======= Date Modified 22 May 2009 15:26:26 =======
hi Java. the way i did it personally. i did a spider diagram of the main topics i wanted to cover. then did a pubmed search for the latest review articles on the subjects, and read the review articles throughly making notes and highlighting refereces they cited and got those for further details.

i personally, like to read an article and alongside make notes, i cant just read an article, i find it too passive - i have to actively being doing something. it takes longer, but helps to stick some of the ideas into my head.

also sometimes you will read the article once, and have no clue what it says, but when you read another article on the same subject, might help to get used to the subject and then when you come back to the first article a second time, its more familiar and might pick up on some things you missed before.

also during a reading of an article, you might come across some terms and defintions that are used frequently that you are not familiar with, in those cases, i do a quick search on google to get a very basic encyclopedia defintion of the term. that helps aswell.

======= Date Modified 21 May 2009 12:31:53 =======
Yeh she did! i'm so happy for her :)

good idea about finding a couple of hours each day to study. i find that i cant study for more than a couple of hours each day anyways and i dont have a job ! i think there is so much our brains can cope with!

good luck with the preperation. i made myself a 2 week plan (going away for a few days) so thought i would cram in as much before i take a little holiday.

everyday i'm gonna read a paper, write an answer to 1 viva question and read a part of my thesis. well thats the plan! starting today.

so my aims are:
1. read 1 paper.
2. read discussion section of chapter 3
3. write out a answer to the viva qs: "why did you do this project?"

i keep worrying that my answers are either crap, wrong, or not detailed enough, but i'm gonna just write a answer and then at least i have something written down, and when i see my supervisor (whenever that is) i will have "something" infront of me. like a security blanket :p

thanks Armendaf, really great to hear from you, and thanks for your support :)

======= Date Modified 20 May 2009 20:16:20 =======
======= Date Modified 20 May 2009 20:14:31 =======
wow you sound like me! i too feel like a total fraud!! my supervisor hated my thesis and didnt want me to submit it (but i had to, cause of the deadline) but im more worried about defending my work during my viva, i feel like i wont be able to, i'll be all muddled up and forget or not know what to say !

i am hating those dreaded viva questions that come up, like what are the weaknesses of your methods, i keep racking my brain to think of some and just go blank. and then the question of "what would you do next " still need to find a good answer for that!

i know what you mean that its hard to rewrite things, there are only so many ways you can say something. i'm sure it will be fine. if they find out, they will just tell you to correct it.
a friend of mine got told off for plagerising at his viva, and he had to correct it.

dont focus on that. just focus on understanding your thesis.

and alot of stuff will be lifted, not word for word, even if you have done it word for word, as long as you not shown that its YOUR idea , you will be fine.

but yah totally normal feeling. i think my thesis is complete crap! and i am just imagining that my viva is gonna be hell on earth. :$ i have a feeling my supervisor doesnt even want to organise examiners for me, to waste their time, cause he is already thinking im gonna fail! :$ so in the meantime, just trying my best reading papers and doing as much background reading as i can. i have to start on making answers for viva questions though, which i've been avoiding, and have been avoiding reading my thesis. i read it once after submitting, but only after i took a couple of months break after i submitted.
but i am planning on reading it again as its been a few months since i read it last!

do you know when your viva is? i have no clue when my viva is

ps smoobles advice was so reassuring :) :) (up) i really liked their reply.

congratulations!!! well done, you are a total super star!!! i'm so happy for you!

thanks for describing how it was.

======= Date Modified 20 May 2009 19:40:11 =======
======= Date Modified 20 May 2009 18:58:03 =======
Hey Ruby, how are you doing? sorry taken so long to get back to you.
i'm okay, reading papers and making notes, and trying to scoop up background knowledge . i havent read my thesis in awhile, i keep avoiding reading it, instead i keep reading papers. but i'm gonna force myself to read through the discussion sections of each chapter again.
right now though, im feeling very lazy and lethargic and feeling like, i cant be bothered to do anything. but sitting here forcing myself to read a paper and make notes. not gonna move until i get it done.

Armendaf how is it going?

Ruby - CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR VIVA PASSING! WELL DONE!!

Olivia1 - any news on what is going to happen?

======= Date Modified 27 Apr 2009 13:29:27 =======

======= Date Modified 27 Apr 2009 13:22:10 =======
Thanks Ruby, you are so right! i am nervous though!! i am scared my sup is gonna reply with a nasty email and say something you dont know jack **** and you want to know when your viva is. or something like that. which will demotivate me for viva studying. but yep i cant keep putting it off. must find out my viva situation.

hows your viva prep going Ruby?

edit:

yikesamondo! i've just sent the email!! okay im gonna be very nervous for the rest of the day now!!!! and tommorow, but it had to be done. im gonna try to get my mind of it and do some revision.

======= Date Modified 24 Apr 2009 13:56:15 =======

Hey everyone! i hope all is well with you guys.

well after much deliberating i've decided to contact my supervisor again. i sent him an email about a month ago asking about my viva, no reply. so after much thought, and advice from people, thought the best approach would be to just send a simple straightforward 1 line sentence and CC'ing the admin people aswell.

just gonna write:

Dear Mr X

I was wondering when my viva is and who my examiners will be.

