The main purpose of Math 400 is for you to work on your "comps project" (paper & presentation). Your paper will be due at the end of fall semester. Your presentation will be during spring semester.
Grading and deadlines: At the end of fall semester, you will receive a CIP (Course In Progress) for your grade. Then, at the end of spring semester, you will receive a letter grade. Your grade will be determined as follows: first draft of comps paper (10%, F 10/12), final draft (60%, M 12/3), comps presentation (30%). Penalty for turning in work n days late will be 2^(n-1) percentage points; e.g., if the final draft is 4 days late, it will count as 60 - 2^3 = 52% of the grade.
Comps paper: The paper should preferably be at most 15 pages long, double-spaced, and, if possible, have only one (main) source. We are not putting a strict lower limit on the number of pages, in order to emphasize that it is quality, not quantity, that matters most. Your paper should have substantial mathematical content that you have not seen previously (i.e., we want you to learn mathematics that is new to you) and is at an upper-division level. Your mathematical writing should be precise and rigorous; and it should be explained clearly and with enough detail so that a mathematician not familiar with the topic will be able to follow it.
Attendance: You are responsible for everything that goes on in every class meeting (such as announcements). This means even if you miss a class for a valid reason, it is your responsibility to contact me and find out what you missed.
E-mail: When necessary, I will make announcements via the class mailing list, instead of in the classroom. You are expected to check your email at least once a day. You are encouraged to use our class email list, math400-L@oxy.edu, to send messages to everyone in the class.
Academic Honesty: I feel strongly about protecting honest and hard-working students against unfair and dishonest actions sometimes committed by a few. I don't give warnings; I refer all suspicious cases to the Judicial Examiner without hesitation.
Students with learning disability: Please see me and the CAE to arrange for any special needs.