ORAL EXAMS preparing for and passing candidacy, qualifying, and graduate defenses

Oral exams leading to the MSc or PhD degree are mysterious andunique exam types to many students and a source of anxiety for most.Virtually all graduate students experience tensions and

ORAL EXAMS

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As an elected judge for 30 years, my father, George M Foote, strated how to ask probing questions and keep an open mind for asses-sing answers I hope some of his insight rubbed off on me For the love

demon-of words and story-telling, my mom, Antonia Voelker Foote, reinforcedthe joy of language—she could really tear up a scrabble board in herday! Over thousands of breakfast tables, kilometers of discussion, andlate night glasses of wine, my wife, Dr Naomi Krogman, an accom-plished scholar of sociology and exceptional student-mentor in her ownright, has hugely influenced my views on the pivotal role of epistemol-ogy in exam questions (and she helps keep us all fed and happy too!)

My daughters are my light, air, and water and they have endured myholing up in my study for writing more than any of us wanted but theystill entreated and lured me out with music, coffee, and perfectly timedinterruptions

My own PhD supervisor Dr John Kadlec and PhD mentors Drs DaveBalph, Wayne Wurtsbaugh, Phil Zwank and Barry Gilbert and Jim Graceall demonstrated academic rigor with a humane streak and a little wryhumor on the side My colleagues in the field, at the coffee shop, andaround the backyard fire pit have debated and enlivened my thoughtsabout how we assess student completeness, comprehensiveness, and com-munication Many of the questions in Appendix I are their handiwork Forthis, I thank B Shotyk, V Adamowicz, M Luckert, K Tierny, E Foote,

J Bisanz, H Keshani, C Wilkinson, N Krogman, C Maclean, L Siegler,

N Nations, M Kostelsky, N Lemphers, L Siegler, N Kav, and

S Zwicker

Finally, I thank David Foote for his editorial eye and Ms MaryPreap, editorial professional at Elsevier who read my prospectus andsaw sufficient promise in this topic to urge me to keep writing

If you have comments, corrections or suggestions for future editions

of this book, please send them toFoote_OralExams@gmail.com

C H A P T E R1 Introduction

Success is a science If you have the conditions, you get the results OscarWilde

Why do grooms sometimes faint at the church altar? Polite women

in labor make exorcist sounds and curse like a sailor? Tough footballplayers sob like a child after championships? Or highly trained gradu-ate students blush and bluster under questioning? It is partly becauseeach of these situations is rare, unpracticed and because the individualscare so deeply about the outcome The immersion into the experienceplaces the participant into a new zone of emotional and psychologicalinvestment and expectation Thinking through these exams carefullyand systematically preparing can help channel the energy, emotion,focus and responses constructively

Oral exams leading to the MSc or PhD degree are mysterious andunique exam types to many students and a source of anxiety for most.Virtually all graduate students experience tensions and concerns whilepreparing for their graduate oral exams and, of all the milestones ofone’s career, these may represent the most intense intellectual crucible

To many, walking into an oral exam can feel like marching into a firingsquad where students will face five austere professors armed withpapers and computers ready to fire questions for 3 h before dismissingthe exhausted student from the room so the committee can pass judg-ment on the performance The pressure and implications can rattle eventhe most secure students because these are evaluative exams with apure focus on the student’s knowledge and communication; there istruly no place to hide, and faking it is not an option Consequently,most students enter oral exams on pins and needles

Indeed, there are the very real opportunities for a tremendous careerstep up toward holding an advanced degree as well as finding doors toemployment and social approval opened to the student for life It is

1

helpful to focus on this positive outcome and how to achieve it Still,understanding the downside, what can lead to less than stellar perfor-mance and how to avoid problems is the glass-half-empty portion ofthis book There are also repercussions following the occasional failureleading to embarrassment, economic hardship, a great deal more workand sometimes abandonment of a body of work and years of one’s lifeendeavors Thus, the stakes are quite high Then there is the perception

of what it means to fail Because the oral exams come sometimes a year

or years into the program of study, the sunk costs in concert with theungrounded worries about failure can lead students to conflate theirown sense of self-worth with the outcome of the exam This linkageneeds to be spelled out as two clearly different components.Unfortunately, many graduate students (and professors!) have theiridentities wrapped up in their degree-holding academic credentials.Consequently, the elevated prospects of success or failure are seen as aknife edge between being a success or enduring banishment, rejection,and personal failure at the hands of the very peers one seeks to join.Simply knowing that it is possible to fail an oral exam for many dif-ferent reasons is terrifying An outright fail, although rare, can influenceone’s entire career trajectory Given the high stakes, it is essential thatyou learn what is expected, strategies on how to prepare and how toexercise your options at each stage of the process This book can bevery helpful in that process Holding knowledge of the examinationprocess, personalities, and your own strengths can convert the oralexam from a chilling ordeal into one of flow, validation, and comple-tion Oral exams can become, if not a pleasant, at least a rewarding,stepping stone into an elite circle of academia Ultimately, I hope thisbook is part of changing the culture of fear and mystery that has need-lessly surrounded these exams for the last 3001 years

My personal experiences in my own three oral exams in graduateschool helped motivate this book and added to my empathy and anawareness of needs faced by many graduate students we see facing apaucity of information on oral exams Further experience accumulatedfrom serving as an examiner, chair, external or committee member inover 100 oral exams in the last 15 years as a professor at a large researchuniversity Shared experiences with my own 25 successful graduate stu-dents (no failures yet!) and the advice and suggestions of over 30 profes-sional colleagues, scholars, and reviewers confirm the scarcity ofguidance and training for oral exams These same experts producedmany of the several hundred excellent (and a few lame) oral exam ques-tions recorded over the last decade (listed by discipline in Appendix I).The text is written in a casual, readable style replete with anecdotesand characters to keep the reading conversational and accessible instead

of dense and slogging—you will have plenty of that in your topical

preparation! Please read this book and keep in perspective that neitherthese exams, your ego, nor even your degree is the most importantthing at stake here These are just progress markers on a life journey,not the traveler themselves Your dignity, value as a human being, yourloved ones, and your life’s contributions in all forms come first Instressful oral exams, it helps to remember there really are more impor-tant things in life even if it doesn’t seem the case as you walk into thatexamination room If you can’t see this prior to the exam, I assure you,

it will become obvious in the fullness of time

Patterns of successful and unsuccessful candidates emerge from largenumbers of test-takers and these patterns are generalized to help read-ers recognize syndromes or personality types that often lead topredictable outcomes One of my graduate students liked to say

“Hind-end sight is always 20:20” In virtually every problematic exam,hindsight reveals ways that could have converted the outcome into asuccessful and gratifying test had the student or their supervisorprepared differently or been more strategic Please know that brilliance

is not essential to earn a PhD, though discipline and hard workcertainly are Advanced degrees are more of a grunt than a flash Arecent study (Burmeister et al., 2014) found grade point averages atadmission were poor predictors of graduate student success in medicalphysics for example They found that analytical and communicationskills were better predictors of success

This book will help you capitalize on strengths and skip many traps.Students preparing for their oral exams should be able to benefit fromthe mistakes that have occurred in the past, burnish winning strategies

of preparation and communication, and frame the oral exam in a tive light Unfortunately, until now, there have been no good compiledsources of this kind of guidance We will examine some heartwarmingstories of success and some exam train wrecks, then outline how eachcame to be

posi-Few students reach the oral exam stage in graduate school withoutadequate intellect, aptitude, and knowledge and it is heartbreaking andutterly unnecessary for any of these highly qualified students to fumbleoral exams for simple, preventable reasons

There is one important caveat I will repeat throughout this bookhowever; oral exams vary greatly by country, institution, and even com-mittee membership so students must research the examination criteriaspecific to their institution, faculty, and department There is guidance

in this book that will be helpful to all, for example, managing nerves,nutrition, composure, practice, question types, etc., but understand thatmicrobiology MSc defenses differ from Sociology PhD qualifyingexams, which differ from European arts vivas in their structure, con-tent, committee membership, duration, question order, and expectation

3INTRODUCTION

ORAL EXAMS

Still, despite my drawing heavily on North American examples andquestions, the guidance in this book will assist all oral exam takers.

