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Tag: getting ready

Nathan

Getting Ready & Being Ready

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The process and the goal.

Getting ready means reading your thesis, asking questions, checking things, making notes and building confidence. Being ready means feeling certain that your viva will be successful.

Before you sit down to get ready, think ahead to what you want to feel when you are ready. What does being ready mean for you? What would you have done? What would convince you that you’re ready for your viva?

When you have a sense of what it would mean for you to be ready for your viva, you can plan and do your preparations much more easily.

Nathan

Burst Your Bubble

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You’re in a bubble.

How could you not be? You’ve read lots of papers and done lots of relevant work and now you’ve written a book! You’re in a bubble, thinking what you think and knowing what you know and life is fine.

Now here come your examiners. They want to talk to you. They need to talk to you. They’ve been reading what you wrote and they have questions. They have comments. They have opinions and until you speak to them you won’t know what they want to discuss.

You can make some educated guesses, but those will be from inside your bubble. They’ll be based on what you did, what you know and what you wrote. Good guesses, but limited.

Unless…

Unless you burst your bubble by reading your examiners’ recent publications. You can take a little time before your viva to get a sense of who they are, what they do and what they think. You can find out a little more information, become more well-informed and see if there’s anything else you need to know to be prepared for your viva.

Being in your bubble has served you well, but you need more to be ready for your examiners.

Nathan

Clear Your Head

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Begin viva prep by writing down everything you think you might need to do.

Write down any upcoming work – projects, tasks, employment, responsibilities – that you also have to complete.

Sketch a plan of how much time you have to get ready.

And finally decide on your priorities for your viva prep. Which tasks have to be done? Which ones do you have to complete first? Are there any which are good ideas but less crucial?

Don’t start your viva prep by wondering where to begin, or juggling everything in your mind. Clear your head by getting everything out: make sense of what you could do, how much time you have and when you really need to get started.

Nathan

The Unread Notes

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Ahead of my viva I wrote in my thesis margins to simplify jargon. I checked my maths to convince myself I was right. I found an unclear explanation and rewrote it so it made more sense to me. I wrote notes on my external’s research interests to understand why my work was incompatible.

I made a lot of notes before my viva – and I read none of them in my viva, even the margin notes.

I was asked by my examiners to prepare a presentation to start the exam and I don’t think I read those notes either!

The notes were to help me get ready and they did.

All of my notes helped me to feel that I was doing or had done everything I could to be ready.

Nathan

Under The Surface

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There’s a lot in your thesis.

You created a record of what you did, how you did it and why that matters. Whatever the format or discipline, your thesis describes problems that you’ve solved or addressed.

You might share hints about obstacles that got in the way or ideas that you weren’t able to develop fully. There will be good stuff, tough stuff, simple stuff and difficult-to-talk-about stuff.

There’s a lot going on under the surface of the many pages of your thesis. Reading it carefully ahead of your viva is essential for being ready to talk about your research with your examiners.

Nathan

7 Starts To Viva Prep

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1. Read a handful of posts from a blog!

2. Sketch out a plan of the weeks leading up to your viva, noting busy days and quiet times.

3. Read the introduction to your thesis.

4. Search for and download the last two papers by each of your examiners.

5. Page through your thesis and insert sticky notes at the start of each chapter.

6. Ask your supervisor when they might be free for a mock viva.

7. Download the regulations for thesis examination for your university.

 

Viva prep takes a fair amount of work, but small tasks help. Little things get you moving if you’re not sure what to do. The smallest of steps can help energise you to the next thing you need to do.

If you’re procrastinating or unsure of what to do, or even worried about what’s still to come with your viva, remember that getting started puts you on the path to being done.

So start!

Nathan

Peaks & Valleys

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Viva confidence can come from reflecting on the years you’ve invested into your research and thesis. The journey has to show progress, personal growth and development and times that you’ve succeeded in your goals.

Looking back could also show you times when things didn’t work out, or when you faced setbacks. Particularly given the last few years you might remember the impact of the pandemic, both personally and professionally.

When you reflect it’s good to consider both the high points and the low. Use specific questions to unpick how a situation had an impact and what it’s lead to now.

  • A High Point: What happened? How did you come to succeed/develop/grow? Why has that contributed to your confidence now?
  • A Low Point: Why was this a difficult moment? How did you get through this? What have you done to learn from this time?

Highs and lows, peaks and valleys, whatever we call them, every journey of growth and progress has them. No plan goes unchallenged, there are always obstacles to overcome. But if you’re looking back on your PhD and getting ready for your viva, remember that you have overcome your challenges. You have done enough.

Don’t dig too deep into anything painful, but also remember that you have made it through your low points of your PhD. Keep going now and you will succeed at your viva.

Nathan

3 Kinds Of Viva Prep

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Rushed: done in a hurry in the days leading up to the viva.

Worried: done while wondering whether or not the right things are being done.

Overinvested: a LOT done, far more than needed, either through concern something will be missed or perfectionism.

Thankfully, these kinds of viva prep aren’t the only options!

You can do the combined opposite of all of these to get ready. Plan ahead so there’s no rush. Find out what you really need to do so you have no worries and use your time well. Let’s define this fourth kind of prep as…

Relaxed: done over a suitable timescale for the candidate, with clear activities and goals that lead to being ready.

Nathan

Tweaks & Nudges

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It can take a candidate some time to read their whole thesis. A mock viva is hours of prep and then the event itself. Sitting with your thesis to add notes to the margins and other annotations can also take a while.

These kinds of work are necessary. There’s no substitute for them but you can also improve your preparation – and how ready you feel – by doing little things too.

  • Write down one thing every day that you are proud of in your research.
  • Check one list or short summary that you have recorded previously.
  • Re-read a single page of your thesis that is really good.
  • Listen to one song or piece of music that helps you feel confident.

There’s a lot more you could do. Little things add up. There are big tasks you have to complete to be ready for the viva, but lots of small tasks that help too.

Nathan

Definite

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Expectations for a viva fall within ranges.

There are common lengths, probable questions and likely areas of interest. It’s not as simple as rattling off a bullet point list of what will happen. There are ranges of aspects to consider and knowing about them helps. Generally, it’s clear to see what’s involved with a viva.

It also helps to remember what is definite about your viva.

You did the work. You wrote your thesis. You developed and became a better researcher. You know who your examiners are. You can prepare for your viva.

There are ranges of expectations for a viva but a lot you can know for sure about yours. Explore and remember all you can about both areas as you get ready to meet your examiners.

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