RESOURCES.
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition: Problems and Solutions, 1965 to 1984
This collection brings together the competition problems and published solutions from 1965 to 1984. It helps you recognise the foundational proof patterns and problem styles that recur across later Putnam papers. Attempt one paper under timed conditions, write complete proofs, then compare them with the solutions and record every missed idea by topic.
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, 1985 to 2000: Problems, Solutions, and Commentary
This volume contains the 1985 to 2000 problems, brief hints, multiple solutions, and commentary connecting them to wider mathematics. It helps you move beyond isolated tricks by showing how standard undergraduate material produces several valid approaches to one problem. Work without assistance first, consult only the hint when stalled, and study the commentary after completing or reconstructing a rigorous solution.
The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, 2001 to 2016: Problems, Solutions, and Commentary
This reference covers the 2001 to 2016 competitions with problems, hints, solutions, commentary, score data, and a strategy section. It helps you train on more recent question construction while learning how solution quality and difficulty vary across a full paper. Use the problems as timed sets, delay the hints until after a serious attempt, then rewrite one clean solution and compare your progress with the score data.
Putnam and Beyond
This is a topic-based problem-solving text covering proof methods, algebra, analysis, geometry, number theory, and combinatorics. It helps you build the techniques and mathematical range needed when a past paper exposes a weak area. Study one relevant section, solve its problems in increasing difficulty without reading ahead, and return immediately to a Putnam problem that uses the same method.