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Math 190: Communicating Mathematics

Due November 2 for a total of 50 points

Description. Write an article describing the content and impact of the research of your assigned graduate student. This article will explain the context of the research, provide an accessible explanation of the technical terms, and present quotes from your interview with the graduate student. The intended audience is the readership of the Stanford Daily. The final product will be 500–750 words, and will be handed in as a PDF file through Canvas.

Rubric

Content 15 points

15 points
The Article makes clear what the research is about and why it matters, and places it in a context its readers recognize.
10 points
The Article conveys the research accurately, but asserts its significance rather than showing it, or gives it thin context.
5 points
The Article reports that research was done without conveying what it concerns or why it should interest anyone.
0 points
The Article does not convey the content of the research, or misrepresents it.

Clarity 15 points

15 points
A reader of the Stanford Daily with no mathematical background can follow the Article throughout, since every technical term is explained in plain language where it first appears.
10 points
The Article is readable throughout, though a technical term goes unexplained, or a passage asks more of the reader than a general audience can give.
5 points
Only a reader who already knows some mathematics can follow the Article, since its technical terms are used rather than explained.
0 points
The Article is not accessible to the audience it is written for.

Reporting 12 points

12 points
The quotes are chosen for what only the graduate student could say, are placed where they carry the piece forward, and represent the interview accurately.
8 points
The quotes are accurate but decorative, or they repeat what the surrounding prose has already said.
4 points
The Article draws on the interview only glancingly, or handles a quote in a way which distorts what was said.
0 points
The Article contains no material from the interview.

Structure 8 points

8 points
The Article earns the reader's attention with its lede, carries a clear arc, and runs 500–750 words.
4 points
The Article's opening does not draw the reader in, its shape wanders, or it falls outside the 500–750-word range.
0 points
The Article has no discernible structure.

Total 50 points