Daily viva help for PhDs
If you’re concerned about remembering certain things at your viva then it’s alright to use prompts. Highlight keywords on thesis pages, mark the beginnings of key sections and prepare summaries before the viva to help bring your thoughts together. You’re...
Start your viva prep with a clear desk, then think about what you might need to add back. Just imagine… You need your thesis. You need some small bits of stationery, either to add things to your thesis or to...
Your final thesis can be annotated in preparation for your viva. While you might naturally be drawn to underlining typos or adding a few helpful words to the margins, paying attention to the references you cite can be a simple...
Annotating your thesis as part of viva prep is useful: it creates a better resource to be consulted during the viva and also focusses your attention while getting ready. You have to engage again and again to add value by...
Between submission and the viva you have an opportunity to give your thesis a makeover. Of course, it’s great as it is, but for a special occasion doesn’t it deserve a chance to really shine? You can spruce it up...
A helpful part of viva preparation is making your thesis ready for the viva. Then, throughout your discussions with your examiners you have a silent partner, able to support how you think and what you say. You can write in...
It’s not a good idea to have a script for the viva. You can’t take such detailed notes in that you are effectively quoting pre-prepared responses. Besides, there are so many possible questions and variations of questions that to even...
Using a red pen to annotate your thesis can be useful. Underlining typos, circling important things, boxing off ideas. Using a red pen also carries a lot of negative associations. Crosses in the margins of tests or essays in the...
One way to think about annotation, as part of viva prep, is that it helps to emphasise parts of what is in your thesis. It’s not about last minute additions or pre-answering questions in the margin: annotating your thesis emphasises...
Annotating your thesis before the viva can help you as you read and prepare. You then have an enhanced version of your thesis with you for the viva. Adding bookmarks or tabs to chapters and important sections can help you...