Tips for Defending Thesis
Hello everyone
I am getting close to my Viva, which is being held in May. Till now, I haven’t really studied much and I am kind of nervous. How will I pull it off? I am looking for any tips/suggestions as to how should I defend my thesis, also in a really fast way.
Thanks
Discuss your Dissertation 
jackthomas01 11:51 am on April 20, 2016 Permalink |
Put up questions and answer them. I am preparing my Viva too and that’s the strategy that I am applying. I am going chapter wise, writing all the possible questions that can come out of a particular chapter and then I write their answers. It’s like taking notes, and as writing is a more effective method of learning, I find it useful.
davidbergeviin 9:51 am on May 6, 2016 Permalink |
Thanks for the reply, but taking notes and making questions is a lot of work. My viva has been postponed to July, thankfully (a much required relief!). But I am still looking for some useful insights. Like what happens in the viva-room, what all can they ask, what do they look for? Something around, how can you win over your examiners?
sophiaw740 4:18 am on May 18, 2016 Permalink |
Examiners look for a way to catch a glitch and then focus on it to make the student really very very uncomfortable. And that’s saying it lightly. My examiners were as bad as they come. And the only way to win over such people is to answer all their questions except when you don’t know. See, do not brag or try to give answer when you know you’re stuck. Giving wrong response is even worse than being quite. Anyway, the examiners have points for each category like timely submission, etc. etc. They don’t judge you on the basis of your viva alone but you’re overall conduct during the course of program. So, if you have been wrong somewhere, prepare some excuses.
terrywellch 11:52 am on May 23, 2016 Permalink |
It’s important to defend your claims about the novelty of the thesis and its impact to knowledge.
However, no research is flawless, and showing that you have considered what could have been done differently, or even better, is not a bad thing.
So confront your examiners with honesty and confidence. All the best.
robertmaxeey 11:45 am on June 1, 2016 Permalink |
In my experience, you should work on your presentation slides. Most of us take time in preparing and studying like book worms, but what we miss is a good presentation. No matter how well we prepare our research, if we are not able to present it proper, then it’s worthless.
terrywellch 7:48 am on June 6, 2016 Permalink |
Hey, I came across this piece of article given by University of Leicester .The tips suggested by them are worthy of attention! I have shared the link below.
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/presentations/viva
minttyt 12:01 pm on June 22, 2016 Permalink |
Focus on your presentation skills more, because I guess that the way you can win over them. I read it somewhere, that to impress someone, you need to hone your presentation skills.
jackthomas01 12:03 pm on June 30, 2016 Permalink |
Defending thesis is the most-infuriatingly-crucial-thing that has to be taken care of. Though I think that it’s really about the moods of examiners, some precautions can be taken. I am referring to this blog on an editing website (seems quite popular), but the write-up in the blog is what really caught my attention. Have a look yourself:
http://www.24x7editing.com/blog/when-would-the-examiner-tear-apart-your-thesis/