Together
That’s how a viva happens: you need to have your examiners there. You can’t do it alone. Before your viva: Be sure you know who your examiners are and what they have done. Checking their recent papers will be enough....
viva prep
Quiet Time
It’s probably better for many candidates to have quiet while they do practical viva preparation tasks like reading their thesis, checking notes, adding annotations and so on. To get that quiet you might need to talk to friends and family...
A Lot To Do
That’s how it can feel with viva prep and getting ready for the viva. Things to read, things to check, people to find out about, regulations and expectations to unpick, a mock viva or conversations to prepare for and have...
Ten Words
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...
Seven Reflection Questions
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...
A Little Help
I’ve been publishing Viva Survivors for over six years. In writing more than 2300 posts I’ve shared why candidates succeed, what they can expect, what they can do to prepare and how they can find the confidence to believe that...
Turn The Page
Thesis pages have words, gaps, lines, margins and space at the top and bottom. Annotation is a key step in viva preparation: adding something to make what’s there even better for the purposes of the viva. You gain a little...
Rough Edges
Thesis submission typically comes after many hundreds of days of work: learning, development, growth and making something. You can’t get to that point without learning how to do something well. Perfection isn’t attainable, but viva prep is a short period...
Viva Prep Party!
Imagine that viva prep is an amazing party! Look at your diary and think about when you’ll host it. Who do you invite? Do you need to invite more people so that you can be sure of enough help? What...
3 Simple Questions
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...