Skip to Content

  • Home
  • Study
  • Student life
  • Research
  • About
  • Contact us
Go to the Massey University home page

Massey University

Library | Alumni Portal | Staffroom | MyMassey
Massey University > OWLL > About OWLL > FAQ

OWLL

  • About OWLL
    • FAQ
    • Search OWLL
    • Contact us
    • Handouts (Printable)
    • Pre-reading Service
    • Workshops
      • StudyUp
      • StudyUp Recordings
      • StudyUp Postgraduate
    • Videos
    • Site map
  • Academic writing
    • Intro to academic writing
      • What is academic writing?
      • Writing objectively
      • Writing concisely
      • 1st vs. 3rd person
      • Inclusive language
      • Te Reo Māori
    • Assignment planning
      • Assignment planning calculator
      • Interpreting the assignment question
      • Command words
      • Organising points
    • Researching
      • Identifying academic sources
      • Evaluating source quality
    • Editing & proofreading
      • Apostrophes
      • Commas
      • Other punctuation
      • Active voice
      • American vs. British spelling
      • Articles
      • Conditionals
      • Prepositions
      • Pronoun Reference
      • Sentence fragments
      • Sentence Structure
      • Subject-verb agreement
      • Verb tense
      • Formatting and layout
      • Word limits and assignment length
      • Commonly confused words
    • How assignments are marked
      • Marking guides
      • Getting an A
      • Levels of assessment
      • Using feedback
    • Professional emails
    • Forum posts
      • Forum netiquette guidelines
      • Sharing personal information
      • Writing about personal experiences
  • Assignment types
    • Essay
      • What is an essay?
      • Essay planning and structure
      • Introduction
      • Thesis statement
      • Body paragraphs
      • Essay flow
      • Conclusion
      • Essay revision
      • Essay writing resources
    • Report
      • What is a report?
      • Report structure
      • Analysing issues for a report
    • Business report
      • What is a business report?
      • Business report structure
      • Inductive vs. deductive reports
      • Other kinds of business communication
      • Business report writing resources
      • Business report format and layout
    • Lab report
      • What is a lab report?
      • Lab report structure
      • Science lab report writing resources
      • Psychology lab report writing resources
      • Lab report body paragraphs
    • Literature review
      • What is a literature review?
      • Writing a literature review
      • Literature review structure
      • Literature review writing resources
    • Research proposal
      • Writing a research proposal
      • Research proposal structure
    • Other types
      • Article critique
      • Book review
      • Annotated bibliography
      • Reflective writing
      • Oral presentation
      • Abstract
      • Thesis / dissertation
      • Article / conference paper
      • Shorter responses
      • Group work
  • Computer skills
    • Microsoft Word
      • Basic formatting
      • Images, tables, & figures
      • Long documents
    • Microsoft Excel
      • Basic spreadsheets
      • Navigating & printing spreadsheets
      • Charts / graphs & formulas
    • Microsoft PowerPoint
      • Basic skills
      • Advanced skills
    • Stream
  • Distance study
    • Getting started
    • How to study
    • Online study techniques
    • Distance support
  • ESOL study
    • Reading & writing
      • Reading strategies
      • Writing strategies
      • Grammar resources
    • Listening & speaking
      • Listening strategies
      • Speaking strategies
  • Maths & statistics
    • Arithmetic
    • Algebra
    • Calculus
    • Trigonometry
    • Statistics
    • Finance formulas
  • Postgraduate study
    • Intro to postgrad study
      • Planning postgrad study
      • Postgrad resources
    • Postgrad assignment types
  • Referencing
    • Intro to referencing
      • What is referencing?
      • Why reference?
      • Plagiarism
      • Turnitin
      • Common knowledge
      • Referencing styles
      • What type of source is this?
      • Reference list vs. bibliography
      • Referencing software
    • Quoting & paraphrasing
      • Quoting
      • Paraphrasing & summarising
      • Paraphrasing techniques
    • APA style
      • APA Interactive
      • In-text citation
      • Reference list
      • Books
      • Journals
      • Online material
      • Other material
      • Headings in APA
      • Tables and Figures
      • Referencing elements
      • 5th vs. 6th edition
      • 6th vs. 7th edition
    • Chicago style
      • Chicago Interactive
      • About notes system
      • Books
      • Journals
      • Online material
      • Other material
      • Notes referencing elements
      • Quoting and paraphrasing
      • Author-date system
    • MLA style
      • MLA Interactive
      • Abbreviations
      • In-text citation
      • List of works cited
      • Books
      • Journals
      • Online material
      • Other material
      • Referencing elements
      • Captions for images
      • 8th vs 9th edition
    • Footnotes
      • Oxford style
      • Chicago style
    • Other styles
      • Harvard style
      • Vancouver style
      • Legal citations
      • Visual material
      • NZVJ style
  • Sample assignments
    • Sample essay 1
    • Sample essay 2
    • Sample annotated bibliography
    • Sample book review
  • Study skills
    • Time management
      • Intro to time management
      • Procrastination & perfectionism
      • Goals & motivation
      • Time management for internal students
      • Time management for distance students
    • Memory skills
      • Principles of good memory
      • Memory strategies
    • Note-taking
      • Note-taking methods
      • Mind maps
      • Note-taking in lectures
      • Note-taking while reading
      • Digital note-taking
    • Reading
      • Reading styles
      • Skimming
      • Scanning
      • In-depth reading
      • Reading comprehension
      • Reading academic material
      • Reading a journal article
      • Reading an academic book
    • Critical thinking
      • What is critical thinking?
      • Constructing an argument
      • Critical reading
      • Logical fallacies
  • Tests & exams
    • Exam & test study
      • Planning exam study
      • Gathering & sorting information
      • Reviewing past exams
      • Phases of revision
      • Last-minute study strategies
    • Question types
      • Essay
      • Short answer
      • Multi-choice
      • Problem / computational
      • Case-study / scenario
      • Oral
      • Open book exam
      • Open web exam or test
      • Take home test
    • In the exam
      • Online exam
      • Physical exam

