Online writing resource helps students in all areas of study

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab provides students with a guide to help them successfully complete writing assignments not only in writing classes, but also in STEM coursework and multimedia presentations.

“As more high school and college students participate in online courses, they are more likely to find OWL helpful,” says Tammy Conard-Salvo, associate director of the Writing Lab. “The same is also true as students are producing non-traditional writing projects.”

OWL provides students of all ages with information on the basics of writing, grammar and mechanics, writer’s block, conducting research and more. It also provides students with many subject-specific resources. These resources include presentations on how to write an engineering report, how to write an experimental report in psychology and how to write as a professional nurse. One of the most popular features on the site is the style guides for how to write academic papers.

“Writing is something that is present in every class or career, whether that class is focused on chemistry or English,” says Trinity Overmyer, OWL content coordinator. “Many students don’t realize the extent of the resources that OWL provides. These resources range from guides and instructional videos on how to correctly write a lab report to how to brainstorm ideas for a fiction narrative.”

All of the resources mentioned and more can be found online. OWL received more than 411 million page views during the last academic year, which was a 38.4 percent increase from the previous year. The online resource continues to grow and create new materials in order to help students perform better. 

Writer: Olivia Crouse, ocrouse@purdue.edu 

Media contact: Joe Paul, paul102@purdue.edu 

Sources: Tammy Conard-Salvo, tcsalvo@purdue.edu

Trinity Overmyer, trinity@purdue.edu