Not to sound like a pessimist, but I would like to know. I have submitted my thesis, and I personally think it's rubbish. I would just like to know do people who write bad theses ever pass? If not why do we get put through the pain of a viva defense?

I haven't been given a viva date yet and it could be me just panicking. :-(

Given the quality of some theses currently in circulation, I would venture a YES!
Is it possible you're just being very self-critical bopeep? I can't think of many students who genuinely believe they've written a masterpiece. If your supervisors were happy for you to submit it then surely there's every chance it's good enough?

Hi lilbobeep,

Please don't worry too much. My supervisor once told me that my thesis doesn't have to be perfect - just 'good enough'. Everyone will have niggling doubts aout their work, i know a friend of mine who was spotting typos on the way to their viva for example!

As Teek said your supervisor wouldn't agree to submit you if they didn't think there was a chance

Do you have a deadline for the viva? I think at our uni you have to have your viva within 3 months of submission... maybe check with your postgrad office?

xxx

Hi Lilbobeep,

I think it sounds like you might be worrying too much too, though it's understandable. You have to trust your supervisors really. They shouldn't let you submit if your thesis really was bad, and they did, so it must be good enough to pass. It might even be an excellent thesis, another possibility!! I'm assuming you didn't get 'rubbish' feedback all through your PhD? After I submitted, I kept thinking maybe my sups were wrong and they'd forgotten something vital that I should have done in my thesis, and I was quite worried about the viva, though I'm a dreadful worrier anyway. I had a mock viva a week before my real one which helped dispel a lot of my anxiety, it's a useful practice run if you can arrange it. I had loads of typos in mine, but that's not enough to make a thesis bad if the rest of the content is fine, it's just minor corrections.

You get quite a lot of opportunities to fix a 'bad' thesis anyway, either in corrections, a resubmission or even if you don't pass at that stage, you can always appeal. I know of someone who did that and is submitting yet again because the uni doesn't want a failure.

Vivas are important to find out whether the student actually did write the thesis and do the work themselves or not. Otherwise you could get someone else to write it for you, these things happen!

Will you have a mock viva? Try to stop panicking, though it's easier said than done, I know! :-)