Homework Guidelines

Guidelines for Written Assignments

Please follow the guidelines below for your written assignments.

Each assignment should be stapled and clearly labeled with your name, course number, and assignment number.
Please work problems in order down the page, and avoid using columns. You may use both sides of the page if you wish.
Use pencil for your work on the problems. Write neatly and legibly.
You are expected to show a reasonable amount of work and explanation. Show each step clearly (no big mystery jumps). Answers without work are not sufficient.
Make a good sketch of a graph or diagram, when applicable, using graph paper. You can either do your entire assignment on graph paper, or you can tape or paste in a piece of graph paper where it is needed. Also, use a ruler to make straight lines. Indicate pertinent features (use color), and label the scale used on the axes.
On application problems, be sure to write down what each variable represents, and clearly state the answer to the question.
Use equal signs to show equality appropriately (in other words, between two expressions that are truly equal). Marks indicating cancellation must be correct. That is, if you read an equation before the marks and after the marks, the equation should still be true.
For simplification problems, use the layout given in the following example, lining up the = signs on each line:
```
     3(x+1)-5(x+2)+8 = 3x+3-5x-10+8
```
```
                     = 3x-5x+3-10+8
```
```
                     = -2x+1
```
Do not use equal signs between items that are not really equal.
When solving equations, write each equivalent equation clearly, rather than loose expressions. Each equation should be followed on a new line by a simpler equivalent equation. I also encourage you to use the "implies" symbol => between each equation, as in the following example:
```
          2(x+3) = 7(x-2) 
```
```
     =>     2x+6 = 7x-14
```
```
     =>    2x-7x = -14-6
```
```
     =>      -5x = -20
```
```
     =>        x = 4
```
Notation: Be careful to use correct symbols, and to make them the right size (e.g., make fraction bars and radical symbols large or long enough to include all that should be included). Use horizonal fraction bars, not diagonal fraction bars. Do not use mixed numbers.
Use units throughout the problem when they apply.
Check your answer if possible, and state your answer clearly in a manner appropriate to the context.
Reflect on the problem. For example, consider whether your answer seems appropriate (not just that it is mathematically correct), and look back over your work to see what worked well or if you might have done something differently. Learn from this experience what is good and what could be better, to help you do future problems.
Rewriting your assignment: After I grade your assignment, you will have the opportunity to rewrite any problems that you missed. The rules for rewrites are:
1. You may rewrite any problem for which you did some work and some points were marked off (however, you can't rewrite a problem if you just skipped it the first time). You may receive full credit if the rewrite is well-written and correct.
2. You must rewrite the entire problem, not just the part that contained the mistake.
3. Rewrites should be written on separate pages, not on the original assignment pages. However, you must submit the old assignment along with the rewrite (otherwise, I wouldn't know what error you made the first time or how I scored the problem).
4. Rewrites are due at the same time as the written assignment for the next unit.
Homework assignments should be kept in a separate neatly organized binder. This practice will help you when you are studying for exams.