Move Past Mistakes
Typos catch the eye. Muddled words bring distraction. Mistakes do matter, but for the most part only because they’ll be one more thing on the list of corrections. When you see them during your prep – because it is when rather...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Typos catch the eye. Muddled words bring distraction. Mistakes do matter, but for the most part only because they’ll be one more thing on the list of corrections. When you see them during your prep – because it is when rather...
Every night before we put our daughter to bed, we share what we’re thankful for as a family. We’re thankful that we’ve had three meals that day, that something funny happened, that we’re part of a nice school community, that...
A half-hour or hour of viva prep doesn’t have to be spent with your eyes glued to the pages of your thesis. Yes, you need to read, and yes you need to spend time on slightly longer, considered tasks –...
Viva preparation helps you to change focus from the kind of work needed to get you to submission to the work needed to get you through the viva. Is it ready, how much more, did I tweak that change that get...
The viva is not a rite of passage. The viva is not an academic ritual. The viva is not a Q&A session. The viva is not an interview. The viva is not a mystery. The viva is not trivial. The...
I don’t remember a lot of the day-to-day life of my pure maths PhD now. I remember little sparks, breakthroughs, and the feeling of being “in the zone” while trying to figure something out. I also remember, as my PhD...
Getting ready for the viva is far more productive and beneficial if it’s done in a sustainable way. Don’t sit down to get ready when you’re already tired. Don’t sit down in a space that isn’t right for you, where...
You can’t control how long your viva will be. Or what question you’ll be asked first. Or what parts your examiners do or don’t like. Or how they express themselves or pose their questions to you. You can’t control the...
There are lots of general expectations for the viva. Common lengths. Typical structures. Regulations that determine process. But whatever the expectation, there are always exceptions: Really short vivas or really long vivas. Vivas with more than two examiners. An examiner without...
Another chance to show up, do good work, show and share your knowledge, your ability, your insight. By the viva you will have had hundreds and hundreds of days where you have done this. So while it’s an important day,...