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The
intent of the written report of a mathematics investigation is to communicate
what question or problem you investigated, what mathematics you used,
and what results were obtained or what conclusions were reached. There
are many different kinds of math projects that can be undertaken including
explorations, historical developments, topic surveys, etc., and it is
difficult to stipulate a format that would be appropriate in every case.
What follows is a kind of generic, recommended format for a mathematics
project, with the understanding that not all submitted mathematics, statistics,
or computer science projects will fit these guidelines exactly. Judges
in these area categories will be instructed to adapt these guidelines
as appropriate.
- Statement
of the problem
- Background/Introduction
to the situation/research
- Definitions
of variables and statements of assumptions and theorems used
- Mathematics
content: a detailed development of the mathematical analysis that logically,
in depth, shows evidence of real effort, and includes calculations,
tables, charts or drawings
- Limitations
of the study, and questions for further study, including which related
situations were not addressed, shortcomings of the model, or difficulties
encountered
- Conclusions
and summary
- References
and documentation, including books or journal articles that got you
interested in your topic; books or articles that you refer to in your
report; or other important source materials
- Execution,
including thoroughness, presentation, clarity, neatness
- Creativity/Appropriateness/Validity
as evidenced by originality of approach, clever use of materials, etc.
Figures and summaries of computer
work should be integrated into the narrative as appropriate, with actual
computer work such as tables, charts, graphs, or the program source code
either inserted into the narrative or attached as appendices. Any essential
computer work should be accompanied by a disk containing the relevant files.
Label the disk as to whether it is IBM or Macintosh formatted and indicate
the file names. The
McGraw-Hill College Handbook provides advice and references on technical
writing.
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