Getting Started

How to Reach an OWL Consultant

If you would like to contact an OWL peer consultant, please email us at writinglab@lcmail.lcsc.edu  You may ask us a specific question about a writing project or send us a draft of an essay or project. We will contact you within 48 hours (Monday - Friday) of receiving your message.

If you are sending us a draft of an essay or writing project for feedback, please help us by following these guidelines:

    * Tell us what class and instructor the assignment is for.
    * Give us a brief summary of the assignment.
    * Tell us what you'd like a peer consultant to help you with (i.e., thesis, organization, evidence, etc.)
    * Send us the draft in a common and accessible format (DOC, DOCX, RTF).
    * Use proper formatting such as double-spacing, paragraphing, and indentation.


What Happens in an On-line Writing Consultation

Peer consultants will try to return comments on your essay to you within 48 hours of your request (Monday - Friday only). You can expect a peer consultant to devote 30 to 40 minutes to your essay. While the peer consultant may suggest a particular area of your writing on which to focus, we encourage you to establish the priorities for the conference. Consultants may use one or more of the following strategies during your conference to help you improve your writing:

    * reviewing the assignment
    * asking questions
    * giving positive reinforcement
    * providing feedback
    * offering constructive criticism
    * demonstrating editing and proofreading techniques
    * brainstorming and freewriting
    * outlining to check organization
    * referring to handbooks
    * making suggestions for further revisions


What Won't Happen in a Writing Conference

    * we won't tell you what to write.
    * we won't correct your writing for you.
    * we won't criticize the assignment, faculty comments, or grades.
    * we won't review your writing without input from you about the assignment and what you want us to focus on.