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 > Distance study > Distance support

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

Distance support

There are many avenues of support for anyone studying at a distance.

Assignment pre-reading

Have a consultant review your assignment for focus, structure, style, and presentation before you hand it in.

Show all | Hide all

Course coordinator

Because they are in charge of the course, course coordinators can give you the most comprehensive and definitive answers to study questions.

E-mail and phone contact

The contact details for the course coordinator (e-mail address, phone number, and office hours) are usually included in the course materials or administration guide for that course. You can also find the e-mail address of the course coordinator for a course by looking up the course on Massey University's course search and going to “more information”.

If you have not been able to make contact with your coordinator, ask to speak to the Department Secretary, who will let you know about their availability. Course coordinators can also be contacted through Stream.

Stream contact

Many courses have an online component such as a Stream site. This is a quick and easy way to make contact with the course coordinator and other students. If you have a question, first consider making a posting to the discussion forum.

If you want to know something, it is likely that many others would like to know the answer to the same question. You can ask the question, the lecturer answers it only once, and everyone in the course has access to the answer!

Some courses also allow you to send private messages to the course coordinator.

Other students

Study is much more successful when you are part of an academic community that includes both lecturers and students. There are a number of ways to contact other students in your location and area of study.

Through Stream

Try to actively participate in discussion forums and study group discussions on Stream. The more you participate and contribute, the more you will gain from involvement in the online course. You can also post a location message, suggesting that students in your area could meet to form a study group, or just meet informally to share ideas on the course content.

Through Distance students association M@D

Connect with your Distance students association M@D (Massey at Distance)

M@D - Massey at Distance

Website:https://www.mad.ac.nz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MasseyDistance/

Help with assignments

Your course coordinator and Stream site should be your first contact for clarification on assignments, topic interpretation, and any other difficulties. There are other ways to get help with assignments, however.

Assignment pre-reading service

The Centre for Teaching and Learning offers an Online Pre-reading Service to distance students. This gives you the opportunity to submit 2 assignments per semester for a review of focus, structure, style, and presentation, before you hand the assignment in to be marked. Submitted assignments will usually be returned within 3 working days.

An introduction to the Pre-reading Service

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

Centres for Teaching and Learning

If you are in Auckland, Palmerston North, or Wellington you are welcome to visit the campus Centres for Teaching and Learning.

All three campuses have Distance Writing and Learning Consultants who are available to help you with topic interpretation, assignment writing, and referencing, as well as study and exam skills.

Contact the Centres for Teaching and Learning for further information.

If you have a question relating to academic writing, study skills, or the other topics covered on OWLL, ask a question at Academic Q+A (Massey login required).

Workshops are available online and on campus. For details go to: Workshops

Massey Library

Massey Library are happy to help you find information for your assignment and will help you learn to search the electronic databases and e-journals for sources.

See the Library's page for distance students for more.

Pasifika

Pacific Island students can access learning and study skills support, including distance consultations, via the Pasfika website.

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success
Last updated on 22 August, 2019

Academic Q+A

Have a study or assignment writing question? Ask an expert at Academic Q+A

Live online workshops

  • StudyUp (undergraduate)
  • StudyUp Postgraduate
  • Library

Campus workshops

  • Campus workshops
  • 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.