Selena is taking Freshman Composition during her first semester at Penn State and she is having a lot of trouble with style issues. Although the instructor says that her ideas are interesting, she keep getting grades of C and below on her papers because of grammatical and spelling errors. She had straight A's in high school and just can't figure out what's wrong with her work. As her papers come in with red marks all over them, she is getting more and more depressed and is thinking that she might not be Penn State material.
It is always wise to begin with the instructor, that way you know exactly what they are looking for in your papers. She or he may recommend the Writing Center or working with the grad. assistant for the class, but you'll at least know that you are on the right track, and one approved by the instructor.
I wouldn't want to harass my professor with grammar questions. She already has several assignments with comments. Take the papers to the writing center and get help based on the information that you have.