Thanks very much for your help,

I have CC'd Admin1 and Admin2, to keep them informed of my progress. I was told by senate house that appointment of examiners forms are to be sent directly to the University instead of to senate house and then the university sends the forms to senate house.

Also I want to thank you all once again for all your help and advice with submission of my thesis. I really appreciate it.

kindest regards,
Lara.

does that sound okay?

what does that mean, indefinately postponed? how can a viva be indefinately postponed. shouldnt it just be postponed to a later date till your external examiner recovers.

you're definately not alone. i have no idea when my viva is either, and i submitted my thesis in november. but then again im not really prepared for my viva either. i emailed my supervisor about a month ago, asking him i need a few more months to prepare for my viva and if he has organised my external examiners and who they might be. he didnt reply. lol.

so yah you're definately not alone!!

but good advice given below. you just have to keep chasing them. the admin people, your supervisor again. but i suppose if the external is in hospital not much you can do but wait. not sure if you can change your external examiners, but perhaps you can. definately bring it up with your supervisor again.

Hey Ruby, great to hear from you. definately nice to have company on the viva train :)
i was out of it for awhile, and its hard to get back into studying, but im back to studying. i still feel like theres so much revision to do and i'll never really be prepared for it. but try to just do as much as i can day by day.


Hey Janey, lovely to have a new recruit! buying that book is the best thing i ever did, and really helped me!! i look forward to hearing your progress :-) good luck!
yesterday was the first day i properly studied, made loads of notes from this really good paper, ended up making 10 pages of notes.
so i've set myself a target now, everyday will try to make 8-10 pages of notes for revision. i find i have to "do" something, i cant simply just sit there and read. i have to be active.

i'm heading to the british library tommorow. and then on thursday, i am going to force myself to start planning the answer to the horrible viva question which is " what would you do next??" right now, still havent formulated a good answer, but i have some ideas floating around. and reading papers has inspired me with some ideas. but yeh no more procrastinating on that , must start work on that viva question.

======= Date Modified 21 Apr 2009 22:12:28 =======
hi there, i can totally totally relate to how you're feeling, and everyone has given brilliant advice!! well done to the peeps below me. good advice indeed :-)

i am currently trying to prepare for my viva, and it seems like an enourmous mountain! and i also have long periods of time where i do absolutely nothing. but like Janey said, its all about routine. and what others have said, its about setting yourself small targets. and how the first postie said, you sometimes just have to FORCE yourself, and you WILL feel better afterwards and enjoy watching tv all the more for it, after you've done some work. you feel like you earned it.

when you've been out of it for so long, its really hard to get back into it. and it is intimidating, believe me i know! i feel like im drowning and all the revision im doing i feel like i keep forgetting all the stuff i read. but i keep at it, day by day, thinking one day it will all stick in my head.

whats working for me at the moment, is keeping a study diary. and i also printed out a month planner and stuck it on my wall. and everyday i write down how many pages of notes i've made. these are just notes from papers, from my thesis etc.

at first i set myself a target of just writing 1 page of notes, and then slowly built it up.

so tommorow morning when you wake up. i want you to sit down. print out this month planner. and then sit at your desk, and glue yourself for at least 15 minutes. and either do some free writing about your thesis, can be anything, just put the main subject in the middle and make a spider diagram. or read a paper and make notes from the paper. and then afterwards take a break if you feel like it. or carry on. but try to take a break after 40 minutes. as attention spans seems to waver.

we're all rooting for you. all you have to do tommorow is 15minutes, and then we can take it from there. good luck buddy, we know you can do it :) and you're not the first to do this nor will be the last!

believe me. i've spent months and months not doing anything. so i know how hard it is to get back into it. but you will be suprised how much you can learn and accomplish in just a day, or even an hour.

"wherever you are, it is the place to start, the effort you expend today does make a difference" "one day plus another has an accumulative effect"

month planner: http://www.year-planner-calendar.wanadoo.co.uk/2009-month-week-day-planner-calendar-diary-wall-chart.htm

======= Date Modified 16 Apr 2009 19:16:13 =======
hey everyone!!

Sarah thats really good advice, thanks so much :)

Hi Ruby, nice to hear from you, and thanks for asking about me and for the advice. i am fine. i didnt send the email yet, my dads friend wants to work on the email for abit. so waiting to hear back from him.

i've actually took a week off ! unintentionally, i've had a couple of weddings to go to over the easter break! so i was quite busy with that. but it was a nice break, it was nice to have something to do over easter. i took some photos at the wedding, as favour to my friends, so past few days i've been working on the photographs. but coming back to study mode now.

anyways feel guilty as i have done no revision whatsover this past week!! so i thought i would do some today. i keep procrastinating though! its true what they say, when you break the momentum, its hard getting back into it! but luckily no more functions to get me distracted, so the next couple of months, its just gonna be study study study!

Armendaf, congrats on your viva date, 2 months plenty of time!!

Ruby - answer to your question, nope not heard back from my supervisor yet. but thats okay, gives me more time to prepare for my viva. i think by the end of the month i might send another email and see what happens. but im guessing since i told him i wanted a few months to prepare, he's probably just letting me get on with it.
i'll reevaluate the situation in a few weeks time.

okay my aims for the rest of the week till sunday is :
work on the viva question about future plans
read papers and make notes
read my thesis