The introduction (including the outline and syllabus) of the Putnam Maths Competition:
Power Putnam Preparation — UT
William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition — AoPS
The textbooks that could provide a systematic intro study for the Maths Competition:
数学奥林匹克小丛书
My apology: Sorry that this textbooks series seems to have no English version.
If you don’t have any past experience in the Maths Competition like MO (Maths Olympiad), (and neither do I), I strongly recommend you to read this textbooks series, since this is a very popular introductory Maths Competitions textbooks series in China for Maths Competitions beginners (BTW I’m currently reading it and I have to say it is so good!!!). And reading this textbooks series from middle-school volume to high-school volume would help you to build a very solid knowledge system for Maths Competitions, so please don’t feel embarrassed to start from the beginning — reading the middle-school volume part, even though you’re a undergraduate student now like me 🙂
And after you finish reading the 数学奥林匹克小丛书, here is a harder and more advanced textbooks series for higher level Maths Competitions studies:
数学奥林匹克命题人讲座
My apology: Sorry that this textbooks series seems to have no English version either.
In addition to the above, I would also suggest that you could search on the Internet to check out others’ comments on these textbooks before reading, because that may help you to avoid some bad contents or chapters and could save you a lot of times and energy in reading. Besides that, you should also try to check out the Maths Competitions textbooks with others suggested, because mine recommendation may not the most suitable choice for you, it is all possible…
In short, please try to make the best textbook choice possible before you start slogging away, because that could help you to approach an efficient study pace and accelerate your progress indeed.
The exercise books for preparing the Putnam Maths Competition:
Resources for Putnam Problems — UIUC
Talent, training and direction are the key factors to become a master.
So keep practicing!
One more thing, if you find yourself struggling with studying the Maths Competitions contents extremely hard, you better:
- Keep going (maybe this part is just that tough?)
- Get another textbook (maybe the textbook you are reading right now does not fit you?)
- Quit if necessary (it is quite normal and there is no need to feel disappointed with yourself because maybe your talent is in the other fields? So it would be more wise for you to stop wasting time on it and try to find the area that you’re interested in)
And…Good luck, my friend!
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