Visiting your professors

Plan on visiting the office of each of your professors during the semester. If you've already taken that professor's exam and received your grade, plan to go over the exam with the professor.  The key word here is "plan."  Know exactly what questions you need answered before you walk in the door.  Circle areas of your essay that you want to discuss.  Simply saying, "So why did I get a 'C+' instead of a higher grade" will get you no useful information.  Remember why you're there: you want some specifics that will help you score higher on the next exam.

So ask specific questions.  Here are examples of specific questions:

• "You wrote 'conclusory' in the margin here. What does that mean, and how could I have written that sentence better?"
• "Should I have discussed the inchoate crimes of solicitation and conspiracy after my analysis of the murder charge?"

This is a question that will elicit a variety of answers from different professors.  One professor may feel that providing supplemental material to a student during an office visit may amount to tilting the playing field in favor of students who visit the office; another professor may believe that those who seek additional assistance merit that assistance and will happily provide it.

Count on finding more information about why to visit your professors - and how to prepare for those visits - in future blog entries on this web site.