Toppling
In Jenga, whatever your intentions, you might knock the tower down at any moment. Your actions or a misplacement by the last player might make things so unstable that the tower can only fall. It’s tempting to think of the...
Daily viva help for PhDs
In Jenga, whatever your intentions, you might knock the tower down at any moment. Your actions or a misplacement by the last player might make things so unstable that the tower can only fall. It’s tempting to think of the...
Have you got thirty minutes to spare for your viva prep? In thirty minutes you can: Read through a good chunk of a chapter; Check a couple of references; Make some notes about your examiners’ interests; Create a list of...
A year or so after my PhD, when I was starting out as a freelancer, I came across a book called Gamestorming. It’s a collection of tools for use with groups of people. If you need to generate ideas, coordinate...
Couple of hours Balances all the years With a few questions. (see previously)
One of the best reasons to annotate your thesis is to make things stand out. For example: Highlight key references and how you’ve used them; Underline your typos for easier correction later; Draw attention to jargon and specialist terms; Draw...
The end of the PhD can be an anxious time. If you’re worried, or unsure, or feel like an impostor, then you’re the person who needs to take action. You don’t have to face everything alone, but you do have...
But what if my examiner says something I’ve done is rubbish? Imagine you’re in that position. What exactly did they say? It’s unlikely that they just used the word rubbish, but that’s what your brain has just made of their...
Let’s categorise! Bad Reasons To Have A Mock Viva You want to see exactly what your viva will be like. You want to rehearse answers to specific questions. You want to be grilled by your supervisor and prove yourself. You...
Don’t panic during your prep or in the viva. Don’t do it. De-list it as an option. It’s not on the table. Find something that looks like a mistake in your thesis? Don’t panic. What can you do instead? Examiner...
I like acronyms as useful tools, particularly for unpicking things or prompting thoughts. Last year I shared a post on how to use the tool SCAMPER to think about how to extend the research you’ve done for your PhD. Recently...