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Nathan

Rubbish

Daily Post

But what if my examiner says something I’ve done is rubbish?

Imagine you’re in that position. What exactly did they say? It’s unlikely that they just used the word rubbish, but that’s what your brain has just made of their statement or question or opinion. You’ve interpreted that as “rubbish”.

Don’t panic. Take a breath. Ask them why.

Sit back. Listen. Put your feelings to one side and make notes.

When you know exactly what your examiner doesn’t like you can respond. When you have all of the details you will know what you need to discuss with them.

They might have misunderstood something: that doesn’t mean that what you did is rubbish, it just means that you didn’t communicate it as well as you hoped.

They might think something is missing: that doesn’t mean that what you did is rubbish, it just means that it’s not quite as complete as you hoped.

It’s unlikely your examiners will call something in your work rubbish. It’s certain that you have not produced a perfect thesis from perfect research – which means they might have questions or comments about the imperfections. This is natural.

If they say something is rubbish or that’s what you hear, you still get to engage with them – and you should. Ask why. Listen. Think. Respond.

And keep doing it.

Your examiners are not your biggest critics; it’s likely that you have taken on that role.

Nathan

Jargon Caveat

Daily Post

I noticed recently that I used the word “caveat” two or three times during a workshop. It bothered me and on reflection I realised it was because I was assuming everyone in the room (typically a mix of people from all over the world) would know the meaning. They might get from context I was pointing out an exception to a point I had just made, but caveat is not a word used in everyday speech.

I’ve decided I’ll use it more sparingly from now on. “Exception” will do just fine.

Every academic discipline or field has jargon: the words which are part of the secret language of the area. Sometimes they’re a shorthand for clarity, but they only work if everyone understands the meaning. It’s not impossible to use jargon and misunderstand it yourself!

Be sure that you have a good grasp on the secret words of your field. Make sure your audience, examiners or otherwise, will understand you.

Make sure you know what the words mean.

Nathan

Sometimes “I Don’t Know” Is The Only Answer

Daily Post

You might not want to say it.

You might be able to think and discuss to get somewhere.

Or you might engage with a question and say something but realise you can’t say everything.

Perhaps there is something you don’t know or can’t know. Maybe it is something no-one knows.

Sometimes it’s the only thing you can say.

Pause and think before you say it. Be certain. Say why you don’t know if you can.

Nathan

What Is An Answer?

Daily Post

It can be lots of things, depending on the question. In the viva an answer could be…

  • …an explanation you’re presenting as fact. You believe with certainty that what you’re saying is “true”.
  • …an opinion. You have an idea, some reasons and an argument that feels plausible to you.
  • …a simple fact. Information pulled from your memory.
  • …a guess. An idea plus hope.

Questions in the viva could lead to all of these kinds of answers, and more. For a lot of questions you might face, the only answer you can give would be an opinion. You may face a question which has no definite answer, and your examiners know that too. They want to see how you think about your subject.

For all the questions you face, best to be honest with yourself (and your examiners) about which kind of answer you’re giving.

Nathan

Sip & Pause

Daily Post

The viva is questions: your examiners want to talk to you about your research and there’s 101 things they could want to know.

The viva is answers: if you don’t talk about your research you’re not going to get very far.

It’s 100% fine to pause before answering – questions deserve a little thought at least, not just an automatic response – but social conditioning tells us that we have to answer as quickly as possible. In workshops people say things like “Won’t my examiners think I’m rude if I pause?” and “My examiners will think I don’t know anything!” Either could be true if you were pausing for minutes, but we’re talking about seconds.

Still, sitting in silence in an exam like the viva can be uncomfortable. I like Dr Claire O’Callaghan’s suggestion in Episode 27: take a big bottle of water to sip after each question is asked. That way you can take those seconds to get the question straight in your mind, start thinking about a response and answer well.

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