I have added a trio of chapters toward the end to bring some usefuloral exam concepts to bear on job interviews, medical board oral exams,judicial cross-examination, and oral testimony before governing bodies.The three objectives of this book are to (i) provide abundant guid-ance and material for student use in a thorough preparation for oralexams, (ii) help gain control and comfort with setting, emotions, inter-personal dynamics, and other exam-crushing distractions by demystify-ing the process, and (iii) assist professors to become better examinersand mentors in preparing graduate students (and themselves!) for oralexams

The content, dynamics, and psychology of oral exams make them matically different from conventional written exams Although the mostcaring professors offer much great advice and preparation by activelymentoring their students, far too many cannot, or do not Equally astroubling is that for students who feel lost, under-advised or needingmore perspective, there is a paucity of written information; however, oneexcellent UK-focused book by Murray (2003) focuses on the viva, aspecialized European style of oral exam Although they may disappearinto the digital vacuum at any moment, there are also websites andblog sites about preparing for oral exams listed in Appendix II A word

dra-of caution however, some bloggers have posted cynical or evenfear-inspiring personal stories that I don’t recommend

This book is designed to fill a pressing need of providing a hensive and systematic treatment of oral exams Professors are alsovaluable teachers of this process and most will eventually learn successstrategies through trial and error, but what about the fates of greatstudents who bear the brunt of helping the inexperienced assistantprofessor make those learning mistakes? Therefore, this book is also forprofessors who care about their graduate student’s welfare and wouldlike additional perspectives on how to help them There are many paths

compre-to the mountaincompre-top but having a choice of routes up is very nice

By the end of this book, you will better know options at each step ofthe exam process which is hugely valuable for erasing the irrationalfears and uncertainties about this process You will also have a well-prompted list of questions to ask and assumptions to explore with thosewho will decide upon your performance We will go step by stepthrough everything from managing your nerves, influencing thecommittee makeup, understanding your committee’s expectations, pre-paring and arranging your content, mental preparation, questionframing, structuring answers, practice, and the major types of questionsyou can expect There are many sample questions in Appendix I sorted

by representative disciplines that you will be encouraged to use

This exam preparation and presentation advice will also benefit thosepreparing for other types of intensive oral delivery of qualifying orcertification exams, job interviews and heck, maybe even that all-important oral exam upon first meeting your future in-laws!Throughout the book, I will try to provide true stories, metaphors, andexamples from my own students I have changed names to provideanonymity and in some cases have combined components from differ-ent situations to illustrate helpful points Although I recommend stu-dents read all of the chapters because they build on each other, eachchapter is also a free-standing treatment of the topic for readers withspecific information needs.

EXAM TYPESThere are distinctions between the various types of oral exams Inthe United Kingdom, Scotland, Germany, and a few other Europeancountries, the more common term for the PhD oral exam is viva voce,literally translated as “living voice” or “word of mouth”, whileundergraduate oral exams are just called oral exams These Europeanexams, sometimes shortened to vivas (pronunciation almost rhymeswith “fiver” said with a Brooklyn accent), are the precursors andmodels for the more recently created oral exams, though they differ insome important ways outlined later

In most of North America, the family of oral exams includes the MScthesis defense exam, preliminary exams or qualifying exams,Candidacy exam, and the PhD defense Oral exams are also used insome undergraduate honors theses Various institutions may convertsome of these to written exams and may combine or substitute the qual-ifying and candidacy exams Be sure to examine the graduate handbook

or guidelines of your specific institution for the format details andexpectations If you don’t check your university’s specific arrangementyou may end up being surprised at what you will face Still, all oralexams share certain needs such as content preparation, composuremanagement, awareness of committee dynamics, synthetic thinking,well-structured answers, and responsive interaction under questioning.Although some graduate programs incorporate written exams, thoseare not treated here beyond saying sometimes oral questions are drawnfrom the student’s answers on writtens so be warned

Professors are encouraged to keep a copy of this book kickingaround their labs or to provide copies to incoming graduate students.Conversely, it may be wise for graduate students to make sure theirprofessors have read this as well so everyone is on the same page!

I take a few pokes at my colleagues in text and encourage us all to not

5EXAM TYPES

ORAL EXAMS

be “That guy!” on committees Lab groups might find the sample tions in Appendix I a good starting point for practicing collegiality andhelping quiz their lab mates so all can grow and succeed Some discus-sion of the Web site content listed in Appendix II would make a goodbeer and pizza night too I am confident that every student followingthis book’s recommendations can move their oral exams further from atraumatic episode and closer to a gratifying experience of Socraticdiscussion of their project!

ques-Let’s get on with it

CHAPTER NOTES

7CHAPTER NOTES

ORAL EXAMS

C H A P T E R2 Why an Oral Exam?

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak Epictetus

INTENT AND HISTORY OF ORAL EXAMS

Why can’t oral exams be replaced by written exams? The ment for oral exams is challenged regularly, for example, see Patton(2013) who interviewed participants in Arkansas, USA and found bothgraduate students and professors viewed the oral as arbitrary and notreflective of the learning that had occurred So why this time-sucking,arcane, and stressful requirement? Partly because universities, busi-nesses, and governments that hire graduate students are looking formany of the exact skills needed to succeed under oral questioning.These skills are clearly ecognized by graduate students themselvestoo As a corollary, some exceptional test-takers are really weak

require-in face-to-face problem identification, discussion, and real-timecommunication

In an unpublished 2014 survey of 5000 students at the University ofAlberta, students self-evaluated and isolated six critical competenciesfor graduate students; they were: ethical responsibility, scholarship, crit-ical thinking, communication, creativity, and confidence Few entergraduate school with all of these skills but they can be developed.Lindquist et al (2011) showed comprehensive exams to be an innova-tive approach to widen the abilities of young professionals to reach out

to the general public These competencies along with a demonstration

of one’s ability to synthesize topical knowledge and translate complexgraduate work into a coherent narrative are a large part of what oralexams test Oral exams also help students train toward this skill, thus,oral exams are a teaching tool too This ability to communicate thefruits of one’s research also brings credibility, relevance, and status tothe academic institution that will confer the degree The universities

9

have a vested interest in your ability to present credibly Of course, theexam also ensures that the thesis work belongs to the student; one can’teasily plagiarize an oral exam You either have the knowledge accessi-ble or you don’t.

