Fear Of The Unknown
There are two steps to removing fear or worry about unknown aspects of the viva. The first step is to try to accept that your viva will be an unknown in some ways until you experience it. You won’t know...
unique not unknown
Not Ideal
There’s no such thing as a perfect viva. You can be very happy on the day of course, but at the time or afterwards you might feel like you want something else: A different examiner; An opening question that hits...
Other Vivas
Every viva is unique. Every viva is similar and different to every other viva. Vivas follow patterns. Vivas are not mysterious but you don’t know what will happen until you get there. Expectations are not guarantees. Hearing about someone else’s...
Preparing For The Unknown
Your examiners will have a plan for what they want to talk about at your viva. This isn’t a script. They’re not asking a set list of questions like a questionnaire. They’re using pre-prepared questions and points to prompt the...
Expect The Expected
Every viva is unique but no viva should be a great unknown. Regulations and stories of viva experiences give a shape to the general process; departmental and disciplinary practices give some fine detail to specific viva norms. Taken together these...
Most Vivas
Most vivas are not too long. They regularly result in minor corrections. They most often have two examiners, with a possibility for an independent chair as well. The great majority of vivas result in success. Remember all this, but also...
Gingerbread Houses
My wife and daughter love decorating gingerbread houses at this time of year. Sometimes they’ll work on two houses at the same time, one each. Their houses will be the same structurally with walls and roof baked from the same...
Terrifying Tales Of Vivas Past!
How many scary movies have come to cinemas in the last few weeks? How many horror shows have just been released on various streaming services? Around viva time you’ll notice something about the stories people tell too. They remember a...
Anti-Expectations
There are lots of key viva expectations, based around the typical length, the structure, tone and overall (high!) pass rate. There are also anti-expectations that are much more particular to individuals: beliefs and expectations that, despite the general picture, something...
Vivas Have Structure
Every building has multiple blueprints or plans. On one plan are the walls, but another diagram shows where pipes and cables go. If you compare building plans for different buildings you’ll notice similarities and differences, but look closer and you’ll...