Mathematics Thesis Topics For Undergraduates Pdf

$Two coworkers discussing in a meeting.$

Students enrolled in the Faculty of Math's co-op program are required to completefouracceptable work term reports, submittingone report per term for yourfirst four work terms. For eight-month work terms, the first report will be due in the fourth month, and the second report will be due in the eighth month.

Work reports are due on the last scheduled day of the work term, regardless of when your last official workday is.
- Reports submitted after the due date are not marked and do not receive a credit.
- Only in exceptional circumstances may students apply for one extension. You must contact the Associate Dean Co-opbefore the due datewith your full given name and student ID number. As well as evidence to support your request e.g., a doctor's note or a letter from your employer.
For questions about your choice of topic, please email coopmath@uwaterloo.ca.
For questions about registration in a Math work report (WKRPT) course in LEARN, please email the Associate Dean Co-op.
For questions regarding submissions or due dates, please email mathwkrpt@uwaterloo.ca.

Work report guidelines & structure

Your work term report should be around 1,500 to 2,000 words, double-spaced using 12pt font and written in the third person informal, standard English. Please avoid the use of contractions and remember to spell-check and proofread your work before submission.

Remember to use headings and subheadings to structure your report and avoid the use of underlines and large blank spaces between sections. Use block format and follow the formatting booklet to ensure your report is formatted correctly. Remember to retain an electronic copy as the Faculty of Mathematics expects you to be able to make corrections on campus.

Students should structure their report in the following order:

Title Page
Letter or Memorandum of Submittal
Table of Contents
List of Figures, if appropriate
Executive Summary
Introduction
Analysis
Conclusion
Recommendations, if appropriate
References
Acknowledgments, if appropriate
Appendices, if any (no graphics)
User Manuals and Non-Analytical Reports

Work Report Structuring

Title Page

Your title page should include the information available in this example.

Letter or Memorandum of Submittal

Your Letter or Memorandum of Submittal includes the following information:

report title
previous academic term
supervisor's name and position
report number (second, etc.)
your role in the company
brief description of your duties
purpose of the report
statement of originality
acknowledgement that the report will be marked by your supervisor prior to the on-campus evaluation
acknowledgement of assistance
your name andsignature in a letter; yoursignatureonly in a memorandum

You should follow the wording in paragraphs one and three in your Letter or Memorandum of submittal.

Table of Contents & List of Figures

Begin numbering your pages on the Table of Contents, not the Title Page. Note that your Letter or Memorandum of Submittal has no page number. The remainder of the report is numbered sequentially.

Note: if you include figures in the body of your report, you must also include a List of Figures/List of Tables/List of Figures and Tables

these lists can appear on the same page as the Table of Contents if space permits or they can follow the Table of Contents on a separate page –iii.
Figures should be numbered, titled, and mentioned in the text preceding them. Large figures may be included in an appendix.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is one of the most important components of your report and should be written after the rest of the report has been written. It should explain the purpose of the report, highlight the key point of analysis, conclusion, and recommendations.

Introduction

The introduction establishes the purpose of the report and conveys the contents of the analysis. You should provide the reader with the necessary background information, assumptions used, major points covered in the report, the situation or problem that is analyzed, and the purpose of the work report and the methodology used.

Analysis

Your report should not describe what you did on a work term but rather must analyze an aspect of the work.

Before you begin your work report, discuss possible topics with your supervisor who should approve the topic that you have chosen. Work reports must be evaluated on campus to receive credit, so avoid topics deemed confidential by your supervisor.

If you are unsure of what to write about, you may contact the math co-op advisors.

Your work report must include significant analytical content.

A description of the steps in a process isnot sufficient. The following list provides examples of acceptable analytical content:

a discussion of cause and effect
a discussion of advantages and disadvantages
a comparison of two or more systems or products

The following are examples of acceptable analyses:

Why does a problem exist?
How does the problem affect specific jobs in the workplace?
How does the new system or product solve a problem?
What aspects of the problem have been improved? How?
What problems does the system or product not solve? Why not?
How can the system or product be improved?

Conclusion

The conclusion section should be brief and should contain no new information. The conclusion should not make direct reference to sources, figures, or tables.

Each conclusion should follow logically from the facts and arguments presented in the analysis section.

Recommendations

This section is optional because recommendations are not appropriate for all reports.

Recommendations are essentially speculative but should bebrief and should follow logically from the conclusion. Include comments derived from your experiences that may improve future activities of the company.

References

Whenever possible, support statements with concrete, specific examples. If you refer to a published work, cite the reference in the text even if the reference is not a direct quotation.

Follow APA Style Citation for your References section.

Footnotes are not required.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries have reference material explaining how to cite electronic sources.

The References section isnot a numbered section in the Table of Contents.

Acknowledgments

You may wish to acknowledge people who helped you with your work report. For example, you may thank someone you interviewed or someone whose files you borrowed. Do so in the last paragraph of your letter or memo, or include a separate acknowledgments page where you thank each person and explain briefly how he or she helped.

User Manuals and Non-Analytical Reports

The Faculty of Mathematics permits students to complete a user manual or non-analytical report for their work report requirements.

