Help the student ask their professor for an extension without sounding too demanding or unnatural.

"Professor Higgins, _____ give me a two-day extension on my Time-Traveling Penguins essay?"

The correct answer is I was wondering if you could.

"I was wondering if you could..." is an excellent way to make a highly polite, indirect request. Using the past continuous ("was wondering") and the past modal ("could") creates distance, which makes the request sound much softer and more respectful than using present tenses or direct demands.