HWK and how much work is required (rant about hwk thread)

[~christina~]

[SOLVED] HWK and how much work is required (rant about hwk thread)

I have a question...it is said that in the physics introductory thread and I assume elsewhere that your supposed to do work and SHOW IT...HOWEVER it's not funny how if you do too much work people ignore you as well...I think that by spending the time (it takes much time-you don't want to know how long) to actually type what I did I'd get help..

but alas! no... It's the total oposite.

These are the situations

Post what you did =very few want to help (I just need some pointers on what I did incorrect and how to find some things) => what I do and what I thought they want becaus they wouldn't know what I did wrong if I didn't

Post nothing - lots of help (WHY?!)

post something (little and say that you didn't get this or that) - result is they tell you to post your work (well if I do no one replies so are you sure you want work?)

so I'm confused /disapointed since I'm not sure what is the best

Note: future viewers of the thread=> I Do appreciate the help I do get..this just an observation of mine

Thanks
~C

 

[siddharth]

christina, lots of the homework helpers are usually students/teachers/professionals who take time off from their busy schedule to help. From what I've seen, the majority of the threads are answered in the homework help forums.

Just wait a little bit, and you'll probably get help. If it's been days and the thread has been buried, bring it up again.

I don't think posters get lots of help while showing no work of their own, and this is also against the forum rules. If you spot any such posts, use the "report" button to bring it to the attention of the mentors.

 

[~christina~]

christina, lots of the homework helpers are usually students/teachers/professionals who take time off from their busy schedule to help. From what I've seen, the majority of the threads are answered in the homework help forums.

Just wait a little bit, and you'll probably get help. If it's been days and the thread has been buried, bring it up again.

I don't think posters get lots of help while showing no work of their own, and this is also against the forum rules. If you spot any such posts, use the "report" button to bring it to the attention of the mentors.

well...yes I DO know they volunteer their time BUT people get answers above and below and left and right of me so...I'm not sure what to conclude from that in general..

I meant that they don't post anything but the question and nothing below it or explaining why they don't get something and then they get a response...:sad: (not that they go and have a person doing all the work for them)

 

[morphism]

More isn't necessarily better. Write well, and write concisely. People are less inclined to read lengthy posts. Instead of posting a large block of text with your attempt, briefly describe what you did and the relevant results you got. This way your post won't be ignored because it looks like it would take a lot of effort to read. Of course you should expect to be asked to clarify certain points or post further working, but at least now you have someone interested in helping you out.

Just my two cents.

 

[K.J.Healey]

The way I see it, if there's a post of a HW question, and its just barely started, then the student probably just doesn't know where to start. So you say a few simple things to guide them.
When a student has 90% of a problem done and can't finish it that means, in order to help, I'd have to redo that 90% to check to make sure they're right before I can provide a meaningful response.

This place really seems to be a bigger help for those that don't know what they're doing rather than those that just need a little help.

 

[Moonbear]

It could just be that the HW helpers are stumped by your question and just helped with the easier ones around yours. It's easy to help on easy questions, not so easy to help on good, difficult questions.

 

[Astronuc]

One could PM a mentor or HW helper for assistance.

 

[G01]

More isn't necessarily better. Write well, and write concisely. People are less inclined to read lengthy posts. Instead of posting a large block of text with your attempt, briefly describe what you did and the relevant results you got. This way your post won't be ignored because it looks like it would take a lot of effort to read. Of course you should expect to be asked to clarify certain points or post further working, but at least now you have someone interested in helping you out.

Just my two cents.

This basically describes my ideal thread. I, and many other helpers I'm sure, are also students and taking 16-18 credits just like you. Seeing a long thread full of words is very discouraging since I don't want to start helping someone and not be able to finish helping them because the problem is too long and I have to go to class.

For me, I like to see a concise thread posting the homework problem and the problem they are having with it. I can later ask for clarification if needed. Some small proof that they put time into it is also required of course, but I don't limit this to just calculations. If they offer thoughts on the problem, point out what concepts apply, etc., then I count that as independent thought on the problem.

