Daily viva help for PhDs
Whatever challenges you faced during your PhD, they helped you get to submission and to the viva. Whatever prep you do it will build on a solid foundation of knowledge and ability that you have developed. Whatever disruption you encountered...
Faced with a difficult question or unexpected comment in the viva, perhaps the best thing you can do is ask why. Ask your examiner(s) why that question is important. Ask why a comment matters to them. Ask why they think...
A long time ago on the blog I offered some thoughts about examiners being like video game bosses: After all of the trials and tribulations of doing research, your examiners appear through the fog, two mysterious and challenging foes! Whatever...
Viva prep is better if it is planned a little. There’s no universal “best way” to get the work done, but the following questions could help: How busy are you? When could be a good time to start? How much...
On Friday I delivered my 300th Viva Survivor session to PGRs! 300!!! Had it not been for pandemic disruption I probably would have reached this milestone sooner. But had it not been for the pandemic I wouldn’t have had the opportunity...
The specific tasks involved in viva prep – reading your thesis, making notes, rehearsing and so on – don’t need to happen until after you’ve submitted your thesis. Until then your goal has to be getting your thesis written and...
Last Christmas Eve just after dark, without warning, there was a power cut in our neighbourhood. In our house our whole evening changed. Plans for a festive dinner and a movie were abandoned. We made sandwiches by torchlight and ate...
There are many causes of doubt before the viva. One possibility is that a candidate believes some aspect of their research or thesis isn’t good enough. They find a weakness and then can do nothing but dwell on it. If...
If you have doubts that you’ve done enough, that your thesis is good enough or that you are good enough then take a little time to reflect on what you’ve done. How many days did you do the work? How...
The two most useful questions for a PhD candidate to reflect on, particularly after submission, are: “When is my viva?” and “How do I feel?” The first is often a useful prompt to realise that there is still time. There’s...