Hard Limits
There are limits for everything related to your PhD journey. There is a finite number of hours you could have spent on your PhD. You can’t read everything that could be relevant. You would never have time to work towards...
Daily viva help for PhDs
There are limits for everything related to your PhD journey. There is a finite number of hours you could have spent on your PhD. You can’t read everything that could be relevant. You would never have time to work towards...
I’ve been playing the video game Hades every day for about a month and I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. The son of the Greek god Hades fights to escape the Underworld. It’s fantastic, stylish, polished and deep. It is...
Comfort, Stretch and Panic are a helpful trio to consider when challenging yourself. The first two words are helpful to consider as springboards for reflection in your viva prep. For Comfort, think about what skills or knowledge you’ve developed on your...
Annotation can help make your thesis more useful for the viva – and there’s a lot of empty space in the borders of your thesis pages. The top and bottom of a page could be helpful to highlight key points,...
I imagine that if Aesop wrote a new fable about a Tortoise and a Hare getting ready for their vivas there would be some interesting updates… The Hare would rush their prep. They’d get it done but only by working...
Friends who have recently had a viva in your department are good to ask about what to expect. Listening to their stories can give you certainty for your viva. There’s great variety generally when it comes to viva experiences; local...
In the days leading up to the viva your big picture checklist might look a little like this: Research? Done! Pages? Written! Thesis? Submitted! Prep? Completed! Confidence? ……… Your confidence might be the last thing you have to check off....
Knowing exactly what to say to answer every question in your viva isn’t a reasonable expectation. It’s not required for the viva. Your examiners don’t expect it from you. You would probably need to know all of the questions before...
There are lots of reasons why a short viva might be “good” but no good reason to try and make it that way. The viva is not a race, so you don’t have to rush. The viva is not a...
Underlining can make your thesis better for the viva. You could underline key references. You could make sure you can find your typos. You could show key words or definitions. You could underline a sentence that is amazing. You could...