Prep & Procrastination
If it’s hard to get started on viva prep or you’re putting it off then perhaps you need to make a plan – not to procrastinate but to give yourself some structure. If you get distracted then maybe you need...
viva preparation
If You Forget
Forgetting something in the viva could happen to any candidate. It’s a reasonable thing to worry about, even if there realistically wouldn’t be a great consequence to a minor lapse in memory. It’s reasonable to worry about forgetting; if you...
Want And Won’t
To organise your viva prep think about what you want to do and what you won’t do. You want to read your thesis but you won’t obsessively re-read it. You want to make a note of typos but you won’t...
The Prep Sequence
To prepare for the viva well it helps to do the right things. You don’t need to cover your thesis in notes and extra scribbles in every margin. Be targeted to make a better version of your thesis. You don’t...
The Red Button
There’s a knock at your door. A courier leaves a package in your arms. It’s not heavy, but it has a strange heft to it. You don’t remember ordering anything. You’re not expecting something. But here it is, addressed to...
Achievable
Viva preparation doesn’t make you viva-perfect. Perfection is unattainable. Viva prep makes you viva-prepared. Prepared is achievable. Do the work, just as you always have, and you will be ready.
Marking References
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...
When Do You Know?
Getting ready for the viva can feel hard sometimes. Reading your thesis, checking old notes and papers, finding time for a mock viva, and so on. The whole point is to get to a point where you feel ready. But...
Alternative Routes
Things happen during a PhD. Deadlines slip, feedback is delayed or a promising idea reveals a sticky situation that has to be avoided. Plans change and alternatives must be found. One way or another you get the research done. You...
Five Flavours Of Viva Prep
I’m an extremely amateur cook and baker. I like to make nice things for my family and I like to experiment. I love to learn about how ingredients are transformed, how to combine them better and how to improve the...