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Nathan

Mental Stretches

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Sanderson’s Second Law Of Mathematics:

“The mind is a muscle and must be exercised.”

My high school maths teacher had this written on his classroom wall, along with two other “laws of maths” he claimed as his. They’ve resonated with me a lot over the years. You only get better at something intellectual by doing it. It’s not enough to have done some work in the past, you have to keep going, stay sharp and look for new ways of thinking.

That’s the main point of viva prep. You can’t just rest on your laurels when your thesis is done. You have to stretch, keep your mind in shape. Exercise for your brain: small exercises to test your skills and knowledge.

Nowhere near as much work as you’ve done before, but enough to keep you thinking, remembering, honed and ready.

(Sanderson’s First Law Of Mathematics: “A lazy mathematician is a good one.” The Third: “Mathematicians think in pictures – so use them!“)

(Let’s stick with the Second for viva prep…!)

Nathan

Explore

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There’s a mindset of exploration in viva preparation.

  • Exploring what you did: not simply reading your thesis, but digging into it.
  • Exploring what it means: reflecting on what you think now.
  • Exploring recent literature: updating what you know and what might matter.
  • Exploring your examiners: what they know and do.
  • Exploring the possibilities for the viva: what might or might not happen.

If you’ve done the work for a PhD, being an explorer is probably second nature to you. You’re good at exploring; to prepare well for the viva you just need to continue using skills you already have.

Nathan

Answers On A Postcard

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A viva prep idea that seems apt for summertime: use postcards to make notes about key reflective questions for your research and thesis.

Get half a dozen different postcards (choose your images carefully). Use half of each one to answer a big picture question like those below:

  • How did I get interested in this topic?
  • What’s my key contribution?
  • What are my three main results?
  • What is my methodology?
  • Who is my research important to?
  • What are my three most important references?

Use the other half, where one would typically write an address, to capture a few keywords, an extra short note or perhaps an important reference or two.

Done!

There are three useful elements here. First, the answer in a small, restricted space gives a concise reflection. Second, a few points or helpful things that jump out. Finally, the image of the postcard to build memory associations.

Index cards are often used to help with revising something, but I’ve never come across postcards. What do you think? Useful or not?

Nathan

Picture This

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Talk to graduates about their experiences in the viva and members of staff about what they do as examiners.

Then think about what it will be like to walk in.

See the room in your mind (you’ll know where it is).

Imagine the weight of what you take in your bag or hands (your thesis is there to help).

Feel a smile at the rightness of being there (you have earned this!).

See yourself answering questions and imagine your examiners being impressed (they will be!).

Expectations help build a picture of viva day.

Nathan

Marginalia

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Don’t fill the margins, footers and headers of your thesis until they are overflowing with notes.

Too much can be a distraction, just something else to read and decipher as you’re looking for something helpful.

A little goes a long way.

A little thought helps in the preparation, and a little note on the day can help you in the viva’s discussion.

Nathan

A Haiku For Viva Prep

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A final polish,

A short time to realise

You have done enough.

 

(and see previously)

Nathan

The Unknowns

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What you don’t know about your viva can be scary. It’s helpful to make a distinction between the three main types of unknowns:

  • There are things you can find out: the regulations for vivas at your university, what happened at your friends’ vivas, what your examiners’ recent publications are like.
  • There are things you can have expectations of: how long it might be, the sorts of questions that come up, the general outcomes and what they mean.
  • There are things you can’t know: how long your viva will be, what questions you’ll be asked or what your examiners will think of your thesis.

It’s clear with the first two kinds of unknowns that if you ask the right people the right questions you’ll find help. But there is no way of knowing how long your viva will be. There is no script available for questions. No report you can read about your examiners’ impressions.

Crucially, you have a choice about what you focus your attention on. Focus on the first two kinds of unknown. You’ll find confidence by getting answers to the questions you have, then perhaps realise that the third kind of unknown don’t matter that much.

Nathan

Nodes

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Viva coming up? Think about who you know and what they can do for you:

  • How can your supervisor help you prepare?
  • Who among your close colleagues has some way of helping?
  • Who do you know that could be a good choice for an examiner?
  • Do you know a student of your external, or someone who has worked with them?

You’re trying to find ways the nodes in your network can usefully add to your preparation. Drill into what your network looks like to see the practical things people can do. If it feels like you’re asking for a favour, well, that’s one side of networking: thinking about how you can get help from the people you know.

The other side, perhaps even more exciting, you get to think about how you can help other people when it’s their viva coming up. If you’ve not had yours yet you can still be a friend and help someone prep for theirs. Offer to chat with them, share your knowledge about some aspect of the field they’re less familiar with, even offer to read a chapter and ask questions.

If you’ve had your viva then share your experience around your network. Your viva story can help others realise that the viva is not some terrible doom awaiting them. Tell others what you did to prepare and what happened on the day. Ask them to do the same.

See how the help spreads through the nodes of your network.

Nathan

Countless

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There are countless questions you could be asked in the viva, but you’ll only be asked one at a time.

Preparation doesn’t mean somehow considering every question, but feeling comfortable considering and responding to any question that comes up.

Find opportunities that will help you practise and give you confidence, but remember you don’t need an answer for everything.

Just each question as it comes up.

Nathan

Weak Spots

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Why didn’t Achilles wear a boot?

If you know there’s a problem, wouldn’t you try to address it? If you know you have a weak spot, wouldn’t you at least try something?

For example, I knew my background knowledge on one of my thesis chapters was a bit shaky. I just hoped my examiners would focus on the results instead. I could explain how I’d tackled it. I could explain the results. I just crossed my fingers they wouldn’t ask me to explain what a certain kind of manifold looked like and why it was relevant.

Hoping it won’t come up is not a solution: actions help.

If you have a gap in your knowledge, take action. If you have trouble remembering a reference or an idea, take action. If you want to boost your confidence, take action.

Weak spots in your thesis or research probably aren’t as devastating as Achilles’ heel, but if you’re aware of something that could be a problem it’s up to you to do something about it.

Don’t just worry and hope it won’t come up. Do something.

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