Online Writing Labs: OWL and SyncOWL

SyncOWL Hours

Spring Term May 13 - June 20 | Summer Term June 30 - August 13
Monday-Thursday 6-8pm

SyncOWL Winter

Guidelines for Online Tutoring Sessions Using – SyncOWL

Sweetland Peer Tutors offer real-time, video-chat tutoring through the Synchronous Online Writing Lab (SyncOWL), which operates on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you need help with your writing during our regular business hours but can’t make it into one of our face-to-face tutoring centers, try talking to a SyncOWL tutor in a live chat. The first step is to go to Sweetland SyncOwl Google Plus and add “Gayle Morris” to your Google+ circles. To see how these Google Hangouts on Google+ work, check out this video tutorial.

Guidelines for Online Tutoring Sessions Using – OWL

Sweetland Peer Tutors offer asynchronous online tutoring through the Online Writing Lab (OWL), which operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you have about a week until your paper is due and like receiving written feedback on your writing, the OWL might be for you.

  • OWL papers must be submitted at least 72 hours in advance of the due date. Tutorials will generally be completed within 48-72 hours, Sunday-Thursday, Fall and Winter terms only. If the OWL gets overloaded and we’re unable to help you with your writing, we’ll email you as soon as possible to invite you to please use one of our other services.
  • The OWL accepts assignments from UM courses as well as personal statements, resumes, cover letters, and application essays.
  • The OWL can only accept one essay per student per week.
  • Essays submitted to the OWL must be no longer than eight (8) pages.
  • Writers cannot be required to use the OWL.

If you have questions about the OWL or SyncOWL, email OWLtutors@umich.edu for assistance.