OWLL Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • Using sources and referencing
  • Study skills
  • Writing an assignment
  • Distance study
  • Essays
  • Reports
  • Exams
  • Postgraduate study
Show all | Hide all

If you can't find the answer to your question, try searching OWLL:

Using sources and referencing

How do I use sources in my assignment?

See the introduction to referencing and quoting and paraphrasing.

How can I integrate a quotation into my assignment?

See quoting.

How do I put other authors' ideas into my own words (paraphrase)?

See paraphrasing and summarising and paraphrasing techniques.

What is citing?

Citing or a citation is information indicating the source of information or of a quoted passage.
For more on this, see introduction to referencing.

There are a number of different methods for citing material within the body of your assignment. Differences also occur in the layout of the cited authors' list positioned at the end of your assignment (i.e. the reference list or list of cited works). Conventions used at Massey University include APA, MLA, Oxford, and other styles.

Different academic disciplines use different conventions, but the most common referencing convention used at Massey is APA Style. It is important that you follow the conventions prescribed by your course coordinator, department, school, and/or institute.

How do I reference a book?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • books in APA
  • books in MLA
How do I reference a journal article?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • journals in APA
  • journals in MLA
How do I reference a study guide?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • study guides in APA
  • study guides in MLA
How do I reference a website?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • websites in APA
  • websites in MLA
How do I reference a newspaper article?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • newspaper articles in APA
  • newspaper articles in MLA
How do I reference a quotation that appears inside another source (a secondary source)?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • secondary sources in APA
  • secondary sources in MLA
How do I reference difficult material?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • other sources in APA
  • other sources in MLA
I can't find the author / year / publisher – what do I do?

This depends on which referencing style you are using:

  • missing elements in APA
  • missing elements in MLA

Study skills

How can I manage my study time better?

See time management.

How should I take notes?

See note-taking.

How should I read to get the most out of my reading time?

See reading.

I'm having difficulty understanding the textbook – what should I do?

See reading comprehension.

How can I remember more information?

See memory skills.

How do I make a mind-map?

See mind maps

How do I deal with procrastination?

See procrastination and perfectionism.

How do I deal with perfectionism?

See procrastination and perfectionism.

Writing an assignment

What is academic writing?

Academic writing differs from other types of writing. There are three features essential for academic writing:

  • it is structured in a particular way
  • it is supported by academic sources
  • it follows standard rules of grammar and spelling

See introduction to academic writing for more.

How do I know whether a source is academic or not?

See identifying academic sources and evaluating source quality.

Where do I start when writing an assignment?

