assistant first. 4 Prepare for the meeting . If the instructor has taken points off that you thought you deserved, go back into your lecture notes and text books and make a list of supporting evidence to have with you for the meeting. Be able to show the professor that you were not just making up the information, that you know the material well and that you were prepared. But remember, in using your evidence, this is not a trial. Use the evidence as a basis for asking the professor or assistant to reconcile it with what he or she wanted or were looking for in the paper or exam. 5 Be courteous and professional in the meeting with the assistant or professor . Do not be accusatory -- avoid phrases like "I don't think that you like me," or "I think I'm being treated unfairly." Tell the instructor that you are a bit concerned about the grade you received and you were hoping that they could take a few moments to go over the exam or paper with you. Make sure you don't claim "I deserve a better grade." There is nothing that will draw the ire of a professor more than a student who is learning about a subject for the first time telling a professor, who has been studying a subject for years that they should have gotten a better grade. Do not approach a professor with the line "I did the same thing my friends did