This study examined common problems in first-year college-student writing, including unconventional usage, sentence-level syntax problems, style that does not align with the conventions of academic written discourse, and broader rhetorical concerns. The primary purpose of the study was to identify common writing problems and to examine how these problems are understood by both teachers and students. The study helped illuminate the nature of common problems in college-student writing and provided insight into how students and teachers understand and attempt to address such problems.