Miskates Happen
I have to turn off the captions for myself when I deliver a webinar. It might help some participants to see an AI-generated track of my words, but I can’t see them on my screen. For the most part they’re...
Daily viva help for PhDs
I have to turn off the captions for myself when I deliver a webinar. It might help some participants to see an AI-generated track of my words, but I can’t see them on my screen. For the most part they’re...
After submission it’s likely that your thesis will have flaws. It’s possible that your thesis may have problems too. Both of these have the potential to be talked about in the viva and have consequences for corrections afterwards. Flaws are...
You don’t need to be afraid of finding typos. For the most part when someone finds a typo, at worst, it will distract them. A very, very, very minor frustration. For an examiner it is something to record in some...
Realising that you’ve made a mistake doesn’t feel good. Spotting a typo, a mis-quote, an error or a problem in your thesis could send you into a panic. Or being told by your examiners that they have a question and...
After submission you need to read your thesis to prepare for the viva. Inevitably you’ll find a word that is in some way wrong. It’s not spelled correctly, it’s the wrong word, you meant something different or perhaps it is...
Everyone writes them. Too-long sentences or a missing conclusion. Half-finished thoughts or poorly-punctuated points. Despite your best efforts, you might not find clumsy paragraphs in your thesis until after submission. Don’t stress too much, there’s a chance to get it...
Examiners aren’t looking to find fault. They might have tough questions, they might think they see problems. Because of their experience they could have critical comments but these are never aimed at tearing work apart – or trying to tear...
Typos catch the eye. Muddled words bring distraction. Mistakes do matter, but for the most part only because they’ll be one more thing on the list of corrections. When you see them during your prep – because it is when rather...
Perfect is the enemy of done, but does it then follow that it’s fine to submit an “OK” thesis? One which you know has typos in? One which you know could be better? One which you know has things you...
You can’t – and shouldn’t – assume there are problems in your thesis. It’s worth checking through it carefully after submission. Read your thesis well to make sure that it holds up, that nothing has slipped through. Find something unclear?...