CALCULUS I & II Homework resources

Ashley Stagner ’09

1. Check your syllabus!  Make sure you do the correct questions for the correct homework assignment—otherwise, you receive no credit!
2. Write your name legibly at the top of your homework and the number of the assignment.
3. Staple your homework!  Origami folding is fun, but not reliable—your papers could get lost and/or separated. 
4. Make sure to put your homework in the correct folder by the time that it is due.
5. Show all steps of your work for every problem and clearly indicate what your final answer is. You will not receive full credit for writing only the final answer.
6. Make sure your homework is neat!  Pencil is preferred, but if you use pen, use white-out; DO NOT cross out your mistakes.  If you can’t read it, how do you think others will?
7. Accessorize!  Buy a large eraser and a calculator.  The eraser will last you a whole semester’s worth of assignments and exams plus make you BFFs with your fellow math students during office hours.  Also, you don’t need to buy a fancy graphing calculator—you cannot use a calculator on your exams and you should only be using it to check over your answers on your homework anyway—if you get a basic one that allows you to use trig functions you’ll be fine.
8. Go to your professor’s office hours if you have questions—he/she is the best source for information.  If you cannot, stop in at the QSR Center.
9. Take advantage of your textbook!  There are rule sheets and basic equation lists located in the front and back of your book.  In addition, if you are stumped on a problem, go over that chapter —there will mostly be a hint for how to solve it by looking at the example problems.
10. As long as your professor says so, you may collaborate with others on your homework—get together, have a math party and live it up—however, you cannot copy someone else’s work or provide other students with answers.
11. After you get a homework or exam back, go over the incorrect questions.  If you are unsure as to why a question is wrong, ask your professor.  It is best to find out the correct answer while the material is still fresh in your mind.  Then, in a different colored pen, write down the correct method.  When you study for your test you will be able to understand the problem a lot easier and the day before the exam you won’t have to stand in the epically long line at office hours.