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Tag: viva preparation

Nathan

Mocks Aren’t Magic

Daily Post, Sabbatical

A mock viva is not a silver bullet that will solve all of your nervous feelings about the viva.

What are you looking for from your viva preparations?

  • Confidence?
  • A better picture of how you see your work?
  • A clearer understanding of what the viva is like?
  • Opportunities to practise?
  • Opportunities to think and get your head straight?
  • A chance to check your own talents?

If you know what you’re looking for, you can think about how you might find it. And while it’s not a magic solution that solves everything, when you think about what it can do, a mock viva could help with all of the above.

A mock viva is not a silver bullet, but maybe it’s good enough that we can think of it as a bronze arrow?

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on April 2nd 2019.

Nathan

A Contentious Thesis?

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Don’t worry. It means you have something interesting in your research. It means that in the viva your examiners have a lot to ask about.

And it means you’ve been working on your thesis for a long time. You will know how to engage with people who aren’t sure. With people who want to know more. With people who have their own ideas.

So read up, think, have a mock viva and conversations with friends, and get ready to explore your work.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on May 12th 2019.

Nathan

Start With Three Things

Daily Post, Sabbatical

There’s a lot you can do to prepare for the viva – so much that at times it could feel overwhelming. Whatever you’re going to do, start with a limit of just three things to help you focus.

  • Ask your supervisor three questions to help you prepare – what would they be?
  • Put three bookmarks into your thesis – where would they go?
  • Check three papers you’ve referenced – which ones would they be?
  • Take three minutes to summarise your work – what would you say?
  • Think of three questions you would like to ask your examiners – what are they?

Three is just to start. You can invest more time, more questions, more effort after the first three, the most important three are done.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on October 12th 2019.

Nathan

The First Day Of Viva Prep

Daily Post, Sabbatical

It’s not the day you submit, or the day after.

It’s not the first time you read your thesis after submission, or when you start to get ready for a mock viva.

It isn’t even when you really start to plan for submission, or first think about what your examiners might ask.

The first day of viva prep was a long time ago. The first day of your PhD, whenever you started the work that has lead to your thesis. You have been preparing for a long time before you get to the viva: developing your talent, building your knowledge, getting better.

A little extra prep after submission is needed to be ready. Don’t forget though, for your confidence, that you have been preparing for a long time.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on January 4th 2020.

Nathan

No Plans

Daily Post, Sabbatical

It’s a public holiday in the UK. Unless your viva is 9am tomorrow you’re probably safe to relax for a day.

Rest. Take today for you.

Don’t read your thesis, scribble in margins, chat with your supervisor or look at one more paper.

Don’t make a big list of annotations to add to your thesis or commit your ten most valuable references to memory.

Don’t make a plan for the weeks leading up to your viva and what you might do over that period.

Rest is as important as all the reading, writing and rehearsing for the viva. You might need to do some or all of the things above in preparation but you don’t need to do it today.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on August 30th 2021.

Nathan

Wants & Needs For The Viva

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Wants and needs are two different things, but they can be easy to confuse.

  • You might want to submit a perfect thesis, but that’s impossible. So think, what does your thesis need to have?
  • You might want the best possible examiners, but they might be busy. What do you need in a good examiner?
  • You might want to be 100% free of nerves for the viva, but how likely is that? What do you need to do to be as ready as you can be?

As your PhD comes to a close, it’s not wrong to think through all the things you want – for your thesis, for your viva prep, for the viva itself – but make sure you ask yourself, “What do I really need to do this?”

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on March 25th 2019.

Nathan

Biased

Daily Post, Sabbatical

How do you know your approach is a good one?

Is there only one way of interpreting your results?

Through years of study and focus, have you found one way of doing something, and now you only see that way of doing it?

Check your biases before the viva. Ask for your supervisor’s perspective. Ask if there were things that you discarded or which might be valuable. What have you ignored? What have you put to one side as you narrowed your focus?

You’re not looking for problems for the sake of it. You’re building certainty in the way you’ve done things, by being sure that you’ve not done something one way simply because you’re used to thinking of it that way.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on April 8th 2019.

Nathan

3 Kinds Of Viva Prep

Daily Post, Sabbatical

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.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on July 15th 2023.

Nathan

What’s Important?

Daily Post, Sabbatical

Two words to prompt reflection on nearly every aspect of the viva and viva prep.

What’s important…

  • …about your thesis? Explore it chapter by chapter with a notebook in hand. Make notes about anything that stands out to you.
  • …about your PhD journey? When you think back over how you did the work, what matters?
  • …about your viva expectations? What do you need to know more about and what are you comfortable with?
  • …about your examiners? Who are they, what do they do and what might they ask?
  • …about your viva preparations? What do you have to do and when will you get the work done?

What’s important? Two words that can start your thinking, exploring and working towards what you need. The examples I give above might help, but maybe for your situation you need to focus on something else.

So ask yourself: what’s important?

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on January 30th 2023.

Nathan

Montage

Daily Post, Sabbatical

The greatest training montage ever captured on film is the 3-odd minute training scene in Rocky III. You can check it out here if you’ve never seen it. It’s awesome. If nothing else, add the music to your inspirational playlist.

It shows a process that’s a bit a like preparing for the viva: Rocky’s in great shape but isn’t quite there yet for the competition. After your research is done and your thesis is finished you’re awesome, but you could probably still use some work for the viva. You don’t have to spar, run laps down a sunny beach or build up massive quantities of muscle though.

Read your thesis to remind yourself of everything in there. Answer some unexpected questions from your supervisor or friends. Look for ways to boost your confidence. Make some notes about what’s important. There’s lots you can do to help yourself.

Training montages show someone developing to a peak of excellence. What would be in your viva prep montage? Think about how much time you’ve got, what things you can do, then go do them.

 

Viva Survivors Summer Sabbatical: I’m taking July, August and September off from new writing to concentrate on other creative projects, so will be sharing a post from the archives every day throughout those months. Today’s post was originally published on June 7th 2017.

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