Fielding
Questions via E-mail
If you are having trouble with the homework and would like to send me
some questions via email, please do not hesitate to do so.
However, so that I can be of as much use to you as possible,
and so that I can respond swiftly, I ask that you follow the following
guidelines:
- If you have a question about a specific problem from the
textbook, please don't just give me the page and problem number.
Often times I leave my copy of the book in my office, so if I
check my email from home, a problem number doesn't help me much; I'll
be forced to email you back asking for a description of the problem, or
you'll have to wait until the next day when I am back in my office.
You don't need to copy down the entire problem verbatim, but
a brief description to jog my memory will go a long way towards getting
your question answered sooner.
- The more detailed an email you send, the more detailed a
response I will be able to craft. Just sending an email with
a list of problems is not particularly useful to me, as I don't know
where specifically you got stuck, what methods you may have already
tried, etc. So if you want me to be as useful as possible,
please outline for me where exactly you are stuck, and what methods, if
any, you have already tried.
An example of a poorly crafted email:
hey mat,
#24
#26
#34
kthxbye
An example of a well crafted
email:
Dear
Matt,
I was wondering if you could help me with one of the problems from this
week's homework. The question asks you to integrate
1/x*log(x). I tried integration by parts, but my calculations
got a little messy. Is there something I'm overlooking here?
Thanks for all your help. You are an exemplary TA; if educators
were stars in the night sky, you would undoubtedly shine the brightest.
With warm regards,
*your name here*
Follow these simple rules, and
everyone will be that much happier.