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Writing Mathematics Well: A Manual for Authors
 
Writing Mathematics Well
MAA Press: An Imprint of the American Mathematical Society
Softcover ISBN:  978-1-4704-6980-1
Product Code:  MMBK/7.S
List Price: $25.00
MAA Member Price: $18.75
AMS Member Price: $18.75
eBook ISBN:  978-1-4704-6990-0
Product Code:  MMBK/7.E
List Price: $20.00
MAA Member Price: $15.00
AMS Member Price: $15.00
Softcover ISBN:  978-1-4704-6980-1
eBook: ISBN:  978-1-4704-6990-0
Product Code:  MMBK/7.S.B
List Price: $45.00 $35.00
MAA Member Price: $33.75 $26.25
AMS Member Price: $33.75 $26.25
Writing Mathematics Well
Click above image for expanded view
Writing Mathematics Well: A Manual for Authors
MAA Press: An Imprint of the American Mathematical Society
Softcover ISBN:  978-1-4704-6980-1
Product Code:  MMBK/7.S
List Price: $25.00
MAA Member Price: $18.75
AMS Member Price: $18.75
eBook ISBN:  978-1-4704-6990-0
Product Code:  MMBK/7.E
List Price: $20.00
MAA Member Price: $15.00
AMS Member Price: $15.00
Softcover ISBN:  978-1-4704-6980-1
eBook ISBN:  978-1-4704-6990-0
Product Code:  MMBK/7.S.B
List Price: $45.00 $35.00
MAA Member Price: $33.75 $26.25
AMS Member Price: $33.75 $26.25
  • Book Details
     
     
    1987; 49 pp

    Good writing conveys more than the author originally had in mind, while poor writing conveys less. Well written papers are more quickly accepted and put into print and more widely read and appreciated than poorly written ones—and for notes, monographs, and books the quality of writing is of more importance that it is for papers.

    In Writing Mathematics Well, Leonard Gillman tells his readers how to develop a clear and effective style. All aspects of mathematical writing are covered, from general organization and choice of title, to the presentation of results, to fine points on using words and symbols, to revision, and, finally, to the mechanics of putting your manuscript into print. No book can by itself make you a better writer, but this one will alert you to the opportunities for better and more forceful writing. It does this both by precept and by example.

    This is no bland collection of rules, but a lively guide in the style of Strunk and White or Fowler—a book to be read for its sharpness and wit as well as for enlightenment. Writing Mathematics Well should be on the shelf of anyone who writes or intends to write mathematics. It will amuse and delight the already careful writer and it will help reform and refine the sensibilities of those who may be somewhat careless about their writing.

  • Table of Contents
     
     
    • CONTENTS
    • PREFACE
    • 1. INTRODUCTION
    • 2. GENERAL ORGANIZATION
    • 2.1. The title
    • 2.2. The introduction
    • 2.3. Prerequisites
    • 2.4. Notation and terminology
    • 2.5. Organization and pace
    • 3. PRESENTING YOUR RESULTS
    • 3.1. State first, prove second
    • 3.2. Generality
    • 3.3. Style
    • 3.4. The character of a proof
    • 3.5. Keeping the reader informed
    • 3.6. Citing reasons
    • 3.7. Citing references
    • 3.8. Proofs by contradiction
    • 4. MATHEMATICAL ENGLISH
    • 4.1. We and I
    • 4.2. The grammar of symbols
    • 4.3. If . . . , then . . .
    • 4.4. Definitions
    • 5. SYMBOLS
    • 5.1. You can do with fewer than you think
    • 5.2. Choice of notation
    • 5.3. Look
    • 5.4. Mixing symbols with text
    • 5.5. Your numbering system
    • 5.6 Multiple indices
    • 5.7. Suppress useless information
    • 6. ENGLISH USAGE
    • 6.1. Style
    • 6.2. Some distinctions in meaning
    • 6.3. A few matters of grammar
    • 6.4. In terms of
    • 6.5. Some distinctions in spelling
    • 6.6. Some ups and downs of punctuation
    • 6. 7 Latin words
    • 6.8. Pre-plan ahead for the future in advance
    • 7. REVISE, REVISE
    • 8. MECHANICS
    • 8.1. Submit a clean manuscript
    • 8.2. Spacing
    • 8.3. Displays
    • 8.4. Figures and tables
    • 8.5. The conventions of the journal
    • 8.6. Marking the manuscript
    • 8.7. Proofreading your manuscript
    • 8.8. The odyssey of a manuscript
    • 8.9. Marking the galleys
    • APPENDIX The Use of Symbols: A Case Study
    • Annotated Bibliography
  • Additional Material
     
