Start With Three Things
There’s a lot you can do to prepare for the viva – so much that at times it could feel overwhelming. Whatever you’re going to do, start with a limit of just three things to help you focus.
- Ask your supervisor three questions to help you prepare – what would they be?
- Put three bookmarks into your thesis – where would they go?
- Check three papers you’ve referenced – which ones would they be?
- Take three minutes to summarise your work – what would you say?
- Think of three questions you would like to ask your examiners – what are they?
Three is just to start. You can invest more time, more questions, more effort after the first three, the most important three are done.
Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on October 12th 2019.