The mock vivia is tmrw. Don't feel prepared at all. :(

Good luck Chris. View it as an experience you can learn from, to better the final viva. Don't stress too much.

Good luck with it! I don't think a viva, mock or not, is something anyone is ever likely to feel completely prepared for. Just remember, you know your stuff! You just have to show them that.

Good luck!

on your actual viva, you will be suprised how much you actually know and how things will just flow from your brain. and it's not as terrifying as you imagine it to be! they aren't there to purposely catch you out, they really are just interested in your work. (up)

Yeah, I can only echo everyone else has said, Chrisrolinski. Just see it as a learning opportunity for the real thing. You'll get a 'taste' of what the real thing is like. Good luck.

Just try your best Chris. I'm sure it'll go much better than you think it will :-)

Even if it doesn't go quite as well as you hoped it would, use it to learn and prepare for the real thing :-)

Thanks - 30 mins to go until the mock viva. Feel a bit dizzy and faint with a upset stomach (same as with every supervision or panel) :(

good luck Chris!

I wasn't great at answering the questions but at least I did - and was given lots of help with changing the way I answer them (from unstructured rambles to structured responses). I'm also encouraged that they don't see any major issues with the thesis per-se but rather I should focus instead on presenting myself as best as possible and talking about the contribution and boundaries of my project (decision making etc)

:) (still scared though as the external is an unknown quantity)

Ah that all sounds like great feedback Chris!! You will be great in your viva I'm sure, you just have to trust in yourself that you know the stuff and you know it well, and that you deserve this PhD! You've worked bloody hard for it! Concentrate on some positive thinking and building your confidence and you'll knock their socks off! (up)

Thanks. This time next week I could be a doctor.

No Chris, this time next week you WILL be a Dr :-)

oh I know so well how you feel - mine was just a week or two ago.......

apart from reading my thesis and some articles (new and already included), I actually have done most of the work in the last 10 days following my mock-viva, in which I also felt to have answered poorly and that I should say so much more. However, at some point after that in the preparations I decided to keep it 'simple' and basic. The important point is to answer the questions with some confidence - not to have the most scholarly and rhetorical performance and to come up with this and that. Your thesis and what you did is the point of reference. This helped me a lot, because I felt less under pressure to 'shine' and to say tons of things.

The best preparation for me was to think of a short summary of what I did in 2-3 min.; my original contribution to the field, both empirically and conceptually; my major findings; conclusions; and implications for the field.

A common question perhaps even before your contribution is about your doctoral history, what brought you to the topic.

Then another common area of grilling is your theoretical framework, why you chose it and then your methods, what are the core methods, their strengths, weaknesses and limitations.

Apart from these typical areas, be prepared to be challenged on pretty much any of your decisions, try to think of your work and what you did from someone else's perspective who would have done things for whatever reasons differently, it's not that they necessarily disagree but the defence is what its name says. It helps to get yourself into the mood of critically examining what you did in order to be able to explain 'why'.

What examiners really like is if you somehow bring their own work into play, and if it is only one point of a recent article or so ;-)

Sorry if you knew all this already.... it was just a very good recepie for me to have this basic structure prepared and thought through, good luck!!! (up)

Thanks for you post kirsty2010 - lots of good advice.

For the first time in months I feel happy tonight. All this is almost over! :) (providing I do a good job next week)

Best of luck, scary but so exciting!!!:p