Math 2106E - Blumenthal Direct Proofs Lecture 2-2

3 Writing Proofs
Pages 107-109 of the textbook and Michael Hutchings’ Introduction to Mathematical Arguments, which you
can find a link to on Canvas, are good for further descriptions of how to prove things and what to keep in
mind when writing proofs.

Here are some guidelines for coming up with a proof:

• To prove an if and only if statement P () Q, you must prove two implications P =) Q and
Q =) P .
• To prove A ✓ B, you must use the definition, which says that any element of A is an element of B. To
prove that two sets A and B are equal, you must prove A ✓ B and B ✓ A.
• To prove an expression is nonnegative, you can try to find its minimum and show that it is nonnegative.
• To prove existence, you can try to find an example of an object satisfying the property.
• To prove uniqueness, you must prove that there is at least one (existence) and no more than one. No
more than one tends to involve assuming there is more than one and showing they are equal.

Here are some guidelines for writing a proof:

1. Define any new variables that you introduce.
• Example: Write “Let f : R ! R be a function such that f (x) = 2.” instead of “f (x) = 2.”

2. Don’t use too many symbols and, in general, separate mathematical symbols with words.
• Example: Write “Since x > 0, we know |x| = x.” instead of “Since x > 0, |x| = x.
3. Use full sentences with correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
4. Use connecting words like “thus”, “therefore”, “hence”, “so”, “since”, “because”, “as”, and “given
that”.
5. Only use words like “therefore” when there is an implication.
• Example: Say “Since f is di↵erentiable, we can solve the equation f 0 (x) = 0 to find its critical
points.” instead of “f is di↵erentiable, so f 0 (x) = 0”.

6. Avoid terms like “it” and “this”.

• Example: The sentence “x > 0 and y = |x|, so it must equal x” is not clear.
7. Use first person plural.
• Example: “We must prove that x > 0.”

8. Unless it is obvious, make clear where any result you use comes from.
• Example: By definition, by the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, by the previous example, by
the arithmetic-geometric mean inequality.
9. Avoid starting a statement with a symbol as it isn’t always clear where the sentence starts and ends.

• Example: Write “The set A is nonempty.” instead of “A is nonempty.”

10. Make sure it is clear what proof technique you are using.
• Direct proof is the standard assumption. If you are using contrapositive or something else, indicate
it at the beginning of the proof.

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