Hi everyone!
Today I would like to introduce you to OWL – the Online Writing Lab by Purdue University – a free online writing service which provides useful resources and instructional materials for students, teachers, English learners and native speakers around the world. The goal of OWL is to assist people in their development as writers at any level and to provide them with helpful information, tips and knowledge which will make the writing process less stressful and more enjoyable.

The best thing about OWL is that it offers a wide range of suitable writing assistance – it does not make the mistake of focussing only on grammar and vocabulary. OWL looks at many different writing types, at the purpose of each piece of writing, at the essential background mechanics of writing, and most importantly OWL gives suitable advice on the entire writing process from the planning to the editing stage. OWL also provides subject-specific resources and looks at the important areas of punctuation, paragraphing, language choice, referencing, in-text citations, and plagiarism, among many others. All of this makes OWL one of the best online writing resources available today, and it will certainly lead to you writing more confidently and accurately at a professional level.

There are many useful areas covered on the OWL website – below I have outlined just a few of my favourites (please visit the main page of the OWL website to start exploring the many resources yourself):
–Starting the Writing Process
–Dealing with Writers Block
–Creating a Thesis Statement
–Proofreading
–Paragraphs and Paragraphing
–Eliminating Unnecessary Words
–Active and Passive Voice
–Understanding Writing Assignment Questions
–Writing Research Papers
–Exam Writing
–Writing Proposals

In addition to visiting the above and many more interesting resources, you can also try the OWL exercises section which provides you with useful practice exercises on grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, paraphrasing and writing numbers. There is also an excellent section especially put together for ESL students which is filled with useful tips and resources to make the writing process easier and more understandable.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit OWL and start improving your writing today!
:) Nicole

© Nicole Sammer, Sydney English Teacher, 2015.

Tweet