So, your best bet when posting a problem in my opinion, it to do the following:

1. Be concise and clear when stating the problem and your question on it.

2. Point out what is confusing you.

3. Don't show EVERY calculation and type out EVERY thought since this may deter helpers with time constraints, of which there are many. All you need to do is show results, or thoughts on the problem to show that you put independent effort into it. If we need more info we'll ask.

 

[hotcommodity]

With all do respect, you get plenty of homework help (probably more than most posters). Additionally, I've never seen you offer up help to others, even tho' you probably could. So you really have no room to complain.

 

[Kurdt]

Of course, Pf doesn't have a complete range of experts in each field. It depends on what subjects the questions are based. For instance i have noticed a distinct lack of HH's that are very good with Electromagnetism and thermodynamics. So any questions regarding these tend to slip by.

Of course this is not the only answer. It is probably a combination of the above.

 

[~christina~]

With all do respect, you get plenty of homework help (probably more than most posters). Additionally, I've never seen you offer up help to others, even tho' you probably could. So you really have no room to complain.

you know...I WOULD IF I WAS THAT GOOD IN PHYSICS but I'm NOT..but I lack confidence and Physics is just not my subject, If I gave out incorrect info I'd feel really bad about it. I do help others...just not here...and I'm not going into details but I help with chem stuff.

 

[~christina~]

This basically describes my ideal thread. I, and many other helpers I'm sure, are also students and taking 16-18 credits just like you. Seeing a long thread full of words is very discouraging since I don't want to start helping someone and not be able to finish helping them because the problem is too long and I have to go to class.

For me, I like to see a concise thread posting the homework problem and the problem they are having with it. I can later ask for clarification if needed. Some small proof that they put time into it is also required of course, but I don't limit this to just calculations. If they offer thoughts on the problem, point out what concepts apply, etc., then I count that as independent thought on the problem.

So, your best bet when posting a problem in my opinion, it to do the following:

1. Be concise and clear when stating the problem and your question on it.

2. Point out what is confusing you.

3. Don't show EVERY calculation and type out EVERY thought since this may deter helpers with time constraints, of which there are many. All you need to do is show results, or thoughts on the problem to show that you put independent effort into it. If we need more info we'll ask.

Thanks G01, I'll take that into account next time I post.

 

[~christina~]

One could PM a mentor or HW helper for assistance.

Oh...okay Thanks, Astronuc

 

[Chi Meson]

I assume the rant phase is over. I did want to corroborate what Hotcommodity said: you (that's you) get lots of help here. I looked at the question that you were probably referring to (the one that made you a latex expert, I'm guessing).

When such a lot of effort is put into a question, it usually indicates a tricky problem. Sometimes, especially on a Saturday, us homework helper types are not loaded up with spare time, so we might just "leave it for the next guy."

Not the best attitude I admit, but ... well, y'know... ka'ching so very not.

 

[Cyrus]

I looked over your question, and Id say your spending too much time typing out every step in latex. Try to be as minimal as possible yet still show the same amount of information. I don't need to see you doing simple steps like substituting numbers into variables. Its a waste of both your and my time.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

I know that there are five reasons I may be disinclined to answer a particular homework question:

1. I simply don't have time.

2. The question is not in a subject I'm interested in. Frankly, I do this for my own entertainment.

3. The poster writes in a very "chatroom" style, with lots of smileys, ellipses, and/or walls of text. When someone chooses to barf on the page rather than put an effort into organizing their thoughts into concise, complete sentences and paragraphs, I quickly lose interest in reading whatever they have to say.

4. If the Latex formatting is very poor, I will skip over the question because I do not want to take the time to decipher it.

5. If the poster's command of English makes them too difficult to understand, I will skip over the post rather than play guessing games.

Number 3 is probably the most egregious and common error which turns me off from posting a response (to any thread; not just homework threads). I have a hard time imagining what sort of communities people must have come from, where such a communication style is acceptable.