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As we've answered students' questions on OWL over the past few years, we've noticed that there are some questions that come up repeatedly. Therefore, we've decided to put together a page that addresses some of the most common concerns that we are asked about on OWL.
General Questions || Learning English || Parts of Writing || Research and Citing Sources || Grammar and Mechanics || Professional Writing || OWL Resources
The Purdue OWL is an Online Writing Lab that is a part of Purdue University's Writing Lab, a tutorial center that provides one-on-one, face to face tutorials for students of all levels on Purdue University's main campus. The Purdue OWL originated as a collaborative effort by Dr. Muriel Harris, Director of the Purdue University Writing Lab, and Dave Taylor, a graduate student in Educational Computing who redesigned the e-mail server and developed the gopher and Web sites. Their goal was to provide a resource for students who sought writing help but couldn't make it into the physical writing lab during operating hours. Since that time, our OWL has become a complement to classroom instruction, a supplement to face-to-face tutorials, and a stand-alone reference for thousands of writers worldwide. (For more about what the Purdue OWL does, see our OWL index.)
The Purdue OWL currently offers a web site with handouts and resources for writing, an e-mail service where Writing Lab tutors respond to brief questions sent to the OWL Tutors, and a weekly newsletter, the Purdue OWL News, that offers writing-related information and information about the Writing Lab and OWL.
All of the people who answer questions to the Purdue OWL service are graduate students in the Department of English at Purdue University.
Nope! We'll answer questions from anyone (but please make sure you've read our online tutoring policies first.)
Detailed descriptions of our online tutoring policies are available on our online tutoring policies page. Basically, we respond best to short, specific questions, and we don't have the time nor the resources to respond to complete drafts of papers/essays/letters/assignments.
We're glad to respond via email to a question or two from anyone who asks, but, unfortunately, we lack the resources to comment extensively on drafts of papers from people who aren't Purdue students. This means that if you send us a paper, we can't read it and offer you detailed help like we would in a tutorial. If you're a Purdue student, we suggest you make an appointment with a Writing Lab tutor, who would be glad to sit down and work with you one-on-one. If you're a student at another university, you might want to see if they have a writing center or learning center where you could go for feedback on your papers.
Commenting on a paper takes a significant amount of time, and we simply don't have enough tutors to respond to those types of requests. While we won't provide a detailed critical analysis, we can offer feedback on specific portions of a paper (such as an introduction, a sample body paragraph, or a conclusion) sent as part of a text-only email message. We won't, however, read or comment on a group of papers from a number of people in the same course or any paper sent as an attachment file. Remember, though, that we'd be happy to answer a specific question or two about such concerns as the clarity or appropriateness of a sentence or a brief passage from a longer piece of writing.
The International Writing Centers Association (IWCA) offers a list of writing labs that offer online tutoring (over email or in other online forms). Some of these places will only offer tutoring to students at their institution, so make sure to check their policies before sending in your request.
We currently offer most of our handouts and exercises without answer keys for a couple of reasons: First, our online handouts were originally developed as paper handouts for use in our walk-in Writing Lab at Purdue. These handouts were meant to be used by tutors and students during tutorials, so tutors were available to talk about answers. Consequently, no keys were needed.
Second, many of the exercises in the handouts could be answered in more than one way, so we didn't want to have answer keys that might suggest only one answer. Again, we tried to avoid answer keys so that tutors and students could discuss alternatives. I understand that answer keys would be more useful online than in person here at our Writing Lab. Unfortunately, we haven't had time yet to prepare keys for most of the exercises that have only one correct answer per question. We will be adding more answer keys in the future; in the meantime, feel free to write if you ever have a question about a particular exercise.
The first place to start is to think about the purpose of the assignment -- what kind of essay are you writing? Are you describing personal experience? Offering your opinion? Presenting the results of research? Reviewing the relevant literature for a topic? It helps to think about what the purpose of your writing is, as that will shape what you write and how you write it. We have a list of handouts that offer help with attacking specific kinds of writing available in our general writing handouts section. If you're looking for research paper help, we have an entire workshop devoted to writing the research paper.
If you're having trouble brainstorming a topic to write about or exploring a topic that you've been assigned, see our handouts on when you start to write, planning and invention, and thought starters for writing. Our research paper workshop also has an entire section on getting started with writing research papers.
If you're having trouble organizing your ideas, check out when you start to write, our handout on developing an outline, or our research paper workshop's sections on organizing your ideas and creating an outline.
