If you are unsure about how best to select topics for supervision, you can turn to three sources of information and advice. First, you can consult the list of supervision topics and recommended readings in the Paper Guide. Secondly, you can consult examination papers from the last two or three years. This will give you a sense of the kinds of questions and topics which form the core concerns of the paper. Although lectures are not compulsory, they are a particularly valuable means of bridging gaps between essay topics and of providing general overviews.
Lecturers also give out useful booklists and handouts.
The lecture-programme is published each October in a special issue of the University Reporter. Undergraduates may well ask you to recommend particular lectures. When you choose the topic for a supervision, it is usually helpful to give students a specific question or statement which can serve as the focal point for an essay. The purpose of the essay is to encourage undergraduates to reflect on what they have read and construct an argument around the question. The Course Organiser will provide sample essay questions in the Paper Guide.