Language, notation and formulas

Introduction

An integral part of learning mathematics involves communication.

Writing mathematics is a specific skill which needs to be developed and practised: there is a lot of difference between putting down a few symbols for your own use and writing a mathematical solution intended for someone else to read. In attempting mathematical questions, you may previously have written down very little, just enough, perhaps, to convince yourself that you could answer the questions. This may suffice now, but you may want to use your notes and solutions for revision so you will want them to be self-contained, able to stand on their own and easy to read. This will also be the case if you are writing mathematics for somebody else to read.

This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Mathematics: a foundation course (MU120) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .