Let me share with you my experiences during the making of my

dissertation paper and during my oral defense.

Before I finished my degree, I encountered a lot of challenges while

making my thesis. I was about to give up because it gives me

headaches, more sleepless nights, horrible experiences while gathering

information on different places and even the fear of failing during

the oral defense. But I came to realized that how can I get my college

diploma If I wasn`t able to finish my thesis, right?

I have spent a lot of money to accommodate my thesis expenses. Yes, it

is not just money but a big money. That is the reality that we have to

face.

I read bundle of books, references, journals, and magazines. Library

became my second home during this time. My personal computer became my

diary at this time. I almost stayed for 12 hours in front of my

computer just to finish it before the deadline.

And luckily after all the sufferings, I finished it with help of my

group mates and mentors.

I, being the leader, concentrated on how we will pass the oral defense

in front of different terror panelists and meticulous adjudicators.

And Thank God, after that scary questions and answers, you will not

believe it but I got a grade of "A" in my oral defense as well as my

group mates.

-Jenny

Here are the lists of our preparation and some pointers for the oral

defense:

FOR TEAM:

§ We have a brainstorming 2 days before the oral defense.

§ 1 DAY BEFORE OUR DEFENSE, WE JUST RELAX OUR MIND AND BODY.

§ Complete Sleep, Meal and Leisure hours.

§ It is better to have a group discussion. A question and answer.

§ A thesis is a matter of group / team work. Assigning topics is the

most important.

§ The introduction will be assigned to the person who has the ability

to catch the interest of the panel.

§ That person will be confident enough, well read and she knew how to

bring herself in the podium.

§ The beginner will be the one who will be criticize first. The

impression of the whole group is depends on her shoulder.

§ In most cases, Chapter 4 and 5 are the hardest part during the oral

defense.

§ Therefore, Chapter 4 should be assigned to the person who

understands math a lot especially when it is quantitative. The answer

for the Statement of the Problem and Hypothesis will be gathered from

this chapter.

§ In chapter 5, the person to be assigned here is the one who have

high memory. Chapter 5 is all about the summary, conclusion and

recommendation of the whole thesis.

§ It is important that all of you knew the contents of the whole

thesis. You may not know who will be asked. So always prepare. Do not

be too dependent with your group mates, support them and trust them as

well as help them.

§ Assigning topics to every member does not mean that you will not

read the entire thesis. The assigned person is the only who will

discuss his part in a simpler way for everybody to understand.

§ THAT`S IT!

§ Just follow these, and for sure, you do not have to bluff in front

of your adjudicators.

FOR INDIVIDUAL:

§ All you have to do is prepare yourself.

§ You do not have to read your thesis ten times. It will only put you

into worse.

§ All you have to do is read it twice or thrice with comprehension.

§ Get some sleep. Relax. Eat the right meal. Do not drink coffee! It

is not because it will make you feel nervous but it will make you

think that you are nervous. Gets?

§ Try to communicate with yourself in front of the mirror.

§ Much better if you have set of possible questions like how do you

get the answer for your problem? Or, Does your hypothesis correct?

§ Get in touch with your mentor or consultant to knew everything about

your thesis.

§ Be confident! For your adjudicators to believe you. It is a matter

of eyed to eye contact.

§ The only key to success is once you know what you have done!

§ Just rely on these and for sure these help will you a lot to get a

passing grade in your oral defense.