The oral exam is a specialized type of test that differs in severalimportant ways from the more static written exams Because examquestions are presented out loud, they can assume a conversational airthat requires immediate comprehension, interpretation, and synthesis.The response is delivered directly to the questioner, often with the dis-traction of others looking on, or even adding into the discussion, sothere is a strong sense of an interpersonal accountability as well as areflective sense Mishandled, self-reflection can morph into the kind ofself-consciousness that makes one blush and end up distracted, suggest-ing a lack of confidence—which may really only be poor preparation,lack of circumspection, or paucity of practice in the verbal arena.Because the questions and answers are dynamic free-flowing andinteractive, each can be followed up, expanded upon, restated, modified

or sometimes immediately corrected, thus, they tend to form themes.Written answers simply stare dumbly off the page only to be evaluatedagainst a rubric some time later The interactive level of questioningshows the depth and degree of familiarity with your topic and the abil-ity to adapt in real time to convey it to various individuals You areallowed to show yourself to be conversant and to express mastery ofthe subject area You have the great opportunity to show off not justwhat knowledge is held but how readily it can be accessed, associatedwith other complimentary or contradictory evidence and where yourgrasp stands in relation to the state-of-knowledge on a topic It is quitecommon to share one’s level of confidence in an answer by interjecting

a qualifier such as “Part of the answer is .” or “I am not sure aboutthis part of my answer ” This is something rarely done on writtenexams

Here is a hoary old Southern story related to how students get ated: A traveling salesman passed a rural farmstead with a crude signout front that said “See the talking dog—$5.00.” Being bored, the sales-man stopped and the old farmer on the front porch took his $5.00before directing him around the back of the barn About 10 min later,the salesman returned flustered and demanded his money back Thefarmer said “Well, what’s yer beef? That thar dog done some good talk-in’ ain’t he?” and the salesman said “Yes he did but his grammar wasTERRIBLE”! Don’t forget that, HOW you communicate somethingcompliments WHAT you are saying

evalu-At another level, orally delivered questions that follow each othercan compound, contradict, or contrast the original answer, thereby pro-ducing a meta-level of content In modern computer parlance, oral

exams involve not just questions and answers but topical threads.These threads, in aggregate, are what weave your tapestry of knowl-edge upon which the committee must pass judgment.

There is also an element of personality in questions delivered by aliving human The cocked eyebrow, the subtle nod at a response or theinterruption and redirection are elements missing from written exams.Success in oral exams is a much better reflection of preparation for life

in a workplace, laboratory, or a team collaboration There is likely nobetter exam to mimic a job interview, a cross-examination in a court oflaw, or testimony before Parliament and many holders of advanceddegrees can expect to need these exact skills in their job There are shortsections on each of these venues in the last chapters of this book.Markulis and Stang (2008) speaking of oral exams in businessdegrees wrote:

Clearly, the oral exam format is one in which students are not only called upon

to express their “internal constructions,” but to engage in a dialogue which pits their understanding against that of the professor’s Perhaps the main point here is that one’s internal and external understanding are in a continual state of growth and development due to the dynamics of the oral exam dialogue.

There is a personal growth aspect to oral exams Students emergefrom these exams slightly changed In the construction of fine knives,the hardness of the steel—called tempering—is added to the bladethrough intensive heating and cooling Possibly an oral exam is an ele-mental learning and growth experience for the student carried out inthe same way Completing a successful oral exam where your futurepeers and colleagues pronounce you qualified is a strong emotional andpsychological boost to one’s confidence that is unobtainable in anyother way The best exams are the ones in which both personal growth

is enhanced and collegial affirmation is conferred

In short, oral exams integrate knowledge and communication in aninteractive format It can be invigorating and an opportunity to activelyengage in discourse as a junior peer—but let’s be honest—most gradu-ate students are in nervous survival mode and they just want to pass!The realizations of personal change may follow however, so remainopen to the possibility

TYPES OF ORAL EXAMS IN ACADEMIA

There are five common types of oral exam that may be encountered

in graduate schools worldwide; MSc Oral Defense, PhD Candidacy (orComprehensive) Exam, PhD Defense, and the Viva mentioned earlier.Qualifying or preliminary exams are scheduled earlier in some degree

11TYPES OF ORAL EXAMS IN ACADEMIA

ORAL EXAMS

programs Be sure to check your specific school’s requirements becauseone size does not fit all here Vivas are required of the PhD candidates

in some places and while vivas are indeed a type of PhD oral exam,they differ slightly, typically being conducted by two or three externalexaminers, not including the graduate supervisor, sometimes having adebate flavor, being more centered on the body of the thesis work andtypically limited to 2 h In some less rigorous institutions vivas are morecelebratory or confirmatory rather than a true test Indeed, based onthe quality of the thesis alone, examiners sometimes even declare thestudent has passed before beginning the viva questioning Thispre-passing assurance is controversial and discouraged by many.Oral exams are not limited to graduate school and may be encoun-tered in the undergraduate curriculum for higher-level courses, which Ithink is a wonderful idea and form of practice Although we won’tspend time on these, the same general rules apply to undergraduateand graduate exams except the undergraduate focus is less often on thestudent’s original research and more on course content, or a specialtopic that may not require originality

Oral exams are also used in post graduate situations, especially inmedical training where they are called “boards” and are an essentialstep to be passed before doctors, dentists, psychologists, and others aregiven their license to practice These exams are highly specific to thefields, institutions, and settings, however, they integrate the same syn-thetic thinking-on-one’s-feet, interaction with independent evaluators,and sometimes a patient (real, an actor, or even a video clip) The edu-cational knowledge, diagnostics, communication, bedside manner, andprofessionalism are all on display here in a highly realistic oral-basedexam/demonstration My actress daughter Eva occasionally earns extramoney by acting out a mock patient’s symptoms for examining boards

to observe medical students’ diagnostician skills Even though boardscome at the peak of the med student’s training (or sometimes re-certifying experienced international doctors), they can still induce acase of nervousness It seems shocking that an 18-year-old-blondeactress would make senior medical professionals stutter and shake, sim-ply by feigning a peptic ulcer, Lyme disease, or Crohn’s disease Likeother graduate students, they care deeply about proper demonstration

of their diagnostic skills Usually, Boards may be re-taken in the event

of a failure, albeit, at some substantial expense and a delay ofcertification

Finally, a form of oral examination may be encountered in the ing world of professional scientists, lawyers, doctors, or other expertswhen they are called to testify before a court of law, or policy- and law-making bodies such as Parliament, Senates, or Councils The statement,testimony, and cross-examination process is a serious and professional

work-version of the oral exam and you will be much more successful in mony before an adversarial questioner for having previously preparedfor oral delivery and defense of your understanding of evidence(Figure 2.1).

testi-MSc Defense

For many, this is the first oral exam ever taken and it can be themost un-nerving, although not all universities require it It is scheduledafter classes and the thesis are complete Often, a short public seminar

on the thesis project precedes it, then the graduate committee meets vately with the student to ask some questions on the thesis A solid the-sis with which you are very familiar, some background knowledge onthe state of knowledge and decent communication skills are usually suf-ficient to pass this exam handily, however, nerve management is para-mount and the better job one does here, the fewer required changes arelikely in the thesis for explication and description

pri-Comprehensive Oral Exams

These are sometimes called qualifying exams or prelims, and are ably the most daunting and content-demanding of the entire family of

prob-Viva

MSc exam

Oral

exams

Pre-candidacy

Final viva Transfer viva*

PhD exams

Candidacy/qualifying*

Defense

Defense*

*May include written component

FIGURE 2.1 The family of oral exams in relation to each other and their target outcomes.

