The ECU Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers Distance Education students the opportunity to consult with a trained writing center consultant via email. Our OWL will allow these off-campus students to ask specific questions about their writing in any stage, from invention to the final draft. While our online consultants will not simply proofread or edit anyone's paper, we will gladly answer students' questions and try to provide feedback that will help any student become a better writer. Only students enrolled in Distance Education courses have the opportunity to submit papers to the OWL. Some things to know before you submit writing:
- Please make sure you are submitting work for a Distance Education course.
- You may only submit two pieces of writing per course per week online.
- Please ask the consultant specific questions about your writing. If you do not provide specific questions for your writing, our consultants will critique only 3-4 pages of your writing to identify patterns of writing difficulty that you should address.
- An emailed response to your paper will typically be sent to you within 24 hours. Since we do not read papers on weekends, please be aware that you must submit your paper by noon on Friday in order to receive a response on Monday. All responses will be in the form of an email from the writing consultant that includes feedback based on your questions. Again, please note that we will not simply edit material.
Because the OWL is providing consultation by email, we ask that you send your paper as an email attachment. Please be aware that the OWL uses Microsoft Word and cannot read files from other word-processing programs, such as Word Perfect (.wps files). If you are using a different word-processing program, please save and send your documents as rich text format (.rtf) files so that we can view and respond to them.
In the body of the email, please include the following information:
- Name (First and Last)
- Email address
- Course Name, Number, and Section (ex. ENGL 3880-002)
- Instructor's Last Name
- A short description of the assignment - including due date
- Two or three specific questions you would like the consultant to address
Giving the OWL consultants all of this information will enable them to respond with more specific feedback and should help you get those questions you have answered. Click on the link below to submit your writing and questions.
submit your writing
- onlinewriting@ecu.edu -
