Writing equations for “story problems”
Betty Schoenherr · The Arithmetic Teacher · 1968
Many seventh graders find story problems difficult to understand. After studying the problem to discover (1) which operation or operations to use, and (2) in which order, they are asked not merely to solve the problem, but to first write the complete problem all in one equation. This equation must show, in their proper order, all of the operations necessary to solve the problem. This sometimes requires elaborate grouping of symbols.