1. Midterm Essay Thoughts For the midterm paper there are a variety of options. You can write an essay related to a topic covered in class, or you can solve a problem that requires mathematical thinking, or something that is intermediate, where you need to explain some mathematical concept to make your point, and then go on to a more general discussion. You can do something completely different that uses the skills that you have learnt so far. Regardless of whether you take a more mathematical project or an essay, it is important that you don't just copy out things you found: be imaginative! The most important part of the midterm essay is to choose something that is of interest to you. As a guide the essays should be around seven or eight pages long. You can work with others if you like (but the result should be reflective of this).

2. Midterm Essay Thoughts For projects that are related to the topics covered in the lectures, they should be just that - i.e., related but not the same as that covered in the lectures. For any topic you choose you should make sure you emphasize why mathematics is important, explain explain clearly what you have discovered, and how you did it, and give your conclusions. In every case, you MUST mention all the sources you have used for your paper (and make sure that they are good ones!).

3. Grading We will grade according to the following rubric: Mathematical content 25% Clarity of presentation of material 25% Level of engagement of essay 25% Overall effort that has been put in 25%

4. What could I do my midterm on? You can do your midterm on anything that is related to mathematics in the real world. There are some examples on the website that relate to the courses we have done already. Other topics include: mathematics in sports (cycling, hockey, baseball), mathematics in films (e.g., The Imitation Game, A Beautiful Mind), technology (e.g., Uber, GrubHub), mathematics of baking, mathematics in art, nature or music, mathematics of online dating, mathematics of beauty, social networks, March Madness. videos, websites.