The Top Ten Owls for ESL Writers

Top Ten OWLs: Handout (2006 CATESOL Conference: Pamela Couch and Rachel Lowenberg)

• One of the earliest and most developed OWLs: over 500 pages of handouts, tutorials, and workshops

• Wide variety of handouts and exercises on grammar, punctuation, and academic language

• Large section on writing research papers

• Handouts on business writing, resumes and cover letters

• Powerpoint presentations for instructional use

• ESL self-study materials: articles, prepositions, and more

2. Colorado State University

• Large student writing gallery, including showcase for hypertext writing

• Guides for students: writing (all aspects), research, reading, speeches, tables and graphs

• Guides for instructors: teaching writing, with or without technology

• Interactive tutorials: on-line practice in topics such as paraphrasing, searching databases and catalogs

• Feedback: given to all students, but priority given to CSU students

• ESL resources and activities

3. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Writing and presentation guidelines for engineering and science students

• Downloadable Powerpoint slides for use in technical writing courses

• Model slide designs and slide templates

• Guides for writing laboratory reports, design reports, progress reports, instructions, memos, letters, and resumes

• Exercises on grammar, punctuation, usage, and style

4. University of Victoria

• "Hypertext Writer's Guide" with over 300 virtual handouts

• Guides for the writing process: brainstorming, organizing, reviewing, revising

• Guides for using different rhetorical modes

• Numerous handouts on grammar and punctuation

5. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Grammar handbook on most parts of speech and constructions; ideas for teaching

• General writing techniques, thesis statements, body paragraphs, writing for an audience; overcoming writer's block

• Writing from sources; summarizing, quoting

• Genre-specific writing

• Personal statements, resumes, proposals

• Annotated list of technical writing sites

• ESL activities and links

6. St. Cloud State University LEO: Literacy Education Online

• User-friendly site that uses a question format to help students determine their needs

• Guides for all aspects of the writing process

• Information on research papers, essay writing, professional writing, and other writing tasks

• Help with grammar and mechanics

• Ideas for improving writing "flow"

• Suggestions for ESL writers

7. Washington State University

• Online Resource Library: Computers and Writing, ESL, Grammar, Mechanics, Punctuation

• Writers' Exchange: Writers share and comment on each other's papers

• Talking Text with OWL Patrons: chat room open to all writers

8. University of Minnesota

• Resources for writers: understanding the writing process; writing for an audience, revising, editing, incorporating feedback

• Resources for instructors: developing writing-intensive courses, teaching strategies, sample syllabi and assignments, evaluating writing

• Guides for oral presentations, collaborating in the classroom

• Information on business and technical writing

9. Dartmouth University

• Guides for all aspects of the writing process

• Complete discussion of how to construct an argument for an American academic essay

• Student-to-student advice

• Writing for the humanities, social sciences, sciences

• Writing for a professional audience; writing a graduate school application

• Drills on different grammar problems

• Exercises for ESL writers

10. Trinity College

• Links to sites with full texts of books, newspapers, magazines, and radio

• Links to reference books and writing guides

• CRAYON: self-created newspaper service that allows users to select areas of interest and receive information automatically

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