I am not sure if this is the appropriate forum to ask as it is not directly related to a research level (math) problem, but I figured it was worth a try. I recently attended a conference and felt that my area of research was not well represented, and simultaneously got feedback that there does not exist a single reference that summarizes the state of affairs of my topic area. I have thus decided to write an expository paper and submit it to the conference proceedings. However, I am not sure what the expectations are for expository papers.
Can anyone give me their opinions on the "do's" and "don'ts" of expository writing?
Thank you very much for your input.
Best Answer
There are several journals publishing mostly or only surveys: BAMS, Russian Math surveys, Expositiones math., Asterisque, Sugaku. There are many excellent surveys in these journals. Take one which you like and follow the pattern. The main thing I expect from a survey is that it should be readable by a non-specialist. By someone who wants to be introduced to the area. Perhaps a graduate student.
There is a different kind of surveys: surveys for specialists. In this type of surveys, the main feature is completeness. Specialists will use it to check what is known and what is not known in your area. And what are the most important questions/conjectures. You have to decide in advance what type of a survey you want to write.