A thesis statement is a sentence (or sentences) that expresses the main ideas of your paper and answers the question or questions posed by your paper. It offers your readers a quick and easy to follow summary of what the paper will be discussing and what you as a writer are setting out to tell them. The kind of thesis that your paper will have will depend on the purpose of your writing. This handout will cover general thesis statement tips, explain some of the different types of thesis statements, and provide some links to other resources about writing thesis statements.
One of the difficulties of writing a thesis statement is compressing a lot of information into one sentence. Frequently, the most effective way of compressing this information is to make use of subordinate clauses and phrases. For example, if you want to argue that streets should be cleared within two hours after a snowstorm, you may have several points that you will use to support this argument. You might argue that clearing the streets promotes public safety. You might believe that clearing the streets will keep students and employees from being late to school and work. You might suppose that if people are injured because streets have not been cleared, the lawsuits that follow might cost your city more money than cleaning the streets would have. How can you put all this into one sentence? The magic of subordinate clauses or phrases can help you out. You could write, "Our city should clear snow from the streets within two hours of the onset of a snowfall because early snow clearing can ensure greater public safety, keep students and employees from being late to school and work, and prevent costly lawsuits against the city in case of injury." You can see that this thesis, while only consisting of one sentence, packs in a lot of information!
For more information on writing thesis statements, see our handout on writing thesis statements or our research paper workshop's discussion of the thesis statement.
There isn't really a single model for every kind of paper, as you probably
realize. One model that is often recommended for writing analytical and persuasive
arguments is to begin with a general introduction leading to a clearly stated,
specific thesis statement at the end of the introduction. The introduction might
thus be said to resemble an upside-down pyramid shaped not by importance but
rather generality (going from general background on a topic to a specific thesis
about it). Then the body of the essay develops sub-topics related to the thesis
in order to defend and support it. Finally, a conclusion summarizes and restates
the thesis, perhaps moving from specific back to more general (a regular pyramid).
So, for example, at the end of the introductory paragraph of an essay arguing
for legislation protecting a coastal wetland area from a development project,
you might find the following thesis statement: Because it would prevent the
devastating environmental effects of commercial and residential development
and would protect and preserve an area of natural beauty, enhancing the quality
of life in the region, the state legislature should enact the proposed legislation
establishing a nature preserve at the mouth of the
Gullah River.
Notice that this thesis statement has two clauses: the first clause, a dependent clause, lists several major reasons in support of the main point of the argument, which is expressed in a "should" statement in the second clause, the independent clause. Not every thesis statement follows this model, but it's a good one to try out. Every thesis statement in a persuasive essay does, in any case, make some claim ("should enact the proposed legislation...") that will be supported and defended with reasoning and evidence throughout the body of the essay. The topic sentences for the paragraphs making up the body of the essay, then, would each have to do with one of the major supporting reasons mentioned in the dependent clause of the thesis statement. So the second paragraph might begin with the following topic sentence: "The fragile ecosystem of the river mouth would be devastated by commercial and residential development." The paragraph would then go on, perhaps, to list various species of plants and animals that would be displaced by such development. Perhaps another paragraph on environmental effects would follow, discussing shoreline erosion and pollution caused by development.
Another body paragraph might have the following topic sentence: "The quality of life for the residents of the lower Gullah River valley would be vastly improved by the wetland preserve." The paragraph might then go on to discuss trails and interpretive nature sites, children's education programs, park facilities, and so on. The final paragraph of the essay would summarize the general argument and restate the thesis in a different way, perhaps closing with a persuasive image or other final appeal.
For more about developing an argumentative essay or paper, see our research
paper workshop or our general
writing handouts.
This is a very common question that can mean many different things. "Flow" can refer to the organization of your paragraphs, the organization of your essay as a whole, the kinds of sentences you write, and the ways you make transitions between ideas. In general, a paper that "flows" well is clear and easy to understand, makes connections between ideas apparent to the reader, and presents information in a logical order. Such a paper would also offer coherent sentences that are varied in their construction, so that the paper isn't too boring to read. To understand how your writing "flows," try reading it out loud, or having someone else read it out loud to you. Notice places where sentences seem awkward, or where you (or your reader) get lost, and mark them for later.
For more about how to make your writing flow better, see our handouts on coherence, conciseness, sentence variety, strategies for improving sentence clarity, transitional devices for connecting ideas, and adding emphasis.
In general, you can best improve your English (or any other language you're learning) by reading, listening, writing and speaking English as much as possible. So, try starting a conversation group, or a group that gets together to read and discuss various English books or articles, or that watches and discusses programs in English. Or, join some online discussion groups that use English.
