viva voce
viva voce — noun
1. a university test in which the student must answer questions by speaking to an e
a university test in which the student must answer questions by speaking to an examiner rather than by writing answers down.
Anna spent the whole weekend preparing for her viva voce on medieval French poetry.
The history department replaced its final written exam with a viva voce.
replaced [written exam] with a viva voce
After submitting her thesis, Devika faced a two-hour viva voce with three senior examiners.
Unlike the written paper, the viva voce let Leo explain his arguments in detail.
A viva voce is often the final hurdle before a doctoral degree is awarded.
Students took a viva voce exam in the professor's office for their master's degree.
Camille prepared nervously for her viva voce defence of the doctoral thesis.
Many UK universities require a viva voce interview before accepting a research proposal.
The viva voce format allows examiners to probe deeper into the candidate's reasoning.
- written exam
a test answered by writing rather than speaking
文法句型
a/the viva voce
viva voce + on [topic]
用法筆記
Common in British university systems; in everyday speech often shortened to 'viva'. Not used in American academic contexts — 'oral exam' or 'defence' is preferred. The phrase can also be used attributively before a noun (e.g., 'viva voce exam', 'viva voce defence') to describe the exam type, though the noun 'viva voce' already refers to the exam itself.
常見錯誤
viva voce — idiom
1. Something done viva voce is carried out by speaking rather than by writing, with
Something done viva voce is carried out by speaking rather than by writing, with no written record of the exchange.
The two managers agreed viva voce to merge their departments, but nothing was written down.
Bilal gave his report viva voce at the board meeting instead of distributing printed notes.
give a report viva voce
The committee voted viva voce, with each member calling out their choice aloud.
A verbal contract agreed viva voce can still be legally binding in some situations.
- orally
more common in everyday English; less formal
- by word of mouth
same meaning but sounds slightly less formal than 'viva voce'
- in writing
done through written documents rather than speech
文法句型
do something viva voce
agree viva voce
be decided viva voce
用法筆記
Used adverbially — placed after the verb. Distinguish from the noun 'viva voce' (sense 1), which is a countable thing (an exam); this sense is an adverbial phrase describing how something is done.