Daily viva help for PhDs
At your viva will you face your examiners? Will they confront you with questions? And will you challenge their comments or criticisms? In that small group will you talk or debate or discuss? Do you have to answer every question? Or will you feel more comfortable as...
A quick bit of viva prep. Write a few sentences on each of the following ten words. Don’t take too long, don’t overthink things, just reflect a little and then write a little: Thesis Examiners Methods Contribution Confidence Expectations Feelings...
Feeling confident on the day of your viva isn’t a magic shield against difficult questions. It doesn’t mean that you won’t or can’t feel nervous about the prospect of meeting your examiners. Feeling confident for your viva means you’re as...
Your PhD thesis and your success at the viva don’t rest on you doing “all the things”. You need enough of the right outputs and outcomes for your research to demonstrate that you’ve achieved PhD status. If you have unfinished...
When you start to prepare for your viva, make a list of what you will need to feel prepared. Ask yourself: What practical materials do you need to help you get ready? How much time do you have to invest?...
Whatever you feel about your viva, reflect and think about what that means you have to do. Feel nervous? Why? What’s at the root of that? What could help? Feel anxious? What’s the problem? Who could you turn to for...
If you believe your examiners will be fair with their questions then you’ll be more likely to try to engage with them, rather than suspect a trap or harsh comment. If you believe you can get prepared during the submission...
If you feel worried about any aspect of your viva, ask yourself why first. For example: “I feel worried about the discussion…” Why? “I’m worried I might forget something important…” When you know what’s behind a worry you can start...
The process and the goal. Getting ready means reading your thesis, asking questions, checking things, making notes and building confidence. Being ready means feeling certain that your viva will be successful. Before you sit down to get ready, think ahead...
Every now and then we’ve had trouble with the boiler in our house. One of the more extreme problems was a time when the temperature of the shower would cycle between pleasant and absolutely-freezing while in use. Over the course...