If you're a Purdue University student, the Writing Lab has an entire section of books, tapes, CD-ROMs, and other software for learning more about English and practicing English. The Writing Lab also offers conversation groups that meet at different times during the week for English practice. To find out more about the conversation groups, give the lab a call at 494-3723 or stop by Heavilon Hall 226.
If you're not a Purdue University student (or if you are and you're looking for online resources), you might want to check out some of the resources on our ESL resources for students page, which include online courses, links to sites that offer practice in all aspects of learning English, and other great resources. Some of our favorite sites are Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Mark's ESL World,which offers a bulletin board, a voice chat room, a photo gallery, forums, and other helpful on-site ESL information, and English Forum, which offers general resources for students, including a message board, interactive exercises, and school guides.
The best reference for learning and distinguishing between the meanings of words is to use a dictionary (or two, or three). There are many dictionaries online these days, and many of them give examples of how words are used and how to distinguish between words with similar meanings. Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster.com, and YourDictionary.com offer useful resources for looking up and understanding what words mean.
One of our favorite resources is the Prentice Hall Guide to Grammar and Usage (by Muriel Harris, director of our Writing Lab). Some other good resources include:
For online resources, check out our list of dictionaries, style manuals, and grammar resources. The Writer's Block is full of links to resources for writing, grammar, style guides, research, and reference. Capital Community College also offers a great Guide to Grammar and Writing.
The best way to help your child learn or improve his or her English is to encourage them to read, write, and speak as much as possible. This might mean helping them find books that match existing interests, learning vocabulary together, playing games that pratice English, or exploring English resources together. The ERIC clearinghouse offers some links to materials and resources for parents looking to help their children with various English skills.
The reference manual we use most often in the Writing Lab for answering business English related questions is The Gregg Reference Manual (8th Edition), which provides specific advice for preparing a wide variety of business documents as well as general guidance for grammar, style, and usage.
The first step that you must complete in order to know how to cite your sources is finding out what kind of citation format you are being asked to use. In many cases, your teacher will supply you with the name of a specific format. If not, it's always appropriate to ask your teacher about what would be the best format for you to use. We have a list of commonly used formats in different disciplines, with the names of their style guides and links to helpful resources, available in our resources for documenting sources handout. If you're just looking for help with citing electronic sources, we have a handout that focuses specifically on citing electronic sources.
Two of the most commonly assigned citation formats are MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association). MLA format is frequently used in the humanities and is best suited to papers in the fields of literature and language study. APA is most frequently used in the social sciences, particularly in fields like psychology and business. For help with MLA or APA format on our site, please consult our MLA handout and our APA handout.
Other commonly used citation formats include ASR (American Sociology Review--see our handout on Formatting in Sociology) for sociology, APSA (American Political Science Association) for political science, CBE (Council of Biology Editors) for some natural sciences, and Chicago Style for history and philosophy. You can find copies of the MLA, APA, ASR, Chicago, CBE, and APSA manuals at most academic libraries and some bookstores. Our resources for documenting sources handout also has links to web-based resources for using many of these styles.
Generally, sources available for writing an academic research paper range in
reliability and rigor from (1) peer-reviewed academic books and journal articles
(highest) through (2) general interest magazine and newspaper articles and commercial
books (mid-range) to (3) popular and sensational magazine and newspaper articles
and books as well as insubstantial leaflets, brochures, flyers, advertisements,
and other sources designed to promote a product or political position in a superficial
and often biased way (lowest).
If you are using sources from category (3), you should be sure not to treat
them as though they carry the same authority as those in categories (1) and
(2). In fact, you should describe the source itself and evaluate it in your
writing, letting your readers understand its potential biases. Since you haven't
described
the source in much detail, I'm not able to comment on it in particular, but
in general, you should approach all sources--and especially those from the third
category above--with an evaluative, critical eye. For more on evaluating sources,
see our evaluating
sources workshop.
While different style manuals will have different guidelines, in general, if there is no author of a work, use a shortened version of the work's title for in-text citations, and use the title of the work to start the citation in the works cited list. This would mean that you would alphabetize by the first important word in the work's title. If a work has no author and no title, you should settle on some way of identifying the work and use that information to refer to the work in citations and in your works cited list.
You need to somehow distinguish between the web pages in the parenthetical citations even if they have the same title. Usually, the author's last name can be used in addition to the shortened form of the title. If none of the web pages have authors, are the sponsors of the page different? If so, use that to distinguish between the pages. If not, are the update dates different? Try to find some way to distinguish the two.
