Back in high school, I had an English teacher that nearly worshipped the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). Granted, he was a former Boilermaker and probably had at least something to do with the website’s existence; nevertheless, the wisdom he imparted upon me will always be in the back of my mind.
“Write paper. Consult Purdue OWL. Steak!”
This snippet of advice has potentially been the most important that I have received to date. When he used the term “steak,” what he meant to say was, “This paper was exactly what I was looking for and you couldn’t have done anything better!” but his brevity was always his redeeming quality.
The Purdue OWL is a website and totally free service that provides instructions and writing resources that make every college student’s life around three million times easier.
Worried about how your APA title page for that final term paper needs to look? The Purdue OWL will have a .pdf example accessible for you. You don’t have a clue how to cite that lecture you heard in MLA format? Check the all-knowing OWL.
The OWL is simply arranged and it makes navigation a breeze. The homepage features a sidebar that can take you on whatever journey you desire. (See image A)
Since citations and reference material are ever-changing, I consult with Purdue OWL most often when deciphering how to create my bibliography. Located just under the Research and Citation section, the entire list of whatever you could possibly need appears. (See image B)
Step-by-step instructions are featured under each linked format. Any and all of your questions are answered, and you’ve never been more relieved to have all of the information you need in one concise area.
Wah lah! Your paper is done and your citations are in place. You receive your first steak, and the only people you have to thank are the handy-dandy OWL and my high school English teacher.
owl.english.purdue.edu
