purdue online writing lab essay

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

These OWL resources will help you use correct grammar in your writing. This area includes resources on grammar topics, such as count and noncount nouns, articles (a versus an), subject-verb agreement, and prepositions.

Grammar-related exercises can be found here .

In this section

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• Ask a Librarian

Library Guide for Education Graduate Students

• Library Basics
• E-Books on Educational Research
• Find Journal Articles
• Find Dissertations & Theses
• Literature Search Strategies
• Purdue Online Writing Lab
• APA Style Guide
• Citation Managers
• Useful Library Guides

How to Write as a Graduate Student

The OWL Provides some helpful tips on writing as a graduate student. Here are some topics covered. The links below will take you to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) website .

• Introduction to Graduate Writing
• Graduate Writing Topics
• Graduate Writing Genres
• Writing a Thesis/Dissertation

Creating an Annotated Bibliography

The OWL also provides guidance on creating an annotated bibliography, a common tool and assignment for graduate students.  Below are a few topics covered by the OWL.

• Annotated Bibliographies - Definitions & Format
• Annotated Bibliography Breakdown
• Annotated Bibliography Samples
• Writing a Literature Review

Just about every major research project involves a literature review, often these can be placed at the beginning of a paper or can be publishable in their own right. The OWL provides guidance for literature review writing.

Job Search Writing

Writing while on the job search takes various forms. The OWL provides useful tips for writing in this context.

• Preparing an Application
• Job Search Letters
• Resumes and CVs
• Skilled Labor Job Search Resources
• << Previous: Literature Search Strategies
• Next: APA Style Guide >>
• Last Edited: Apr 5, 2024 9:55 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/Education_GraduateStudents

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Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, which teachers and trainers may use for in-class and out-of-class instruction.

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) website was developed at Purdue University as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue.  OWL houses writing resources and instructional material. Students—no matter their skill level— and members of the education community will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction. The site is organized into the following sections:

• General Writing
• Research and Citation
• Teacher and Tutor Resources
• Subject-Specific Writing
• Job Search Writing
• English as a Second Language
• Purdue OWL Video-casts

OWL is a collection of resources that support writing instruction created for college-aged students—no matter their skill level—and their instructors and tutors. These materials are relevant to ABE and ESL students and relatively simple to adapt for the purposes of adult educators.

OWL resources support instruction aligned to College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards for writing and language, though CCR standards are not specifically named.

For example, the sections on academic writing address expository, argumentative, and narrative writing—CCR Writing Standards 1-3.  The resources also support development of the writing process—CCR Writing Standard 5; the need for evidence to support claims—CCR Writing Standard 9 and Key Advance 2; and correct methods for citing resources—CCR Writing Standard 8. Conducting research is also addressed—CCR Writing Standard 7 as are mechanics, punctuation, and grammar—CCR Language Standards 1-2.

OWL provides writing resources and instructional materials to support students as well as educators.  Resources present clear guidelines and expectations for academic writing. Teachers can use the site’s resources to develop lessons, assignments, and classroom resources. Students will find hands-on exercises and printable resources that support their continuing development as writers.

OWL provides a wealth of materials that address a variety of topics about writing, topics that are also addressed by CCR writing and language standards. The site is well-organized by topics and subtopics. The Site Map provides a good overview of the site’s scope and sequence.  

This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.

Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.

Related Topics

Undergraduate Admissions

Application Essays

Below are essay prompts for the 2024-2025 Common Application. First-time college students (future freshmen) will use the Common Application to  apply to Purdue .  

When applying to Purdue you should use the Common Application.

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Purdue's own  Online Writing Lab  offers advice on  writing essays for college applications .

The Common Application Freshman Essay Prompts 

Required minimum-maximum word count: 250-650

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. 

Purdue Questions 

Respond in 250 words or fewer.

• How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom?
• Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected.

General Writing Resources

Writing guides.

The Structure of a College Essay (doc)

• Describes the structure of a good 5 paragraph essay.

Example Student Essay Outline with References (doc)

• An example outline of a well structured student essay.