Magazine titles are underlined or italicized.
For the "basics" of MLA format, see our MLA handout, which covers formatting your paper, citing sources in the text of your paper, formatting your works cited list, and offers links to additional resources for learning more about MLA style. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is also a good guide for learning more about specific MLA guidelines.
Let me start by giving you the sections in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (5th ed.): For paranthetical citations, see 5.2 and 5.4.8; for abbreviations of the books of the Bible, see 6.7.1.
In your first paranthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're using (and italicize or underline the title), as each version varies in its translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter and verse. For example:
Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10). |
All future references can then just cite book, chapter, and verse since you've
established which edition of the Bible you will be using.
The Works Cited page should look like this:
The New Jerusalem Bible. Susan Jones, gen. ed.
New York: Doubleday, 1985. |
How you cite a movie in MLA format depends on whether you wish merely to cite
the film as a whole or to focus in your paper on the contribution of
a particular individual to the film (performer, director, screenwriter, etc.).
A typical format would be as follows:
A bout de souffle [Breathless]. Dir. Jean-Luc Godard. With
Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. Beauregard, 1960. |
To cite the director in particular, you can use the following format:
Chaplin, Charles, dir. Modern Times. With Chaplin and Paulette |
Give the speaker's name, the title of the lecture (if known) in quotation marks, the meeting and the sponsoring organization (if applicable), the location, and the date. If there is no title, use an appropriate descriptive label (e.g., Lecture, Address, Keynote speech), neither underlined nor enclosed in quotation marks.
The idea for any reference system is to be sure that each time your refer to a source, readers are able to find it as a unique entry in your list of works cited. This can be accomplished by referring to the author and title of the source by name in your sentence, just the author in your sentence, or neither. Whatever information is not included in your sentence must go in the parenthetical citation, and the source must be differentiated from all other sources in the works cited list. If you use multiple sources by the same author, the MLA recommends using a shortened version of the title of any particular source by that author when you cite it in order to differentiate it from other sources by that author.
So in a paper that refers to several works by Mark Twain, any of the following passages might appear:
Twain demonstrates his critical attitude toward the institution of slavery
in the famous "crisis of conscience" scene in Huckleberry Finn:
"[quotation]" (128).
or
Twain's fiction reveals a complex and sometimes conflicted approach to issues
of race and slavery: "[quotation]" (Adventures 128).
or
Fiction by American authors of the nineteenth century shows a a critical attitude
toward slavery, often expressed in scenes of biting irony: "[quotation]"
(Twain, Adventures 128).
Note that the shortened version of the title should always begin with the first significant word of the full title (Adventures for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) in order to allow readers to find the source easily in the works cited list, where it would be listed alphabetically by title among other sources by the same author.
If you will be using numerous sources by the same author and will be referring to them often, you may wish to use your own reference system. Many writers in this situation use initials of titles (HF for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, TS for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, CY for A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, etc.). All you need to do in this case is to include a note with the first citation briefly explaining the system of abbreviations. In the current example, this system would also avoid the problem of citing two works with the same first significant word (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer); according to the standard system, these works would require the inclusion of a distinguishing word in addition to Adventures for the shortened version of each title.
If the encyclopedia article is signed (often at the end of the article, sometimes
using the author's initials identified elsewhere in the work), list it by author's
name. If unsigned, list it by title. If the encyclopedia or dictionary is arranged
alphbetically, you may omit volume and page numbers. When citing familiar reference
books, especially those that frequently appear in new editions, do not give
full publication information. For such works, list only the edition (if
stated) and the year of publication.
Some examples:
"Mandarin." Encyclopedia Americana. 1980 ed.
"Graham, Martha." Who's Who of American Women. 13th ed.
1983-84.
Chiappini, Luciano. "Este, House of." Encyclopedia Brittanica: |
When citing less familiar reference books, however, especially those that have appeared in only one edition, give full publication information. For example:
Brakeley, Theresa C. "Mourning Songs." Funk and Wagnalls |
In MLA format, to cite a lecture, speech, address, or reading, you would include the speaker's name, the title of the presentation (if known) in quotation marks, th emeeting and sponsoring organization (if applicable), the location, and the date. If there is no title, use an appropriate descriptive label (Address, Lecure, Keynote speech, etc.) neither underlined nor enclosed in quotation marks. For example:
Atwood, Margaret. "Silencing the Scream." Boundaries of the |
In proper MLA format, the only works cited in your Works Cited page are those you have in fact cited. This formatting differs from a bibliography, which is a list of all the works that you consulted and that your readers might find helpful.
