Whimsy

Maybe we need a little more fun in viva prep. After all, just because something is fun, doesn’t mean that it’s not serving a serious purpose. One approach to viva prep is to try to explore your research or thesis in a new way. Here are seven whimsical questions that might help with that goal:

• Can you write fifty words to describe your research without using the letter E?
• Can you explain your thesis using fun metaphors?
• Is it possible to describe how you would do your research with twice as many resources?
• What you would cut from your research if you had only three-quarters of the time you had?
• How would you have done your research if you were Batman?
• Can you summarise your thesis in a haiku?
• How would you draw your research with stick figures to explain it?

This is another workout exercise: it’s unlikely that your examiners will ask any of these in the viva. But if you use them in prep you stretch your thinking. You look at things in a new light. You find new ideas. And you might raise a smile too. What could be bad about that?