Welcome to the Purdue OWL

Frequently Asked OWL Questions (FAQs)

Please contact the OWL Coordinator if you would like to add a question to the FAQs or if you have a question that is not answered on this page.

What if I can't find something I need? How do I search the OWL?

To search the OWL, you may type key words into the search box in this page. You may also go to the OWL homepage here and use the search box at the top right of the page. Lastly, you may visit our Site Map here.

Where are the OWL writing resources?

The OWL writing resources are located in the orange part of the OWL here. To locate specific resources, use the search box or select the links in the major resource areas at the top of OWL pages or the navigation bar on the left. You may also visit our Site Map here.

How can I inform my students about the services that the writing lab has to offer?

As long as you follow our fair use policy, you may provide links to the Purdue Writing Lab in your course website and/or syllabus. Please note that the Purdue Writing Lab is only open to Purdue University students, faculty, and staff.

How can I inform my students about the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)?

As long as you follow our fair use policy, you may provide links to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) in your course website and/or syllabus. Please note that the Purdue OWL is a free writing resource for educational purposes. It does not offer one-to-one tutorials or classes.

Why did you update the OWL?

We updated the OWL because the original OWL was not as accessible for differently-abled users. In other words, the old OWL was not W3C, section 508 compliant. This means that users accessing the OWL with adaptive technologies could not effectively navigate the site. To read more about the W3C, click here. To learn more about section 508 standards, click here.

We also updated the OWL to make managing the site easier (by using a database to store resources) and to increase the usability of the OWL. To learn more about the OWL revision process, click here.

Where is information on the Writing Lab at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA?

Writing Lab information is located in the green area of the OWL here.

Can I use Purdue OWL resources?

As long as you follow our Fair Use Policy, you are free to use OWL resources. Read our Fair Use Policy here.

How do I print OWL resources?

1. Scroll to the bottom of the OWL page
2. Select Full Resource for Printing
3. Print from your Internet browser

For more information on using the OWL, go to our Help Using OWL Resources page.

How do I save OWL resources?

The best way to save OWL resources is to convert them to Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Adobe Professional or an open-source PDF converter to do this. For more information about PDFs, click here.

1. Select the Full Resource for Printing button at the bottom of OWL resources.
2. Select Print from your Internet browser, but rather than printing to a machine, select the Save as a PDF option.

Once you have saved the OWL resource as a PDF, you may print or save it. You may also cut and paste text from the OWL into word processing applications, but be sure to follow our Fair Use Policy when you do this.

For more information on using the OWL, go to our Help Using OWL Resources page.

Do you offer editing/proofing services?

We do not offer editing services, but Purdue students, faculty and staff are welcome to make an appointment in the lab to have a tutor guide them through revision techniques.

Do you offer automatic citation applications?

No. The citation (MLA, APA, CMS) resources we offer are guidelines; we do not maintain an online application that will automatically generate citations for your work or convert citations from one citation style to another.

Do you offer online tutoring or real-time English or writing instruction?

No. Purdue students, faculty and staff are welcome to make an appointment in the lab to have a tutor guide them through revision techniques, but we do not offer instruction in learning English.