The Credibility Of The Aims OWL

Great Essays
The Online Writing Lab During my freshman year at Aims I was having to complete these difficult writing assignments. At first I was struggling, but then I was introduced to the Aims OWL by my professor in my English 121 class. From The Aims OWL I was able to get the writing help that I needed to become successful in my English class. English 121 students who are struggling in their writing should consider using the Aims OWL because it is an incredibly credible, relevant, reliable, and easy to understand resource. The credibility of the Aims OWL is excellent. The reason it is excellent is because the website itself was created by a member of Aims, the highest ranked community college in the state. Its creator, Jared Merk, is more than qualified …show more content…
The recent update for the Aims OWL is a large improvement from its former boring and hard-to-look-at state. It is much easier for beginning users to navigate throughout the site as well as locate wanted information. There is a new home page which includes all six topics for writing in large colored boxes which makes it easier for students to find certain topics such as “Grammar & Punctuation.” Each section of each topic is filled with many bulleted points containing more information about that section. The information given by these sections is clear and very informative for student writers. It provides examples, help, definitions, tips, and steps on things such as finding topics to write about, and even how to write effective thesis statements. Each section of the OWL clearly explains how to deal with any writing issue students might be having in a very clear and organized manner. The currency of the Aims OWL is excellent in some regards but lacking in others. Although the Aims OWL has been updated as of October of 2015, it had not been updated for over two years before then. Seeing that Merk is striving for his masters in creative writing, it would make sense for him to incorporate what he has learned into a “Creative Writing” section of the OWL to keep it updated and full of information. However, the OWL does have excellent links which remain current and reliable. All of the OWL’s information is up-to-date and follow the writing process standards such as MLA and APA

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    PADM 302 Course Reflection My primary goals for this course were to improve my writing skills in two specific ways. I wanted to be able to write with greater speed, but with apparent quality, and I wanted to be clearer in my writing. I had two strategies in mind to meet these goals. The first included becoming proficient at writing outlines and frameworks, which, I thought, would help me better adhere to my objectives for the papers I write. The second strategy was to learn methods by which I could become more concise in writing which would enable me to more powerfully present the points I wish to deliver in papers.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This semester in ENG 111: Writing & Inquiry, I was honestly excited by how much new information I discovered to aid in my writing ability. When reflecting upon the semester, I was happy to see how just how much I actually learned and also how much I have developed my writing skills. My writing, analytical thinking, and critical reading skills have advanced vastly throughout this semester, as I have learned a lot of new and invaluable skills to add to my mental stash of information to draw upon when it comes to the subject of English. It has been a long an interesting semester on a lot of levels, with more than a few obstacles making completing this class seem impossible; however, when you are dedicated and committed to excellence, anything…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The writing expected from college courses is one that most are unfamiliar with. Although students learn basic English skills throughout grade school and up to high school, most of the advanced steps are forgotten by the time the student is to enter college. Paired with this, are the nontraditional students, who haven’t studied advanced academic language for long periods of time. Professors are expecting students of all kinds of study to have a high academic vocabulary and high writing skill. Often times a gap in remedial writing courses within the first semester or so.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    English W131 Reflection

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During this semester of English W131, I have experienced both accomplishments and setbacks while learning how to improve my writing skills. Throughout the course, I have learned that writing is not only about how much information is in the paper, but also about how well the writer’s thoughts are expressed throughout the text. Practicing many different styles of writing as I did in the class has helped me tremendously with my delivery in my writing. I believe that this course was one to prepare us for future writing courses with professors we will encounter who will give us feedback that may puzzle us because it will require more work and more thinking. Although I have had difficulty in the class, I do believe that I have learned from my mistakes and that I am finishing the course with stronger writing skills that will help me though the rest of my college career and life.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Strengths As A Writer

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As a writer one of the strengths I find, is the ability to know how to word things. Although, sometimes my work doesn’t always sound good, it does when I take the time and apply myself. A challenge I face in writing includes, introductions, and conclusions, also being able to write a lot about something. I did however, learn how to properly write an intro and conclusion in this course.…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    My Writing Has Improved

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Pages

    How my Writing Has Improved? In this semester I have accomplished a great improvement in my writing. Now that my English 090 class is coming to the end, I can see so far how I become a better writer. In fact, I always struggle with my writing.…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Writing Reflective Essay

