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Nathan

Viva Prep Recipes

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I do a lot of the cooking in our house. Most of what I make regularly is the result of recipes I carry in my head but I sometimes look in cookbooks to check my instincts around cooking times, temperatures and good ingredient pairings.

It also helps me to figure out alternatives too. Will this dish still work if I change the seasoning? Probably. Can I swap tomatoes for carrots? Maybe not. And what do I do if I need to make a big change from the process described?

 

Viva prep feels a lot like this too. There are a lot of good ideas for how to get ready but you have to find something that feels right for you and tweak it from there.

A mock viva is often held around two weeks before the viva date but a week before your viva or a month before could work too with a few adjustments.

It’s common to start viva prep by reading your thesis but journalling or making other notes is equally helpful and valid.

Ask around to find out what others did. Read blog posts for good ideas. Then assemble your own recipe for viva prep success.

 

PS: I released the latest edition of Viva Survivors Select this week. As with today’s post The Confidence Issue has lots of practical ideas from the Viva Survivors archive for building confidence for the viva!

Nathan

First Steps Of Prep

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Step one could be to breathe after submission and take a short break.

Your first step could be to read the regulations and check there’s nothing unexpected.

Top of the list might be to check in with your supervisor and see what they think.

And if you feel you’ve got a good handle on what you need to do then step one of viva prep could be to make a plan of how you’re going to get it done.

 

There are lots of really good, sensible things that a candidate might do to prepare for their viva. The starting point and the process is different for everyone: it depends on what you need, how you feel and what your circumstances are like.

Take charge though. Only you can take all the steps needed and only you can take the first step, whatever you need it to be.

 

PS: If you’re looking for more ideas of steps you can take to be prepared for your viva then check out my Viva Survivor webinar on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. This is my comprehensive live session on getting ready for your viva. There’s full details at the link of what to expect from the webinar and what past participants think of it. Please get in touch if you have any questions!

Nathan

Top & Bottom

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Header and footer margins are fairly big in a formatted thesis. Plenty of space for you to add useful notes.

At the top of a page you might:

  • Write a short sentence about the page contents;
  • Have a keyword;
  • Highlight a particular place on the page;
  • Leave an encouraging note;
  • Write a reminder.

At the bottom of a page you might:

  • Add a remark about a key reference;
  • Summarise any corrections you expect;
  • Note any particular points you expect questions on;
  • Leave another encouraging note;
  • Write another reminder!

There’s a lot of space at the top and bottom of every page in your thesis. Plenty of space for you to add useful notes – but you have to decide what will be most helpful for you.

Nathan

Unscripted

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Your examiners have a plan for your viva.

They’ve prepared well. They have questions and prompts to help them ask good questions and get what they need from the process – but they don’t have a script. They don’t have a set list of twenty questions they’ll be working through. They don’t have a rigid plan that they will follow exactly. Their plan guides but allows them space to respond to what you say and how the discussion develops.

 

You will prepare well for your viva.

You’ll invest time in reading your thesis, making notes, creating summaries and hopefully finding ways to rehearse. You don’t need a script for your viva either. Your examiners are happy for you to refer to your thesis but they don’t want you to read from a script. Your responsibility is to respond in the moment, taking part in the discussion and making sure your examiners get what they need.

 

Everyone should be well-prepared for your viva but no-one should be reading from a script.

Nathan

The Deadline

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The viva prep deadline is technically ten minutes before the viva – that’s when you need to be in the room, ready to go!

Of course, you don’t need to do things so close to the deadline. You also don’t need to use all the time available between submission and ten minutes before your viva.

When you submit your thesis, sketch out a plan. What do you need to do? When works well for you? How will you break up the work to remove stress and give yourself space to think and rest?

What’s the better deadline to be ready that you can set for yourself?

Nathan

Three Prompts

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Take ten minutes to complete the following sentences. Write them out in full for yourself:

  1. When I started my PhD I didn’t know…
  2. One thing I did that I am proud of…
  3. I am confident that…

Sometimes questions, particularly questions about what we did or how we grew, can allow us to be humble or to evade or to get stuck on how things weren’t quite as we wanted.

Prompts are more direct.

“How did you do this?” gives room for you to talk around things.

“I did this…” is finishing a thought.

The three prompts above encourage reflection on your development, progress and ability. What other prompts might help you dig into your PhD success?

Nathan

Unique Prep

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There’s a lot of viva help out there, particularly when it comes to ideas around viva prep.

Your PhD is unique. It’s reasonable to think your prep will be too. Take onboard suggestions and examples that you find when you look for help, then consider how you might need to adapt the idea to make it work for you.

The work to annotate a thesis by publication is similar but different to annotating a thesis which is a single project. Preparing to respond to questions about a creative work has similarities to preparing for questions about experiment-based research, but it will be different.

 

Your PhD, i.e., your research, your thesis, your process, your preferences, your situation, your knowledge, your skillset, your worries, your feelings, your plans and your hopes – all of it is unique!

It’s reasonable to think your prep will be too. Adapt ideas and good advice to fit your needs and circumstances.

 

PS: the latest issue of Viva Survivors Select, The Sparks Issue was released this week! It has twenty-five curated posts from the Viva Survivors blog archive and two original helpful resources as well. Your PhD and viva are both unique but you’ll find help in The Sparks Issue that you can apply to your situation, whatever it is and whatever you need. Please take a look. Thanks for reading! 🙂

Nathan

Percentages & Preparation

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From research I’ve done in the past I estimate that 75% of vivas are finished by the three-hour mark. The vast majority of candidates pass and around 90% of candidates are asked to complete some form of correction, with most of those being minor corrections.

Knowing the stats helps but preparing helps even more. It’s good to know that you’re likely to succeed but far better to know that you’re ready. Learn about what vivas are like and then invest your time in preparation.

Percentages help a little, preparation helps a lot.

 

PS: If you want to know more about the viva and what to do to get ready then follow my Eventbrite page to get notified of future independent webinars like Viva Survivor and 7 Reasons You’ll Pass Your Viva. Dates coming soon!

Nathan

Dealing With A Difficult Topic

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It’s reasonable to be concerned about unexpected questions, but those aren’t the most difficult topics or questions. You probably already know the most difficult topics that would come up at your viva.

What don’t you want to talk about? What do you struggle to remember? What might be controversial in your research?

Difficult topics are the kinds of things to take your time with in preparation and in the viva. There’s time. There’s no need to rush but if a difficult topic comes up at the viva there is a need to talk about it.

If you know a difficult topic ahead of your viva then prepare. Ask for help, ask your supervisor, rehearse by discussing the area and taking questions. Don’t try to ignore it. Don’t simply hope that it won’t come up.

Nathan

The Point Of Prep

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Remember that your viva prep isn’t the point. Being ready for your viva is the point.

You need to plan your prep but the plan isn’t the point. It mostly doesn’t matter what you use to annotate your thesis, except that it makes your thesis better for you and your viva. You’ll probably benefit from a mock viva but the conversation with your supervisor isn’t the point.

Being ready is the point. How you exactly get there is less important than getting there.

Figure out what you need to get you to “ready”.

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