Nathan

6 Questions Not To Ask

Daily Post

You’ll get plenty of questions in your viva, but it could be a good time to ask your examiners some questions too. But don’t ask:

  1. “So, how did I do?” right at the start.
  2. “Can we start again?” if you get stuck.
  3. “Can I pass on that one? That OK?” but you could ask for a few minutes to think.
  4. “Yeah, well how would you do it?!” if an examiner disagrees – although it’s good to ask about their reasons.
  5. “Can we just stop here?” if you’re a bit tired.
  6. “Do I have to do them?!” when they tell you the corrections they recommend.

Most other questions will be fine! The viva could be a good place to ask your examiners for advice. You could prompt them for their opinion or suggestions related to your work, or dig deeper into some of their comments or criticisms.

Nathan

Four Threads Of The Final Year

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Whatever kind of research you do, there are four threads that will run through the final year of your PhD. In those last twelve months you will have to:

  • Finish your research: no more reading, no more experiments, no more following ideas to see where they lead. You have to find a place to stop.
  • Finish your thesis: write, write, write, and then write some more. Get feedback and then do your best to create a good thesis.
  • Think about your next steps: at the very least, think. Apply for jobs? Start a business? Write papers? Juggle, juggle, juggle…
  • Start your viva preparation: …but only a little!!!

Over 99% of your final year will be the first three threads. You have to get your research done, thesis submitted and start exploring what you will do afterwards. But there are a few small tasks to do before submission that will help with your viva.

First, have a conversation with your supervisors about potential examiners. Think about your preferences and what names that would suggest to you.

Second, get contact details for a member of staff in your graduate school or doctoral college who could help in case of emergency or something unexpected happens.

These are the only two essential tasks for viva preparation in your final year, but if you want to do more then make opportunities to talk about your work and take questions about what you’ve done. Give seminars, present at conferences, go for coffee with friends and build your confidence at talking about your research and what you can do.

Viva prep is a tiny element of your final year, but it still needs to be started.

Nathan

First Five Top Fives

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To date I’ve written five “Top Ten Top Fives” posts! These are preparation icebreakers useful for getting started with valuable viva preparation. I have ideas to do more in the future, but for today here are links to those first five posts, plus my favourite prompt from each!

Viva prep is more than making lists, but you can use any of these fifty prompts to make a start on useful reflection.

Nathan

Making An Impression

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A question from a nervous candidate, “What should I wear for the viva? I want to make the right first impression on my examiners!”

Except that’s not the first impression. Your examiners’ first impression is your thesis. They get their first impression long before they meet you in the viva.

Wear something that helps you to feel confident: there are far more important questions to grapple with than what should you wear.

What have you written? What did you do? What does it mean and why does it matter?

And what impression do you hope your thesis will make?

Nathan

Sword Sharpening

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A sword could be excellently forged, made with skill from the best materials – but if it’s not kept sharp, it won’t work well.

Similarly, you can’t create yourself and your thesis without making something good by submission – but if you don’t take a little time to prepare before the viva you won’t be at your best.

So: what are you going to do to sharpen yourself for your examiners?

Nathan

A Week Of Prep

Daily Post

Let’s say you’re a few weeks away from your viva. You’ve read your thesis and it feels familiar. You’re busy with life outside of your thesis. You want to be prepared for your viva, you feel the need to do something this coming week, but you don’t know what.

Block out an hour for each evening of the week ahead and try the following:

  • Monday: annotate your thesis. Put a Post-it at the start of every chapter, and anywhere in your thesis that is important. Highlight important passages or references to make them stand out. Make your thesis more useful for you.
  • Tuesday: create an edited bibliography. Explore which are the most essential references, and capture a little detail for each to explore why it matters so much.
  • Wednesday: have a mini-viva. Either write notes about each of the questions or capture your thoughts with a voice-recording app.
  • Thursday: use the VIVA tool to analyse a chapter of your thesis. Pick a good one, and spend fifteen minutes for each of the four prompts to explore the chapter.
  • Friday: reflect on your mini-viva from Wednesday. What details would you add? What stands out from your mini-viva?
  • Saturday: switch to mornings. Meet a friend for coffee or an early lunch. Get them to ask you relevant questions about your research.
  • Sunday: take only 15 minutes to review what you’ve done. What has helped this week? How are you feeling about your viva? Now map out the week ahead. What are you going to do to continue your preparations?

This post is a little idea of how you could break your week up, doing different, useful tasks to prepare for the viva. Customise in a suitable way for you.

Don’t drift to your viva; go towards it with purpose.

Nathan

Status

Daily Post

Your examiners have a high status in the viva for several reasons. They have titles. They have experience. They have roles in the viva (and before it) that gives them authority.

You have a high status in the viva for several reasons. You have worked to be there. You have deep experience that has put you in the room. The viva wouldn’t be happening at all if you weren’t there.

Status doesn’t have to signify conflict though. Status in the viva is just a consequence of recognising that everyone in the room has an important role to play.

Nathan

Breaking Down Survive

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Survive means manage to keep going in difficult circumstances. Despite negative associations it is the perfect verb to describe the mode of action for a viva candidate. Every part of the definition matters.

  • …manage… Not struggle. No almost. Manage.
  • …to keep going… Already in motion. Already moving in a good direction.
  • …in difficult circumstances… Not impossible. Not unknown. Not unknowable. Difficult.

If you’re feeling unsure or uncertain, more like survive-no-matter-what than survive-as-defined, then explore:

  • …manage… What could you do now to plan for the viva?
  • …to keep going… What have you done well to get you this far?
  • …in difficult circumstances… Who could you ask for more information about these circumstances?

And when you know what you need to: keep going!

Nathan

Nearly All

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Nearly all candidates say they’re nervous.

Nearly all vivas result in a pass.

Nearly all candidates could be prepared for their viva if they choose to be.

Nearly all examiners are good.

Nearly all candidates get minor corrections.

Nearly all expectations are met, but most vivas will have something out of the ordinary.

Nathan

Counting Down The Days

Daily Post

Advent calendars are neat ways to lead up to Christmas. A little fun, a little reminder that something nice is coming. A way to build up excitement.

Often viva candidates do the opposite when leading up to their viva. Where an advent calendar increases – 1st December, 2nd December and so on – candidates count down. Only three weeks left. Only ten days left. Only two days left. For most, probably a way to build up discomfort or worry.

It is important to keep track of the days if you’re preparing. There’s no need to rush preparations, but you still need to get what you need to do finished. Instead of marking days down though – seven left, six to go – write down what you did each day. Like an advent calendar, reveal the gift you’re giving to yourself.

Every day, as you lead up to the viva, record what you’re doing to get yourself ready. Provide evidence for yourself that you are a capable, talented researcher, not just someone counting down the days.

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