Easy-To-Remember

Here’s a short, easy-to-remember, viva prep exercise for when you read a chapter of your thesis.

Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four equal parts. Reflect on each of the following four points and make notes on the paper:

• When you think about the chapter what is valuable to others?
• What was interesting to you? What sparked your fascination when you were doing it?
• Were any points in the chapter vague or unclear as you read them now? Reflect on what could help you to explain them to others.
• Finally, is there anything you would like to ask your examiners? The viva is a conversation so what would you ask?

I first thought of this idea over ten years ago and have been developing the concept ever since. I’ve written about it a few times before on the Viva Survivors blog (here are some other times). I like it because it’s an easy-to-remember exercise with an easy-to-remember acronym.

• Valuable to others;
• Interesting to you;
• Vague or unclear;
• Ask your examiners.

See, easy-to-remember! 🙂