Oxford Learning Institute
University of Oxford
Studying at Oxford: making the most of a unique opportunity
Welcome to Oxford. My advice to you this morning is based on many years' experience
teaching at Oxford, and I now head the Oxford Learning Institute which works with academic
staff to help them improve the design and delivery of university courses. Studying in Oxford
may well be rather different from what you have experienced before, so it is worthwhile
looking at how to get the best from it. This handout simply gives you some brief notes to
remind you of the main points of my talk.
Wishing you every success and an enjoyable time here,
Stephen Goss
Get Started on the Right Track
Be sure to:
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go to the introductory meetings in your college and your faculty or department;
make good use of the advice and help you will be offered to find out about Oxford
libraries and how to use the Web in Oxford for information about your college and
course, for your Oxford email account, and for access to online academic literature.
(Computing Service: 2.00pm);
check your Oxford email account and college pigeon-hole (free internal mail system)
regularly.
Familiarise yourself with:
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your college handbook,
your university course handbook,
the handbook Essential Information for Students (the "Proctors' and Assessor's
Memorandum") online at http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/proctors/info/pam/index.shtml
the Examination Regulations – known as 'The Grey Book' – the formal description of
what you must do to get a degree (not an easily readable document, but keep it safe
for reference, your tutor will advise you about how to use it!).
Lectures:
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Take advice – in the sciences you are expected to go to every lecture especially in
the first year.
In the other subjects, you may be advised to choose lectures to suit your interests.
Practicals and classes (small group teaching):
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Practicals in the sciences are typically compulsory: keep your lab.-notes up-to-date,
remember you may need to hand them in for inspection by the examiners.
Classes may be run by the University or by colleges: take advice about which to
attend, and be sure to prepare well and take an active part during the class.
Tutorials are typically intended to:
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help you gain a deep understanding of the subject matter in your discipline discussion in tutorials helps you see the significance and implications of your
knowledge so you can apply what you have learned in new contexts; you should also
develop a healthy scepticism about the literature;
help you learn how to think, for instance to synthesize disparate sources, to formulate
a thesis and justify it, to anticipate and respond to criticisms of your ideas;
develop your basic academic skills (e.g. identification and evaluation of relevant
resources, effective communication both orally and in writing, effective timemanagement, critical self-assessment);
Oxford Learning Institute
University of Oxford
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enable you to pursue your individual academic interests within the context of their
subject;
by your final year, develop your ability to think and act like a professional in your
discipline, like an historian or a biologist rather than a history student or a biology
student (i.e. aim to become the 'real thing'!).
Tutorials are NOT intended to 'cover' the syllabus – their subject matter has to be highly
selective; they may precede or follow related teaching in lectures.
Expect to be set a lot of reading and to find a lot more of your own. Take careful notes in
order to produce your tutorial essays. Preparing for a tutorial will often take at least 10-12
hours' hard work.
In the tutorial, expect your tutor to challenge you, to disagree with you, to ask difficult
questions, and to press you for YOUR VIEWS on a subject. Tutorials are wasted if they are
used for teaching facts that you can easily read and learn for yourselves.
Be brave in tutorials – don't worry, you'll soon find the right level. Don't be afraid if you have
taken a view that is different from your tutor's: that way, at least there will be a lot to discuss.
Engage with your tutor and the tutorial becomes fun – reluctance to speak up makes a
tutorial dull and will mean that you gain a lot less.
Oxford Terms and Vacations
Eight-week terms (named after Christian feasts 'Michaelmas', 'Hilary', and 'Trinity') seem
short – but they involve very intensive work, and there's no half-term break. Your college
may require you to be here for part of the week before term ('0th Week'), and some university
examinations run beyond term into 9th or 10th Weeks – so the 8 weeks are all for study.
Important: check whether you must be here before or after term before arranging travel.
Use vacations for 'consolidation', i.e. to do more reading and to review your notes and
essays – reorganise them logically, make revision notes to prepare you for college exams at
the start of the next term ('collections') and for university exams.
Avoid Plagiarism
Because of differences of culture and custom, students moving here from abroad may have
particular difficulty with our understanding of plagiarism. Learn what it is and how to avoid it
– it is regarded here as academic dishonesty and there are heavy penalties! There is a
useful course (accessed via the Oxford 'Single Sign-on'):
https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/access/content/group/cds/CrDevt_WebPages/Course_Plagiarism.
html
The University may use electronic screening to examine your work for possible plagiarism.
Remember to cite the source of ideas, of graphs and illustrations, and of quoted or
paraphrased text (quotations must be clearly marked as such).
Remember too that you can get more credit for commenting on other people's ideas
than for reproducing them!
Balancing Work and Play
Find yourself some good friends – if English is not your first language do find English friends
– they'll help your English to develop and become more sophisticated, which you will need to
do well in your degree.
Join some clubs and societies: go carefully – don't overcommit either your time or your bank
balance!
Keep sensible hours: playing late, working through the night, and sleeping-in is a recipe for
disaster!
Have fun and do well!
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