Typical Generic Viva Questions English Language Essay

Here are some generic viva-questions – you should instantiate each inquiry for your peculiar thesis, and have a model for replying it worked out before the oral.

I have tried to constellate related inquiries together here – they are non needfully in order of importance, nor in the order that they are likely to be asked at the oral.

General Questions

What is the country in which you wish to be examined? A ( peculiarly hard and of import if your thesis fits into several countries, or has several facets, or seems to suit into an country of its ain as mine does ) .

In one sentence, what is your thesis? A ( Defy the enticement to run from the room! )

What have you done that merits a PhD?

Summarize your cardinal findings.

What are you most proud of, and why? A This may be asked ( once more ) towards the terminal of the oral.

What ‘s original about your work? Where is the freshness? A Do n’t go forth it to the testers to do up their ain heads – they may acquire it incorrect!

What are the parts ( to knowledge ) of your thesis?

Which subjects overlap with your country?

For subject Ten:

How does your work relate to X?

What do you cognize about the history of X?

What is the current province of the art in X? ( capablenesss and restrictions of bing systems )

What techniques are normally used?

Where make current engineerings fail such that you ( could ) do a part?

How does/could your work heighten the province of the art in X?

Who are the chief `players ‘ in X? ( Hint: you should constellate together documents written by the same people )

Who are your closest rivals?

What do you make better than them? What do you make worse?

Which are the three most of import documents in X?

What are the recent major developments in X?

How do you anticipate X to come on over the following five old ages? How long-run is your part, given the awaited hereafter developments in X?

What did you make for your MPhil, and how does your PhD widen it? Did you make any alterations to the system you implemented for your MPhil?

What are the strongest/weakest parts of your work?

Where did you travel incorrect?

Why have you done it this manner? A You need to warrant your attack – do n’t presume the testers portion your positions.

What are the options to your attack?

What do you derive by your attack?

What would you derive by attack Ten?

Why did n’t you make it this manner ( the manner everyone else does it ) ? A This requires holding done extended reading. Be honest if you ne’er thought of the option they ‘re proposing, or if you merely did n’t acquire around to it. If you try to bluff your manner out, they ‘ll pin down you in your ain words.

Looking back, what might you hold done otherwise? A This requires a thoughtful reply, whilst supporting what you did at the clip.

How do scientists/philosophers transport out experiments?

How have you evaluated your work?

intrinsic rating: how have you demonstrated that it works, and how good it performs?

extrinsic rating: how have you demonstrated its utility for a specific application context?

What make your consequences intend?

How would your system header with bigger illustrations? Does it scale up? A This is particularly of import if you have merely run your system on `toy ‘ illustrations, and they think it has `learned its test-data ‘ .

How make you cognize that your algorithm/rules are right?

How could you better your work?

What are the motives for your research? Why is the job you have tackled deserving undertaking?

What is the relevancy of your parts?

to other research workers?

to industry?

What is the deduction of your work in your country? A What does it alter?

How do/would you cope with known jobs in your field? A ( e.g. combinative detonation )

Have you solved the field ‘s job that you claim to hold solved? A For illustration, if something is excessively slow, and you can do it travel faster – how much addition in velocity is needed for the applications you claim to back up?

Is your field traveling in the right way? A For illustration, if everyone ‘s been concentrating on velocity, but the existent issue is infinite ( if the issue is clip, you can merely wait it out ( unless it ‘s combinatorially explosive ) , but if the issue is infinite, the system could fall over ) . This is sort of warranting why you have gone into the field you ‘re working in.

Who are your pictured users? A What usage would your work be in state of affairs Ten?

How make your parts generalize?

To what extent would they generalize to systems other than the one you ‘ve worked on?

Under what fortunes would your attack be functional? ( Again, does it scale up? )

Where will you print your work? A Think about which diaries and conferences your research would outdo suit. Just as popular instrumentalists promote their latest albums by let go ofing singles and traveling on circuit, you should advance your thesis by printing documents in diaries and showing them at conferences. This takes your work to a much wider audience ; this is how academics set up themselves.

Which facets of your thesis could be published?

What have you learned from the procedure of making your PhD? A Remember that the purpose of the PhD procedure is to develop you to be a to the full professional research worker – go throughing your Ph.d. means that you know the province of the art in your country and the waies in which it could be extended, and that you have proved you are capable of doing such extensions.

Where did your research-project semen from? How did your research-questions emerge? A You ca n’t merely state “ my supervisor told me to make it ” – if this is the instance, you need to speak it over with your supervisor before the oral. Think out a compendious reply ( 2 to 5 proceedingss ) .

Has your position of your research subject changed during the class of the research?

You discuss future work in your decision chapter. How long would it take to implement X, and what are the likely jobs you imagine? A Do non undervalue the clip and the troubles – you might be speaking about your ain resubmission-order! A ; – )

Particular Questions

Most of the oral will likely dwell of inquiries about specific subdivisions of your thesis, and the tester should give a page-reference for each inquiry. Harmonizing to Alex Gray, these inquiries fall into six classs:

Clarification.A The testers ask you to explicate a peculiar statement in the thesis. In some instances, their deficiency of apprehension may be due to a misprint, e.g. “ Why did you link the client to the cloaca? ” Besides, “ non ” is a little word which makes a large difference! A ; – )


Options considered.A Be honest if you did n’t see options, otherwise you ‘ll be delving a hole for yourself.

Awareness of other work.

Differentiation from similar work.A Especially recent publications where others are working in the same country – what are the similarities and differences between your work and theirs?

Correction of errorsA ( typos, proficient mistakes, misdirecting statements, and so on ) .


Much of the stuff on this page comes from my supervisorA Nick Filer, fromA CS700/CS710, from inquiries I ‘ve been asked at the terminal of assorted presentations I ‘ve given, and from my ain oral ( most of the inquiries there were thesis-specific ) . I added inquiries from the external web sites given at the terminal of this papers. I besides updated this papers in the visible radiation of Alex Gray ‘s keynote address, “ Surviving the PhD Viva: An External Examiners Perspective ” at theA 2002 Research Students ‘ Symposium.

If you can believe of any viva-style inquiries that are non covered by the above, delight make non waver to state me, and I will see them for inclusion on this page.

Finally, I found my ain viva much less nerve-racking than I thought it was traveling to be. The testers know that it ‘s an ordeal for anybody, so they should travel out of their manner to set you at your easiness and do you experience comfy. I was amazed how unagitated I was, even when I went back to hear the consequence. If you ‘re disquieted about acquiring an `impossible ‘ resubmission-order, retrieve it ‘s non the testers ‘ occupation to put unsurmountable hurdlings – they want you to go through every bit shortly as possible.