13TYPES OF ORAL EXAMS IN ACADEMIA

ORAL EXAMS

graduate school oral exams They are usually the highest-stakes testsbecause it is the last point faculty members are readily willing to failstudents out of the program on the basis of lacking potential or insuffi-cient progress Comprehensives are typically taken before the mid-point of the PhD course of study Passing the comprehensive allowsstudents to move into the realm of being a “Candidate for the PhD.”The candidacy committee of three to six examiners may question on

a broad range of topics from basic knowledge to specifics of the tation proposal The comprehensive tests the student’s competenciesand potential to complete the PhD, their ability to place their thesistopic into a larger realm of knowledge, their communication ability,and their proposal-writing skills Presuming the student shows ade-quate promise, the committee also seeks to discover whether additionalclasses are needed to fill expertise gaps, allowing the thesis topic to benavigated successfully

disser-One general, if unspoken, guideline is that the breadth of candidacyquestioning usually approximates the level of university seniors’ cour-sework Substantially, greater depth of expertise is expected however

on the current state of knowledge in the student’s specific discipline.Finally, committees expect an intimate to world-leading grasp of thestudent’s research project Indeed, upper-level textbooks are a goodplace to mend one’s weaknesses for this exam Many examiners will besatisfied with comprehensive answers of fact at this level but deepersynthetic, multidisciplinary, philosophical, theoretical, or speculativeanswers may be sought, especially in the topic and field of the student.Furthermore, questions often lead students to combine sources todemonstrate the all-important quality of “synthetic thinking.”

Formats vary widely, each questioner is commonly allotted a tioning period but institutions may have questioners take turns in rota-tion or have different time allowances Sometimes the student isexpected to stand for the exam, sometimes they are asked to go to thewhiteboard or blackboard to illustrate a point or graph

ques-In institutions where there is a requirement for a written component

to comprehensive exams, the format may be time-constrained, such asone 3-h test each day for 5 days with the oral exam followingimmediately on the last day of writtens Writtens, in combination withorals, create a testing element of endurance, energy management,consistency, and pacing to do well in these test sequences Moststudents are well-practiced, hence, adequately prepared to do writtensand there is an abundance of test-taking guidance available elsewhere

so they will not be covered here Some of the exam questions inAppendix I would make suitable written exam questions too

The focus here, however, is on oral components because of thepaucity of information on formulation and delivery of oral answers

In some sequences of exams however, the committee may draw on vious (MSc or comprehensive) exams to ask more detailed follow-upquestions This is a way to see whether the student actually learnedfrom earlier exams I once heard a professor ask a fair but potentiallydevastating question at a student defense She asked: “In your compre-hensive exam you struggled to explain time series analyses; in yourwritten exams you showed substantial weaknesses in the temporalanalysis components; now in your defense, I need you to explain thequestionable rationale for using repeated measures analyses withuncertainty about the correct degrees of freedom in the denominator.”The legacy of a difficult topic caught up with the student, who hadbeen fairly warned by the earlier calls for accountability in their analy-sis Fortunately, he had read the signs and handled the question well.Had he blown it, both the thesis’ premise and his diligence in takinginstruction would be called into question and the exam may not haveended well.

pre-The comprehensive exam is typically the most rigorous formal exam

a scientist will encounter during their entire career, thus, a great stigmahas arisen over this test Indeed, some academic institutions claim tofail up to half of their test-takers, but in most, failures are relativelyrare, likely under 5% Other PhD programs do not even require oralexams Markulis and Stang (2008) report that in a survey of 60 mid-western US universities offering business PhDs, only 20% required anoral exam for the defense of the thesis The ratio is much higher in thesciences and liberal arts

PhD Dissertation Defense

Like the MSc defense, this oral exam occurs after all coursework,research, and thesis writing have been completed A public seminar(15 min to 1 h depending on institution) to explain the research is usu-ally followed by an opportunity for public questioning, then the super-visory committee takes over and asks questions In some institutions,the committee-question period is open to public viewing, in others it iscarried out in private The focus of the defense is a little different as itaims to: (i) confirm that the research is original, (ii) ensure the student

is intimately familiar with all of the steps and details of their thesiswork, (iii) determine whether the student and their body of work meetthe standards expected to represent the University granting the degree,(iv) ensure a contribution to knowledge has been made, and (v) dis-cover the degree to which the student can behave professionally andcollegially as a PhD-holder

The dissertation defense’s format is similar to the candidacy thoughthe range of questioning is much narrower The defense also focuses

15TYPES OF ORAL EXAMS IN ACADEMIA

ORAL EXAMS

primarily on the thesis work, its implications, strengths, weaknesses,and its contribution to the pre-existing body of scholarly work Alongwith the expectation that the student is at the top of their game, thequestioning can be intense and sometimes even adversarial The startingpresumption is that the student likely knows more about their specializedtopic than anyone else in the room, or possibly the world This is a chancefor the student to show their mastery of their subject by standing as aqualified scholar through debate, marshaling of evidence, and the use oflogic to defend their theory, methods, and conclusions Most PhDstudents also have the advantage of having completed one or two oralexams previously and having matured somewhat while in their degreeprogram Few fail these exams Many shine and earn strong letters of re-commendation and a large confidence boost as they enter the job market.

Viva Voce

This exam, common in England, Germany, Holland, Italy, and ahost of other European countries, may well be the precursor of themodern PhD oral exam Its history is from Latin and the viva wasushered into being through Catholicism’s Latin exams of exposition UK’sOxford University has held this tradition continuously for centuriesand served as the model for many others The University of Nottingham,

UK, 2014, web site (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/academicservices/qualitymanual/researchdegreeprogrammes/viva-voce-examinations.aspx)gives the following thorough description of criteria for a generalized viva:

The viva will normally include questions designed to ascertain that the thesis embodies the candidate’s own research It will test the candidate’s general compre- hension of the field of study within which the subject of the thesis falls It will test the candidate’s acquaintance with the general literature of the subject, knowledge

of the relation of the work to the wider field of which it is a part, and the respects

in which the work advances, modifies, or otherwise affects this wider field of scholarship.

While this generic description sounds very similar to the PhDdefense, there are several differences in the form of the exam Firstly,the role of the student’s supervisor is downplayed and the supervisormay not even be allowed to be present in some cases The committeesize is often just two or three topical experts, sometimes selected partic-ularly for the exam, having not been on the student’s supervisory com-mittee previously There is often a debate-like tone to vivas as thesispoints are raised and debated with parry-and-thrust-like challenges andrefutation and a premium is placed on the intellectual defense of theoriginal findings The viva is typically not as long as a PhD exam, gener-ally lasting one to two hours Other vivas are structured as a series of

short exams Failure of either a viva or a PhD oral is quite rare butpass/fail appears even less emphasized in the viva Graduate PaulTrafford’s 2009 personal observations on the viva process at Oxford canprovide some nuanced insights (http://paultrafford.blogspot.ca/2009/10/viva-voce-20-minuteexamination-of.html).

