Why did I find it necessary to say I was a first year?

Dear Dr Brown,

I am a first-year PhD student in the UK, researching social presence and the development of online learning communities.

I have just finished reading your JALN article ‘The process of community-building in distance learning classes’, which I found very interesting. I found the 15-step process of community building particularly helpful. I wondered whether you had published anything else on this subject? I haven’t been able to track any of your other publications down through our library – it isn’t always strong on publications from the US.

Was the article based on your PhD thesis and, if so, would I be able to access that?

Thank you for your help,
Rebecca Ferguson
Open University, UK