Online Writing Lab (OWL)

 

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a virtual tutoring service that’s ideal if you are not able to easily connect with the Writing Center during our open hours or if you prefer to receive feedback in a non-live setting. You can submit your paper at any time of day for help at any stage of the writing process. A Writing Center tutor will read your paper during their shift and respond quickly. Just fill out the form below!

You will receive an email with feedback and comments about your writing within two business days (e.g. papers submitted on Friday will be returned by Tuesday). Due to time constraints, our tutors typically only read the first 5-6 pages of a submission. If your paper is longer than that, please consider submitting the unread part after incorporating the initial feedback.

How do I send a link to my Google Doc?

1. Open your Google Doc
2. Click the blue share button at the top right
3. Find the Get link section at the bottom of the pop-up window
4. Click the blue Change link (the default message is usually Change link to University of Central Missouri)
5. Give people at UCM Commenter privileges
6. Learn more about how others view, comment, or edit files
7. Copy and paste the visible link into the OWL submission form

Can I ask questions about the feedback I received? Yes! If you have questions or comments about the feedback we left on your paper, send us an email reply with your questions and we’ll be happy to give you feedback. 

Why didn't you leave comments on my entire paper? Our tutors work on each paper while they are also working in the Writing Center. They attempt to devote at least 30 minutes to an OWL submission, which doesn’t leave time to read and comment on every page of a long paper. We promise that we left suggestions you can apply to the whole paper. Additionally, we want you to be the chief architect of your writing, so we will not attempt to fix every error.

Can I submit multiple papers at a time? Please only submit 1 paper per day.