Hi

I had my first viva (in our university we have 2 vivas) at the end of December 2012. In our university we are not given the pass with minor/major corrections or revise & resubmit or mphil verdicts after the first viva, but we are given some corrections to do and we need to present them in the second viva. In my case I got several corrections to do, some are minor such as adding additional references, clarify my definitions and assumptions, but there are some quite major where I need to add an analysis in the case where one of my assumption does not hold and to evaluate what the result would be if I use another technique. My second viva will be in the middle of February and by right these corrections shouldn't take more than 1 month. However, I feel it is difficult to bring myself to do those corrections. I feel so lazy and so bored looking at the thesis again and again and again.
My supervisor assured me that there is almost zero possibility that I would fail and one of my examiners told me not to worry since I had done a very good job. But, I am still afraid that I will fail if I don't get the corrections right.

Is there anyone else doing corrections too? Care to share on how do you keep yourselves motivated?

Hey, yes, I'm in the middle of my corrections along with some others on this forum (Ants etc).

I only had one viva, but after a R&R verdict and a second submission, I received a minor corrections verdict.

For me, this minor corrections verdict has given me a massive much needed confidence boost and I seem to be really motivated to fix these corrections. It feels as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders :)

My primary source of motivation is just to finish this thesis once and for all. The sooner I finish these corrections, the sooner I will have my life back and hopefully will lead to better job prospects. I would also like to graduate with my friends in July, so I'm trying to finish these corrections well within the 3 months allocated time to allow for my internal examiner to mark it. I'm hoping and praying my internal examiner will not keep me waiting for months to check these minor corrections given July graduation ceremony. So, the sooner I complete these corrections, the more time my internal examiner has to check these minor corrections. Last week, I went through periods of complete thesis boredom, so I'm trying to break the day up and tackle each correction at a time. Every correction completed is like one more step towards freedom from this thesis. Drowning out boredom with some music tunes which helped me through the dull days during my write up are also helping me stay motivated, along with lots of inspirational music videos! :)

I'm also a little worried about failing my corrections, but I'm trying to think more positively, ie that examiners want us to pass. It's technically possible to fail, but I think it's unlikely! The only thing I can do is make doubly sure that I've addressed each and every correction and clarify any ambiguous corrections.

Best of luck!

I'm about to resubmitt after major corrections and am very afraid that I will not pass.
Although I do have novelty and published articles and everything.

My relationship with the supervisor fell apart and I believe they will fail me regardless of what I do.

Hi

Thanks Pineapple and Vimes! :-)

I've just met my third examiner to ask for the clarifications regarding the corrections that he asked me to do. I think I know how to do them now and it feels better to get a clearer idea of what the examiners' questions/ suggestions really mean. However, I just can't bear the thought of having to meet the same examiners and to have the same provocative and aggressive discussion again in the second viva. But, one of my friend told me that her second viva was easier than the first one and was conducted in a more friendly and relaxing atmosphere. Hopefully it will be the same for me.

Yeah, I read about your long wait for viva and examiners' verdict (post-viva), Pineapple. I also pray that this time you won't have to wait so long for your minor corrections to be approved. Good luck and all the best to you too :-) :-) :-). Thanks for sharing your way of keeping yourself motivated while doing corrections :-).

Vimes, is there anyone in your department besides your supervisor that you can refer to regarding your problem and can advise you how to protect yourself? Was you verdict "pass with major correction" and you don't have to sit for another viva? I read a few posts in this forum saying that the students that get '"pass with major/minor correction" will pass as long as he/she do all the corrections that the examiners have listed. Is this the same for your case?

I guess that this correction together with my second viva is my one last push. After February 2013 I won't have to edit the thesis ever again. I'll put my best effort in this one month and go for a long trip accross the country before going back to my home country at the end of February- hopefully!

Good luck to everyone here who is doing corrections!!!

Hey, just wondered how everyone is getting on with their minor corrections? Anyone else finding this endless ploughing through corrections tiresome?! I'm having to double check every single reference in my 100k word thesis and it's just painfully dull! I'm on the last literature review chapter, so it's getting there, but this seems like a never ending inner-ward battle with myself at the moment in pushing through the final few corrections...... :(

Pineapple,

You say you've minor corrections, but how much have you actually got to do?

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Managed to complete most of them, after some longs days of thesis work this week. Need to rewrite abstract, check references and proofread for typos.

Hi Pineapple,

I really hate to do the corrections, but luckily for me, although I have 5 examiners, all of them are internal. In my university, the examiners don't provide a written list of corrections. So after the 1st viva, I went to meet all them, one by one to confirm all the corrections that they asked me to do.
After listing all of the corrections clearly, then only I saw that they are not as bad as I thought after the 1st viva. That motivates me a lot to finish them. I tried my best to correct one by one and one week before my 2nd viva, I went to meet the examiners again to check whether I had address their concerns correctly and finally I submitted and presented those corrections in my 2nd viva about 3 weeks ago.
You can do it Pineapple. I know you can ! ;-)