DEFENDING YOUR HONORS PROJECT
Jamie Watson
Erin Gallagher
WHAT’S AN ORAL DEFENSE?
Overview of…
-what you did
-how you did it
-why it matters for you/your
discipline
Opportunity to show off!
WHAT’S A DEFENSE LOOK LIKE?
http://youtu.be/Lrlro3YJ15o
1.
Professor introduces student
2.
Student presents
3.
Q & A session with entire audience
4.
Q & A session with committee
5.
Committee delineates
6.
You pass!
7.
And then you celebrate.
HOW DO I PREPARE?
DEFENSE PLANNING TIMELINE:
As Soon as Possible
-Turn in final paper
-Wait for the okay from your director to start defense planning
-Email director and committee asking for availability during desired month for presenting
-Find a day and time everyone is available
-Reserve a space
-Ask director what his/her expectations are for how long defense should last/ how thorough you
should be
2 weeks before defense
-Give copies of thesis to your committee members
-Start outlining defense topics/making visual aid if needed/wanted
1 week before defense
-Practice by yourself or—better yet—with friends.
BUT WAIT! WHAT IF I’M NOT DONE WRITING MY
PAPER?!
Discuss where you stand with your director. If
you’re not ready, maybe taking a third semester is
the best option.
Go to the Writing Center and ask questions about
editing. Write incessantly.
Realize that, after your defense, you will likely
have edits. It doesn’t have to be perfect for the
defense.
PLANNING YOUR OVERVIEW; OR, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DISCUSS
MY ENTIRE PAPER IN TWENTY MINUTES?!
Ask your advisor how long your overview should be. Everyone’s expectations are different.
What I did:
-Wrote a speech, read it many times by myself and with friends, cut the parts that made it too
long, and read from it at the defense.
What I wish I did:
-Wrote an outline, read it a few times and once with a group of friends, made room for humor
and frank discussion, and talked (almost) casually at my defense
EXPECTATIONS
How you think your committee will
react to your defense
How they’ll actually react
WHY YOUR COMMITTEE IS LIKELY TO REACT POSITIVELY
Your director should not let you defend if he/she doesn’t think you’ll pass.
Your professors had their own defenses during their PhD processes.
Read articles discussing undergrad and grad theses, as well dissertation defenses. Ex.
“Dissertation Defense: We’re Doing Something Right” by Leonard Cassuto
FROM CASSUTO’S ARTICLE:
“Graduate students walk a hard line, so it's appropriate that they not enter a
dissertation defense with a fear of failure. The Harvard English professor Lawrence
Buell proclaimed a widely held sentiment when he wrote to me in an e-mail that
‘nobody's handlers will let them walk into this event and fail.’
Indeed, I know of no adviser worthy of the name who would permit a student to
schedule a dissertation defense when there's such a risk. Stories of failed defenses do
circulate, however. They typically conclude with students having to rewrite portions of
their dissertations and resubmit them. The tellers all agree that these occurrences are
rare: They are mistakes, not standard operating procedure.”
WHAT IF I SAY THE WRONG THING?!
WHAT TO DO DURING THE Q & A
Take time to ponder the question.
Answer to the best of your ability.
Don’t overanswer. Address the question and stop.
Professors will ask questions they expect you have
an answer for, or they will want you to
acknowledge new areas to research. Be open to
these suggestions.
THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR DEFENSE
http://youtu.be/ZsABTmT1_M0
Have fun. Relax. You’ll be great.
MORE HELPFUL LINKS
“Preparing for the Oral Defense of the Dissertation” by Marianne Di Pierro:
http://rube.asq.org/edu/2010/01/career-development/preparing-for-the-oraldefense-of-a-dissertation.pdf
“How to survive a thesis defence” by Joe Wolfe:
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/viva.html
VIDEO: “The Perfect Defense: The Oral Defense of a Dissertation” :
http://youtu.be/edQv9OKvfdU