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I've been doing that too Linda. These students might as well write, "I read nothing, can you do it for me?" They are looking for a way to be able to participate in class discussions without being knocked down for not reading or answer study questions.

In reply to #20 and #21:

There are only a couple of instances when editors should flag a question:

1. If the question contains profanity or offensive language of any kind.
2. If the question is off-topic or has been posted under the wrong work (e.g., a question about Hamlet that appears under Macbeth).

If you are concerned about any other issue regarding a student question, please contact me or Jamie. 

Thanks everyone! 

For those of you concerned about the "cheating" aspect, I encourage you to assume the best of students.   For those looking for character information, they may simply be looking to round out their understanding.  Imagine that you are 14 and are trying to understand the marital relations of a Scottish King, the politics of the throne and of warfare, etc. 

As for topics like, "What is the conclusion?", again, place yourself in those immature shoes.  I have freshmen and sophomore college students who still expect the traditional plot curve.  When they encounter works that are purposely ambiguous, they are at a loss to understand what the "conclusion" is supposed to be (I had this problem teaching "Oleanna" for example.)

That said, trust, but verify.  As Scott says, if there are any you feel is suspicious, ask one of us before deleting.  

You're right. Thanks for putting it in perspective.

In reply to #1: As an English teacher, I uncomfortable with some of the answers I see posted on this site, and even with some of my own answers. I've thought about this question many times and I am glad to see I'm not alone...One thing I rarely do in my answers is provide supporting quotes. If we give a student both an explanation of a plot device, character trait, etc., and then supply him or her with a supporting quote, the work is done. I would like to pose more questions that guide a student in the right direction, but I'm not sure I'd be fulfilling my duties as a question-answerer if I did that. The other side of this coin is the fact that many students who use the site seem to be very honestly trying to understand more about the story, passage, or poem overall. These particular students are being resourceful; others, in my opinion, are simply cheating. In addition to freshmen, I teach a senior AP English class and I encourage these students to use certain Web sites to better understand a particular detail or element IN ADDITION to thoroughly reading a text. But, using sites as a substitute for reading the original text is flatly cheating. 

In reply to #3: I totally agree with your point about the "summary" questions. There are many questions I simply suggest ideas for, but don't follow the "directions" of the student exactly for this reason. Instead, I suggest areas for them to explore.

My thinking is that we need more textual support, not less.  I don't like to feel like I'm helping someone cheat, but I also want verfication that our answers are accurate.  As limited as the response area is, I think it's kind of lazy to not back up what you assert.   And can't see, other than the laziest of teacher questions, how offering back up encourages cheating. 

In reply to #27: Thank you. That was my thought exactly. We sometimes forget that our students don't have our backgrounds in literature and in finding all the details. How many times have you asked what you thought was a very simple question to be faced with silence instead of answers? And then an "Oh, yeah" when you told them the answer? My feeling is that by using excerpts from the text to support our answers, we're teaching the students how to do the same thing for themselves.

I have no problem with my students using Enotes.com.  I encourage them to, actually.  Good sources are truly a blessing, and Enotes is a great one for them to use.  I'd MUCH rather them come here to get great material than do a general Internet search on literature.  Usually, the results bring up a slew of FREE PAPERS sites that I DEPLORE.

I have to agree with previous posters that I find factual questions rather disturbing.  I would hope teachers simply aren't asking their students to answer a bunch of factual questions that require little or no critical thinking/analysis skills.  This is a scary thought to me!

I do not think using Enotes is cheating IF the student is here for "honorable reasons" as someone else referred to.

jamie-wheeler stated:

My thinking is that we need more textual support, not less.  I don't like to feel like I'm helping someone cheat, but I also want verfication that our answers are accurate.  As limited as the response area is, I think it's kind of lazy to not back up what you assert.   And can't see, other than the laziest of teacher questions, how offering back up encourages cheating. 

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!