What Is A Seminar, Lecture & Tutorial & What’s The Difference?

If you’re about to enter your first year of uni, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that you’ll be sat in a big lecture hall every single day, taking notes and talking to no one. However, if you’ve just picked up your timetable and thought “what on earth is a seminar or tutorial” then you’ve come to the right place.

If you’re at all nervous about starting uni (we totally get it, it’s a huge step!) then understanding exactly what you’ve signed up for and what to prepare will help you quell some of that anxiety.

We’re here to make sure you can stride into your first lecture, seminar, tutorial, workshop or lab knowing what to expect and that you’re totally prepared for what’s coming next.

If you want to check out what other Freshers are thinking about their first weeks of uni, you need to check out our extensive Freshers Guide on all things first-year uni.

What is a seminar?

First off, not all courses will have seminars, so if it’s not on your timetable, don’t panic. If you’re a humanities student, this will most definitely be on there and you need to prep for them too.

A seminar is generally a lot smaller than a lecture and is a space to work on projects and course materials in smaller groups, discuss topics with your peers and ask your lecturer any questions you have to supplement your lecture notes.

Think of seminars as a space to develop different viewpoints on a topic through conversations with your lecturer and other students. If you study English, for example, you may be discussing the meaning of a certain text. This could be one of the most valuable hours of your week so ensure you come prepared with knowledge on the discussion topic.

You may often be set homework in your lecture that you will then be asked to go through in your seminar. This could be answering questions, ensuring you’ve read a certain book or passage, or preparing a presentation. Some courses will mark you on the quality of your work in these seminars, so ensure you’re attending and putting time into the work.

Equally, if you’re struggling to understand something, seminars are the perfect place to talk through it with your lecturer and other students to ensure you’ve truly grasped the topic.

If you need some help preparing, check out our revision tips and tricks.

What is a lecture?

When you think of university, you will almost definitely be picturing a lecture. We’re talking huge rooms, sometimes with hundreds of students, all furiously scribbling (or typing) as a lecturer goes through slides at the front of the hall.

A lecture is defined as an educational talk to an audience, often a group of students. During a lecture, your lecturer will speak on a specific topic to a large number of students who are expected to listen and take notes on the talk.

This talk is often accompanied by visuals such as a presentation and can last anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours. Nowadays, you may not even have to attend in person, with most lectures being recorded and uploaded to an online platform that you’ll have access to.

If you struggle to stay focused while watching online, however, you might benefit from attending the lecture in person. You can also speak to your lecturer at the end of the talk to ask any follow-up questions.

Make sure you have everything you need to take stunning lecture notes by reading through our uni essentials checklist.

What is a tutorial?

A tutorial is normally a small group or one-to-one session with your tutor. Depending on your university, these may be every week or more sporadic and you may need to email your tutor or lecturer to book in time to see them during their office hours.

Tutorials are the perfect time to talk through any trouble you’re having or to go through some of your work together to get feedback on where you can improve. This could be talking through a recent essay or asking for an extension if you’re struggling with your mental health.

Tutors and lecturers have office hours for a reason and that reason is to help you, so make the most of them. Getting some extra support to improve your work could mean reaching a higher grade overall, so it’s worth a trip to see them even if you’re not struggling.

What other types of study groups are there at uni?

Depending on your course, you could have a whole host of other classes including practicals, workshops, labs and even field trips. Your university will give you plenty of information on how to prepare for these but we’ve given a brief outline of what each of these classes may consist of below.

Workshops

Workshops can be another name for seminars and are essentially small classes with a lecturer where you may take on anything from practical projects and tasks to discussions around the course material. Your lecturer will often give you homework to prepare for these sessions but expect them to be a lot more hands-on and involved than your lectures.

Laboratory sessions

If you study any kind of scientific subject from engineering to medicine, then you’ll most likely have some time in a laboratory. Laboratory sessions (labs) usually consist of practising skills relating to your degree, such as medical procedures or working with other students to conduct experiments. Equally, you could be writing code, collecting data, or designing engineering projects and prototypes.

Field Trips

You may already have carried out field trips depending on what you studied before university but this is generally where you get off-campus to carry out research or receive training in field and laboratory techniques relating to your course.

Field trips are usually associated with environmental studies such as Geography or Geology and can therefore be to study phenomena such as river bank erosion or sedimentation. Equally, if you study a course such as archaeology, you may take a field trip to a dig site to learn archaeological procedures and skills.

Whether you’re in your first year or final year, don’t forget to check out our blog for tons more student advice and hacks.