The Edge
Are you nervous about your viva or nervous about the upcoming change? Your viva, and your success at it, aren’t a leap of faith. You did the work, you did the prep, you can learn about the process. You don’t...
Daily viva help for PhDs
Are you nervous about your viva or nervous about the upcoming change? Your viva, and your success at it, aren’t a leap of faith. You did the work, you did the prep, you can learn about the process. You don’t...
Anxious, worried and concerned can be distressing. Nervous is uncomfortable. Nervous is reacting to the importance of a situation. For the viva, nervous means you’re acknowledging that the exam is important. The conversation you’ll have with your examiners matters. And that...
If you’re concerned about remembering certain things at your viva then it’s alright to use prompts. Highlight keywords on thesis pages, mark the beginnings of key sections and prepare summaries before the viva to help bring your thoughts together. You’re...
Start your viva prep with a clear desk, then think about what you might need to add back. Just imagine… You need your thesis. You need some small bits of stationery, either to add things to your thesis or to...
A simple plea for a Saturday: always, always read the regulations for thesis examination at your institution. Read the rules for the viva at your university. They might be a little dull in places, but you will get confirmation about...
At the viva you have to engage with the questions and comments of your examiners. You have to be a good participant in the discussion that rises from your thesis, the questions and what unfolds naturally. That’s it. You don’t...
You don’t need to work from dawn until dusk every day between submission and the viva in order to get ready. You don’t need to read and re-read your thesis multiple times. You don’t need to check every paper you’ve...
It’s always worth saying: yes, you can have a break in your viva. A bathroom break. A medically necessary break. A break to breathe and relax or compose yourself. An hour in, two hours in, three hours in, it doesn’t...
Personal development is sometimes seen as a box-ticking exercise during a PhD: perhaps a form or report that has to be filled in every now and then. That’s a shame, because I think personal development is what the PhD is...
You take a PhD one day at a time. Read, write, test, think and do it all again. Day by day you work through the journey. You take viva prep one task at a time. Read, write, think, talk: each...