Ask Someone Why
Faced with a difficult question or unexpected comment in the viva, perhaps the best thing you can do is ask why. Ask your examiner(s) why that question is important. Ask why a comment matters to them. Ask why they think...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Faced with a difficult question or unexpected comment in the viva, perhaps the best thing you can do is ask why. Ask your examiner(s) why that question is important. Ask why a comment matters to them. Ask why they think...
Survive means manage to keep going in difficult circumstances. I often tell candidates that getting ready for the viva could be summarised simply as “keep going”. If someone has got to submission they must be talented, knowledgeable and determined. Whatever challenges...
If there is one thing that has to be talked about in the viva it is the significant, original contribution that you’ve made through your research and that you have written up in your thesis. It’s not the only thing that...
You won’t get to fully decide when and where and how your viva takes place. You’ll be asked when you’re free and what your preferences might be. By then you’ll know who will be involved and you’ll know what it...
I had an idea to do an “April fool!”-style post about this being the last day of Viva Survivors, but couldn’t bring myself to do it! 🙂 The last ever post. What would that look like? A summary? A thank...
Through twists and turns, over and around obstacles, past doubts and worries you’ve been moving in the right direction for a long time. Sometimes you’ve followed the path laid down by the advice of others. Sometimes you’ve taken wrong turns...
A short extra post about an upcoming webinar! Next Monday, April 4th 2022, I’m delivering my 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva session: it’s a 1-hour live webinar I created in 2020 during the first UK lockdown. Since then, I’ve shared...
The viva is not a question and answer session or a quiz. It’s a conversation. Your examiners will lead because this is a conversation with purpose, but there’s a place for you to ask questions too. First, you can ask...
Annotating your thesis as part of viva prep can help create a more useful resource. Making things easier to find or easier to see can help your viva run smoothly. There are so many options open to you: bookmarks, Post-it...
I’ve shared a lot of thoughts on the importance of writing summaries as part of viva prep. They can be a useful way to explore an aspect of your work. They can help to focus attention and simplify complicated ideas....