Daily viva help for PhDs
Viva prep is the set of tasks and activities related to your research and thesis that help you be prepared for meeting with your examiners. You feel comfortable responding to their questions and engaging with the discussion. Viva prep involves...
The purpose of viva prep is universal among PhD candidates: it’s part of the work that someone does to help them get ready for the particular challenge they’ll find in the viva. The principles of viva prep are sound for...
The viva is a discussion but as your work and capability is being assessed most of the questions will flow from your examiners. Their questions will prompt response and the discussion that follows. You have the opportunity to ask questions...
It’s probably better for many candidates to have quiet while they do practical viva preparation tasks like reading their thesis, checking notes, adding annotations and so on. To get that quiet you might need to talk to friends and family...
That’s how it can feel with viva prep and getting ready for the viva. Things to read, things to check, people to find out about, regulations and expectations to unpick, a mock viva or conversations to prepare for and have...
A quick bit of viva prep. Write a few sentences on each of the following ten words. Don’t take too long, don’t overthink things, just reflect a little and then write a little: Thesis Examiners Methods Contribution Confidence Expectations Feelings...
Imagine that viva prep is an amazing party! Look at your diary and think about when you’ll host it. Who do you invite? Do you need to invite more people so that you can be sure of enough help? What...
Refresh your memory: read your thesis, check a few papers and make whatever notes you need to feel confident that you know what you need to know. Review your thesis: add annotations to create the best supporting resource possible for...
During my PhD I came across the Mathematics Genealogy Project: an attempt to explore the family tree of mathematicians going back hundreds and hundreds of years. Maybe you have something similar in your discipline or maybe you have a general...
There are many scales of writing that help you prepare for your viva. Book: your thesis. You wrote it and can read it in advance of your viva to refresh your memory. You can also take it with you to...