Handbook of writing for the mathematical sciences

Nicholas J. Higham9780898714203, 0898714206

The subject of mathematical writing has been infused with life once again by Nick Higham as he follows up his successful HWMS volume with this much-anticipated second edition. As is Higham’s style, the material is enlivened by anecdotes, unusual paper titles, and humorous quotations. This handy new volume provides even more information on the issues you will face when writing a technical paper or talk, from choosing the right journal in which to publish to handling your references. Its overview of the entire publication process is invaluable for anyone hoping to publish in a technical journal.
The original book has been completely revised, making use of feedback from readers as well as Higham’s own large file of ideas based on his experiences in reading, writing, editing, examining, and supervising theses.
The most obvious changes to this second edition are the new chapters: “Writing and Defending a Thesis,” “Giving a Talk” (which adds to the existing material on preparing slides for a talk), “Preparing a Poster,” and “TeX and LaTeX” (including tips on their use for typesetting mathematics and detailed discussions of BibTeX and indexing). Numerous mathematical symbols in the AMS fonts have been added to Appendix B.
Among the new material in existing chapters, the section “How to Referee” in the chapter “Publishing a Paper” offers advice on this important aspect of the publication process. The chapter “Writing a Paper” suggests formats for referencing items on the World Wide Web.
The renamed chapter “Aids and Resources for Writing and Research” contains a new section, “Library Classification Schemes,” which will help readers find their way around libraries. This chapter’s material on the Internet was completely rewritten in light of the World Wide Web.
Separate author and subject indexes are now provided; the bibliography has been updated to include many new editions of books, and more than 70 new references have been added.