A viva prep template for Notion that tells you what to drill next

See inside the Viva & Defense Prep Studio

The problem it solves

Most candidates prepare for a viva by rereading the thesis. That helps you remember what you wrote. It does not prepare you to answer "Why this design?" or "What is your original contribution?" out loud, in two minutes, to someone who has read the thesis closely.

Viva questions are more predictable than they feel. Examiners' questions cluster around a few recurring themes: the contribution, the design, the findings, the limitations, the literature and what comes next (Trafford & Leshem, 2002). And experienced examiners expect a thesis to pass and read it hoping it will (Mullins & Kiley, 2002).

The problem is knowing where to spend the last few weeks. A list of 100 common viva questions does not tell you which ones are likely for your thesis, or which of your answers is still weak. You end up rehearsing the questions you already answer well, because they feel good to practise.

This studio keeps your questions, your answer plans and your rehearsal scores in one place, and ranks the questions so the weakest likely ones rise to the top.

How it works: Anticipate → Plan → Rehearse

1. Anticipate

   Build a bank of the questions you are likely to be asked. Tag each by its kind, such as contribution, methodology, findings or limitations, by how likely it is (High, Medium or Low) and by the chapter it probes.

2. Plan

   Sketch each answer in four short notes: acknowledge the question, respond, point to the evidence, and engage the examiner. Record the pages, tables and sections you will point to.

3. Rehearse

   Answer out loud, as if the examiner had just asked. Score your confidence from 1 (you froze) to 5 (you could answer it in your sleep), and update the score each time you improve.

What the studio checks for you

Each question and each chapter carries a plain-language status, worked out by formulas from your likelihood and confidence scores. These are the labels you will see.

Priority, per question

• ⚪ Not rehearsed: no confidence score yet. It counts as a full gap, so it sits near the top of Drill now until you rehearse it once.
• 🔴 Drill now: likely and still far from a good answer.
• 🟡 Polish: close, but worth another run.
• ✅ Ready: you can answer it well, or it is unlikely enough to leave.
• ⚠️ Use 1–5: the confidence score is outside 1 to 5. It is flagged and left out of the chapter average rather than quietly counted.

Readiness, per chapter

• ⚪ No questions yet: no questions are linked to the chapter.
• ⚪ Not rehearsed yet: questions are linked, but none is scored.
• 🔴 Weak spot: average confidence below 3.
• 🟡 Getting there: average confidence from 3 to 3.9.
• ✅ Defend-ready: average confidence of 4 or more.

Priority is likelihood (High 3, Medium 2, Low 1) times the gap between your confidence and 5. A score of 6 or more is 🔴, 3 to 5 is 🟡. The chapter average counts unrehearsed questions as 0. The weights and cut-offs are GradSummit conventions, not published standards, and the studio says so.

The worked example

Fictional study

The worked example is the fictional Brookfield thesis: a prospective, observational study of whether timely instructor feedback is linked to course completion among first-generation students in fully online programmes. It has 6 chapters, a three-person panel, 30 questions across 9 kinds, 3 rehearsals and 3 errata. Drill now shows 12 questions at 🔴, 4 at 🟡, 10 at ✅ and 4 not yet rehearsed. The top question asks whether belonging measured in week 5 justifies a mediation claim. Chapter readiness shows the Introduction ✅ Defend-ready, the Discussion 🟡 and four chapters 🔴, with Methodology carrying 8 of the 30 questions. Clearing the example takes a few minutes.

Method and sources

The studio draws on research on doctoral examination. Trafford & Leshem (2002) show that examiners' questions cluster around predictable themes, which is what the question kinds follow. Mullins & Kiley (2002) found that experienced examiners expect a thesis to pass. Wellington (2010) suggests that knowing what to expect, and rehearsing, can reduce anxiety. Full references are on the answer method page.

The answer method page sets out the four notes with examples, and a viva-day checklist runs from four weeks out to after the viva. Anticipate, Plan, Rehearse is GradSummit's shorthand, not a published framework. A short section covers US-style dissertation defences.

What the studio does not do

• It does not predict your examiners' questions. It helps you prepare for the likely ones on purpose.
• The confidence scores are your own judgement. The ranking is only as honest as the numbers you type.
• Viva and defence formats vary. Always follow your own institution's rules and your supervisor's advice.
• It does not write your answers. The four notes are prompts for answers in your own words.

What you get

• A one-page PDF with your private link, sent by Gumroad straight after checkout. Click it, then Duplicate, and the studio is in your own Notion workspace, yours to keep.
• Simple mode: three steps, one small table each, with a plain instruction above every table. You can start in Notion for the first time today.
• Drill now, Chapter readiness, your examiners linked to the questions they may ask, a rehearsal log for solo, peer and mock vivas, and a corrections and errata tracker for before and after the viva.
• Export views that turn your question bank, rehearsals and corrections into clean CSV tables.
• A Start here page, the answer method with full references, a viva-day checklist, and a worked fictional example you can clear in a few minutes.
• Works on Notion's Free plan. No charts, no paid features and no Notion AI needed.

Related guides and templates

• The PhD viva and thesis defense

  how to prepare, step by step

• Viva or thesis defense in two weeks

  a day-by-day plan

• Defense Prep Workbench

  a free tool to scaffold your defense week by week

• Viva & Oral Defense Template Kit

  fillable PDF templates for viva preparation

Other research studios

• Thesis Command Centre

  Plan milestones, track chapters and check whether you are on time. $12.

• Supervisor Meeting System

  Free. Plan, record and close every supervision meeting.

• Thesis Writing Studio

  Break chapters into sections and see when the words will be done. $12.