If you write a user's manual then you must include the following:

the purpose of the manual
the characteristics of a good user manual
possible improvements to the manual
reasons why the software/process described in the manual is needed and the problem it solves
specific examples illustrating the impact of the software/process or of the manual on the user.

Writing Tips

Tips for writing your report:

Having your topic approved
Writing for an audience
Avoiding confidential work reports
Drafting an outline
Writing the report
Revising the report

Writing Tips

Having your topic approved

Your report should not describe what you did on a work term but rather must analyze an aspect of the work.

Before you begin your work report, discuss possible topics with your supervisor who should approve the topic that you have chosen.

Because your supervisor will evaluate technical content, your topic should be in your supervisor's area of expertise.

Although the topic does not have to be original, the report must be your own work. Choose a topic that interests you.

If you are unsure of what to write about, please contact the student advisors.

Writing for an audience

When drafting the report, write for a reader who may have little to no knowledge of your topic. Do not assume knowledge of technical terms specific to your workplace.

Potential audiences include your

•   classmates
•   supervisor
•   co-workers
•   successor

On-campus evaluators are not guaranteed to share your academic or work background. Work reports should be accessible for non-expert audiences.

To avoid discriminatory and awkward language in your work, use gender-neutral language.

Ways to avoid the awkwardness of repeatedly using "he or she" and "his or her" follow.

Example – incorrect (repetition of "he or she," "his or her")

The developer must install the software on his or her computer and then configure the program to his or her needs. He or she then needs to re-boot the computer. Finally, he or she must run the application and check to make sure that the configuration is working correctly.

Examples – correct

Rewrite the section to make it neutral.

The developer must install the software on the computer, configure the program to meet individual purposes or needs, and then re-boot the computer. The final step is to run the application and to make sure that the configuration is working correctly.

Rewrite the section to make it plural.

Developers must install the software on their computers and then configure the programs to their individual needs. They then need to re-boot the computers. Finally, they must run the applications and make sure that the configurations are working correctly.

Avoiding confidential work reports

Work reports must be evaluated on campus to receive credit, so avoid topics deemed confidential by your supervisor.

If you write a work report that cannot leave your employer's premises, it will not receive credit.

When selecting a topic, always consult your supervisor. If, after you have written your report, your employer decides that its circulation is to be restricted, you must follow the directions in the LEARN course for submitting a confidential work report.

If your work report is to remain confidential, please note this fact in your Memorandum or Letter of Submittal so that your employer will know that access will be restricted to a single reader.

Please note that confidential work reports are not eligible for work report awards.

Drafting an outline

The purpose of an outline (PDF) is to help you organize and visualize your report. Do not submit it with your report.

Headings and subheadings clarify your organization and help the reader follow your argument.

Writing the report

Set aside at least three weeks to complete the report. Brainstorm and put your ideas on paper. At this stage, the main concern should be the content and flow of ideas rather than the way that the ideas are expressed.

Remember to discuss your proposed topic with your supervisor to ensure that it is not confidential.

Use your report outline to guide the writing process and remember that all paragraphs should

contain strong introductory sentences
cover only one point
contain sentences that relate only to the main point indicated in the introductory sentence

Revising the report

After completing the first draft of the report, set it aside for several days before beginning revisions. You will be able to assess your report objectively. To achieve clear, concise, and accurate writing, follow these suggestions:

use formal, standard, non-poetic language
write in the third person
do not use contractions
define acronyms thefirst time that they are used
use a dictionary and thesaurus
read the report aloud to eliminate grammatical and stylistic errors
ask a colleague to critique it
spell-check
consult Appendix 2 - Common Errors (PDF)
review the formatting booklet
review errors made in previous reports
proofread

Grading scheme / On-campus and employer evaluations

 Your work report grade is a combination of the employer's evaluation (15%) and the on-campus evaluation (85%). You must receive a final grade of 55% or greater on your submission to gain credit for it.

If you fail to achieve a 55%, you arerequired to attend amandatory 30-minute tutorial session with a work report marker who will explain how to improve your submission. You will then be allowed to revise and resubmit for a second attempt to pass.

While students' work term reports are graded out of 100%, your numerical grade will only be reported through LEARN. Grades will be reflected as either CR or NCR on Quest and your transcript.If you receive a passing grade in your report, a CR grade will be recorded on your transcript. If you do not, an NCR grade is recorded.

Note: Your report also receives a grade of NCR if you fail to attend themandatory tutorial or if, after the tutorial, you do not resubmit your revised report by the deadline.

On-campus evaluation

An on-campus evaluation process is completed within eight weeks of the report due date. Information and announcements will be posted on LEARN.

Employer evaluation

Before submitting your report, remember to

have your employer read and evaluate your report.
include the completed employer evaluation form as a separate document in the same LEARN dropbox as your report.

Reports without a completedEmployer Evaluation of Math Work Report (PDF) form do not get marked and do not receive credit.

Employers grade reports for command of topic and technical content/analysis.

Your employer's evaluation of your report is worth 15% of your final grade. The overall mark from your employer is translated in the following way:

15/15 – Outstanding
11.25/15 – Very Good
7.5/15 – Good
3.75/15 – Acceptable
0 /15 – Unacceptable

Should an employer deem your report to be unacceptable, it is not graded, and you will receive a grade of No Credit (NCR) on your academic record.