OWL Frequently Asked Questions

The OWL is open for business Saturday through Thursday and follows the same calendar as the KCC Tutorial Services Program. It is not available during the winter, spring, or summer semester breaks, nor is it available during periods officially designated as school holidays, and it closes on the final day of classes each semester.

The wait time for a response is normally 24 – 48 hours. Remember that the OWL is closed on all Fridays.

If you are working on a longer writing project, you may wish to send only a portion of your draft or to break your paper into parts and submit them separately. Long research papers take extensive time and may not be returned within 48 hours. Assignments designated as "take-home," midterms, or final writing examinations are not eligible for assistance. We will, however, accept non-coursework related writing, such as cover letters and application essays. We are also happy to accept any types of questions on writing. Students needing assistance with long research papers are encouraged to visit the Writing Center, located in Tutorial Services, Room 17 in the Instructional Building, to work one-on-one with a Writing Tutor.

Students may submit to the OWL as often as they like; however, we ask that students limit pending submissions to one at a time. In the event that multiple submissions are received simultaneously from a single user, they will be read in order of receipt, with each response processed only after the preceding ones have been completed and returned.

In the same way that sending an e-mail differs from face-to-face conversation, on-line tutoring differs from in-person tutoring. Rather than comment upon lower-order concerns such as sentence structure or punctuation, your OWL tutor will emphasize broader, more global issues. Such comments may include confirmation that parts of your writing work well, questions to consider as you revise, and advice about general ways of improving your work. Your tutor may also offer you the opportunity to engage in an active dialogue about your writing in progress. A specific question or two about grammar or punctuation is allowable, but do not expect your tutor to locate and fix all grammar or punctuation errors.

The OWL is not an editing or proofreading service. Any requests for such services will result in your paper being returned to you exactly as it arrived. Your tutor will not attempt to comment upon everything in your paper, and you should not assume that your paper is "perfect" after it has been read by a tutor. We believe that improvement is a gradual process achieved primarily by the writer, so you should expect to have to do additional work on your own. Your tutor also will not evaluate your writing or predict a grade. Finally, your OWL tutor will comment upon your writing only insofar as it affects its subject content; our tutors are not subject experts and will not attempt to provide subject - area direction or clarification.

Any submissions received during regular OWL business hours will typically generate responses within 24 - 48 hours. Tagging your submissions with time-sensitive headings, such as "urgent" or "ASAP" or "due tomorrow," will not expedite the process or generate special priority handling. Always be sure to budget at least a three-day turnaround window between the date of your submission and its due date. Remember that the OWL is closed on all Fridays.

If you have a question or need assistance or feedback on a writing assignment, please read the FAQ and then contact the OWL by logging into your myClassroom account and sending an email through the OWL, by following the guidelines articulated on the Owl Submission Guidelines page.