We introduce the concept of a smooth point of order n of the closed unit ba
ll of a Banach space E and characterize such points for E = c(0), L-p(mu) (
1 less than or equal to p less than or equal to infinity), and C(K). We sho
w that every locally uniformly rotund multilinear form and homogeneous poly
nomial on a Banach space E is generated by locally uniformly rotund linear
functionals on E. We also classify such points for E = c(0), L-p(mu) (1 les
s than or equal to p less than or equal to infinity), and C(K).