The first steps to write an assignment are

  • understanding the requirements
  • understanding the question
  • generating ideas
  • making a plan

The assignment planning calculator can tell you when you should start on each stage, and what to do once you have a plan in place.

How do I plan an assignment?

See planning assignments.

How does my lecturer / tutor mark my assignment?

See how assignments are marked.

How do I construct an argument?

See constructing an argument.

Can I have someone read over my draft assignment before I hand it in?

The Centre for Teaching and Learning offers an online pre-reading service to all distance and internal first year students. This gives you the opportunity to submit 2 assignments per semester for a review of the focus, structure, style, presentation, referencing and use of sources. You can submit before you hand the assignment in to be marked. Submitted assignments will usually be returned within 3 working days.

See pre-reading for more information on this essential service.

What is the difference between a report and an essay?

A report is a specific form of writing that is organised around concisely identifying and examining issues, events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense, such as events that have occurred within an organisation, or findings from a research investigation.

An essay requires you to construct a debate around the different arguments in favour of, or not in favour of, a particular issue.

See reports and essays.

Distance study

I'm new to study – where do I start?

See getting started with distance study.

How can I study effectively online?

See online study techniques.

I have so much to do! How do I manage my study time?

See time management for distance students.

What academic support is there for distance students?

See distance support.

Can I have someone read over my draft assignment before I hand it in?

The Centre for Teaching and Learning offers an online pre-reading service to all distance and internal first year students. This gives you the opportunity to submit 2 assignments per semester for a review of the focus, structure, style, presentation, referencing and use of sources. You can submit before you hand the assignment in to be marked. Submitted assignments will usually be returned within 3 working days.

See pre-reading for more information on this essential service.

Essays

How do I interpret the assignment question?

See interpreting the assignment question.

How do I structure / organise an essay?

See essay planning and structure.

What is a thesis statement?

The thesis statement is a short statement, normally not more than one sentence, which outlines the main idea, position or argument of your essay; it generally answers the essay question and provides a reason or explanation for the answer chosen.

See thesis statements.

How do I create a thesis statement from an essay question?

See thesis statements.

How do I write an introduction?

See introductions.

How do I write individual paragraphs?

See body paragraphs.

How do I write a conclusion?

See conclusions.

My essay is too long or too short – what do I do?

See word limits and assignment length.

My feedback indicates that I need to work on “flow” – what do I do?

See essay flow.

How should I revise before I submit my essay?

See essay revision and editing and proofreading.

How should I format my essay?

See formatting and layout.

How large should my essay's margins be?

See formatting and layout.

Should I double-space my essay?

See formatting and layout.

Reports

What is a report?

See what is a report, what is a business report, and what is a lab report.

How should I structure a report?

See report structure, business report structure, and lab report structure.

What's the difference between an inductive and a deductive report?

See inductive vs. deductive reports.

How do I write a business report?

See business reports.

How do I write a lab report?

See lab reports.

Exams

How do I prepare for an exam?

See exam and test study.

How can I manage my study time better?

See planning exam study.

Where can I find old exam papers and how do I use them?

See reviewing past exams.

What happens in the exam?

See in the exam.

How can I manage my time in the exam room?

See in the exam.

How should I write essays in exams?

See exam essay question.

How should I prepare for multi-choice questions in an exam?

See multi-choice question.

How should I prepare for problem-solving / computational questions in an exam?

See problem / computational question.

How should I prepare for case study / scenario questions in an exam?

See case study / scenario question.

How should I prepare for oral questions in an exam?

See oral question.

How should I prepare for open book exams?

See open book test or exam.

My exam is tomorrow and I haven't studied! What do I do?

See last minute study strategies.

Postgraduate study

I'm beginning postgraduate study – what should I know?

See introduction to postgraduate study.

How do I write for conferences?

See producing an article or conference paper.

How do I critique an academic article?

See article critique.

How do I write a research proposal?

See research proposal.

How do I write a literature review?

See literature review.

I'm about to begin my thesis – what should I know?

See thesis / dissertation.

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success
Last updated on 9 July, 2018

  • 0800 MASSEY | (+64 6 350 5701)
  • TXT 5222
  • contact@massey.ac.nz
  • Web chat
  • Online form
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North
4442
New Zealand
Site map | A-Z index | Disclaimer | Privacy
Copyright © 1998 - 2010 Massey University. All rights reserved.