Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials

Unlike lectures, in seminars and tutorials you often get more opportunities to interact with your lecturer and other students, and ask questions. 

This resource gives advice on what to do before and during a seminar and a tutorial, and it’s designed to maximise your experience of listening and engaging in group discussion.

Seminars are often more interactive than lectures and work on the principle that the whole group participates in discussion of a specific topic. Often the group is smaller than that at a lecture in order to allow more participation by those attending. The topic is usually identified beforehand, so you will be expected to prepare to participate in the discussion. This can feel intimidating to begin with, but if you prepare in advance, you will feel more confident about participating in the seminar.
 

• Start by looking at your module ELE pages to see if the topic for each seminar is listed in advance. Some subjects just publish the topic for discussion, whilst others post the topic and some reading to do before the seminar. Seminars also sometimes follow on or develop a topic, from lectures, so be clear about how the seminar relates to the module in general.  
• If a piece of reading is suggested before the seminar, make sure you have read it. If no reading is suggested, it is still a good idea to do a bit of reading around the topic. You’ll not be expected to know the topic in detail - the point is to think about it before the seminar and then discuss and explore it with others on your course in the session. Use that time to make note of any key points you think might come up, but also to write down any questions or areas you are not sure about, these give you something to ask at the seminar so that you can participate in the seminar in a meaningful way.
• Some seminars might be student led, you might be asked to prepare and present a topic for discussion, or you might be asked to do so as part of a group.
  Find out more about effective group work.​​​​​

As with many other aspects of study, preparing in advance will help you feel more confident of both the topic and your ability to contribute to the seminar, particularly if you are shy or uncomfortable about speaking or presenting to others. Being able to contribute something at each seminar will help you build up your confidence in such situations and to the discussion or debate the seminar gives rise to. ​​​​​​​

• Make note of any new ideas that come up that fill in the gaps in your understanding, tutors might also make reference to new research or publications that it would be useful to explore after the seminar.  
• Whilst others are speaking or presenting, make notes of any questions you might want to ask them when they have finished talking. One function of seminars is to facilitate debate, so you don’t have to agree with everything that is said and can challenge others in the group in a respectful way or ask them to clarify a point. These are ways you can contribute to keeping the discussion and the debate going.  
• Keep an open mind and develop your critical skills by listening carefully to each contribution and, even where you disagree, considering whether the other person has a valid point.  
• Try to think about how the topic of the seminar relates to your lectures and your wider reading and whether the seminar has identified areas you need to read up on or take to a tutorial with your tutor. 

Tutorials are often more personal and allow tutors to talk to students on an individual basis, although sometimes, where students work in small groups on an assignment, the tutorial might involve a small group of students. They give you an opportunity to discuss your progress, assignments and feedback with your tutor and are a good opportunity to get advice about any areas or topics you are struggling with.

• Because of the number of students, a tutor supports, tutorials are often less frequent than other types of teaching session, so preparation will help you get something meaningful out of your them.
• To overcome any sense of shyness, think about what questions you would like to ask your tutor in advance and make a note of these.  
• Also think about any aspects of the module you feel least confident about, as your tutor can usually either give you some advice or point you towards where you can get some additional support. 

• Don’t be afraid to make notes. If your tutor suggests a particular piece of reading or a resource, make note of it so you can research it later.  
• Try to identify clear goals or follow up actions during your tutorial. Sometimes you might get a lot of advice and trying to act on it all at one time can be overwhelming. After the tutorial, think about what your immediate priorities are and focus on doing something about these. 
• If your tutor suggests getting help from other services such as Study Skills or Wellbeing, make note of the recommended team or resource, and how and where to access it.