Because I Need To
I read a lot about stand-up comedy and recently read an article where someone described why they did it. I’d seen a lot of comedians describe this before, “Oh, I love the sound of a room laughing,” or “There’s nothing...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I read a lot about stand-up comedy and recently read an article where someone described why they did it. I’d seen a lot of comedians describe this before, “Oh, I love the sound of a room laughing,” or “There’s nothing...
Your examiners are important elements of your viva. Whoever they are, however much influence you have over their selection, it’s worth spending a little of your viva preparation time exploring what they do. Build your confidence for the viva by...
There’s a lot of negative possibilities that candidates imagine for their viva. They worry they won’t be ready. They fear potential questions. They’re concerned in case something bad happens. The viva’s important, so it’s natural to have concerns. But passing...
Probably a lot. 101 questions, about life, the state of the world, what you’ll be doing in six months, what you’ll be doing next year… What’s for dinner, what will happen in that show I like, should I call so-and-so,...
You can rehearse for the viva, but you can’t take a script. It’s worth using questions to practise how you respond, but much less useful to have written responses to parrot. Your examiners want a conversation rather than a performance;...
You’re most likely to get minor corrections. Check to see how much time your university allows for them to be completed. Passing usually means, “passing subject to completing these” – so find out the timeline in advance for the most...
Don’t rush preparing for your viva. You’re busy, of course. You’re stressed, at least a little, most probably. You only have so much time and you want to make sure you’re ready. Start sooner rather than later. Do what you...
Not all viva prep needs to be done alone. It’s OK to simply ask, “Can you help me?” It’s OK to ask for a favour, “It’s not something little, but I really need help. Can you?” It’s even OK to...
Poorly prepared for your viva means you didn’t bother, or you didn’t take it seriously. Poorly prepared for your viva means you relied on hope rather than work to get you through. Poorly prepared means you didn’t find out about...
Annotating your thesis is useful viva prep. You have to really think about your thesis while you do it and you create a more useful resource for afterwards. I have general ideas I think are good for annotation, but every...