28 class activities
Reflection, evaluation, and exhortation.