Writing is hard. Mathematics is hard. Writing mathematics is exponentially hard.

But like any other expressive endeavor—playing the piano, painting a watercolor, composing a poem—communicating mathematics in writing is a skill that improves with dedicated practice, with attention to detail, and with study of the masters. Here are some pointers to useful tools for learning the craft of writing mathematics.

• A good dictionary and a thesaurus are essential for every kind of writing. If your computer, tablet, or phone does not have a suitable app installed, you can download one from your favorite app store; or you can consult websites such as dictionary.com and merriam-webster.com. Registered TAMU students have online access to the definitive Oxford English Dictionary (login with your NetID may be required).
• Many reference books are available concerning English usage and style. One short classic is the Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. (revised by E. B. White). I have on my bookshelf hard copies of Garner’s Modern American Usage and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, both of which have the valuable feature of being based on data rather than a single person’s opinion.
• The University Writing Center makes available numerous guides about all aspects of writing. You can also make an appointment with a consultant at the Writing Center.
• There are only a few books directed specifically to writing mathematics. Here they are in reverse date of publication.
  • Franco Vivaldi, Mathematical Writing, Springer, 2014. This book is the only one addressed to university students. The audience for the other books is professional mathematicians and graduate students.
  • Nicholas J. Higham, Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences, second edition, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 1998.
  • Steven G. Krantz, A Primer of Mathematical Writing, American Mathematical Society, 1997.
  • Donald E. Knuth, Tracy Larrabee, and Paul M. Roberts, Mathematical Writing, Mathematical Association of America, 1989.
  • Leonard Gillman, Writing Mathematics Well, Mathematical Association of America, 1987.
  • N. E. Steenrod, P. R. Halmos, M. M. Schiffer, and J. A. Dieudonné, How to Write Mathematics, American Mathematical Society, 1973.
• Most mathematicians use LaTeX to write their documents. You can find an introduction to this freely available software at The LaTeX Project, including information about using LaTeX online or installing it on your own computer. To go beyond the basics, consult George Grätzer’s book More Math into LaTeX.