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Nathan

Annotation & Other Things

Daily Post

In case you didn’t spot it at the time, I was interviewed a few months ago for The PhD Life Raft Podcast! Dr Emma Brodzinski runs The PhD Life Raft and hosts the podcast. I was a returning guest, having appeared back in 2021 as well.

It was great fun to talk this time about all things viva prep, but in particular thesis annotation and the kinds of practical steps candidates can take to get ready for the viva – topics that regular readers of this blog will know I am very interested in.

Take a listen when you have half an hour: we talk a lot about viva prep and the viva – as well as Keep Going, the Viva Survivors anthology I published last year!

Nathan

An Imperfect Thesis

Daily Post

“Submitted is perfect” was a piece of thesis writing advice that jumped out to me on Twitter a few weeks ago. I wish I could remember where I saw it, though I imagine the person sharing it was not unique in expressing the idea. There are several ways that the advice could be interpreted, some very helpful and some much less so.

It was intended to mean that getting a thesis in is a big enough goal: a “perfect” thesis is one that is handed in on-time rather than one which is “perfectly written”.

A less helpful reading could be that a thesis is perfect when it is submitted – and that if someone receives corrections there must be a terrible problem or situation.

It’s important to know what corrections are. A typo. A passage that requires editing. An update. A change of structure to a paragraph or a reframing of ideas. Corrections are requested when there is something needed to make the thesis better – but only because the examiners recognise the value of the contributions within the thesis.

Corrections are one more step in the PhD process, not a sign of an imperfect thesis, nor a sign of a problem with your work.

Nathan

Viva Surprises

Daily Post

I can’t imagine that many people reading this would want to encounter surprises at their viva.

  • A question that you’ve never considered.
  • A piece of feedback that makes you freeze.
  • A suggestion that you really don’t want.
  • A realisation that you’ve been discussing your work for two hours and not noticed the time pass.
  • A change to the viva process that’s different from what you expected.

Maybe that’s the key. There are so many fairly well-known expectations for the viva – not to mention regulations – that when something different does happen it can feel like it must be “wrong”. A viva surprise doesn’t have to mean a problem for you though; it’s not automatically beyond your ability or outside of your comfort zone. A surprise is just an event that you weren’t expecting, but is here all the same.

For any viva a candidate has to be ready to meet the expectations they learn about – and be ready to respond when something outside of those patterns happens.

(Because what else can you do?)

Nathan

Slowly

Daily Post

There doesn’t need to be rush in viva prep.

Before you get to submission, sketch out a plan. Think about your life, commitments and responsibilities. Plan your prep so the work gets done. Bit by bit. Day by day. Slow prep is much better than racing to pack it all in at the last moment.

No-one has to sprint through their viva.

Listen to each question. Take your time to consider what you will add to the discussion. Ask questions. Check your thesis. There’s no race to get it over and done with. Some vivas are short but no viva has been made better by trying to get through it quickly.

Take your time with prep, take your time with your viva. Slow and steady will take you to success.

Nathan

Five Big Viva Mistakes

Daily Post

First, a candidate can think that vivas are random. It’s true that you won’t know what will happen exactly until you get to yours, but there are general expectations that can help you understand the process.

Second, a candidate can think of examiners as opponents. This just isn’t the case: examiners are prepared, they ask questions and some of those questions could be tough, but that doesn’t make them your enemy.

Third, a candidate could believe that they are finished at submission. The PhD journey is a good foundation for the viva, but the viva is a particular challenge; there’s lots of prep work that can make a difference.

Fourth, a candidate could believe that corrections are a failure. It just isn’t so. Corrections are more work and might not feel fair – but they’re a part of the process for most candidates and not connected with failing at all.

Fifth, a candidate could believe that they aren’t good enough to succeed. But how else could someone get to submission other than by achieving enough along the way? How else could they write a thesis if they weren’t good enough to do the work?

 

Five big mistakes. Five simple remedies.

Find out about expectations. Understand the role of examiners. Invest time in preparation. Accept corrections as part of the process. Reflect on your journey to build your confidence.

Nathan

The List

Daily Post

Every candidate has at least one list for their viva.

It could be a list of typos they’ve found or ten papers they think have made the most contribution to their research. Maybe it’s a to-do list for viva prep or a must-have list for their viva day. A list of questions to ask their supervisor or a list of questions they think their examiners might have for them.

There’s at least one list you’ll think to write for your viva. And while you don’t need to do anything to prepare until after submission, you also don’t need to wait to capture things on a list for later.

Nathan

The Viva Needs More Understanding

Daily Post

Candidates need to know more about examiners: how they prepare, what’s involved, what they’re asking, what they might ask and do and why.

Examiners need to know more about candidates and the PhD journey in the 2020s: they need to understand the particular thesis they’re looking at, the general experience of PGRs, the impact of COVID and more.

Supervisors need to understand the viva situation: they need to have a good handle on expectations, what helps in preparation, they have to grasp their candidates’ situations and advise them well.

And then there are researcher-developers, policy-makers, regulation-writers, awesome administrators and sensational support staff.

The viva needs more understanding. Or perhaps it is better to say that if everyone involved knew more about it then the viva, how it happens, how it’s prepared for and how it’s talked about could be better for everyone involved.

 

What can you do to improve your understanding about the viva before you have yours? Who could you ask? What do you need to know? And when you’ve been through the process, who could you share your experience with to help others with their understanding?

Nathan

Morning or Afternoon

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A morning viva starts sooner, but an afternoon viva might finish more quickly.

An afternoon viva could be more nervous for a candidate because they have more hours to think before it starts.

But are there distinct advantages or disadvantages to the start time? Not really.

Your situation or your examiners’ circumstances might favour a particular time; anyone involved might have a preference. But the start time doesn’t make a great deal of difference.

When you know the date and time of your viva, figure out what you need to do well in the hours leading up to the start. Morning or afternoon, you have to manage yourself as you make your final preparations.

Nathan

Drivers, Worries, Actions

Daily Post

In the viva, examiners drive the discussion by asking questions that:

  1. Explore your contribution;
  2. Investigate your authorship;
  3. Assess your capability as a researcher.

In turn, a candidate typically worries that:

  1. They haven’t done enough;
  2. They won’t remember enough about the process;
  3. They aren’t good enough to get a PhD.

To combat these a candidate could:

  1. Review their thesis and work to build confidence in the contribution;
  2. Rehearse explaining how they did the PhD to build confidence in describing the work;
  3. Reflect and remember how they have developed to build confidence in themselves.

Preparation helps with the discussion and lessening worries!

Nathan

Describing Examiners

Daily Post

Your examiners are interested in your work. They have to be, or they just wouldn’t be there.

Your examiners are prepared for the viva. Like you, they have to get ready to do this particular event.

Your examiners are experienced. They are academics – even examiners at the start of their academic career have training, guidance and support to do the job well.

Your examiners are human. They’re just people, like you. They know the viva could make you nervous and they know you want it to go well.

They want it to go well too – and given the work that you’ve done and the work your examiners do, your viva most likely will go well.

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