FAQ: Will you help me with my paper?

A wise and experienced educator named Jane helpfully wrote, among other topics, that it might be a good idea to put some kind of disclaimer at the start of the "Help and Advice for Students" category. Specifically, notes on how much assistance can be expected from an email asking for homework help. This was/is a great idea for which Jane is owed a debt of gratitude. I started writing this FAQ months ago, and have since edited it about two dozen times. ( I keep sounding like ... like ... like a middle-aged woman who had to do her own homework, back in the day. And the mean sort of mother who now makes her children do their own. Like that.) As the emails continued to roll in, I eventually became less interested in putting things nicely. So, for all those students who have asked - and will ask - for paper-writing help, here are some tips and suggestions.