Hacks!
I always make sure I have a plan for Monday before I stop work for the weekend. It helps me to motivate myself at the start of the week. Whenever I’m about to wash the dishes I check to see...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I always make sure I have a plan for Monday before I stop work for the weekend. It helps me to motivate myself at the start of the week. Whenever I’m about to wash the dishes I check to see...
In preparation for your viva consider the old and the new. The old: What had been done in your area before your research? What were the most useful papers/references that helped your work? What were your hopes or plans when...
When you sit down to read your thesis for the first time after submission try to do the following: Read everything. Don’t skim past things you think you know. Read every word. Read for pleasure. Don’t second-guess what you’ve submitted;...
Every viva is unique. Some vivas are long, some are short, but most fall within a certain range. Some vivas start with a presentation, some with the candidate being told they’ve passed, but most begin with a simple question to...
You can’t know exactly what questions your examiners will ask, but you can have a good idea of the topics they’ll want to talk about in the viva. You can’t have a response ready and waiting for every topic, but...
It’s necessary to read your thesis in preparation for the viva. You don’t need to memorise your work, but it helps to have a good recall of the flow of your thesis to make using it in the viva easier....
The viva might be the final challenge of your PhD, but it’s not the final challenge you’ll ever face. The questions your examiners ask might prompt the final big discussion you have about your PhD research. Your final preparations for...
You don’t get to choose your examiners. You might be able to offer suggestions and discuss who they could be, but you don’t get to choose the best examiners for you; you can’t veto anyone that you don’t want either!...
“What’s the most important thing I can do today that would make tomorrow better?” I’ve had that question stuck on the wall at eye-height next to my desk for as long as I can remember. I saw it in a...
A map can show you all of an area, but to use it well you need either a compass or to have sight of some landmarks. The map won’t show every detail, but can show things that you can’t otherwise...