Some departments, such as those at Oxford University, also institute a

“Transfer viva” to be taken around the 18th month of a 3-year PhDprogram It is similar to a comprehensive exam and is designed toexamine (i) that the research has sufficient substance and innovation and(ii) that the student is progressing suitably in their first 18 months ofwork Again, individual schools are all over the map with their specificrequirements so it is imperative that you check your institution’sparticular requirements Rowena Murray’s (2003) oft-reprinted book

“How to survive your viva” delves deeply into this particular exam type.Symbolism and Tradition in Oral Exams

Symbolism and tradition play large roles in oral exams Examinersmay wear robes, dark symbolic clothing called subfusc, replete withstring ties, odd vestments, capes, mortar boards, tassels, Puss-in-Boots-type plumed hats, and sometimes ornate sashes that require agroomsman to get properly bound up (that sentence doesn’t mean thegroomsman must be bound up) Such dress would look slightly ridicu-lous anywhere except in academia, courts of law, or Harry Pottermovies As the icing on the cake, carnation flowers are sometimes usedsymbolically (optional) with students beginning their exams wearing

a white carnation, after passing their qualifying exams they graduate

to a pink carnation, and representing their increased depth ofknowledge, a red carnation is worn upon successful completion of theviva or PhD defense to show their scholarly achievement What is next?

A secret handshake? I modify Day’s (1998) quote about editors to read

“If you see a student completely happy with their oral exam, they will

be horizontal and surrounded by flowers.” I hesitate to make too muchfun of the process because society seems lacking in rites of passage andphysical manifestation of intellectual accomplishment Because higher-level tests are rare and meaningful markers in one’s life, considerembracing and giving honor to this notable advancement Your mom,spouse, or children will want that for you even if you don’t

The concern remains that the mystery, history, and eccentric ritualscould play a role in unfairly magnifying the perceived rigor of theexam, distracting students or unnecessarily inflating students’ fears Attheir core, they are reminders that respect must be extended to the aca-demics as a class, whether the individuals deserve it or not and thatthis business of accumulating reliable knowledge is serious stuff If they

17TYPES OF ORAL EXAMS IN ACADEMIA

ORAL EXAMS

distract you, it may be helpful to see these bizarre rituals as humorous,folkloric relics that have accumulated over time and not directly related

to the core content of your thesis Some of the primary subtexts of thisbook are to help demystify oral exams and to provide straightforwardexplanations of what happens behind closed doors, what expectationsare at play, what options are available, and what the various outcomesmean

The robes, hats, solitary chambers, student whispers, and scarcity ofadvanced information do create an aura that can be daunting, however,

as explained in Chapter 4, with increased understanding, these nal fears melt away and your performance improves The accoutrementand formalities are just that and few if any of your committee willknow their meaning and symbolism beyond the fact that there is a dif-ference in their status and yours This is why I recommend you refer tothem as “Dr X” or “Prof Y” unless specifically told not to Far better toerr on the side of respect-giving formality than ruffle positional feath-ers It should be a form of reassurance though to remember that yourcommittee would rather you pass, that they too had to pass oral exams,and most will have some empathy for your discomfort even while theyappreciate that you should struggle some

irratio-There are typically four outcomes to the PhD Defense:

• Pass, which means satisfactory performance;

• Pass with conditions where committee members may add a requiredcourse, some additional work or a paper to be written and graded tocompensate for deficiencies This is a common outcome and isconstructive, not punitive;

• Adjournment is an option when the student is unable to complete theexam, an examiner was absent or it is quickly clear that the studentwas not ready The exam will be stopped prematurely and

rescheduled for a later date without penalty, though some

universities only allow a single adjournment per student;

• Fail, which most often means the student is removed from the

program, though in some institutions, a second exam may be offered

or the option offered to downsize the PhD to a MSc degree

Don’t forget that things other than the exam influence how the mittee scores your oral exam Later you will learn about managing therelationship with your examiners Committee members typically arrive

com-at the oral exam with a grecom-at deal of pre-informcom-ation on you andthough unfair in my opinion, they hold preconceptions on whether ornot you are destined to pass They may have met with you or taughtyou classes and found you informed conversant and bright.Alternatively, they may know you as uncertain, undisciplined, argu-mentative, and ill-prepared It is up to you They should have read

your proposal (candidacy) or your thesis (MSc, PhD, and viva) whichwill impress and reassure them or possibly create serious concerns andenflame substantive questioning However, given that preconceptionsappear unavoidable, use them to your advantage Meet with them.Develop your pre-defense seminar to cultivate committee attitudes, opi-nions of you and to steer the direction of their questioning (Figure 2.2).

The Pre-exam Seminar

Many oral exams, such as MSc defense, PhD defense, and some didacy exams where there is a proposal involved, are preceded by aseminar of 10 min to 1 h This is a powerful opportunity to “soften up”your audience and committee with clarifying images, examples, appli-cations, and the novelty of your results Your presentation skills will gofar in convincing them of your mastery of the subject The use ofvisuals, even short video clips, to forcefully make points can stronglysupport your research It is an opportunity to make topics that areinherently boring to non-specialists really pop with excitement

can-One graduate student studying the temperature and carbon dioxidereleases of compost piles (YAWN .) quickly had everyone on the edge

of their seats by showing a 30-s video clip of bulldozers turning giantpiles of cow dung in subzero weather replete with billows of steam

Pass

Committee expectations

Pass with

conditions

Fail

Oral exam rating Thesis

Scholarships

Cumulative nature of earning a “Pass” on your oral exam.

Bucket position indicates leverage (bucket filling is student’s

responsibility!)

FIGURE 2.2 Conceptual weight balance showing some components that accumulate to convince the committee that you deserve a passing evaluation on your graduate work.

19TYPES OF ORAL EXAMS IN ACADEMIA

ORAL EXAMS

issuing forth When he very animatedly said, “Watch this one!” todirect attention to the near-overturn of a bulldozer as it climbed thegiant manure pile, it accented the main memorable point so thoroughlythat someone yelled out, “Play it again!” I am convinced now, over