     
  • Requests
     
     
    Review Copy – for publishers of book reviews
    Permission – for use of book, eBook, or Journal content
    Accessibility – to request an alternate format of an AMS title
1987; 49 pp

Good writing conveys more than the author originally had in mind, while poor writing conveys less. Well written papers are more quickly accepted and put into print and more widely read and appreciated than poorly written ones—and for notes, monographs, and books the quality of writing is of more importance that it is for papers.

In Writing Mathematics Well, Leonard Gillman tells his readers how to develop a clear and effective style. All aspects of mathematical writing are covered, from general organization and choice of title, to the presentation of results, to fine points on using words and symbols, to revision, and, finally, to the mechanics of putting your manuscript into print. No book can by itself make you a better writer, but this one will alert you to the opportunities for better and more forceful writing. It does this both by precept and by example.

This is no bland collection of rules, but a lively guide in the style of Strunk and White or Fowler—a book to be read for its sharpness and wit as well as for enlightenment. Writing Mathematics Well should be on the shelf of anyone who writes or intends to write mathematics. It will amuse and delight the already careful writer and it will help reform and refine the sensibilities of those who may be somewhat careless about their writing.

  • CONTENTS
  • PREFACE
  • 1. INTRODUCTION
  • 2. GENERAL ORGANIZATION
  • 2.1. The title
  • 2.2. The introduction
  • 2.3. Prerequisites
  • 2.4. Notation and terminology
  • 2.5. Organization and pace
  • 3. PRESENTING YOUR RESULTS
  • 3.1. State first, prove second
  • 3.2. Generality
  • 3.3. Style
  • 3.4. The character of a proof
  • 3.5. Keeping the reader informed
  • 3.6. Citing reasons
  • 3.7. Citing references
  • 3.8. Proofs by contradiction
  • 4. MATHEMATICAL ENGLISH
  • 4.1. We and I
  • 4.2. The grammar of symbols
  • 4.3. If . . . , then . . .
  • 4.4. Definitions
  • 5. SYMBOLS
  • 5.1. You can do with fewer than you think
  • 5.2. Choice of notation
  • 5.3. Look
  • 5.4. Mixing symbols with text
  • 5.5. Your numbering system
  • 5.6 Multiple indices
  • 5.7. Suppress useless information
  • 6. ENGLISH USAGE
  • 6.1. Style
  • 6.2. Some distinctions in meaning
  • 6.3. A few matters of grammar
  • 6.4. In terms of
  • 6.5. Some distinctions in spelling
  • 6.6. Some ups and downs of punctuation
  • 6. 7 Latin words
  • 6.8. Pre-plan ahead for the future in advance
  • 7. REVISE, REVISE
  • 8. MECHANICS
  • 8.1. Submit a clean manuscript
  • 8.2. Spacing
  • 8.3. Displays
  • 8.4. Figures and tables
  • 8.5. The conventions of the journal
  • 8.6. Marking the manuscript
  • 8.7. Proofreading your manuscript
  • 8.8. The odyssey of a manuscript
  • 8.9. Marking the galleys
  • APPENDIX The Use of Symbols: A Case Study
  • Annotated Bibliography
Review Copy – for publishers of book reviews
Permission – for use of book, eBook, or Journal content
Accessibility – to request an alternate format of an AMS title
Please select which format for which you are requesting permissions.