First and foremost, I am looking forward to helping all of you tomorrow. I TRULY WANT YOU TO DO WELL AND TO PASS THIS CLASS. If I can't help you tomorrow, contact me early for help during the week. I know that time will fill up quickly, so make sure if you can't be there that you get an appointment early. I WILL NOT HELP WITH ESSAY REVISIONS VIA E-MAIL, BUT I WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT DON'T PERTAIN TO PROOFREADING YOUR ACTUAL ESSAY.

Second, no matter what the weather is, I will be there. I promise. I'll be there from 10-9 with exception of 1-130 and 5-530. I have to eat some time. The store closes at 9 and I will have been out of my house from about 9am. Thus, I'm leaving PROMPTLY at 9. At some point in my life, I need to spend time with my wife.

For those who don't know the process, I take appointments when I'm there. You can't ask in advance, so you just show up and hope that nobody is there at that time or prepare yourself to wait. In help sessions past, I've had so many people there that it could be a wait that is over 1 hour. You may want to bring something to do. In sessions past, lots of people have been there at the opening and many have been there after I ate. It all depends. I tend to give 15-20 minutes per person depending on what people need. Sometimes, I take longer. Sometimes, not so much. It all depends.

The best time for a guaranteed time is right after lunch. You may not get seen right away, but you won't get shut out. I expect lots of people early and if lots of people show up late, I WON'T GUARANTEE that you will get seen. For example, if I have 8 people waiting at 7, and you show up at 730, you're out of luck. Once I fill up for the day with 20 minutes between appointments, you're going to have to figure something out before Thursday (COM051) or Friday (COM121). At the most, I have had nearly 30 people from 4 classes show up. This semester, I'm averaging 15-20 people per day. The last session is always the busiest session.

The day your essays are due, there won't be any help since you won't be able to finish it anyway. Remember, your essays are due that day. The reason my standards are so firm as to when things are due is that is what your future boss will expect. In that, I'm training you to be able to be persistent and depenadble when it comes to doing what you need to do. That gets you consideration that many people don't have. In the end, that's what counts.

I am only correcting MLA (COM051) and APA (COM121). I WILL NOT look at grammar. At this point, you should have that on your own. I also WILL NOT look at a computer screen to correct your essay. I'm not a laptop guy, so make sure I have a printout to look at. Bring printed URLs so that I can see what you have as far as research. This will allow me to make sure your essay is cited properly as well. If you don't have a Works Cited / References page, I can't do ANYTHING for you. I need to see the sources that you're claiming credit for having used in this essay.

Bring your pre-writing. I want to see how you organized what you did as well. An outline is everything.

For Com121, students who intend to A out (A on the first essay, 85 or above on the 2nd essay and all other work done and able to complete everything with an A average) need to be helped prior to the final, or you will be taking ALL of the final.

For Com051 students, you have to take the final as per division standards. If time permits (NOBODY is behind you in line), I will be able to help with preparing for this. Don't count on that.

All of my classes are tough. I won't deny that, but you've worked long and hard to make sure that you get to the next level. I teach you in the way that I know will give you the greatest chance for success in the future. Don't give up now. Work hard, and it will be over in about 11 short days. If you're here, you have a fighting chance for a solid grade. Don't give up on you now. Just because the old man isn't smiling and patting you on the back with giddy smiles of how awesome you are doesn't mean that he doesn't feel those things about you. Really.