I had a realization today that I have failed you, my reader, in a major way: after starting a blog inspired by my year abroad at Oxford (though don’t think you’ll be able to get rid of me after this year is concluded), I have yet to dedicate a full entry to describing what a tutorial is like.
The whole success of a tutorial depends on several factors: the tutor, the student’s work ethic, and the subject being studied. I suppose one of my strengths would be my work ethic and generally speaking I like interesting subjects—so the tutor is the variable factor in my year at Oxford. The four I have had thus far are all engaged with their subject matter, incredibly knowledgeable, and well-spoken.
The tutorial takes place in the tutor’s office or a room at his/her college usually; my tutors have been at three different colleges thus far. Each of the colleges typically has staircases lining the courtyards, leading up to the tutors’ offices. Depending on the age and wealth of the college, the staircase can be old, creaking, and freezing cold. So I’ll be given directions from my tutor, “I’m at so and so college, staircase 9, room 2,” and I’ll bike over, ask the porter for directions, climb the staircase, knock on the door, and walk into my first tutorial.
Stylistically, the tutors differ in the level of initiative they take in outlining the course: what books to read, the length of the essay, when the essay is due, how structured the tutorial discussions will be. I have two tutorials per term, my primary every week and my secondary every other week (so two essays, one essay, two essays, etc.). The essays are usually 2000 words (7-8 pages) about at least one book, up to 6 or 7 books. For my English tutorials, I usually read one or two novels and critical works written about them, as well as some biographical information about the authors. For history, I read one or two whole books, and then additional articles, chapters in books, or volumes.
The essay prompts vary as well in specificity. One of my tutors has asked really broad questions, another super specific, another has told me to read a book and come up with whatever I want to write about. Two ways of turning in the essay are utilized: either by email the day before the tutorial (so the tutor can mark the essay and discuss it in the tutorial) or by bringing a printed copy to the tutorial to read aloud or present the main ideas (which the tutor then takes to mark and brings the next time or sends in the “pigeon post”—delivered to our “pigeon hole” mailboxes in the porter’s lodge at college).
My tutors have also varied in their formalities. I had heard that tutorials can range from feeling like meeting a friend for coffee to an oral exam. So far, I’d pretty much agree with that. Luckily, only one of my tutors has felt more formal, with questions he wanted to discuss rather than basing the discussion off topics raised in my essay. One of my tutors has been far and away one of the best teachers I have ever had. She seems to genuinely care about how I am doing, facilitates a wonderful discussion based on my essay, and makes me feel comfortable to ask questions and make mistakes. A tutor has asked if I would like a cup of tea; one fidgeted with the heater throughout our discussion; some have joked about funny moments in tutorials with students they’ve had in the past; another asked for a summary of my essay as soon as I had finished reading it.
In my tutorials, I’ve ranged from feeling like I really demonstrated my handle on the subject matter well, being proud of the essay I had written, confused by my tutor’s explanations, exhausted from staying up too late writing the essay, relaxed in mainly just listening to my tutor speak, and truly engaged in having an excellent discussion over the subject. The tutorials last 45 minutes to an hour, and there is definitely a correlation between the quality of tutor and quality of essay written with how fast that tutorial passes.
In the seminars I’ve taken, office hours I’ve attended, interviews I’ve had, and oral exams I’ve survived, I feel as though I have been adequately prepared for the Oxford system. I’m enjoying myself tremendously and feel like I’m getting the hang of the tutorial system. Not having to take classes I’m not interested in, attend a lecture with 40 other students, do busy work, or spend fifteen hours a week in the classroom has been lovely. I’m hoping to essentially be a paper-producing machine by the end of the year. Perhaps that will make the weird adjustment back to the American education system that I’m guessing awaits me a tad bit easier. And hopefully now you can better envision what I’m doing exactly when I say “I’m off to a tutorial”—that foreign, fateful Oxford creation that my life here centers around.
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