This Mth 109 final essay will be written in class during the last class period.

You have this entire semester's course experience to reflect on as you phrase your opinions on the two questions above. Demonstrate that you have "been touched by" or "personally wrestled with" certain mathematical issues during this course.

What have you learned about mathematics and mathematicians this semester? How does mathematical knowledge emerge? Where? Is there only one way? Why has it developed? Is there only one reason?

How many different types of mathematics are there? Is mathematics an isolated discipline, or does it have connections to other branches of study? What aspect of mathematics surprised you the most?

These are just a few of the topics you might use for the focus of your essay. Write your paper as if it were an editorial about mathematics that will appear in the Gleaner. Narrow your focus to one or two topics. Choose topics form those mentioned above or others of interest to you. Provide specific examples to illustrate your viewpoints. Quotes from a mathematician or from one of the articles that you have read should be used to support your ideas. Remember, the essay is not intended to be a summary or listing of everything we studied.

You should bring brief notes or an outline for the essay with you to class. Do not write the essay ahead of time and bring it with you to copy. You will hand in your notes or outline with your essay. You are required to include two direct quotes which support your position. They should come from the articles that you have read this semester. These quotes should be properly referenced and can be copied directly from your note page. See your professor if you have any questions about preparing to write this essay .