How to Get Help from Your Professor

How to Get Help from Your Professor Few students make it through college or graduate school without seeking assistance from a professor for help at one time or another. In fact, its important to seek help rather than let problems fester and intensify. So, how do you approach a professor for one-on-one time? First, lets look at common reasons students seek assistance. Why Seek Help? What are common reasons why you might seek out professors for assistance? Youve fallen behind in class because of illnessYouve failed a test or assignment and do not understand the course materialYou have questions about the requirements of a given assignmentYou need advice on the subject of your majorYou cannot reach the class teaching assistant during his or her posted hoursYou need clarification on policies and/or schedules OK, so there are lots of reasons to seek assistance from professors. Why Do Students Avoid Seeking Professors Help?Sometimes students avoid asking for assistance or meeting with their professors because theyre embarrassed or intimidated. What are common anxieties experienced by students? Feeling out of the loop after missing several classesFear of asking a dumb questionFear of confrontationShynessDiscomfort over approaching a professor of a different age, gender, race, or cultureTendency to avoid interactions with those in authority If youre going to progress as a student and especially if you wish to attend graduate school, you must set your intimidation aside and ask for the help that you need. How to Approach Your Professor Contact. Determine the preferred mode of contact; check the course syllabus as professors indicate their preferred methods of contact and related information. Ask yourself: Is this urgent? If so, then contact by phone or stopping by his or her office during office hours is probably the most logical step. Otherwise, you can try e-mail. Wait a few days for a response (remember that teaching is a professors job, so dont expect replies over evenings, weekends, or holidays). Plan. Check the syllabus for the professors office hours and policies before you make your request so that you are already familiar with their schedule. If the professor requests that you return at another time, do your best to meet at a time which is convenient for him or her (e.g., during office hours). Dont ask a professor to go out of his or her way to meet you at a time that is inconvenient because professors have many more responsibilities than teaching (e.g., lots of meetings within the department, university, and community). Ask. Asking is the only way to learn your professors preferences. Say something like, Professor Smith, I need a few minutes of your time so that you can help me with a question/problem Im having with ___. Is this a good time, or can we set up something that is more convenient for you? Keep it short and to the point. Prepare for Your Meeting Pull your thoughts together beforehand (as well as all of your course materials). Preparation will permit you to remember to ask all of the questions that you need to be answered and arrive with confidence to your meeting. Questions. If you are anxious at all about talking with your professor, prepare a list of your questions beforehand. Be efficient and try to accomplish everything in one meeting, rather than coming back time and time again with further questions. Materials. Bring your class notes and syllabus with you to refer to, if you have questions specifically related to course materials so that you have all the details you need. If you need to refer to a textbook, bookmark the pages that you will need to refer to so you can get to them quickly. Notes. Come prepared to take notes (i.e., bring a pen and paper to your meeting). Notes will help you record and remember the responses to your questions and prevent you from asking the same questions later in the course. At the Meeting Be punctual. Punctuality signifies respect for your professors time. Do not arrive early or late. Most professors are pressed for time. If you need to meet with your professor again, ask him or her if you can set up another appointment, following the suggestions above. Use the appropriate form of address. Unless your professor has indicated otherwise, address him or her by last name and with the appropriate title (e.g., Professor, Doctor). Show some gratitude. Always thank the professor for his or her time and express any gratitude that you feel is appropriate for the specific help that he or she has provided. This rapport will leave the door open for future appointments.

What to Do If You Make a Mistake While Voting

What to Do If You Make a Mistake While Voting With all the different types of voting machines now in use and requirements in effect across the United States, voters often make mistakes while voting. What happens if you change your mind while voting, or you accidentally vote for the wrong candidate? No matter what type of voting machine you are using, carefully check your ballot to make sure you have voted as you intended to vote. As soon as you discover you have made a mistake, or if you have a problem with the voting machine, immediately ask a poll worker for help. Get a Poll Worker to Help You If you polling place uses paper ballots, punch card ballots or  optical scan ballots, the poll worker will be able to take your old ballot and give you a new one. An election judge will either destroy your old ballot on the spot or place it in a special ballot box designated for damaged or incorrectly marked ballots. These ballots will not be counted and will be destroyed after the election has been declared official. You Can Correct Some Voting Errors Yourself If your polling place uses a paperless computerized or lever-pull voting booth, you can correct your ballot yourself. In a lever operated voting booth, simply put the one lever back where it was and pull the lever you really want. Until you pull the big lever that opens the voting booth curtain, you can continue to use the voting levers to correct your ballot. On computerized, touch screen voting systems, the computer program should provide you with options for checking and correcting your ballot. You can continue to correct you ballot until you touch button on the screen saying that you have finished voting. Remember, if you have any problems or questions while voting, ask a poll worker for help. What Are the Most Common Voting Mistakes? Voting for more than one person for a single office. If you do this, your vote for that office will not be counted.Not voting for the candidate you think you are voting for. This happens most often when the voting machine uses a booklet showing the voter two pages of names and offices at the same time. The names often lineup in confusing ways. Read carefully and follow the arrows printed on the pages of the booklet.Not following instructions. For example, circling a candidates name, rather than filling in the little circle next to their name. Mistakes like this can result in your vote not being counted.Not voting for some offices. Going through the ballot too quickly can cause you to accidentally skip some candidates or issues you really wanted to vote for. Go slowly, and be sure to check your ballot. You are not, however, required to vote in all races or on all issues. What About Absentee and Mail-In  Voting Mistakes? While all states now allow some form of mail-in voting, 22 states currently allow certain elections to be conducted entirely by mail. In three of those states- Oregon, Washington, and Colorado- all elections are conducted entirely by mail.   About 1 in 5 Americans now vote absentee, or by mail, in national elections. However, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) reported that more than 250,000 absentee ballots were rejected and not counted in the 2012 midterm congressional election. Worse yet, says the EAC, the voters might never know their votes were not counted or why. And unlike mistakes made at the polling place, mistakes in mail-in voting can rarely if ever be corrected once the ballot has been mailed. According to the EAC, the main reason mail-in ballots are rejected is that they were not returned on time. Other common, but easy to avoid mail-in voting mistakes include: Forgetting to sign the ballot envelope, as required.Not putting the ballot in the envelope before mailing it back.Using the wrong envelope.The voter had already voted in personThe signatures on the ballot and the envelope do not match. While all states provide some means of correcting mistakes on mail-in ballots- usually before they are mailed- the procedures for doing so vary from state-to-state and sometimes, from county-to-county.   Does Voting by Mail Increase Voter Turnout? Advocated of mail-in voting argue that it increases overall voter turnout and helps voters become better informed. While the argument of higher turnout seems logical, research conducted by EAC reveals this is not always the case. Mail-in voting does not increase turnout in presidential and gubernatorial general elections. In fact, turnout in mail-in only ballot precincts can be as much as 2.6 to 2.9 percentage points lower compared to turnout at walk-in polling places.Voters who cast mail-in ballots are more likely to skip lower-profile or â€Å"downticket† races.On the other hand, voting by mail tends to increase voter turnout in local special elections by an average of 7.6 percentage points. According to the EAC, mail-in voting also results in lower election costs, reduced incidents of voter fraud, and fewer barriers to voting for disabled persons.