Assignment: Write a personal response (minimum 500 words) to a book on a mathematical topic.

What’s a “Book on a Mathematical Topic”?
Do not use a textbook as your subject! I’m thinking here of books about mathematics and
mathematicians. The Alberta College library has a decent selection of these sorts of books. There is a list of
suggestions on Blackboard, but feel free to explore others as well. If you’re not sure whether your selection
is appropriate, please ask. Note that books on numerology are almost certainly not acceptable.
Marking Scheme: the essay will be marked out of a possible twenty marks as follows:
Form: 5 marks. This covers questions of neatness, presentation, grammar, spelling, organization, and so
on.
Content: 15 marks, assigned roughly as follows:
• 5 marks: You’ve addressed the topic
• 10 marks: I can tell that the book made you think
• 15 marks: You make me think
The essay is worth 2% marks as a bonus, on top of all assignments and tests, including the final exam.
Remember that I know what a spelling mistake spelling mistake is. I’m expecting an essay that’s both well
written and thought-provoking.
Note: Submission of plagiarized work will result in a 2% penalty being applied to your overall mark.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. If you want to use other people’s works, make sure you cite them
properly. And make sure you include some of your own ideas. If you don’t understand this paragraph,
please don’t attempt this assignment.
Suggestions/Hints: Talk about why you chose the book you chose. What attracted you to it? What is the
book about? Is it well-written? How did reading it change your understanding of mathematics?