8 years later, everyone in that room can recall the immense heat tion potential of green manure during decomposition Had he onlyshown a temperature graph plot, or a list of microorganisms, his mainthesis would have been forgotten by the following day His seminareffectively steered the questioning into heat harvesting and the caloriccontent of manure—topics on which he was deeply informed

genera-For your seminar, you have the floor and can pose your own tions then answer them with flourish This is about structuring aquestion by describing the knowledge gap and then stepping up tosolve this sticky analysis, provide a novel historical framing, refute amistaken chemical synthesis, or present a mathematical proof Likepulling a rabbit out of a top hat, your results sweep in to fill that knowl-edge gap Ah ha! A piece of original research that advanced humanunderstanding Isn’t this what it is all about? You have provided anunbroken chain of

ques-1 State of knowledge

2 Problem identification and framing

3 Novel approach to solution

4 Results/proofs/analyses

5 Conclusions, contextualization, relevance

6 Future research opportunities

Remember the bulldozer example above If possible, try to make theresults lift off the page and get the committee excited about question-ing Highly visual displays have some value here Be unique and incor-porate sensory effects such as the student who showed large reactors infull boil with the addition of his miracle chemical, laser light shows thatdeterred birds from landing on toxic waste ponds, or live piano demon-strations to show tonal contrasts of different piano tunings You willhave plenty of time in the exam for graph-drawing and verbal answers.Going the other way into antiquity, one history student brought in a40-ft long and 6-ft tall scroll mounted on a goal-post-like frame Instead

of using a projector, he unrolled it in time with his presentation Wewere all eating out of his hand and willing the crank to be turned to get

to the next scene

Don’t go overboard on this however Too much gimmicky shtick

or flashy salesmanship of your results could cast you as a noncriticaladvocate for one particular finding and could bring about challengesfrom your committee When done properly and tastefully however,the committees are metaphorically oohing and ahhing over the

presentations and it starts the oral exam out on a great footing Bydoing this you steer them into your “intellectual lair” where the ball isalways in your court The sooner you can get into an academic conver-sation with them over some exciting topic, the sooner they see you as

an equal

Sometimes very complex topics, questions, and results can be fied in a seminar, thereby erasing many of the left-field questions anexaminer may jot down in the wee hours through a fuzzy head Killerquestions may just be a product of poor examiner preparation Profsprocrastinate too you know

clari-CHAPTER NOTES

21CHAPTER NOTES

ORAL EXAMS

23CHAPTER NOTES

ORAL EXAMS

Knowing Why You Are

Undertaking Graduate Study

Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers JaniceJoplin

Some oral examiners start their questioning period with a legitimategrounding question such as “Why do you want a PhD?” or possibly

“For what do you plan to use your graduate degree?” then adjust theirfollowing questions from the answer Be ready to speak to this question.This chapter could have been titled “So you want to join the PhD club,eh?” There absolutely must be reasons to motivate the pursuit of a PhDbeyond making more money Depressingly, if I had taken the 8 years

I dedicated to graduate school to pursue a master plumbing ormillwright position instead, my lifetime earnings, once compounded,would likely have been higher in the trades The challenge and love oflearning, as well as the excitement of a diverse and intellectually chal-lenging life working among thoughtful people in a curiosity-drivenenvironment full of freedoms is a great draw for many though Expectsome people, especially those who measure success in dollars, to notunderstand your commitment to graduate study

I took several years away from academia after completing my MSc inWildlife Ecology to start my own small and bustling consulting busi-ness in South Louisiana where I worked with an uneducated but amaz-ingly competent Cajun named Isidore When I excitedly opened myPhD acceptance letter at our field camp, Isadore had one observation

on further schooling: “You can only sharpen a pencil so long beforeyou ain’t got no pencil left!”

It is important to understand your goals Why do you want anadvanced degree and what does it represent to you? How will it

improve your life? Of course, there is no one right reason, but there are

a few deep and suspect motivations that can lead students to go tograduate school A lifelong desire for respect and recognition stemmingfrom self-esteem issues probably heads this list and, taken to anextreme, can perpetuate the caricature of the pompous, intellectual eli-tist who obfuscates with droll bombastic pronouncements and sniffs atthe less-educated Some of these stuffed shirts may be on your commit-tee in fact I exaggerate, but be warned, there is a lot of anti-academicsentiment floating around society these days and earning a PhD maycreate as many critics as admirers so it may not garner the kind of reac-tion you anticipated and few unhappy people are made happy simply

by earning some letters after their name

It is best to have a positive and constructive answer to such personalmotivation questions like “Why a PhD?” Think about what brings youfulfillment, what your research will contribute to knowledge, whetheryou enjoy disseminating that understanding through students, publica-tions, presentations Do you like making the world a better place bybecoming a highly informed global citizen? How about the personalthrill of the scholarly process?

Getting through the PhD hoop is only one of many For larvalacademics this means after graduation they are on to getting an interview,landing the job, passing a probation period, promotion to tenuredassociate professor, advancing to full professor with all the increasedexpectations for administration and productivity, possibly serving a stint

as a chair, director, or dean, then, finally, you have retirement to lookforward to There are two warnings here Firstly, know yourself and yourmotivations, secondly and more relevant to this book, know your commit-tee members’ motivations and expectations (more on this in Chapter 6).Often an advanced degree looks very different when viewed fromthe student perspective versus the side of a degree-holder Growing up

in the rural Deep South of Louisiana in the 1960s, I lived through cal corruption, blatant racism, tumultuous civil rights, and an abysmalpublic school system We had a saying “Thank God for Mississippi forwithout them we would be dead last in the US education ratings!” Mycalculus and algebra shortcomings were large but by hook or crook,

politi-I passed my candidacy and thesis defense just fine politi-Instead of feelingelated though, I felt slightly guilty as if “I tricked them again!” This ispart of the imposter syndrome that many, if not most, academics carrywith them, causing some to overcompensate to cover their shortcom-ings The ideal, yet almost impossible, fix is to (i) select self-securecommittee members who are comfortable with their mixtures of exper-tise and shortcomings and (ii) trust that your areas of strength willcarry the day even as you try to patch the knowledge gaps in yourintellectual tool box

26 3 KNOWING WHY YOU ARE UNDERTAKING GRADUATE STUDY

ORAL EXAMS

It is worth remembering as you enter your oral exams, a MSc or aPhD need not be an exercise in brilliance or extreme IQ Remember, formany it is a long slog of hard work and a willingness to grow Almostanyone of moderate or better intelligence can earn a PhD if they applythemselves I am proof! When examining graduate student applications,compelling evidence of a work ethic such as the student with a strongB-average who grew up on a dairy farm, a maple sugar plantation, orworking in a family restaurant may carry the day Their great strengthsare that they likely understand discipline, scheduling and back-breaking hard work Many times they are also wonderfully handyproblem-solvers who can find the most ingenious ways to reduceunnecessary labor too Most intellectuals are made, not born.

CHAPTER NOTES

28 3 KNOWING WHY YOU ARE UNDERTAKING GRADUATE STUDY

ORAL EXAMS

C H A P T E R4 Nerves

I get nervous when I don’t get nervous If I’m nervous, I know I’m going

to have a good show Beyonce´ Knowles

Nervousness before orals is normal and expected but really, what is itthat makes us come unglued? Understanding what is happening to ourphysiology under stress is crucial to redirecting nervous distraction intoconstructive energy Knowing that some nervousness is normal, andexpected by your committee helps in accepting nervousness withoutshame When PhD student Grady Allen used a laser pointer on hisdefense seminar slides, the beam shook so violently it went from margin

to margin He simply paused and said dryly “I’m not nervous oranything .” the understanding laughter from the audience was a nicespell-breaker and acknowledgment of his very typical response to pres-sure We could instantly relate to being in his shoes The advice on ori-gins and management of nervousness is directly applicable to the nearlyubiquitous fear of public speaking Because public speaking is one of, ifnot the, most common of public fears, your examiners will relate to yournervousness Understanding what causes the symptoms of nervousness

is the first step in preventing it from becoming crippling to performance

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF NERVOUSNESS

In stressful or shocking situations, our adrenal gland releases nephrine, also called adrenaline, into the bloodstream where it tempo-rarily dilates our pupils, increases muscle efficiency to make usstronger, and increases transmission rates of oxygen-delivery systems.Adrenaline is like a short-term shot of turbo boost in your car’s enginefor brief acceleration This is how we are involuntary and evolutionarilyprogrammed to respond to situations we perceive as threatening

epi-31

or dangerous Popularly known as the “fight-or-flight response,” thisbehavior is involuntary We may as well be injected with astrong, short-acting stimulant because the subsequent physiologicalchanges are as predictable as clockwork and almost as unstoppable.Unfortunately, adrenaline also affects our mental state and is moreclosely associated with negative and fearful sensations, so it is lesswelcomed for cool, coherent verbal delivery of answers Unfortunately,examiners are far more interested in the synthesis of complex informa-tion than they are in our vertical leaping abilities or bicep strength atthat moment.

