Daily viva help for PhDs
Have you got thirty minutes to spare for your viva prep? In thirty minutes you can:
There’s a lot more you could do. You can’t prepare for your viva in a hurry. Thirty minutes by itself won’t be enough…
…but thirty minutes regularly will do it.
One of the best reasons to annotate your thesis is to make things stand out. For example:
Annotation is purposeful work while you’re doing it; afterwards you have a more useful resource for your prep and the viva.
You can make your thesis clearer while you get ready for the viva. Start by asking yourself, “What would help me?”
On this blog and in my workshops I share a lot of viva prep ideas. No-one needs to follow all of my suggestions: my hope is that the ideas I share spark a path forward. The danger, sometimes, on being presented with lots of options, is that someone might think “I want to do it all!” or “I need to do it all!” or “Oh my gosh, how will I do it all?!”
I spend a lot of time talking and writing about all of the ideas for viva prep; today let me shift gears to give three questions I think can help anyone break down what they will do to prepare for their viva.
Three simple “how” questions:
Focus on you. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. There are lots of options but only a few core areas to pay attention to.
Don’t make your viva prep complicated. Just ask three questions to get started.
Do the work you’re supposed to do…
…but don’t worry if you don’t get every answer to all the questions you had.
Do your thesis as well as you can…
…but don’t stress about the odd typo (you can fix that later).
Do explore who might be a good examiner for you…
…but don’t forget that you don’t get to pick them formally.
Do think about how you’ll manage to prepare before you submit…
…but don’t start preparing until you’ve got the thesis done.
Do take a break after you submit…
…but don’t leave preparation until the day before the viva.
Do read your thesis carefully…
…but don’t feel that you have to memorise it.
Do check out your examiners’ recent publications…
…but don’t stress about the literature in general (there’s only so much time to read papers).
Do find ways to practise answering unexpected questions about your work…
…but don’t have a mock viva if it doesn’t sound useful to you.
Do reflect on your work in as many ways as you can…
…but don’t forget to take breaks while you prepare.
Do go to the viva fixed on the thought that you’ve only got this far through talent and work…
…but don’t forget that there’s a little more work to do, a little more talent to show.
Having trouble putting your research contribution into words? Or want to reflect on it in new ways? Try the following questions to take a fresh look at what you’ve done for your PhD. (and if you’re writing up, these questions might help you to unpick some new thoughts about your work)
Spend some time in your viva prep thinking, writing and talking about what your contribution means.
Bonus Question! What kind of difference does your research make to your field now that it is done?
I’m trying something a little different for a few posts this week. Each post is a checklist of things to do for a different part of the viva process. I started a few days ago with a Checklist for Submission, a Checklist for Viva Prep and yesterday’s Checklist for the Viva. Today we conclude the series with a Checklist for After!
It’s over!
How was it? How do you feel? You might be feeling a bit dazed, a bit tired, a bit hyped or maybe even a bit nonplussed by the viva. Quick checklist for you:
What’s likely after the viva is you have passed, but you have a little more work to do. Celebrate, but get the work done as soon as possible. You might need to revisit this checklist a few times before it sinks in.
The viva is done. Tick it off your life checklist.
Now, what’s next?
I’m trying something a little different for a few posts this week. Each post is a checklist of things to do for a different part of the viva process. I started a few days ago with a Checklist for Submission, and yesterday we had a Checklist for Viva Prep. Today we continue with a Checklist for the Viva!
Not long to go now! Are you ready? Compare your current state to the list below:
All good? Of course you are. You’re ready for your viva.
Tomorrow: Checklist for After!
I’m trying something a little different for a few posts this week. Each post is a checklist of things to do for a different part of the viva process. I started yesterday with the Checklist for Submission, and today we continue with a Checklist for Viva Prep!
You’ve worked hard for years and your thesis is done. Check this list below when you’ve spent some time preparing for the viva. What have you done already?
Marked some of these off? Then you’re on your way to being viva-ready. You might not need to do something that falls under all of these headings. Think about what will work well for you and when you can get it done.
Tomorrow: Checklist for the Viva!
I’m trying something a little different for the next few days’ posts. Each post will be a checklist of things to do for a different part of the viva process, starting today with the Checklist for Submission!
Are you just about to submit? Step back for a few minutes and see if you’ve covered everything:
Checked all of these off? Then you’re ready to submit! Congratulations!
Tomorrow: Checklist for Viva Prep!
A recent workshop question about viva questions stood out to me:
“What if my examiners ask me something I can’t answer?”
This is distinct from thinking I don’t know or going blank. If you can’t answer then there is an underlying aspect of the question that means an answer can’t be given. There could be many possible reasons:
The motivating question for this post is hypothetical. It may never come up in your viva. It’s probably better to invest time in things that you can control or influence. If a question does come up and you can’t answer: tell your examiners. Tell them why. Ask them questions.
Continue being part of the conversation.