At Oxford, teaching is done primarily through the tutorial system. This unique system offers unrivalled opportunities to study concentrated topics in particular subjects. The tutorial consists in essence of an approximately one hour meeting between the tutor and one or two students, at which a piece of written work (“an essay”) will be read and commented upon, with discussion frequently branching out beyond the original topic to embrace cognate areas as well. At the end of the tutorial the tutor will assign the topic to be studied over the forthcoming week and will suggest reading.

During your time in Oxford, Associate Members will usually study one “primary” and one “secondary” subject, consisting of nine and five tutorials respectively, spread out at roughly weekly and fortnightly intervals in the term. We say “roughly” because problems sometimes occur which make absolute adherence to this schedule impossible: You or your tutor may be ill; your tutorial course may start later in the term for some reason; or you may both simply decide that you wish to “bunch up” tutorials. As so often in Oxford, there is no absolutely “normal” pattern!

It will be apparent that the success of the system relies upon your engaging in extensive independent work, using the resources available to you, under the broad guidance of your tutor. The tutor’s function is not to spoon-feed knowledge down compliant throats; sometimes you may leave one tutorial armed with only a reading list and the title of the next essay. But through the tutorial method you learn the skills of critical evaluation of material and organization of ideas not fostered by any other system–which is one reason why Oxford graduates are so highly prized in the outside world. Indeed, one might sum up the tutorial system by saying that its greatest function is to teach you how to teach yourself, probably the most important academic lesson you will ever learn.

The tutorial thus forms the focus of the week’s work, providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. A common concern of students is naturally that they wish to know how they are progressing during the term, since the only formal evaluation comes at the end of the tutorial course. In general Oxford tutors tend to confine their criticism (and praise!) to the particular topic under discussion in the tutorial and unless pressed refrain from more general comment. It is therefore in your interest to ask the tutor outright if you wish to know how you are progressing and how you may improve. Communication is a two-way affair and unless you ask questions information may not always be forthcoming. This is not because tutors do not wish to deal with such matters, but rather because they are not generally accustomed to being asked such questions by matriculated British degree students. However, once confronted they will usually be delighted to discuss your general progress.

You should always remember the Oxford tutor will be on your side, he or she will wish to see you do your best work so he or she will prod you but they will understand that the first tutorial will be a new experience for you.

Parts of the excerpts in the following sub-sections are taken from “Student Survival Kit”, Dr Ian Archer, Fellow in History, Keble College. Accessed 13 June 2006 at http://www.weblearn.ox.ac.uk/. These very useful comments are published with the kind permission of Dr Archer. He wrote this advice for his own students in history but generally these comments can be applied to any of the social sciences or humanities.

You are also encouraged to consult the Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (OxCHEPS) Occasional Paper No. 1: “The Oxford Tutorial” by Mr David Palfreyman, MA MBA LLB, Bursar and Fellow, New College, Oxford University. It is available at: http://oxcheps.new.ox.ac.uk/MainSite%20pages/Resources/OxCHEPS_OP1.doc. It includes chapters on the sciences and other subjects.