Practice Makes…
…not perfect. Today I’m delivering my 218th Viva Survivor workshop. I still get a little nervous, but only a little. I’m more likely to be anxious about travel arrangements than talking or presenting. I make a point of giving the...
Daily viva help for PhDs
…not perfect. Today I’m delivering my 218th Viva Survivor workshop. I still get a little nervous, but only a little. I’m more likely to be anxious about travel arrangements than talking or presenting. I make a point of giving the...
What does viva success look like to you? What’s the outcome that will make you happy? If you set it as getting no corrections, or finishing within a certain time limit there may be nothing you could do to be...
Candidates often worry about “what they don’t know” but frame it as a nebulous fear that waits out of the corner of their eye… What they don’t know is something that examiners do know, and examiners are looking to use...
A good piece of research, presented in a good thesis by a good researcher. That’s all you need for the viva. Perfection is not the benchmark for PhD success.
Fear and worry about the viva is common. I think some of the biggest worries come from very simple things. A concern that some aspect won’t be quite right in the viva. Concern about an imperfection creates a worry that...
The viva is your final exam, but it’s not the only test. Throughout your PhD there are plenty of tests, big and small, formal and informal. You’ve passed them all to get to the viva. You didn’t need to be...
I got a note from an anonymous seminar participant: I have written the perfect thesis. Should I worry about the viva? If the first statement was true, I could see no reason why they should. If their thesis was perfect,...
Like the perfect thesis and the perfect viva, perfect examiners don’t exist. You can make a list of things that might be ideal (an expert, an experienced academic) or preferable (someone who is nice, someone who could be a good...
Truth Number One: If you get corrections it means your thesis isn’t perfect. Truth Number Two: Nobody’s thesis is perfect and examiners aren’t expecting yours to be. Typos can be fixed. Clunky paragraphs can be changed. Ideas can be added....