Writing Style Websites

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

• Covers everything you could ever want to know about writing

Excelsior College OWL

•  Support for beginning writers

MLA citation guides online

Mla citation guides in the library, webster university's writing center, citing chatgpt and other generative ai applications in mla.

Ask A Librarian  for help finding sources, narrowing or expanding your topic, and more!​

• Research Desk: 314-246-6950
• Toll-free: 800-985-4279
• Visit us:  Library hours
• Search our FAQs or email us 
• Purdue OWL: MLA formatting and style MLA citation help from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (9th edition)
• MLA Style Center MLA's own online citation help for the 9th edition
• Webster University Libraries: MLA style guide

MLA 9 th  edition came out in April 2021. Check with your instructor to see which version you should use.

Whether you are an experienced academic writer or this is your first paper, Webster University's Writing Center offers writing support for students. Find help with all kinds of research projects, including "reports; résumés and cover letters; admission essays and personal statements; summaries, critical analyses, and literature reviews; research and term papers; theses and dissertations; and more." Writing Center coaches are available at all stages of the writing process from brainstorming to draft revision and everything in-between.

Visit Writing Support to: 

• Schedule an appointment with a writing coach
• Submit a paper online to the Writing Center for review
• Select Writing Resources to find help with citation, grammar, avoiding plagiarism, and more

ChatGPT and similar tools are not credible sources of information; however, if your instructor allows other uses of AI applications in your course, you will still need to cite the output of those applications as you would any other source you use in your academic work. Citing the output of generative AI, for example large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, is a unique challenge in that these applications are not "authors," and the output itself is irretrievable by others even when referenced. Therefore, you may need to provide additional documentation when submitting your work, for example, the full prompts you used to generate the output along with transcriptions or screenshots of the output. Style guides differ greatly on how and when to cite AI-generated content, so it's important to read the style guidelines for full details . Below are examples from the MLA Style Center for how to cite generative AI in MLA style.

• How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (MLA Style Center) Full explanation of how to cite generative AI in MLA.

Works-cited list:

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT , 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

Paraphrased in your prose:

While the green light in The Great Gatsby might be said to chiefly symbolize four main things: optimism, the unattainability of the American dream, greed, and covetousness (“Describe the symbolism”), arguably the most important—the one that ties all four themes together—is greed.

• Last Updated: May 28, 2024 3:55 PM
• URL: https://library.webster.edu/mlastyle

ENGL 1301 - Bosché - Summer 2024: Writing & Grammar

• Search Techniques
• Choosing the Best Sources
• Writing & Grammar

Writer's Reference Center

From the mechanics of writing and grammar to style and research, this database covers the fundamentals of writing a good essay.

Helpful websites on writing and grammar

• Common Errors in English Extensive collection of words that are often misused or are confusing.
• The Elements of Style A classic book of simple advice on writing by William Strunk. Even though this is the 1918 edition, it's still good.
• Guide to Grammar and Style Information on very specific aspects of grammar. From Rutgers University professor Jack Lynch.
• MLA Documentation Guide How to handle quotes, paraphrases, and creating the Works Cited list. MLA is the most commonly used format for papers in literature and the humanities.
• Nuts and Bolts of College Writing Although designed to accompany a specific textbook, this site has lots of info anyone can use on all aspects of writing, including MLA documentation.
• Paradigm Online Writing Assistant Nicely designed guide to writing various types of essays and documenting them.
• Purdue On-line Writing Lab The most extensive, oldest, and best-known virtual writing center on the Web. This site offers resources for writers, links to other on-line writing centers.
• Quoting & Paraphrasing When and how to use information from research sources. From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.
• Webgrammar Basics on spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage, etc. There's also a Writing Resources area with links to many other web resources.
• Writer's Workshop Many areas of writing help, such as a grammar handbook, how to get friendly critiques of your writing, tips and techniques, and more. From the University of Illinois.

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• Next: Get Help! >>
• Last Updated: Jun 3, 2024 10:01 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.austincc.edu/Bosche2024