Individual skill

the-thesis-defense

Simulate your thesis defense before the real one — a committee of examiner archetypes probing YOUR actual thesis, the questions you hoped nobody would ask, and a debrief with preparation priorities. Use when asked simulate my thesis defense, grill me on my dissertation, what will my committee ask, or prep me for my viva. Produces the defense transcript with your answers stress-tested, the committee's private deliberation, and a debrief ranking the exposed weaknesses by preparability.

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# The Thesis Defense Skill

Every thesis has three or four questions its author prays nobody asks — and committees are selected for exactly the expertise that asks them. This skill runs the defense early: examiner archetypes with different agendas probing the actual thesis (methods, alternatives, scope, the gap between claims and evidence), pushing back on weak answers the way real committees do. Then it breaks character and turns every wobble into a preparation item.

## What This Skill Produces

- **The transcript** — 12–18 exchanges: questions, the candidate's plausible answers (or the user's real answers if they play along), and the follow-ups weak answers earn
- **The deliberation** — what the committee says after the candidate leaves the room
- **The debrief** — every exposed weakness ranked by preparability, with the answer-shape that would have held

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **The thesis substance** — abstract, chapter summaries, or the full argument; central claim, methods, key findings. The committee probes only what's supplied — thin input gets a thin defense, and says so.
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