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Each key feature has instructional information that guide the writer through the writing process. Interconnected the writing process are strategies. The writing strategies are “deliberate thinking procedures writers use to solve problems that they encounter while writing” (Collins, 1998, p. vii). The writing strategies are broken down into 12 categories; elaborating, evaluating, formatting, generating, monitoring, narrowing, organizing, proofreading,…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even though I know I can still improve on my writing, I feel I have the necessary tools to get better, thanks to this class. My writing process has changed a lot this semester compared to English 101 and has continued to change throughout the different writing assignments.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    TIQA Reflective Essay

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This semester in Ms. Wagner’s accelerated english class I learned many important writing techniques that massively improved my writing, like how to use TIQA format in paragraphs, how to avoid bad habits such as the use of “to be” verbs or the overuse of commas, and how to properly write a thesis statement. One of the first skills I learned this semester is how to organize my paragraphs into TIQA format. TIQA formatting is a way to set up a paragraph to keep it nice and neat. It stands for topic sentence (or transition), intro to quote, quote, and analysis. The best example of my improvement using this technique is one of the first writing pieces I did in English this year, the Book of Sands thematic paragraph.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    EOF Student Reflection

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Title Enrolling the EOF program has lighten up a path in life that would have gone completely undiscovered had I walked alone. Along the path was my introduction to college writing, a class that has improved my writing skills profoundly. At first the tasks given to us on the syllabus seemed daunting, almost insurmountable within the five-week period of the program; it seemed even more inconceivable with the class being only twice a week. However, with the guidance and instruction given to me by the professor and peers I was able to strengthen my work as a student.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Upon my entry into English 1010-02, my first college writing class, I expected to breeze through the course with an easy-A and minimal effort after my successful completion of AP English 11 this past year. I began the year with the utmost confidence in my writing abilities, and believed that my skills were above par. It wasn’t until I received my score on the essay evaluation for my First-Week Essay- a measly five out of twenty- that I realized that this was not the case. At first, I was astonished that my seemingly exceptional writing skills had not earned me the A that I believed I deserved. However, as time went on I came to the realization that I had not put in nearly enough time or effort into the paper to receive more than a C at most.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dear First Year Writing Assessment Committee: In this letter, I will explain my learning outcomes and experiences with my essays for English 1010. English 1010, defined by academic standards, is to develop in first-year college writers a deeper understanding of the complexities of writing through instruction and guided practice in the skills, processes, and strategies necessary for effective, successful writing. In my past semester of English 1010, I was able to demonstrate my abilities to be an effective writer and enhance my writing skills through guiding essay projects. I do believe my abilities were improved in topics including: finding the author’s purpose, explaining ideas, revising, editing, proofreading, organizing the structure of my paper, and etc.…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    English 101 became better than predicted once the fear of procrastination disappeared, the writing became an expression. I feel now that I can write without being judged, and I can make the mistakes I need in order to excel. Likewise, the feeling of being confident in writing is the uttermost important lesson that this class has provided me with. Writing is not something that should be feared, but something that should be…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Considering I have been a university student on and off for the last decade, I believe I have become complacent about my academic literacy skills. I earn good grades, in my opinion, and I often receive positive feedback on my academic writing style and my referencing. Whilst I have received some criticisms, it has never occurred to me to analyse my academic literacy skills and make a point of identifying my weaknesses and improving upon them. As my degree progresses, I increasingly need to be able to express myself confidently and clearly and I cannot do that sufficiently until I have refined my writing skills (Grellier & Goerke, 2014, p. 159). Using online proofreading tools was a useful way for me to identify the deficits in my writing style…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I can reflect back on being in your 10th Grade English Class listening to you prepare my class and I for this very time in our lives. We are studying and will be exploring four objectives in my EN 213 Course here at Alcorn State University and I am almost certain that I am well prepared for them. For each objective, I have my own perspective on what I think each one means and this is what will help me understand them even better. For example, our first objective is to read and appreciate literary texts. This objective is very much self-explanatory because we will be doing just what it says “read and appreciate” which means we will be reading a text and comprehending or understanding it to the extent where we can tell our instructor what happened in the text, why it happened, and what we think would have happened next.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays