add-on such as 
.
,
.
essentially killed the problem I had in mind. With this breakthrough, I hid the true meaning of the question and eventually came up with 
is a bad problem because although the idea of geometric sums is easy, computing 
is not.
![$Teams! \phantom{[/hide]}$](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/b/6/9/b693e1d2b83276b562e2e34cf85779fe73596cef.png)
[rule]
,
.
,
.
to 
if 
.
we would not accept 1 + sqrt5/2, but we would accept (1 + sqrt5)/2. If the answer is a mixed number and you aren't using 
PM submissions to me
Y by Cube1, yegkatie, PiDude314, rafa2be, himaximushi, PersonPsychopath, AMC_Kid, anser, wu2481632, geoman523, tongzhao, DeathLlama9, pi_Plus_45x23, somenerd01, SW1, Flash12, Altamira140, Goliath, Pascal208, ar07jog, sketchcomedyrules, Kaladesh, BenjaminSchool, Makorn, psa, math101010, bluespruce, GeneralCobra19, Marzi, techguy2, 348936, ShineBunny, xwang1, oceanair, blep, iks92, Debussy, Mathnerd1223334444, thedoge, AmazingMonkey, AFK16, Ultroid999OCPN, muhandae17, Juno, divijleisha, EddieWang314, mira74, infinity8315, MeepyMeepMeep, look4pilot, SpaceHead1AU, mathwiz0803, MathMagician3.14, hockey10, illogical_21, eisirrational, hwl0304, wwilliamtang, davr, shawnee03, brainiac1, popsiclebirdiepotato, littlepiglet4428, Ashford, Felix13, green_dog_7983, AWaltz, kephas331, HappyHuman, ccx09, TheMagician, coke, MinnesotaMath, premchandj, Archimedes15, Tawan, Ianabusamra, Mathisfun04, vedkenk, tauros, Equinox8, User254881, samuel, math_turtle37, Math-Ninja, speulers_theorem, opplakat, BobsonJoe, mathleticguyyy, lkarhat, Kbwuf, Blossomstream, fry8, usernameyourself, NoDealsHere, anc3, the_one_and_only_mathlete, PROA200, smartninja2000, GeronimoStilton, Mathscienceclass, Toinfinity, Robot7620_2, bozz, AmirKhusrau, H-23, rowechen, Lcz, vvluo, peace09, BlizzardWizard, smartatmath, NamePending, suvamkonar, rg_ryse, hamburgerwhizz, ilovepizza2020, babygrogu, Shauryajain123, sotpidot, hdrcure, Jc426, HamstPan38825, CoolCarsOnTheRun, samrocksnature, OlympusHero, ChickenAgent2227-_-, Taco12, RedFlame2112, Bradygho, megarnie, son7, andyzhuang2010, challengeitmath, Lamboreghini, kante314, russellk, pineapply, mathmax12, Cokevending56, Kea13, ab2024, Danielzh, Adventure10, Mango247, Sedro
Hello peoples of AoPS! I have decided that for my 7218th post I will help aspiring young problem writers with the organization of their contests. (Note I did not say writing a contest, for that see here)
Well lets get on to it! Here are a few pointers:
If you need help on making the problems or with proofreading and test-solving, what I would recommend is making a post only asking for help and let them volunteer through PM. Once you have enough helpers, you can always just say in the thread that you have enough; no need for a signup list
. It is better to have two different threads which serve their purpose then one which is unprepared on either side.
I think a really good way to organize your writing is to make a private forum in which you make the problems. This is helpful because you can individually propose a problem in each thread, and all discussion for that problem (difficulty, placement, quality, etc) can stay in that thread. This keeps everything very organized (you can make an outline thread an announcement, so its clear which problems you are deciding to put on the test). Another reason its helpful, is because you can include the people who are proofreaders or difficulty gauges into the forum, and they can work with you as you go. In order to increase activity, I would recommend telling the users involved to bookmark the private forum, that way they can see if there is a new development.
This is a crucial part in the organization of your contest. You should be clear about it in your contest thread, and clear about it in posts afterward. The two general submission processes are via PM (Private Message), or through a Google form. For a PM, make sure you specify who to add to the PM, and in what format they should submit their answers. Google forms is probably the best way of submitting, as you don't get a cluttered PM box where you might miss a submission or two. On the flip side, you can and may receive troll submissions, but you can delete them pretty easily. There are some general things you want to put on the form:
It's always a bummer when someone takes the test but the host does not remember to officially end it and open discussion. When posting results be sure to include only those who want to be included in the results. The best way to find this out is asking users through PM when you send them their score report. LaTeX tables are fancy and look sophisticated when posting results, but I recognize that most people cannot make these (I for example can't
). It's fine to use the old fashioned hidden text to announce the top few scorers and other honorable mentions. If you are a stats guy, be sure to show problem statistics in an organized way; aka don't say random statistics sporadically in your post but instead show a few related stats like most missed and most correct. Remember to thank everyone for their submissions!
This is always a tough question when opening problem discussion: do I create a separate forum or do I post in the main fora. The answer is: it depends. If your contest has many problems, then you don't want to post all of them and end up flooding one of the main fora (Middle School Math, High School Math, or High School Olympiads) with a lot of posts. In that case you should either create a new forum to discuss all problems, or only post the last few on your test, I would recommend the former, as all problems can be discussed. If your contest is an Olympiad, or something with not too many questions, then by all means post the questions in the main forums! But don't forget: post each question in a forum where its difficulty is accurate. For example, don't post problems from an AMC12 in Middle School Math, or problems from an AMC8 in High School Olympiads! If you have some problems that are Middle School Level, and some that are High School level on your test, then post them in different forums; you can always provide links to each problem in your contest thread. For example, when my group released problems from the All Algebra Assessment we posted some questions in Middle School Math, some in High School Math, and some in High School Olympiads.
When people are discussing be sure to wait to see other solutions, before posting your official ones. Waiting a few days before posting a solution is perfectly fine. You want your problem to be discussed don't you! If your official solution is the same as some other user's then there is no need to post it, as it's just a repeat.
Lastly, to help you guys organize your contest post, I have made a sort of template for it
! You don't have to follow it exactly, just be sure you include these things in your post:
*Greeting and Introduction*
*Present your contest with your other fellow problem writers* (Example "AceTheIMO, adriel, and I bring you (bigish text)Mudkips Mock!(bigish text))
*Quickly describe contest, including rules*
*Give credit to testsolvers, proofreaders, and other help*
*signups format* (this may or may not be necessary, considering you could just ask the people to submit and that would count as a participation)
*submissions format* (put Google form here if you made one)
*Submission deadline*
*leaderboard* (optional)
*TEST LINK* (if you want to title it use the
*~Sign off*
lastly don't necessarily feel obligated to follow these rules too strictly (weird rule)
Well I hope this was helpful, and good luck on your mock!
Thanks for reading,
~Mudkipswims42
Well lets get on to it! Here are a few pointers:
-
1. Write all the problems before making the "advertising" contest post.
If you need help on making the problems or with proofreading and test-solving, what I would recommend is making a post only asking for help and let them volunteer through PM. Once you have enough helpers, you can always just say in the thread that you have enough; no need for a signup list
. It is better to have two different threads which serve their purpose then one which is unprepared on either side.
-
2. Make a private forum to create and propose problems in.
I think a really good way to organize your writing is to make a private forum in which you make the problems. This is helpful because you can individually propose a problem in each thread, and all discussion for that problem (difficulty, placement, quality, etc) can stay in that thread. This keeps everything very organized (you can make an outline thread an announcement, so its clear which problems you are deciding to put on the test). Another reason its helpful, is because you can include the people who are proofreaders or difficulty gauges into the forum, and they can work with you as you go. In order to increase activity, I would recommend telling the users involved to bookmark the private forum, that way they can see if there is a new development.
-
3. Have a clear idea of how people will submit.
This is a crucial part in the organization of your contest. You should be clear about it in your contest thread, and clear about it in posts afterward. The two general submission processes are via PM (Private Message), or through a Google form. For a PM, make sure you specify who to add to the PM, and in what format they should submit their answers. Google forms is probably the best way of submitting, as you don't get a cluttered PM box where you might miss a submission or two. On the flip side, you can and may receive troll submissions, but you can delete them pretty easily. There are some general things you want to put on the form:
-
Name, (aka the AoPS username)
*Problem answers* (you can do this problem by problem, and if it's an AMC I would recommend giving the answer choice options)
Comments on the test (You can split this up however you want)
Thanks for submitting (^_^)
-
4. Don't forget post-test management!
It's always a bummer when someone takes the test but the host does not remember to officially end it and open discussion. When posting results be sure to include only those who want to be included in the results. The best way to find this out is asking users through PM when you send them their score report. LaTeX tables are fancy and look sophisticated when posting results, but I recognize that most people cannot make these (I for example can't
). It's fine to use the old fashioned hidden text to announce the top few scorers and other honorable mentions. If you are a stats guy, be sure to show problem statistics in an organized way; aka don't say random statistics sporadically in your post but instead show a few related stats like most missed and most correct. Remember to thank everyone for their submissions!-
5. Create a forum for problem discussion, or post a few questions in main forum based on difficulty.
This is always a tough question when opening problem discussion: do I create a separate forum or do I post in the main fora. The answer is: it depends. If your contest has many problems, then you don't want to post all of them and end up flooding one of the main fora (Middle School Math, High School Math, or High School Olympiads) with a lot of posts. In that case you should either create a new forum to discuss all problems, or only post the last few on your test, I would recommend the former, as all problems can be discussed
. If your contest is an Olympiad, or something with not too many questions, then by all means post the questions in the main forums! But don't forget: post each question in a forum where its difficulty is accurate. For example, don't post problems from an AMC12 in Middle School Math, or problems from an AMC8 in High School Olympiads! If you have some problems that are Middle School Level, and some that are High School level on your test, then post them in different forums; you can always provide links to each problem in your contest thread. For example, when my group released problems from the All Algebra Assessment we posted some questions in Middle School Math, some in High School Math, and some in High School Olympiads.When people are discussing be sure to wait to see other solutions, before posting your official ones. Waiting a few days before posting a solution is perfectly fine. You want your problem to be discussed don't you! If your official solution is the same as some other user's then there is no need to post it, as it's just a repeat
.Lastly, to help you guys organize your contest post, I have made a sort of template for it
! You don't have to follow it exactly, just be sure you include these things in your post:*Greeting and Introduction*
*Present your contest with your other fellow problem writers* (Example "AceTheIMO, adriel, and I bring you (bigish text)Mudkips Mock!(bigish text))
*Quickly describe contest, including rules*
*Give credit to testsolvers, proofreaders, and other help*
*signups format* (this may or may not be necessary, considering you could just ask the people to submit and that would count as a participation)
*submissions format* (put Google form here if you made one)
*Submission deadline*
*leaderboard* (optional)
*TEST LINK* (if you want to title it use the
[url=link]Title[/url]*~Sign off*
lastly don't necessarily feel obligated to follow these rules too strictly (weird rule
)Well I hope this was helpful, and good luck on your mock!
Thanks for reading,
~Mudkipswims42
This post has been edited 7 times. Last edited by Mudkipswims42, Jul 23, 2017, 5:40 PM
Reason: More content
Reason: More content
