Helps viva candidates to understand the complete examination process and to prepare and present their work in the best possible manner. It is informed by the author's extensive experience as a viva examiner, and includes practical real-life student case studies and activities. Features a chapter on typical questions and how to answer them.

1. Introduction 2. The PhD Viva 3. The Examination Panel 4. Preparing for Your Viva 5. Typical Questions and How to Answer them 6. The Viva Itself 7. The Outcome 8. Case Studies 9. Summary and the Future References, Further Reading and Web Based Resources.

Peter Smith explains how examiners think and how the doctoral viva works. He covers all aspects of the viva, and provides everything a candidate needs to prepare for - and enjoy - this important moment of academic life." - Professor Alison Jones, University of Auckland, New Zealand "Sharing a wealth of personal experience being on several 'sides of the table', namely supervising PhD students, examining and chairing PhD viva, this book is clear, logical, and jargon free. If you feel you must do something useful before the event, make reading this book your task!" - Dr Lee Zhuang, Staffordshire University, UK "Peter Smith's The PhD Viva: How to Prepare for Your Oral Examination provides extensive coverage of the process of preparing for and experiencing the viva. The book presents actual case studies of different viva experiences, with summary comments from the author. Doctoral students will be well-served reading this book and taking to heart its sound advice and useful suggestions." - Dr. Kristen P. Williams, Clark University, USA