Q&A for How to Ask a Professor for a Paper Extension

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How do I ask for an extension if my teacher normally doesn't grant extensions?

Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.
Educational Consultant
Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University.

Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.

Educational Consultant

Expert Answer

I would be honest with them and explain why you need the extension. It's also helpful to bring in what you've completed so far. This will show your teacher that you've made your best effort to complete the assignment despite whatever circumstances you have going on.

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Question

I have to turn in homework tomorrow that is on my iPad and I forgot to bring it home. What do I do?

Trevor H

Community Answer

If possible, call or email your teacher as soon as you can and be honest. It's entirely possible that they will be understanding of the situation, especially if this is not a regular thing for you. Perhaps you might want to consider requesting if you can do any extra credit work on top of your forgotten homework to help make up for this.

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I was working on my paper on Monday, and 5 pages into it the paper got erased from the school computer because I had not been typing for a while. Now I am stuck starting from nothing and it is due today. What can I do?

Community Answer

Talk to your professor and calmly explain what happened. Assuming this is your first time asking, he/she will probably be willing to grant you an extension. Try recreating your paper by organizing everything you can remember into a mind map or any other sort of chart. You'll probably be surprised by how much you can recall. It won't take you nearly as long to write as your first draft did.

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I started college 3 weeks ago and I have not done any work yet due to a family emergency. How do I write my professors asking if I can still have time to hand in the work that was due?

Community Answer

Think about how much time you'll need to do the work, checking your college's policies on extenuating circumstances to make sure this is allowed. Send a polite email to your professors detailing that you have not been able to do the work due to your family emergency (attaching proof if required), and ask for an extension to complete the assignments. Most professors are very understanding about this, so chances are they'll grant one for you.

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How do I spin off being new at school to ask my teacher for a paper extension?

Community Answer

This is not a good reason to ask for an extension. Everyone is new at a school, university, or college at some point, and everyone is still expected to do their work and hand it in on time.

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How long can I ask for a paper extension from a professor?

Community Answer

Depending on the factors leading to needing an extension, college students tend to ask professors for an extension of 2 - 7 days maximum if an extension is needed. Whether or not you'll get the amount of time for an extension that you're seeking is another story.

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Should teachers extend deadlines on research papers?

Community Answer

Teachers are not required to extend deadlines unless there are external factors that cause an extension to be necessary. Extensions are up to the discretion of the teacher and administrative staff. If say, a virus caused most of the world to close down, then an extension on a research paper would only be fair.

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