Each paper submitted will be classed as "mathematical" or "historical".
At least one of your two papers must be mathematical (i.e., demonstrate
independent thought, not just reporting facts from sources).
If you are a W student, at least one of your papers must exceed 1000
words (about 5 pages).
A decent historical paper should be of that magnitude anyway. A
mathematical paper should be (just) as long as it needs to be to solve the
problem.
Historical and mathematical papers will be graded by different rubrics:
Criterion
Historical
Mathematical
Choice of topic
4%
4%
Correctness and depth
20%
48%
Exposition
28%
24%
References
20%
4%
Mechanics (punctuation, etc.)
28%
20%
Don't expect perfect scores. In serious writing the threshold of
perfection is infinite.
Choice of topic:
Any "major exercise" or "project" from the textbook is allowable.
You can choose a topic from outside the book's lists, but it would be
prudent to consult me about it first.
In Ch. 1, major exercise 4 is harder than it looks. I'll accept a paper
that does 2 of the 3 parts (e.g., assumes (a) and uses it to prove (b) and
(c)).
In Ch. 2, regular exercises 14, 15, 16, and 19 are "major" in my
opinion
(hence suitable for papers).
All exercises in Ch. 7 are considered "major".
All essay topics in Ch. 8 are considered "major" (but some may also be
"historical"; consult me if you're not sure).
Your second paper should relate to Ch. 3 or later.
These major papers should be individual work. (The "Joint work"
policy is not a license to turn in a paper that is a clone of someone
else's.) Exception: Two (or more) different papers on closely related
topics that form a single project, with
a different author taking primary responsibility for each. (Example:
Exercises 5-8 of Chapter 4, pp. 202-205. Or Regular Exercise 14 and
Major Exercise 3 in Chapter 2.)