For the "basics" of APA format, see our APA handout, which covers formatting your paper, citing sources in the text of your paper, formatting your works cited list, and offers links to additional resources for learning more about APA style. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th Edition) is also a good guide for learning more about specific APA guidelines.
Give the secondary source in the references list; in the text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Seidenberg and McClelland's work is cited in Coltheart et al. and you did not read the original work, list the Coltheart et al. reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation:
In Seidenberg and McClelland's study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993), ... |
In the references list, cite the secondary source. For example, the secondary source for the source in the example above would be as follows:
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608. |
Here's an example of a brochure citation.
Research and Training Center on Independent Living. (1993). Guidelines for reporting and writing about people with disabilities (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence, KS: Author. |
Format references to brochures in the same way that you would format references to entire books, but identify the publication as a brochure in brackets before the publication information.
You can find the APA ERIC citation format on page 257 of the APA Publication
Manual, 5th Edition. Generally, the citation form is the same as for a printed
source, but with the ERIC document number in parentheses at the end. No URL
is necessesary.
For example: [regular citation information here]. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED486790).
Here's what the APA Manual (5th ed.) says about personal communication (section 3.102): "Personal communications may be letters, memos, some electronic communications, telephone conversations, and the like. Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included on the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible." For example: N.E. Migan (personal communication, January 11, 2001)
Alter the television listing citation format to fit the radio program. Include the same information but substitute the radio station and name of the program for the TV info.
If you have gone to a conference and picked up a handout (or obtained a copy) of a paper or poster presentation and would like to use information from that handout, in section 4.16 (p. 260) the APA Publication Manual does describe how to reference this type of source. They refer to it as an "unpublished paper or presentation." The format is the same for posters and papers. Just make sure that you indicate whether your source is a poster or a paper.
Mooney, K. S., & Berndt, T. J. (2003, April). Conceptions of positive and negative features in romantic relationships and cross-sex friendships. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Tampa, FL. |
Whether the slides are from a conference presentation or a class lecture, they would probably fit best as an "unpublished paper or presentation." You can use the format given for conference handouts. If the slides are from a class, be sure to indicate the date, class, and university. When making reference to a particular slide in the text of your work, refer to the slide's number in place of the page number so that readers can quickly find the relevant information.
Smith, A. B. (2003, March 4). Abnormal Behaviors. Presented at a PSY 235 lecture at Purdue University. |
The best approach to citing information from your own personal notes from a class lecture seems to be to consider it as a “personal communication” because it includes “unrecoverable data.” For this reason, personal communications are only cited within the text and are not included in the reference list.
For example, you might say:
Since a handout could be requested by a reader from the professor of the class, “unpublished paper or presentation” seems like the most similar type of reference. Your professor should be considered the author. Be sure to provide information about the class and university.
Smith, A. B. (2003, Spring). Abnomal Behavior in Children. PSY 235: Purdue University. |
Referencing information from a course packet really depends on the type of source within the course packet. The reference should be based on the specific source. If you are using information from a handout in the course packet, use the format suggested for “Class Handout.” If it is a journal article, it should be cited as a journal article. Don’t focus on the packet as a whole; focus on the individual source. Include as much information in the citation as you can, and leave out what you don't know.
1. add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s):
the owner's car
James's hat
2. add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s:
the children's game
the geese's honking
3. add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s:
houses' roofs
three friends' letters
4. add 's to the end of compound words:
my brother-in-law's money
5. add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object:
Todd and Anne's apartment
"A" goes before all words that begin with consonants, with one exception: use an before unsounded h. "An" goes before all words that begin with vowels, with two exceptions: When u makes the same sound as the y in you, or o makes the same sound as w in won, then a is used. For more about this, see our handout on a or an.
"We" is used in the subject
case in sentences: "We, the people, are cool."
"Us" is used in the object
case: "He handed the project off to us."
As a general rule, the word "which" followed by a clause needs to be preceded by a comma. The reason is that "which" statements are considered nonessential; they contain extra information not absolutely necessary to convey the importance of the sentence. Clauses introduced by "that" are considered essential and do not take commas.