Now, a story about a slightly cruel classroom trick I have used For

15 years, I have taught a graduate seminar class on presentations,media, and professionalism In the lecture on public speaking, I wouldstride into class a little late, wave the course roster and announce that

we were going to play a game called “decimation” from CaesarAugustus’ habit of killing every 10th soldier in divisions that hadunderperformed in battle One out of every 10 grads would be asked tostand and deliver a 3-min impromptu speech on an announced topicsuch as the state of science-funding in Canada, climate change, theirresearch, etc., then field peer questions about their comments As

I mulled over the list selecting the victims, the class would fallsullenly silent, and the air would be thick with dread After about

20 s, I would change gears and say “It would be unfair to make you souncomfortable so let’s skip the impromptu speeches and just talk abouthow the possibility of being chosen made you feel.” Invariably therewould be sighs of relief, fluttering comments, and nervous laughter.The classes readily shared their reactions and anxieties over being inthe spotlight so suddenly Every year the list of symptoms was identi-cal: racing pulse, sweaty palms, shallow breathing toward hyperventila-tion, sweaty underarms, weak in the knees, random thoughts, andinability to concentrate These are all symptoms of adrenaline and eventhe precursor to the first stages of mild shock As rotten as this trickwas, it set the stage for a very animated discussion about dealing withnerves and it gave most students a little taste, in real time, of what anunwelcomed adrenaline response felt like

The adrenaline problem is actually twofold; there are the shakysweaty sensations of revving our turbo-boosted metabolic engine to redline with the transmission in neutral, but the second phase may beworse because 20 min later when the adrenaline has burned through allthe easily available glucose (blood sugar) in our body’s energy supply,

we are left depleted, exhausted, and shaky Glucose is the same fuel thebrain needs for peak performance in situations such as oral exams Ourbrain represents only 4% of our body weight but it is an energy hog,consuming 25% of our body’s glucose budget Apparently, cavemen

that outran leopards didn’t need to sit around the cave afterward anddiscuss the finer points of their escape strategy or leopard ecology.Even if you can mask and cover your fear with brute acting effort, it is amajor distraction you don’t need at the beginning of an important oralexam and it is an energetically costly ruse You have better places to investyour energies California motorcycle racer Keith Code (1997) is something

of a guru of advice for elite motorcycle racers These riders muscle horsepower motorcycles around a track hitting 190 mph (300 kph) andthey scream through corner lean-angles that have their knees and elbowsdragging the pavement Managing fear is one of the primary lessons theyall must master to be competitive To paraphrase Keith’s words “Let’s sayyou have a ten-dollar bill’s worth of attention If you spend five dollars of

220-it on ones aspect of riding, you have only five dollars left for all otheraspects Spend nine and you only have one dollar left, and so on Thethings you do not understand are the things that will take up most of yourattention.” (Code 1983, p xii–xiii)”

The message holds up well for oral exams, too You want to trainyourself to spend no more than $1 on fear-containment and have a rich

$9 present and available to be applied to your intellectual performance.This is one reason some wonderfully powerful minds never get theirintellect properly engaged in oral exams and why some other verymodest thinkers with composure and organized thoughts seem to pres-ent everything they know beautifully and to great effect Thank good-ness! There is hope in academia for us calm cavemen after all! It alsoexplains why speakers who get comfortable with their audiences seem

to be able to punch above their weight class and actually seem to enjoythe process

OVERCOMING NERVOUSNESSHow can exam-takers get around this fear-induced state? There areseveral techniques to overcome nerves Mastery of the subject matter isabsolutely essential because if you don’t know your material, youshould

be nervous However, topical knowledge, though necessary, is not inand of itself sufficient Heiss (1970) studied graduate education at

10 major universities and found that most students received littleexplanation for why comprehensive exams existed and no formalguidance on how to prepare for them Things have not changed much

in the intervening five decades It has long been known that highanxiety compromises performance (Mechanic, 1962; Patrick, 1934) so,all knowledge aside, the anxiety level needs management After gaining

a command of your material, an easy second step is to demystify theprocess (this book) and the third step is to gain comfort with the exam

33OVERCOMING NERVOUSNESS

ORAL EXAMS

setting through practice Changing the unfamiliar into the recognizableand comfortable helps This alone is probably one reason studentstaking a PhD defense oral exam are at an advantage; they usually haveexperience with an MSc oral then later an oral candidacy exam.

It DOES get easier

For motorcycle racers, familiarity comes from repetition and tion to G-forces not experienced in street riding and accepting that theinevitable tire-sliding sensations don’t lead to instant death as instinctmight suggest For exam-takers, calmness comes from familiarity andreducing the uncertainties in the exam process (see Chapter 7 for ExamChronology) You need to know what is going to happen, in whatorder, what it means, your range of options and what you are expected

habitua-to do

You will find additional comfort in knowing the classes of questions(see Chapter 5 and Appendix I) and learning what is not important sothe simple things won’t divert your attention while you focus on yourexam Hence, you should know in advance the placement of thepodium, the light switch locations, how to connect to the projector,where you will be seated for the question and answer period, wherethe chalk or whiteboard markers are, whether the dry-erase markers aredry or will write smoothly and even where the washrooms are located

in the building It is assuring to have the computer support technician’sphone number in your pocket and know where the spare bulb for theprojector is stored You almost certainly won’t need these but theiravailability means there are two more things on which you won’t have

to waste your “attention money.”

