<p>At the end of the quarter, I wanted to send a short thanks via email (along with other info she wanted) to a TA at a university. I don't usually ask for help at all but I needed to when I did poorly on my first midterm. Being naturally shy, when I did I would speak quietly and in the heat of the moment I would just answer with short sentences -- yes, no, thank you, etc. At times it would be awkward/uncomfortable. I also emailed questions and found the teacher's answers very helpful and it helped me improve from scoring .5 pts below the median on the first midterm and then scoring 23 pts above the median on my second midterm, boosting my grade from a 3.4 to a 3.7 in a class that was curved at a 3.0. I wished I could have been more sincere and showed how much I appreciated the help. Would this be okay?</p>
<p>Name,</p>
<p>Thank you for your generous help this quarter. I truly appreciate your willingness to work with my project; your clear and detailed explanations to my concerns aided me greatly. In the end, it was a direct reason why I was able to improve and exceed my goal for this class!</p>
<p>Thanks again,</p>
<p>Name</p>
<p>Since I'm not expecting a response, what do you think? Honest answers, please. Thanks.</p>
<p>It would be good if you could write the note by hand and perhaps being a bit more effusive about how much the help meant to you. The teacher/TA may already sense your shyness, or you may wish to mention that it is why you didn’t speak up more.</p>
<p>I think it’s a lovely idea; thank you notes are so rare, and it will be appreciated I’m sure.</p>
<p>Don’t email it! I agree with HImom: hand-write it, maybe on a card, and either deliver it to her office or send it by snail mail. It does sound a little formal, and it wouldn’t hurt to loosen it up a little. But even if you don’t change it at all, you’re OK. What will be remembered is that you took the time to write it, not the specific words.</p>
<p>My instinct would be to e-mail it – with a cc to the professor. Or alternatively, you could send an e-mail to the professor expressing your appreciation for the TA’s help, with a cc to the TA.</p>
<p>Nobody ever objects when you send a compliment about them to their boss.</p>
<p>Absolutely send it! People are always quick to make criticisms, so it really means a lot to them when someone takes the time to praise them. I like Marian’s idea to email it and cc the professor. </p>
<p>I also like the idea of emailing it with a cc to the professor. Thanking people who have helped you is so gratifying to all parties. It is very thoughtful of you.</p>
<p>I sent an email to one of my professors a couple of years ago (it was an Intro class) thanking her for the class, which helped me decide to pursue it as a major.</p>
<p>She sent a very nice reply email thanking me for the email saying “she needed that”, because it had been a very long, difficult semester.</p>
<p>Bottom line, professors don’t get thanked nearly enough (especially when they’re good at their job). Saying thank you to somebody that helped you is NEVER a bad thing.</p>
<p>If you really want to build on your confidence, go into the professor’s office hours and thank them in person.</p>
<p>Have any of y’all heard of Norman Vincent Peale? He thought people should write thank you letters also. My mom kept an article about him and would show it to us at stages of our life growing up. Part of it was about telling others “thanks”! It makes you feel good also knowing that you made someone else’s day!</p>