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Purdue OWL News
April 27, 2001

Welcome to the Purdue OWL News! This is an online newsletter about happenings in the Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Grammar Question of the Week

Here's our grammar question of the week, brought to you by the Online Tutors here at Purdue.

Question:
I'm using MLA style and one of my Internet sources doesn't have an author. What am I supposed to put in the parentheses when I quote from this source in my paper?

Response:
According to MLA, when you cite a source in the text of your paper, you should put the first word of the Works Cited entry and the page number in parentheses after the quote. Usually, the first word of a Works Cited entry is the author's last name, but if there is no author, then the entry begins with the title of the source. So, if your Internet source does not have an author, put the title of the source in parentheses then the page number. Also, most Internet sources do not have page numbers. If that is the case, then you can just leave those out. Here's an example: Some have argued that computers are not useful tools for small children ("Too Soon").

For more help with MLA, don't forget to check out our handout: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

What's Happening In The Writing Lab

OWL Eye on ... Summer Services

Summer is almost here! If you're going to be on campus, do not fear. We will be open during Maymester and summer sessions.

During finals week, we will be open 9 am to 6 pm, but there will be no tutors available. From May 7th through May 11th, we begin our summer hours: 9 am to 4 pm. Again, no tutors will be available this week. For Maymester (May 14 - June 8), we will be open 9 am to 4 pm. We will have two tutors on duty: Maryse Jayasuriya and Brian Yothers.
For Summer Session (June 11 - August 3), we will be open the same hours with three tutors on duty: Serkan Gorkemli, Mardy Philippian, and Tadd Ruetenik.

During both Maymester and summer session, we will be offering 30-minute tutorials, assistance with writing papers for any class, workshops on writing skills, help with business writing (resumes, application letters, etc), free handouts and bookmarks , ESL computer materials, computerized TOEFL test preparation kits, Grammar Hotline service (765.494.3723), and online assistance at our OWL (http://owl.english.purdue.edu).

What's Happening On OWL

OWL Eye On... Documenting Internet Resources

The Internet is a widely used tool for research, but unfortunately, style manuals contain little information on how to document electronic sources. Our OWL has links to sources which will help students, teachers, and anybody doing research on the Internet to cite such sources using different styles.

The two main documentation styles used in the USA are MLA (the Modern Language Association) and APA (the American Psychological Association). The MLA style is used in the humanities, and the APA in the natural and
social sciences. Full instructions for MLA and APA styles, including updated instructions for citing electronic sources, are available on the following handouts:

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format :
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

Using APA Format:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

These handouts should answer most of your questions concerning electronic sources. If you need more help, you'll find links to places that might help on this page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_docelectric.html

You can also email a tutor with questions you might have at this form.

Coming Soon to OWL

A new PowerPoint presentation, "Writing About Film," will provide both students and instructors with an understanding of film terms, genres, and different types of film analyses. Watch for it in June.

We're also currently developing a virtual tour of the Writing Lab to complement our virtual tour of OWL! Watch for it soon.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for reading our newsletter, and please email us any suggestions you might have for the newsletter! We really enjoy hearing from our readers. You can mail us at any time at owlnews@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can
also email the OWL Coordinator, Geoff Stacks, at coordinator@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster, Erin Karper, at webmaster@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Erin and Geoff take turns writing the newsletter.)

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