You want to reduce the variables, have contingencies, and eliminateall possibilities for upsetting glitches Haven’t we all seen speakers losetheir composure when a projector or computer suddenly won’t work, afire alarm goes off, the power flickers, or a squalling baby in the frontrow throws up Learning your exam environment is easy but criticallyimportant In many ways, an exam is like a ballroom dance It is inter-active, you are on your toes, there is a leader and a follower; if prac-ticed, it is fun and beautiful, if unpracticed, it is embarrassing andpainful Finally, who knows where a night of dancing will lead? Butenough of this metaphor before this book becomes a dating manual

A wonderful way to become more comfortable in your answering role is by setting up mock exams using real candidacy ques-tions (again, I am urging you to use Appendix I) but also, letting yourpractice questioners throw in some curve balls so you also get used tohandling difficult or seemingly unfair questions Initially, you shouldhave friends and sympathetic family members sit in the role of yourcommittee Set them up in your dorm room, family dinner table, orchurch basement and go through the entire process with you standing

question-and facing them sitting at the exam table They will enjoy playing fessor (call them Dr Smith and Dr Jones) and they will be impressedwith your expertise, always a confidence booster They will inevitablybecome more sympathetic toward and supportive of what you areundertaking.

pro-Next, dial up the rigor a notch and press lab mates and other ate students into service to do a more academic version of a mockexam Have them ask questions and build other questions based onyour answers Run it all the way through for an hour or so until youfeel the nervousness subside and you can enter the comfortable rhythm

gradu-of question and answer Be aware however, that graduate colleaguescan sometimes be needlessly focused on the macabre and fear-mongering Keuler and Safer (1998) examined test anxiety in the pre-and postcomprehensive exam period and they found substantialmemory bias Postexam recollection was of greater nervousness thanthe same student had actually reported in the run-up to the exam! Try

to minimize discussing other student’s “war stories” because they aredeeply colored by the emotional significance with which the teller holdsthem and this emotional baggage need not be transferred to you

My father loved to tell stories with a small moral to them To trate the folly of unthinkingly repeating previous mistakes—your own

illus-or others—he used to tell a stillus-ory of one of his sawmill willus-orkers wholost a finger while operating the band saw When dad asked him whathappened, he purportedly said “I just put my hand right here and .DARN! There goes ANOTHER one!” You don’t want to inadvertentlyfollow your friend’s lead into problems; the poignancy and power ofcolorful mistakes may burn their way into your psyche more thor-oughly than you realize Try not to spend time dwelling on the nega-tive, odd, or mistaken approaches Rather, direct your thoughts towardthe positive models of answers When friends start to dwell on thehumorously catastrophic situations, simply tell them “No negativevibes before the exam We will save those for beers after the exam.”With this group, it also makes sense at the end of the mock exam toseek feedback on what communication styles worked best and whatcould be done to strengthen answer content and styles even further.They are a peer group of resources, use them because both you andthey will benefit from this practice

For the final polishing practice, try to get your major advisor andanother faculty member with experience in oral exams to stand in forthe committee and actually structure a 15-min question period toresemble the exam, even using the same exam room if possible Theywill reveal to you what their stance, attitude, and questioning style will

be This will pay immense dividends because when you walk into thatspace for the real thing, the area, process, and possibly one or two faces

35OVERCOMING NERVOUSNESS

ORAL EXAMS

will be familiar to you After a particularly hard question is attempted,you might want to stop and ask them how you could have answered itmore effectively That would provide great insight into what kinds ofthings they expect of you This also shows a diligence of preparationthat they will note.

Your setup and focus will project confidence and you can fully tapinto at least $9 worth of your focused attention Trust me on this mock-exam process Preparation and realistic practice are your two greatestfear-mastering techniques Don’t be surprised if you find yourself actu-ally enjoying the exam and the challenge Don’t get arrogant, boastful, oroverconfident, but if you get to this point, realize that you have entered avery different position in terms of preparedness If you have to opt for

an image, make it a roaring tiger instead of a cowering bunny

VISUALIZATION EXERCISESMental rehearsal and visualizing exercises can pay big dividends inyour personal performance and competency For example, there havebeen several studies of basketball players that showed spending 20 minstanding at the free-throw line visualizing shooting baskets yielded asimilar degree of improvement as did 20 min of actual free-throwshooting practice, and Steve Nash, the top free-throw shooter in theNBA history with a 91% success rate concurs with visualizing freethrows (described http://www.axonpotential.com/steve-nash-and-the-imaginary-free-throw/) Similar benefits apply to mental exercises foranswering questions and illustrating concepts clearly

I come from a long line of lawyers Hearing my Southern accent, acolleague once asked me incredulously “You say you come from a longline of LIARS?” My answer “yes” provided a logic dilemmasuitable for a philosophy exam question Before going to the courtroomportion of a trial these professionals all practice their delivery, manner-isms, inflections, timing and importantly, they visualize the jury andthe judge’s attention Students too can benefit from the familiarity ofquestion-and-answer periods by visualizing the flow of an exam Like

an athlete warming up muscles to move gracefully from anaerobic toaerobic exercise without cramping up, oral exams need to be eased into

if we are to use our mental energies well and not be shocked into anadrenaline dump, leading to the shakes and fuzzy headedness

Sometimes creative distraction can be a centering tool Smallamounts of pain such as clenching one’s toes or digging fingernails intoone’s palm or discretely pinching one’s thumb are said to help somefocus the attention into the here-and-now, to visualize a centered form

of self-control

Colleen was a very bright and articulate graduate student in mycohort at Utah State Colleen gave great, well-polished presentationsbut inevitably, the nerves would cause large red blotches to slowlycreep up from her chest to her neck and ultimately onto her face in arolling vascular dilation of a blush She was always irritated by this butyou know what? She understood it, expected it, and never let it fazeher Though she couldn’t control it, she could overcome it and performright through it Her preparation and composure earned all of ourenduring respect Her blush became our problem, not hers If you havethis problem, consider wearing higher-necked collars to minimize thevisible area.

Fuel Management, Habits, and the Perfection Problem

Energy management is important too It is important to have thing nutritious and energy-rich in your system (more on this later) A

some-1971 study of chess masters in the intensive mental play of a ment showed a tripling of breathing rates, muscle contractions, andsystolic blood pressures soaring to over 200 This is comparable to somephysical competitions Thus fueling is important and a nonsugarysports drink will taste good and provide a slow-release energy boost.However, even low-tech fuel like a banana and handful of smokedalmonds washed down with tap water will achieve the stabilizing anddurable effect of keeping that glucose-hog of a brain churning outanswers Practice this discipline of multiple hours of intense concentra-tion with a stable energy management a few times to get the feel forfuel management

tourna-The time to start managing fears, nervousness, and energy regulation

is months before the exam and well before the concerns grow irrational

If allowed to grow unchecked, these fears can assume such monolithicproportions that they trigger a denial system that actually impinges onstudy habits If the whole exam topic is unsettling and unpleasantenough, even otherwise conscientious and organized students mayavoid or procrastinate studying, leading to greater nervousness, insecu-rity, and ineffective exam cramming at the last minute Don’t ask mehow I know this

By using the practice, familiarization, visualization, and organizedpreparation of many styles of answers to actual exam questions, stu-dents can carry a deep and justified confidence knowing that largeparts of the oral exam are now in their control No, you won’t have allthe answers Yes, you will likely miss a few Yes, your recovery will bequick and efficient Having an anchor of comfort and familiarity withcertain exam aspects is very grounding and while there will be some

37VISUALIZATION EXERCISES

ORAL EXAMS

unexpected questions, the interspersion of comfortable questions vides a brief respite and security that can not only keep the fight-or-flight responses at bay but can make the exam rewarding and fun.Start this mantra—I don’t have to be perfect We will come back to it.All you need is to be in the same general category of competency asother students your committee has evaluated and passed Knowing thatall of your advance preparation has given you a tremendous advantageover less-prepared students is comforting because ultimately, that is thereference group professors will use to informally assess you I am notsuggesting you shoot for less than excellence here, but later we will talkabout the risks of setting a goal of “Perfect or nothing!” Moderation isyour friend.

pro-CHAPTER NOTES