on getting the doctorate. But in many cases where you have
actually passed satisfactorily, as well as in the minority of cases
where a referral is possible, they may postpone telling you the
outcome until they have talked things over for a while with
your supervisor. In these post-viva conversations a skilful super-
visor can be very helpful to you, in persuading the examiners
to keep their demands for ‘minor’ revisions down to a mini-
mum. The supervisor’s role is also crucial after a referral, in
ensuring that you are asked only for a clear and achievable set
of changes. Make sure then that your supervisor will be around
on the day of the oral exam and free to carry out this key role.
In some universities supervisors are also permitted to sit in on
the oral exam itself, but not to say anything. This is never a
good idea in a British-style system, because it simply under-
mines your status as an independent professional.
ConclusionsJust as in athletics or a professional sport, finishing a thesis well
usually requires a lot of advance preparation. In earlier chapters
I have touched on many different logistical issues which if left
unaddressed can cause you days or weeks of delay at the final
version stage. These issues are time-bombs, which may lie
apparently dormant only to explode under your feet as you
rush to complete. Poor style, long sentences, complex grammar,
padded writing and repetitions left alone at an earlier stage all
have to be fixed. Hard-to-justify research ‘methods’ or odd
choices of research strategy can require complex explanation
later on to try and disguise them or explain them away.
Interview quotations have to be firmed up and attributed
exactly, and weak methods of evidencing will show up more
prominently in the referencing (or lack of it) at key points.
Poor-quality charts, diagrams and tables, often left unscruti-
nized in separate pages at the ends of draft chapters, will now
look ragged if incorporated into your text. Partial bibliographic
entries have to be filled in. The most common problems are
Web references that prove evanescent and cannot be recaptured
for checking; source documents in far-away archives that can-
not be revisited; and newspaper or magazine clippings where
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