thanks Sheena. i really appreciate the tips and am very happy for you and proud of you! well done!

sorry to hear about your dad Pineapple. take each day as it comes and try to think positively.. not just about this but about the viva. it'll help you cope.

forget about your supervisors and concentrate on giving your best shot at the defence. its not your supervisors but the examiners who decide the outcome of the viva.

take time off and work on being positive. its easy to get negative after all the phd stress coupled with the stresses of life.

all the best.

(up)


ps: i was told to settle for am MPhil very early on in my Phd. That did not stop me from believing in myself. I CHOSE to believe in myself. if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will. whatever happens in my viva, at least i will have given myself the best chance i could at a Phd and i can live with that, than panicking and getting a terrible result or quiting because of what someone said. as for whether to settle for MPhil, think about that when you have the result of your viva. right now its a what if. most what ifs never happen!

I have managed to do three quarter of ch.1 and i actually enjoyed formulating and answering my questions even though i thought i'd be quite terrified and not able to come up with a question, i actually have 26 possible questions on chapter 1! am so happy! its actually not that bad once you start the prep in a sensible way.

unfortunately i have to leave for work now. will continue tonight. :-)

all the best everyone!

======= Date Modified 12 Dec 2010 21:55:15 =======
Ok.. so i've come up with the list of what i need to do to pass my viva.. not all i could possibly prepare but all i need to prepare to feel confident on the day and i've cut down that list to what i can reasonably achieve in three weeks whilst working and preparing for another exam. here's what i need to do:

1) re-read my thesis, formulate and answer questions about my work as i go along.
2) definitions. i need to list my definitions and learn them by heart :$ to be able to comfortably talk about them.
3) prepare to talk about things i omitted and why.
4) read lit rev again and update if anything new has been done. also prepare to talk about authorities in my area in a comfortable manner.
6) know my examiners work for courtesy reasons.
7) know broader context of my thesis.

good thing is i have most of this stuff already in the thesis. like why i did one thing and not another, broader context etc. so it shouldn't be too bad.

so tomorrow is day 22:

This week's goal:

read all 7 chapters but now with a purpose (unlike before!):

1) in one sentence, sum up each chapter.
2) for each chapter formulate a series of questions and answers. (summarise into point form and make each question and answer into a slide)
3) use the questions in my practice sessions.
4) how does the chapter fit the bigger picture?
5) list definitions to be learnt and do list of typos as well as correct main thesis for typos.

The thesis has 7 chapters and there are 7 days a week.. so a chapter a day at a minimum.

after that i will deal with literature review, knowing new work and examiners work.

all the best to me. :) am also on the look out for a program where i can record myself and playback. any ideas?

congratulations 404! you have done well not to have to redo the viva. i know a few people who chose to defend and have major corrections but move on to academic jobs whilst they're at than be registered as a phd for financial reasons. its not all bad. look on the bright side of things. if you'd like to share, we'd like to know more about the viva, the kind of questions they asked etc.

don't beat yourself up. you've done well!

congratulations Dr. Sheena! :-) am glad its over for you and can't wait to hear about what happened in there! go out and celebrate first!:-)

J.

23 days to go.. :-) thanks Lara. i agree... it really helps to have a date. thanks for your support and reassurance. Dunni - i have been working on a publication, which i will put on hold for now, of that stuff i cut out from my thesis so i did take sometime off prep but i will still have to talk about its contents in the viva so its not a waste of time.

currently just taking a few days to warm up to the idea of the viva. with work and everything, i have come up with a very dramatic way of coping which i hope works for me. and that's waking up at 4am for the next 21 days til the viva and working til 9am because i work part time. i also found out i have an exam the same day as my viva :-( :-( :-( at this other course am taking.. and there is no way out of not taking it. so am preparing for both but ofcourse prioritising my viva.

am currently reading through a how to prepare handout that was given during the talk i attended and hoping to come up with a final revision plan which i'll put on here. to relax am reading a novel and i count work as relaxation time. i work three days a week, so i consider those my weekends.

am not taking the thing tooooooooooooooooooooooooo seriously before i jinx it. am treating it as any other exam. for that reason am taking this exam also. it'll offer a distraction. plus 2 exams on the same day is not bad. after all.... how many times did we do lots of exams in days after each other during undergrad? and we coped and even managed some firsts. so its all about attitude. am definitely aiming at keeping a healthy attitude to the whole process.

by the end of today i will have come come up with a game plan. watch this space!

8-)

its the first submission of a COMPLETE thesis and that includes acknowledgment and a date. :-) all the best.(up)

date is settled. its January 5th 8-) - 27 days to go! yipee!!!!!!!!!! can't wait to be done. :-)

goodluck Sheena and 404 - what will be will be. no need to be nervous. :-) you'll be fine.

just show up. lol. (up)

Ok guys.. i've been away doing everything else but revising for my viva - though all of it is related stuff except work. In the past week, i've been working on a publication. I promised myself to send out a paper from my thesis every month just so i can get it all behind me in a year and not slack on the publishing bit. am almost done with it and hope i can do a quick polish today and send it off. I also attended a 'how to prepare for your viva' talk which was rather distressing. I will share more on this later.

The greatest news is that they have propositioned to have my viva in early January and given me a date i can't make. :-( So hopefully they can rearrange another date. The problem however is that its real now. On the one hand am excited and then on the other i can feel so nervous just thinking about it. I chose the 'excited' feeling. I just want to get all this behind me.

So today am focusing on that publication and going to the opticians.. tomorrow and friday morning work. :( i wish i didn't have to work, then on saturday i will look at what am doing for my viva preparation afresh. i will keep you posted when i know the date for sure.

J.

congratulations! i agree with you that the system here is crap and in dire need of review. am still enduring my supervisors lack of interest and hoping to have a decent viva and put this education system behind me.

am well proud of you! well done for sticking it out and not letting someone who doesn't think you can define you!

well done! (up)

glad it wasn't just me - very scary to be stalked by another woman!

still recovering..

So, I check my mail and find this in my inbox:

-------------
Dearest love,

My name is princess and my email address is([email protected]) i saw your profile in this site and become interested in you. I am a loving lady who is seeking for my true love, I want to end my loneliness, and my mind tells me that you are the kind of person i want in my life. I am very romantic, caring, honest and faithful. True love is hidden in every heart and it continue for life time. For more details about me, kindly reply me AT([email protected]) i'm waiting earnestly for your reply,then i will give you my picture.
I CHERISH YOU
PRINCESS.

---------

re "my mind tells me ...", you need a mind transplant. shame on you!

congratulations! sorry to hear you had such a hard time submitting. glad its behind you! welcome to viva - but take some time off first! it will will do you a lot of good. :-)