Mathematics Autobiography Assignment

An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by himself or herself.

Your assignment is to write your own mathematics autobiography.

Your first one or two paragraphs should be about your own life. Talk about things like where you were born, how many siblings you have, what you like to do in your free time, if you have always attended public schools in Newton, etc. Let me get to know you a little bit better as a person.  Then, start back as far as you can remember and write about your mathematics experiences. Write about your likes and dislikes, what you found hard and what you found easy, or whatever else you consider important about you and math. I particularly enjoy stories. I do not want a list of your classes and teachers. I am asking you to write this autobiography so that I can get to know you better, and also so I can begin to understand how you feel about math, and maybe why.

You must write your paper using correct English spelling and grammar. Your paper must be at least 300 words long. (That's about 1 page typed with 1-inch margins and a 12-point font.) It may be (and probably will be) longer. Please use standard 8.5" x 11" paper and write in pen if you choose to hand-write your paper. If you do not meet the length requirement, you cannot earn a grade higher than a C on this paper.

This assignment will count as a 10 point short paper.

I will ask myself the following questions about your paper as I grade it.

How much did I learn about this student?

Did this student follow the guidelines for content?


Did this student appear to put real effort into the assignment?


Did this student follow the guidelines for length and form?


Did this student use correct English grammar and structure?

Is this paper clear and well-written?