3. Tools for Writing Papers

Pre-Lab Activity:

  1. Choose between Microsoft Word or Google Docs for the research described below.

  2. For each of the following topics, do a web search to find a tutorial for that topic, going through tutorials until you are reasonably confident that you can create it.

    1. Table of Contents

    2. Footnotes

    3. Page Numbering

    4. Bibliography (endnotes)
      (In Google Docs for endnotes you have to type in the text at the end in a numbered list, create a bookmark next to each item, and then make a link to the bookmark from within the body of the text. Here is a helpful link on how to use and link to bookmarks.)

For instance for the table of contents topic you could do the following search:

"table of contents" word tutorial site:*.edu

where the quotes around "table of contents" mean the entire phrase must be present, and the site command restricts the results to the educational (.edu) domain.

The remainder of the activity shown below will be done during lab.

Introduction

This lab will cover the basics of word processing, using either Microsoft Word or Google Docs. After successful completion of this lab, you should be able to write a paper using the built-in tools to create a table of contents, footnotes, page numbering, and a bibliography (endnotes).

The Zoom Room link for each lab is given here: 11 am, 12pm, 1pm

Lab Activity

You will be working with a lab partner or group. Agree whether together you will be using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Make a copy of and modify the text shown at the bottom of this page so that it meets the grading rubric requirements shown below and ends up looking like this pdf through use of Microsoft Word or Google docs tools.

Submitting your Work

  1. Be sure all partner's names are on the document, though only one of you will submit it.

  2. Submit your document as a file attachment using the essays google form, calling the essay topic Fake Lab 11 (for the 11 am lab) or Fake Lab 12 (for the 12 noon lab), or Fake Lab 1 (for the 1 pm lab).

Grading Rubric:

This lab activity is due at the end of your lab session.

0 points: No progress made.
1 point: Document has title page, footnotes, and Bibliography (endnotes).
2 points: Document has title page, footnotes, and Bibliography (endnotes). Document has table of contents and page numbers on all pages except the title page.

Up to 1 point of extra credit may be given for work that is exceptionally creative or otherwise clearly above-and-beyond expectations.

Use the text shown below to format for your lab activity today:

Problem Solving

and the Book

How to Solve It

by George Polya

Table of Contents

…

Background

George Polya [Bibliography: http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/polya-george.pdf accessed 9-12-2020] was a Hungarian mathematician who wrote the book How To Solve It [Bibliography: George Polya, 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, 1957, ISBN 0-691-08097-6.] which has sold over a million copies and has been translated into 17 languages [Bibliography: https://math.berkeley.edu/~gmelvin/polya.pdf accessed 9-12-2020]. Polya provides a general approach for solving a wide range of problems, both mathematical and non-mathematical. Among his mathematical work he proved that a random walk returns to the original point in one or two dimensions, but not in three or more dimensions [Bibliography: https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.00811 accessed 9-12-2020].

The Four Steps

In his book Polya identifies four basic principles of general problem solving which can be represented by the 4 letters U-P-I-R. [Footnote: To help you remember this think of it as a single word mnemonic pronounced “You-per”.] Following are these four steps:

Step One: Understand the problem

Step Two: Make a Plan

Step Three: Implement the plan

Step Four: Revise and reflect, looking back on what you’ve done

Each of these four steps can be described in more detail as follows:

Understand the problem

What are you trying to find or show? Do you understand all the words used in stating the problem? What data is given? What limiting conditions must be worked around? Can you explain the question to someone else? Try to state the problem another way.

Make a Plan

Draw a picture or diagram. Look for a pattern. Make a list. Use a table. Smart guess-and-check, keeping track of what you’ve tried. Solve a smaller similar problem. Work backwards.

Implement the plan

Using the work you’ve done so far now solve the problem and state the solution in complete sentences.

Revise and reflect, looking back on what you’ve done

If your plan doesn’t work, discard it and choose another. Recheck the result and arguments used. Does the answer make sense? If not, recheck the method and the calculations. Was there another way to solve this? Can you see that your solution is right? Can you get the result in a different way? Can you use this for another problem?

Application

Let’s consider how we might apply this approach to solving a real-world problem of finding a good restaurant to go to with a friend you haven’t seen in some time.

1. Understand the problem

Consider any dietary constraints (Vegetarian? Gluten free? Drinks?). Think about how much you can afford for a meal like this, and what transportation is available to you (Public transit? Walk? Bike? Car?) how far away the restaurant is and when you need to get there. You probably want a place that is quiet enough to enable conversation.

2. Make a Plan

Consider how you can find answers to your constraints. One plan would be to use the website Yelp [Bibliography: Yelp.com accessed 9-12-2020] to narrow down the restaurant. Google maps [Bibliography: maps.google.com accessed 9-12-20] can help you compare options for how to get there. Choose the top 3 restaurants that are not too expensive, that are open for dinner, and are between where you and your friend live. Plan on sending these to your friend to see which they prefer.

3. Implement the plan

After the data is gathered, list the top choices and send them to your friend. Together choose the one you want and go together to that restaurant.

4. Revise and reflect, looking back on what you’ve done

Once you arrive, if it is too noisy, leave and instead go to the next one on your list. After you eat there make note of the experience so you can consider going back there again or not. Remember anything you have learned about restaurant review sites and maps to help you solve a similar in the future.

Conclusion

Becoming a better problem solver can help us not only in math classes, but in every-day thinking. The discipline of creating solutions using limited computer instructions is called programming. A step-by-step set of instructions is known as an algorithm. [Footnote: The word algorithm is derived from the Latinized name al-Khwarizmi, who was the 9th-century Arabic mathematician Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. Besides having the word algorithm named after him, he also introduced the idea of “al-jabr” balancing, known today as Algebra.] A recipe can be thought of as an algorithm for cooking a particular dish. The process of programming algorithms can be thought of as a “sandbox” for sharpening our general thinking skills.

Bibliography