A Rough Outline
Whenever you set your mind to creating a summary as part of viva prep start by making a quick rough outline. Give yourself two minutes to write down keywords, bullet points and essential details that you must include in whatever summary you’re going to write.
A rough outline is a catalyst for the real work. It’s not about writing more quickly but writing it at all! A blank page is a tricky opponent and often PhD candidates have to do viva prep after their regular working day. Any help you can give yourself to start well is a good thing.
A two-minute rough outline is a good starting point for any summary whether it’s a list, an overview, a mind map, a page of paragraphs.
What else could you do to help your viva prep tasks go well?