You Can’t Do Everything

The list of things you can potentially do to prepare for your viva is very, very long. If you combed through the posts on this site for unique ideas then you’d find far too many for someone to do.

Viva prep ideas give options for how someone can do the work. For example, there are lots of useful summaries you could write to gather your thoughts but you don’t have to write all of them to be ready.

When it’s time to think about viva prep, take a moment to really consider how much time you have. Reflect on what you need to do and how you can do it best for yourself.

I don’t have a list of criteria for you but here are some helpful questions to consider:

• When will you do the work?
• What do you feel confident about?
• What do you feel less sure of?
• What tasks are necessary?

Remember to ask others about what they did and what they found helpful. That doesn’t mean you should just copy their approach, but you might find ideas you can adapt rather than start from a blank page for your own prep.