Asking Smart Questions
12 Aug 2024
Smart Way to Ask
Link to a question asked on Stack Overflow concerning the difference between two different for-loops: StackOverflow
First, the title of this question goes straight to the point, which is asking for clarification with the difference between (for…in) and (for…of) statements. Looking through the post, the author organized things by first showing what they have knowledge on, which is having to do with “for… in” loop iterating over the keys, and his confusion for “for… of” loop iterating over values with an excerpt of the code. The code is also very detailed in that there are comments to further prove that the author took effort to try to figure things out before asking the question. Below the code is a detailed description of what the author has knowledge on, stating how the author understands the iteration process and his thought process for both statements. Lastly, the author makes explicit the part of the “for…of” loop that needs clarification. The post received many helpful replies and was upvoted by many people showing that this is a smart and thoughtful question.
Not-So Smart Way to Ask
Link to a question asked on Stack Overflow concerning output of the wrong string: StackOverflow
To begin with, the title of this post is not very meaningful with the beginning few words being “Can someone please tell me…” The format of this post is not very accessible in that the author did not make things look organized. There is just plain text about what the expected output is and other instructions of their question. At first glance, things seem unorganized and not thoughtful. The code and output is displayed as a link that redirects to a photo captured, rather than formatted into the post which is not very helpful when others try to access the code. This post is now closed and not accepting answers which further proves that adjustments need to be made before receiving help from others.
Sum up
To sum up, knowing to ask questions in the smart way and organizing it in an accessible format is crucial in order to receive help from others. Describing the question in a polite and chronological manner helps to clarify and get straight to the core of the question. Trying to be explicit and precise by describing your thought process is also another important factor for receiving an answer to your question.