First Class Viva
I don’t know that I’ll ever get to fly first class, but I’ve been fortunate to travel first class by train a few times in the last year. I’m a fan of first class. The seats are a little comfier,...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I don’t know that I’ll ever get to fly first class, but I’ve been fortunate to travel first class by train a few times in the last year. I’m a fan of first class. The seats are a little comfier,...
There are lots of people who can help with your viva preparations, but the two most useful groups are your supervisors and your colleagues. They can provide similar kinds of help with unpicking the research you’ve done, but they have...
During preparation, instead of listing thesis typos… Take a sheet of paper. Start reading your thesis. Make a list of everything that makes you feel good. Typos have to be fixed at some point; it’s more useful in prep to...
Every now and then I blink my eyes in amazement when I realise I’ve published so-many-hundred blog posts here. Last week I did something similar and celebrated delivering my 200th Viva Survivor session. I was first asked in 2009 to...
An old and valuable piece of advice: when you prepare a presentation you should consider your audience. There’s a difference between a talk for your peers, and a talk for the layperson; a difference between a seminar for your supervisor...
I like “Three Whats” – what, so what, now what – as a means to start reflections and forward thinking. Like many prompt and reflection tools, they have a much wider application. For Preparation… What will help you feel ready...
Viva voce, is often translated as living voice or word of mouth. In the viva you have to answer questions and engage with your examiners. You have to demonstrate that the expertise that created your thesis is lodged in your...
If you break eggs to make an omelette, you never really expect any of them will be rotten. There are processes in place that mean a box of six free range eggs on a supermarket shelf are as good as...
…Nothing really. Your thesis won’t be perfect, but typos don’t mean serious consequences. Proofread your thesis as well as you can, but there will probably be some left. You won’t get them all. When you spot them between submission and...
To find out more about vivas ask people who’ve had them. Talk to graduates from your department. If you ask, “How was your viva?” you’ll likely get an answer along the lines of “Fine!” This will be true, but it...