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Nathan

Bad Vivas

Daily Post

I’ve heard many things from candidates that would make a viva “bad”:

  • It would be bad to forget something;
  • It would be bad to get an unexpected question;
  • Having the wrong examiner would make the viva bad;
  • Feeling nervous would be bad.

I’ve even heard that getting corrections would be bad – which is tricky because the majority of vivas result in a pass with some form of corrections!

There’s a difference though between something feeling bad and something being bad.

It’s rare for something to be bad at the viva but there’s a strong chance that something about the situation might feel bad, whether that’s anticipating worry, feeling nervous or being unsure about the circumstances or process.

If something feels bad or something feels like it would be bad (going blank, getting an unexpected question) then you can consider what you can do. Many worry points or “bad” aspects of the viva can be addressed in advance. You can learn more, do something practical or in some cases change your perspective with a little reflection.

If something feels bad about your viva what are you going to do about it?

Nathan

What Your Supervisor Knows

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Your supervisor knows what vivas are like from their own experience but they might not have read the latest version of regulations for your institution. Ask them about their experiences and check what the rules say too.

Your supervisor knows what your works means. It’ll help to ask for their perspective. At the same time, you need to do the work to read over your work, reflect and write summaries that will help you think in advance of your viva.

Your supervisor knows who your examiners are and can offer insights into what they do, what they focus on and more. You have to take responsibility for making sure you’re really aware of what they do.

Your supervisor knows enough to be of real help as you prepare for your viva. Respect their time by asking for help in advance and being targeted with your requests. Recognise that for all they know about your work it’s you who is the expert on your research and your thesis.

Nathan

All The Questions

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Simple questions aren’t necessarily easy to respond to at the viva. They can be simple because you understand them with no trouble, because they’re short or because they’re expected. You might still have a lot to say.

Complex questions might not be hard. A question with lots of points could be straightforward because of how much experience you have with that topic.

An easy question is just easy. A small question. A clarification. A detail.

A hard question is hard. Opinions. First thoughts. Unknown or unexpected. Not impossible though; asked because it needs to be asked for some reason, never to haze, harass or harm.

Difficult questions are common at the viva. Consider the level you work at. Consider the standard of your significant and original contribution to research. Consider the nerves you might feel and the outcome you’re working towards.

Difficult questions account for a lot of questions at the viva – but you have a lot of experience with difficult work.

 

All the questions you’ll get at your viva are unconfirmed until you hear them. You can have expectations and good guesses but you won’t know until you’re there.

Rather than worry, do the work: rehearse and find a way to engage with any question you’re asked. Don’t just hope you get easy or simple questions. Acknowledge the reality of all the questions you’ll be receiving on your viva day.

Nathan

Excuses & Reasons

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When you explain why something didn’t work out in your research are you making excuses or sharing reasons?

They’re more or less the same in the context of justifying why or how you did (or didn’t do) something. The difference is what those words mean for you.

They make a difference at the viva too in terms of how your examiners hear your explanations.

Listing excuses will not help you. Finding reasons will help convince.

You’ll convince yourself first of all that you did the work and did it well enough. That will help you find the words to convince your examiners.

Nathan

Famous Last Words

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We can express l(Yn) – r(Yn) as a linear combination of annulus diagrams a^m….

That’s how the last sentence in my thesis begins – please don’t ask me what it means!

Where do you leave things in your thesis?

I’m eighteen years past my viva so I don’t feel I need to remember everything now. For you, with your viva at some point in the future, it makes sense to have a good grasp on where you leave things in your thesis.

Many candidates give a lot of focus to the start of the viva: what might those initial questions be? You’ll never know for sure until your examiners ask. You’ll never know the closing questions until they’re asked too.

It makes sense to unpick the final pages of your thesis to look for possible areas of exploration:

  • What are your final words on your thesis research?
  • What future steps could someone take to continue what you’ve done?
  • What do you think of the end of your PhD research?
  • What do you think your examiners will ask?

The final sentence of my thesis was a conjecture. I had a theory, an idea I could never show to be true. At the time I had a hope. Eighteen years on I still have a little flicker of belief that I was probably right.

What do you hope you’ll be asked at the end of your viva?

 

PS: today’s post was a super-specific reflection but if you’re looking for more general viva help then check out the details for my upcoming live 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva webinars in June and July. The first of these is Wednesday 17th June 2026 and I have four more dates including evenings and weekends. Thanks for reading!

Nathan

The Shape Of Your Thesis

Daily Post

You don’t need to memorise your thesis to be well-prepared for your viva. You’ll have it with you in the viva, annotated in whatever way suits your needs, and you can consult it whenever you need to.

To get ready for your viva you need to read your thesis and re-appreciate what you’ve done.

  • Do you have a single project or lots of smaller projects?
  • Does your thesis share a big book-length project or a collection of papers?
  • Is your thesis “different” in some way: do you have a creative work, a portfolio or something else entirely that isn’t typical for many candidates?

Whatever you have, take time after submission to read it carefully. Again, you don’t need to memorise what you’ve done but it will help to refresh your memory and appreciate the shape of your thesis.

Make sure you know the flow of information and ideas in your work as you’ve presented it.

Nathan

When You Find Problems

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If you’re reading your thesis, preparing for your viva or even simply reading the regulations for your viva and think you’ve found something that could be a problem:

  • First, don’t panic. It may or may not be a problem. It’s worth checking carefully.
  • Second, think about the impact. Big or small? Specific or general? How big of a deal is it?
  • Finally, what actions do you need to take? What would match the potential impact?

A problem, if it really is a problem, could make you worry. You probably don’t have to face it alone. There are lots of people around you who can offer support, advice and practical help. If there’s any kind of viva-related problem then there’ll be a way forward.

Don’t panic. Think about the impact. Take action.

Work past worry.

Nathan

Yeses & Noes

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I had to look up the proper pluralisation of yes and no for this post!

And when I did it turned out that there are variations: there are several different options for both. Do you capitalise your YES to make it clear? Do you simply refer to a lot of negativity as “nos”? Do you dare to offend grammar lovers by adding apostrophes?

Whatever you decide you have to be ready to say why.

Which brings us to the viva: when you’re sharing what you did during your PhD there are some aspects that could seem as simple as a yes or a no.

Yes I did that or no I did it this way. While it might be simple you’ll still need to say why.

Be ready to share the whys for all your yeses and noes at your viva.

Nathan

Every Question, Any Question

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You can’t know every question you’ll be asked in advance of your viva.

You can be prepared to respond to any question you’ll be asked at your viva.

Read your thesis, annotate it well, make helpful summaries to focus on what matters and rehearse – you still won’t know every question you’ll be asked but you’ll be ready for any question that your examiners have for you.

Nathan

“The Perfect PhD”

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What do we mean when we’re thinking about a perfect PhD?

Candidate? Research? Thesis? The journey?

In some ways it doesn’t matter: there’s no perfection to be found!

There’s good: you can recognise what you do well, what you’re capable of, what you present well in your thesis and how it all ties together in your PhD experience.

There’s difficult: you can consider the challenges, the obstacles overcome, the struggle to write and more.

There’s better: you can reflect on what you have made better both in your research and in yourself – and possibly even see where things could be better still but aren’t yet.

There’s good, there’s difficult, there’s better – and there’s enough.

There’s no perfect in your PhD, but there is enough to show that you are a good researcher. There’s enough to show you have made a contribution at your viva.

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