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In this section of our web site, we offer information about our online tutoring policies, as well as resources for OWL tutors at Purdue, and resources for those interested in getting started with online tutoring, including a discussion of the nature of online tutoring. We also offer some frequently asked questions.
Before you send a question to the OWL tutoring staff, please make sure that you've read and understood the following policies. You might also want to check out our Frequently Asked Questions to see if your question has already been answered. If you're a student at Purdue University, we invite you to bring your paper or project into the Writing Lab for an in-person tutorial. Call us at 494-3723 to make an appointment. 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; they will be able to give you much more extensive feedback than we can.
Our services don't include proofreading and editing drafts of written work, not even for Purdue students who come in person to the Writing Lab. We're happy to direct people to resources like our online handouts that can help them learn to become better editors of their own writing, but we won't just proofread and edit work for anyone, since that doesn't help the writer improve his or her own editing skills.
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. However, 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. 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.
Before you send us an MLA or APA style question, we recommend that you consult the following resources:
For MLA:
- The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Gibaldi (New York: MLA) is intended for college writers preparing course papers. This book should be available in the reference section of any library or bookstore.
- The MLA Style Manual by Achtert and Gibaldi (New York: MLA) is intended for graduate students and professionals preparing work for publication. This book should also be available in the reference section of any library or bookstore.
- Or our MLA handout, which has many links to resources for learning about and using MLA and APA.
For APA:
- The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. This book should be available in the reference section of any library or bookstore.
- Our APA handout has many links to resources for learning more about APA style.
- Or, you can find a lot of information at APA's web site.
When you send messages to OWL, please send them in plain text format. If you are sending anything for us to look at, please make sure that the text of your draft is included in the body of the message. We will not open or read attached files or HTML formatted messages.
To send mail to an OWL tutor, please email by using this form. This address is only for those who have questions that a tutor can answer. If you need to contact someone else at OWL for questions related to the website or related to the Purdue Writing Lab, please visit our contact information page. Someone should be able to respond within 24 hours during the work week. (It may take a bit longer on weekends and when school is out of session.)
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