Writing Mathematics in the Sciences: A Case Study for Discipline-Specific Writing in Science and Engineering

In the competitive “publish or perish” environment, scholars in academia are expected to excel in both research and writing. This calls for discipline-specific writing training, distinct from the traditional English composition. Despite the relatively solid application of the Writing Across the Curriculum in other STEM areas, Mathematics has rarely been involved. This paper illustrates a graduate-level short course on Mathematics communication, designed and offered as a practice of writing in the disciplines, at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. The curriculum was developed in collaboration of the Writing Studio and the Mathematics department: The Writing Studio analyzed learners’ needs for overcoming challenges in writing and framed a curriculum. Authentic materials in Mathematics were selected, and the learning objectives were identified based on the experiences of faculty in Mathematics. The paper illustrates the design and execution of the short course including in-session discussions, tasks, feedback, and challenges.