Various aspects of writing mathematics such as style, notation, grammar, frequently used phrases and common mistakes.
Questions tagged [article-writing]
453 questions
2
votes
1 answer
Proper punctuation of cases in statement of Lemma
I found a very similar question asked on the TeX StackExchange here but the answer was not as definitive as I hoped for.
My question is in regard to how one properly punctuates the following Lemma. Should a comma be used at the end of each case? If…
Aaron Hendrickson
- 6,042
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votes
0 answers
Is it acceptable to cite commonly used definitions from Mathworld.Wolfram.com?
I am writing a document/article for the average layman, with the aim of explaining certain well known results in mathematics while glossing over the more gritty details.
I'm going to include several references as "Further Readings" where I cite my…
Threnody
- 898
2
votes
1 answer
How to properly introduce notation in a mathematical article?
The main result I am currently trying to publish is the proof of a classical result in optimization, but with weaker hypotheses. In the introduction of my draft, I intend to explain why this classical result is relevant and why its current…
Koto
- 909
2
votes
0 answers
Best style for using a definition that is only used in one theorem/lemma
I have a theorem of the following form
Definition. An object $y$ has property $X$ if... [2 lines...]
Lemma. If $y$ has property $X$, then ...
I could also simply write
Lemma. If $y$ has the property that [insert definition of $X$], then
But the…
user56834
- 12,925
2
votes
1 answer
Writing a mathematical work in english
this question is less about mathematics, but I don't know else where to ask.
I am native to german and have to write my current thesis in english. This is difficult and new to me so i asked my professor, if there is any help to improve creativeness…
Falrach
- 4,102
2
votes
1 answer
Punctuating blocks of equations
What are the permissible ways to punctuate a long block of equations? In the image below, I propose 3 alternatives for a sample problem. I'd like to know which of these are acceptable and/or preferable.
Zorgoth
- 350
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2
votes
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Is "when" a legetimate replacement for "if" in mathematical writing?
Consider a sentence like
If $x \in \mathcal A$, then we define $f(x) = 0$.
Is it legetimate to replace "If" in that statement by "when", say, for the purpose of linguistic varietiy, such as in
When $x \in \mathcal A$, then we define $f(x) =…
shuhalo
- 7,485
2
votes
3 answers
Punctuation in quantified statement
I am not very experienced in writing longer texts in English and, in particular, I am still very uncertain about English punctuation. A lot of rules seem to me not very well-defined.
In particular, I would like to ask if you should use comma when…
Daniel
- 448
2
votes
1 answer
Proper way to write a mathematical theorem
Consider the Bernoulli Inequality, for instance. Basically it says the following:
For all $x\in\mathbb{R}$ such that $x\geq -1$ and all $n\in\mathbb{Z}^+$, we have that $(1+x)^n \geq 1+nx$.
I'm concerned about the equivalent ways to rephrase this…
Integral
- 6,554
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votes
1 answer
How do you say in a correct way using some technique?
Sorry, I know it's not really related to Math itself, but I still need a native English Mathematician to help me through that and don't know where else to ask... So please don't close it because it might be subjective - I really just want to know…
user299124
2
votes
1 answer
Two questions regarding mathematical writing
I am a German mathematics student. I have two questions:
First question: When writing several equivalent equations, we usually write this as:
$x^2 = 4$
$\Leftrightarrow x = \pm 2$
I have never seen this in English, i.e. the usage of…
Ettlich
- 21
- 1
2
votes
2 answers
Huge case analysis in an article
I am writing this article on a graph related problem. In an important lemma dealing with classification of a type of graphs, I am undergoing this huge and tedious case analysis involving identification of a forbidden subgraph. Even though each…
baharampuri
- 1,158
2
votes
0 answers
Is there a published standard for the sectioning of math papers?
Most papers seem to use sections (e.g. 3) and sub-sections (e.g. 3.1). Is there a published standard that says what sort of thing warrants its own section and what sort of thing warrants its own sub-section?
Hal
- 3,406
1
vote
1 answer
How to split long fraction?
I have a fraction with long numerator,
$$
\frac{x1+\ldots+x50}{y}.
$$
What is preferred in typing? Or something different?
(1)
$$\frac{x1+x2+}{}\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad(\text{first…
vesszabo
- 3,481
1
vote
0 answers
Handwriting of special symbol in maths
What are standard ways of writing the symbol ${\mathbb R}$ in handwriting?
shuxue
- 916