Chevrolet Repair: coolant leak, chevy cavaliar, head gasket failure

Question
i have a 96 chevy cavaliar and recently the engine is getting hot. after i run it for 10-15 min i can see the smoke from the engine. also i can see the coolant(i think its the coolant) dripping under the car.can you please tell me how to procede. i am not that at cars(this is my first car, bought 2 years ago).your help is really appreciated

Answer
Hey,

 Don't drive it if it is low on coolant. Every time you overheat it the aluminum components are expanding and contracting at different rates than the cast iron and head gasket failure will be the end result.  It impossible to tell where it is leaking without a visual inspection.  If you take a digital picture of the leak I can tell you what it is.
 some of the common things that leak are the waterpump and heater core.  You didn't say what engine so I assume its a 2.2. If you continue driving it with a coolant leak youwill be adding an expensive headgasket repair to the list.

Wayne