Daily viva help for PhDs
Two words to prompt reflection on nearly every aspect of the viva and viva prep. What’s important… …about your thesis? Explore it chapter by chapter with a notebook in hand. Make notes about anything that stands out to you. …about...
A thirty-minute thought-gathering task for viva prep! Take a single sheet of paper, divide it into three parts and write the following questions, one in each part: Why did you want to do your research? How did you do it?...
Here is a small reflection and summary exercise to help gather useful information before your viva. Four questions: What’s the best part of your thesis? What was the least useful period of research during your PhD? What was the hardest...
Creating a summary is a useful viva prep task, but it can be a daunting one when you are faced with a blank page. There’s a lot of space to fill, and if you only intend to write something then...
When inspiration is not flowing there are tools you can use to unstick thinking. SCAMPER is one of those tools: an acronym to prompt looking at things differently. I knew I had written something about it on Viva Survivors before...
In viva prep there’s a lot to unpack when you reflect on your PhD, your research and your thesis. If it seems overwhelming, start small with three questions: Why did you do it? How did you do it? What can...
There are lots of good reasons to write summaries of your thesis, your research or aspects of both as part of your viva preparation. Writing a summary helps you to focus on what matters. A summary can help you to...
Looking in a mirror shows things reversed. Looking in a spoon shows things distorted. And reflecting on research doesn’t automatically reveal everything we want or need. Gathering thoughts or summarising ideas doesn’t tell the whole story. Focussing questions mean that...
It’s unlikely that you will have to give an elevator pitch of your research at the viva. I’ve never heard of examiners asking for a polished thirty-second or two-minute overview of 3+ years of work. But that said, exploring a...
You’ve written your thesis, read it in preparation for your viva and maybe made notes on pages. So why would you write anything else about it? Why would you write a summary as part of your viva prep? To gather...