Seminar Academic Writing in Discrete Mathematics (ASQ)

Instructor: Henning Bruhn-Fujimoto with Elke Fuchs and Matthias Heinlein

how to inscribe:
Sent an email to Elke Fuchs.

when:
Heho 22 E19, Mondays 10h-12h (first half of term)

what:
Mathematical writing has the same aims as writing in general. It should inform and entertain the reader, it should raise interest in the subject matter. In the best case it should be a delight. In some aspects mathematical writing obviously differs from general writing. There are particular conventions, sometimes special language and there is the peculiar mix of writing and mathematical notation. In this seminar we will study some of these pecularities. We will treat:

  • writing/structuring proofs
  • formulating theorems, key definitions
  • structuring articles
  • writing introductions
  • mathematical language

The language of the seminar will be either German or English, whatever seems more suitable. All writing, however, will be in English. All examples will come from discrete mathematics, which means that a certain background in graph theory and/or combinatorial optimisation will be required.

format:
For the first half of the term we will meet weekly and analyse different pieces of mathematical writing. In the second half you will do writing exercises. This might be rewriting a proof or rewriting an introduction.