Online Writing Lab : Student Learning Assistance Center : Texas State University

SLAC End of Semester Closure

We will accept Online Writing Lab (OWL) and Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (GSP)
hotline submissions through
12:00 pm, Friday, April 27th.

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) and Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (GSP) hotline, will reopen on
Monday, June 4th, at 10:00 am.

(If you are an instructor planning to assign a class to use the OWL, please contact TL02@txstate.edu or call 245-2515 BEFOREHAND.)

If you e-mail your paper to the SLAC OWL, a writing tutor will read it and e-mail some comments to help you improve your paper. You can expect a response in 48 hours, excluding weekends and school breaks. Priority is given to papers from within Texas State University-San Marcos.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC) is to help students become better, more self-sufficient writers.

Under no circumstances will any member of the SLAC staff edit students' papers. Editing is the act of explicitly correcting all or most of the writing problems.

We do teach editing skills by working with students on rough drafts of papers they are currently writing.

We will teach methods of invention, research, and organizational skills.

We will also discuss ways students may select and narrow topics.

We will suggest ways for preventing repeated errors in grammar/sentence structure.

We provide some suggestions for word choice errors.

Enter your name *

Sender's E-mail *

(Without your complete E-mail address, we cannot respond to your request)

Enter your Texas State ID # *

Course name and number: *

Due date: *

Class time: *

Professor's name: *

If you are requesting help with an assignment, explain the instructions the instructor gave you about the assignment. For example, tell about the assigned topic, the type of paper, the length, the audience, the writing skills emphasized, etc. Also, tell us how long you have been working on the project:

How can we help? Check no more than 3 important issues on the checklist.

Development - Writer should fully explore, explain, illustrate main idea.

Organization - Writer should have an effective plan of organization.

Purpose - Paper should satisfy the instructor's assignment or the writer's purpose.

Paragraph Development - Writer fully explores, explains, illustrates topic ideas.

Paragraph Organization - Writer arranges ideas logically, uses the best patterns for the topics.

Paragraph Connections - Writer connects ideas: uses transitions, repeats words, uses synonyms, links back to earlier statements.

Sentences are correctly formed and punctuated.

Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are correct.

Sentences are varied and effective.

Word choice and tone are effective for audience.

Date: *

Time: *

Please attach your paper as a Microsoft Word document: *

Pacing cat

University Honor Code

The SLAC OWL supports the University Honor Code: “WE ARE HONEST. We do our own work and are honest with one another in all matters. We understand how various acts of dishonesty, like plagiarizing, falsifying data, and giving or receiving assistance to which one is not entitled, conflict as much with academic achievement as with the values of honesty and integrity.”

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Online Writing Lab

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Online Writing Lab