Extreme Prep!

Good advice about viva prep doesn’t include the following:

• Read your thesis for twelve hours a day, every day!
• Make notes on everything you can think of!!
• Re-read every reference in your bibliography!!!
• Have three mock vivas! Do one while balanced on a unicycle!!!

Of course, these are a little silly- but I have heard from candidates who push themselves way too hard or believe they’ll need to so they’ll be ready.

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to memorise everything.

Keep it simple. Read your thesis, annotate it, check a few things out like regulations and key papers, and do make sure you rehearse a little for talking to your examiners.

Stay away from the extremes when it comes to viva prep.