Sorry - this post is very long!
My post it notes ( it was a while ago) went like this=
chapter one-post it page w - chapter structure and main theme
post it page x -sub theme 1 - summary of (key words)
post it page y - sub theme 2 - summary of (key words)
etc
post it page z - conclusion (key words)
But I did a lot of post its that I left out eventually - I just found them useful and had a pile of them as reminders eg theories, arguments, plus comments on my expereince of actually doing the research - challenges re time management/ data collection/what I would do differently if starting again/ what I had learnt over the three years/which parts of the thesis would I most likely try to get published and why (this last one is a bit tricky - but think about gaps in the literature at the moment)
Remember that you don't need to know all the answers and it is better to acknowledge that rather than going into waffling mode, eg to a difficult question you response could be 'yes I found that rather tricky but tried to overcome it by taking x approach'.
Hope this is helpful, but really it isn't that bad. You will probably come out of it feeling that you have taken part in a very vigorous debate in which you views have been fully challenged but that ultimately you have come out the winner because you've passed. Even if you have to rewrite parts of the thesis you should be given guidance on what you have to rewrite.
It's very difficult to second guess the examiner's questions but as long as you've got a good grasp of what you've written you shoud be ok
PS I had a look at some of my old notes on viva preparation - i don't know if I wrote them or I was given them, but they are relevent
1.Literature
Know the literature that you have cited. This doesn't mean that you have to suddenly become familiar with literature that you're worried you should perhaps have cited, as I thought. It means that you should reread the key studies that you have drawn on, looking critically at issues such as their methodology, their conclusions etc
Think about what you do want to talk about in your viva, so that you can try to bring the conversation back to your strengths eg I may not have done that, but this is what I did do.
2.research aims
Think very carefully about what you have said your research will do, particularly if you have listed research aims. Did you actually achieve these aims?
3.terms used
Be clear about the terms you have used, and what they mean to you.
4.the 'main message' of your thesis
Think about what the 'main message' of your thesis is.
During the viva They're looking for:
A coherent, robust defence of your thesis - have confidence in what you've written. A defence of your ideas, but not in an arrogant way. A coherent thesis in terms of where it's going, what line of argument you're following. A narrative - a story with a thread running through it that takes the reader from the beginning to the end. Don't worry if the examiner seems unsympathetic. It could be that she perceives your work as excellent, and wants a good discussion. Remain confident that what you've done is worthwhile. You're bound to be asked about something you didn't expect - expect the unexpected!
?In one sentence - what is your thesis
?Summarise your key findings.
?What contribution to knowledge does your PhD make?
?Why did you do the research this way ? Why not that way? A chance to defend your methodology.
?Looking back, what might you have done differently? Requires a thoughtful answer, whilst defending what you did at the time.
?What have you learned from the process of doing your PhDHas your view of - whatever your research topic is - changed during the course of the research?
?How did your research questions emerge?
?Any ethical issues relating to your research? How did you deal with them?
?What do you consider the weaknesses of your study? (try not to take up too much time here).
?Have you thought about publications - which journals?
?Ideas for future research?