"That" and "which" can be used interchangeably when they introduce restrictive relative clauses (a clause that is always needed in the phrase). "That" is used in American English and "which" in British English. There are also nonrestrictive relative clauses. To find out if the relative clause is restrictive, take out the two clauses /parts of sentence which are introduced by that and which and see if what's left still makes sense. If it doesn't, it means that you need them in there and that you should use "that. "
For example:
restrictive relative clause
I selected the desk that/which I liked.
nonrestrictive relative clause
The red desk, which you pointed out to me, is no longer there.
According to the Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage: "Use who for the subject case; use whom for the object case" (449). The subject case of pronouns is used when pronouns are subjects or are used after linking verbs such as be. For example: He is the person who signs that form. The object case of pronouns is used when pronouns are objects of verbs (receive the action of the verb). For example: He is the person whom I asked for help.
Another way to remember the difference between who and whom is to turn the sentence into a question. "Who signs that form?" and "To whom do I ask for help?"
Since the advent of the Internet, there has been debate over the usage of those words. The most common practice is to pick a form and be consistent. Or, see if the style that you are using for writing has a preferred form for those words, and go by their guidelines.
An excellent source of help is a book available in the Writing Lab (226 Heavilon Hall): Richard Stelzer's How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate and Professional School (Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides, 1989). The book has guidelines for writing, examples of successful statements, and advice from admissions officers. This handout summarizes Stelzer's guidelines and contains a few of the examples he includes of statements and admissions officers' advice. If you wish to read more examples and do not purchase the book, you may read the Writing Lab's copy, which is on reserve in the lab.
The personal statement, your opportunity to sell yourself in the application
process, generally falls into one of two categories:
1. The general, comprehensive personal statement
This type of statement allows you maximum freedom in terms of what you write
and is the type of statement often prepared for standard medical or law school
application forms.
2.A response to very specific questions
Often, business and graduate school applications ask specific questions, and
your statement should respond specifically to the question being asked. Some
business school applications favor multiple essays, typically asking for responses
to three or more questions.
You'll want to consider how you can best answer the specific questions being asked by the schools to which you're applying and portray yourself as having the characteristics which they're looking for in a student. If you're a Purdue student, a Writing Lab tutor can help you with your personal statement. Call us and make an appointment.
For more about personal statements, see our handout on writing the personal statement.
A grant proposal will have specific requirements for content and format that depend on the organization to which you are submitting the proposal. Your best bet is to get specific guidelines from the granting organization, follow them closely, and ask someone in your field who has experience with grant proposals to read over your proposal and give you some tips.
If you're interested in writing a grant proposal at Purdue University, you may want to check out the Guide to the Grants Process at Purdue University. The National Science Foundation also has a Grant Proposal Guide available. Some other step-by-step guides for writing grant proposals and other kinds of proposals are available at Get Started.
First, feel free to have a person "coach" you when she or he asks for a letter of reference. Ask that person what specific skills and abilities you should describe in your letter. You could ask for a copy of that person's resume or vita as well. Such a document can offer good reminders about a person's background. If the person seeking a reference is asking you to write a letter to a specific potential employer, ask what experience and abilities that employer is seeking in a candidate. Use that information to help develop your letter.
Next, consider the following organization for a letter of recommendation:
As you write this letter, you want to sound formal, professional, and personal at the same time. This means you should use the first-person pronoun (I). You want to make it clear that you are the one who is doing the referring, and using only third-person pronouns (one, he, she) wouldn't make that clear (even if it did sound very formal).
I would recommend that you take a look at OWL. We have a wonderful section about writing for the job market (found under the more general title of "professional writing" on our home page). We have a resume workshop, a whole section of handouts on resumes, a cover letter workshop, and a whole section of handouts on cover letters and applications. If you're a Purdue student, you can also make an appointment with a Business Writing Consultant to work on your resume and cover letter. Call us and make an appointment!
We have some resources for online tutors as well as a bibliography of OWL scholarship available on our web site. We're always looking for contributions to both, so please let us know about any sources we might have missed.
Some general suggestions for those starting out with online tutoring:
The Writing Lab Newsletter also features articles about OWL design and online tutoring; Justin Jackson (a former OWL tutor here) wrote an article about Purdue OWL tutoring that appeared in a past issue. James Inman's OWL Construction and Maintenance Guide is the most recent guide for new OWL designers.
The International Writing Centers Association maintains a list of OWLs.
Sure! We're always glad to have visitors. Please email our OWL coordinator about setting up a visit.
We only hire people once a year, and then we can only hire graduate students in the department of English. If we are hiring, you'll find information about it on our Lab index, or we'll announce it in the Purdue OWL News.
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