A quick grammatical question. Someone with a brain please help me?

Unlax, Doc; I'm a retired English prof and I know--fear not. V-shaped is correct. The V represents the shape itself--U-shaped, I-beam, T-square, S-turn, A-frame, and so forth provide the context of meaning (I don't mean to down your English teacher, but my specialty was symbology and semantics). The capital letter provides the shape that IS the meaning: "V-shaped" is semantically equivalent to "shaped like a V." The curious Brit affectation of "Vee" for "V" in this context arises from the quaint notion that anyone without an advanced education has to be taught to pronounce the letters of his native language's alphabet. This is what my son calls the "Durr-factor": smile; insert index finger in dimple; say "Durr." The letters themselves--S, V, A, and so forth--provide all the meaning we need in this context--there's no need to put stars and spangles on a Smithfield ham (I'm from VA).