Contribution Is Cumulative

Or, in simpler words, the value of your work builds over time.

It’s unlikely that there was one particular day of your PhD that you did one particular thing that made the only valuable contribution in your work. Even if your contribution is a big maths theorem or is highlighted by a paragraph that neatly explains the other 70,000 words in your thesis these things don’t just appear. They don’t standalone.

Your contribution is pieced together from all kinds of work over years of effort. As you prepare for your viva take a little time to reflect. How did all of this come together? How did your early results develop? And how did the work change you?

Contribution is cumulative – and so is your capability.