PhD graduates have rarely told me they’ve forgotten an important detail in the viva. Usually everything comes to mind when needed.
But nevermind others: if you’re worried that something important will slip your mind you can do things to help yourself. Just for starters:
- Make notes, don’t just read and re-read your thesis.
- Bookmark details, make it clear where you can find them.
- Highlight important passages on pages.
Your examiners don’t expect you to commit three or more years of work to memory. The worry comes from you. The solution can too.
Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on July 7th 2018.
