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What’s the best way to prepare for your thesis defence? The tips below will help you in the final few weeks before the exam, but the real preparation begins as soon as you start your PhD. As you start thinking about the end stages of your PhD, it’s important to understand the processes and timelines related to the thesis defence so that your degree completion is not delayed. Even if your thesis defence seems far away, there are several planning considerations you can consider early on to help the end stages of your PhD go smoothly.

Set a clear timeline for your PhD defence

The final stage of your PhD, the thesis defence, occurs roughly two to four months after you submit your thesis. During this time, you will prepare by building a presentation and thesis outline, creating a schedule for your defence, and practising your oral presentation. Your thesis presentation is the most important phase of your PhD. It is the time when you will show your supervisors, the community you’ve worked with for years, and your peers what you have learned, and why you are worthy of your PhD degree. It is a critical time in your PhD, and as such, it is important to plan for the defence of your thesis as far ahead as you can. 

There are a few reasons why it’s important to plan ahead for the defence of your PhD thesis. First, it’s expected that you will have a few months of preparation following the submission of your thesis proposal. If you don’t have the time required to proofread your thesis, conduct a literature review, and write your thesis outline and final draft, you may miss critical deadlines. Second, the process of thesis defence itself can take many weeks. You need time to gather materials, practise your oral presentation, and prepare a detailed thesis outline and thesis draft. Therefore, while you want to put in as much work as possible up front, you also want to ensure that your thesis defence doesn’t drag on for months.

A mock defence

It is a good idea to have a trial defence prepared in advance. To get as close to real defence experience as possible, your mock defence must replicate the real thing as closely as possible. The mock defence will be exceptionally useful if conducted in the presence of experts in your field of research or people who have any sort of experience as part of a research committee grading a thesis defence or have gone through the defence process themselves.

The thesis defence format

The thesis defence format varies between countries and different boards that are conducting it. It is necessary to be well versed in the various aspects of your thesis defence especially the format of the defence, including who will be present, is it purely a viva-voce defence, any particular papers relating to your research or otherwise to be carried along with you and any such requirements that your university or board has directed must be checklisted and understood completely prior to your actual sitting. 

Mastery of the essential 

Having carried out your long and enduring research, you know exactly what is the core constituent of your research, the theories or principles that dictates the course and the data and findings that has emerged as the primary outcomes of your research and the core culmination of your research. These are the cores of your research, the essentials which you must retain and gain mastery over and when defending your thesis, the best strategy is to always guide your answers through these fundamentals to be able to effectively face any discern or counters and this is your best ally in the defence of your thesis. 

The fear of the unknown

Even with a premiere researcher, it is impossible to know everything about everything, but you are not there to defend everything, just your work but even then it should comfort you to know that there can be questions that you may find reasonably hard to answer or some which you cannot even comprehend and considering that the examiners do have the ability to dig out deep into the research you are presenting, it would be unlikely you are not faced with a situation where you do not the answer. It is quite alright, the question might even be out of curiosity considering that even they may not know a specific answer to it and this is your area of expertise considering you have a completed research work on it and the best way to answer these is to be honest with the fact that you do not know but then continue to propose your best assumption.  

Avoid last minute changes to your thesis

In the last few weeks before your PhD defence, you will likely begin to make last minute changes to your thesis. The temptation to add or edit paragraphs and material will be strong, especially if you have a tight timeline for the defence of your thesis. However, it is important to remember that no matter how well you proofread your thesis draft, there will always be small errors in your draft. To ensure that any errors in your thesis are caught during the thesis defence, it is best to avoid making any changes to your thesis during the last few weeks before the defence. If you do make a change to your thesis, be sure to proofread and correct the error before you submit your thesis. If any errors or corrections are made after your thesis is submitted, they will likely delay your degree completion. So, try to avoid last minute changes to your thesis.

Wrapping up

Your PhD is one of the most important academic endeavours of your life. It is a time when you use your strongest tools—your intellect, your research skills, and your creativity—to gain new knowledge that can change the world. The degree completion process, however, does not come without challenges. In fact, the process of PhD degree completion is often fraught with obstacles that challenge your abilities to manage, react, and overcome these challenges. One of these challenges is the thesis defence. The best way to prepare for your thesis defence is to set a timeline for the defence of your thesis, build a tight proposal, avoid last minute changes to your thesis, and be flexible during the defence of your PhD thesis.