This assigment asks for several written documents. More will be required in this course, and more still when you go to work in the software industry. So learn to write.

• Anything worth writing is worth writing well. A first draft is just that, and rarely well written, so plan on several drafts, with editing and rewriting from one to the next. You will discover that when you rewrite you improve the ideas as well as the way you express them. Don't plan to dash something off just in time to turn it in.
• I expect grammatical English, free of spelling errors. Spelling and grammar checking tools in your word processor can help - use them - but they can't catch all the errors. If you're in doubt, have a friend proofread your work.
• If your native language isn't English I will take that into account. I understand how hard you must work to read and write in a new language. I'm sure I wouldn't do as well in yours as you do in mine. Make the writing assignments in this course an opportunity to improve your English.

1. Write a few paragraphs responding to each of the four possible projects we have heard about:
   • Biodiversity database for Prof. Stevenson
   • Merit/demerit tracking for CCSC
   • Triglyceride data analysis for Prof. Evans
   • Cell phone flashcard game for Prof. White

   Here are some questions you should consider when writing your paragraphs.

   • Is the project feasible? Is there some reasonable subset of the scope that we think we can actually do in the time allotted?
   • Would this project be fun/interesting to work on?
   • Would the product be used after we finished it?
   • How difficult is the project?
   • Would you learn from this project?
   • Are you willing to work on this project?

   In class we will decide (collectively) which of these we will take on. Be prepared to contribute to that discussion!

2. Read both Prefaces and Chapters 1, 2, 7, 14, 16 and 17 in Brooks' The Mythical Man-Month (Second Edition)

   Write a few paragraphs about ideas you found there that you found interesting. Don't just summarize what Brooks has to say - I can read him to find that out. What I want to see is your reaction to that material. What surprised you? What do you agree with, or disagree with, and why? Does what Brooks have to say match anything in your software development experience? Are Brooks' insights still relevant?

3. In this part of the assignment you continue the simulated job search you started last week with your CV and web page. Now you write a cover letter. That's a letter that you send along with your resume. The resume is a relatively formal, relatively static description of your experience and skills. It doesn't change (much) from one job application to another. The cover letter is different. It's where you explain why this particular job at this particular company is just the right one for you - and why you are just the person who's right for them. (I have just read more than 100 applications for an assistant professorship in the Mathematics Department. I am shocked that hardly anyone has bothered to look up UMass on the web and write a cover letter that speaks what they found out.)

   Find a posting somewhere on the internet for a job that you are qualified for (or expect to be qualified for) that you would like to have. Write a cover letter applying for the job. Submit a copy of the posting along with your letter.

   In the next assignment you'll get at chance to write a cover letter to me applying for a job working on the project of your choice for this course.