“It Just Was”
Why was your viva so long? I’ve been asked many times before about why my viva was four hours long, but the question surprised me at a recent webinar. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it had been some time since...
viva prep
Other Perspectives
Your supervisor is well placed to give you a different perspective on your work. You know how you’ve thought about and written about your work; they could give you their impressions as a more experienced academic, or share how an...
Changes After Submission
You might have corrections to complete after the viva, but between submission and the viva you don’t need to make any alterations. Find a typo? Underline it or add it to a list. See a reference that needs a tweak?...
Hole In One
You might have a viva that’s finished in an hour or less, but it’s not very likely. You can hope, but that’s about all you can do. Instead of hoping you get some rare occurrence, why not focus your energy...
Three Favours
Ask your family and friends to give you a little space, time and quiet in advance of your viva. You need a good environment to prepare in. They can help provide that for you. Let them know what you need...
Proving
I’m a lapsed baker. I like making bread, but it’s a practice I’ve fallen out with of late. I must get back to it. It’s a hobby I’ve let fall by the wayside for too long. I’m not the world’s...
Viva Prep Heuristics
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to preparing for the viva. As every thesis and candidate are different, and every set of circumstances for viva prep are different too, so every person has to decide for themselves how best they are...
Be Kind To Yourself
Plan your prep. You’re busy, you’re tired and you have 101 things to do. Plan your prep so that the work doesn’t add to any stress and pressure you already feel. Accept your mistakes. Typos and clunky sentences don’t mean...
Pages & Pages
There are so many pages in your thesis. The pages contain the best of your research, told as well as you can; they hold facts and/or figures, opinions and conclusions, details and digressions and everything that you think is needed...
The Value of Advice
Viva advice is available in many forms. There are books, podcasts, blog posts, seminars and people you can ask for help. You could talk to people on the internet, in your department or from your own network. You could speak...