SAMPLE WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Type: Research and Thesis Paper.
Length: 3 pages minimum, 5 maximum, plus works cited page.
Required references: 3 minimum, not including class notes.
Due Date: Wednesday, 5 February
This assignment will require you to integrate three main elements:
- A discussion of the mathematical notion of infinity;
- The history of the idea of infinity (with emphasis on Georg Cantor);
- Your own thoughts about infinity.
"He was born on . . . he did such and so . . . he died on . . . his great contribution . . . etc. ad nauseam."You will, of course, want to know these things, as any of them might be relevent to your paper -- just don't make it what your paper is about.
Your primary resources for the first element – the mathematical notion of infinity – are your lecture notes, the Infinity Mini-Text, and your textbook. I would like you to demonstrate your understanding of the mathematical notion of infinity; how it is defined, how it is we are able to discuss different "sizes" of infinity, and the distinction between countable and uncountable infinities (and examples of each).
Your primary resources for the second element – historical development – are, again, lecture notes and the Infinity Mini-Text. In addition, you should examine some outside sources. I highly recommend the MacTutor History of Math site. Here you will find a wealth of information on Cantor and the importance of his work, as well as information on that work itself. Don't get hung-up over any technical discussions – just concentrate on the ideas. Remember that the notion of infinity didn't originate with Cantor, he just precipitated a major change of opinion about it. In the MacTutor site, for example, reading the Cantor section will lead you to links on other mathematicians whose ideas also were important to the history of the idea of infinity. (Can you think of one?)
The third element is the key to the whole assignment – it is your thoughts and ideas about infinity that should tie the paper together. That's the "thesis" element of this assignment. Mathematicians don't have a monopoly on infinity; philosophers, creative artists and writers, and religious thinkers – to name a few – have also devoted a great deal of time to it. Jorge Louis Borges, for example, used the idea extensively in his fiction.
SO . . . what are your ideas about infinity? This element of the assignment is completely open. That is, you may (and should) exercise your creativity and imagination in developing your thesis. The only caveat is that it must be the glue that holds the rest of the paper together. I urge you to spend some time net-surfing on this assignment. If you are persistent, you may be surprised and delighted at what you can find – and use in your paper!
BY THE WAY . . . this is the real thing. It would be a shame to write a great paper, only to have it marked down on technicalities. Make certain you check your formatting against the required format carefully before printing your final version, and proof carefully for grammar and spelling errors.
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