Work out how long each section should run, then turn your slides into a script timed to match. Free to try — no signup.
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You know the research. You wrote it. Then an examiner asks why you didn't use a different methodology, and the answer — which you have known for two years — arrives as three false starts and a long pause. The problem was never the work. It was that you had never said any of it out loud in full sentences.
Most defenses move through five parts. The split below is a typical allocation, not a standard— formats vary by country and institution, and your department's guidance always wins. It is a useful starting shape when you have nothing else to work from.
| Part | Share of speaking time | What examiners are weighing |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction & background | ~15% | Frame the problem and why it matters. Examiners are deciding whether the question was worth asking. |
| Literature review | ~15% | Show the gap. Not a reading list — an argument that something was missing. |
| Methodology | ~25% | The section examiners probe hardest. Justify every choice, including the ones you rejected. |
| Results & findings | ~28% | What you found, plainly. Lead with the answer to your research question. |
| Discussion & conclusion | ~17% | What it means, what it does not mean, and what you would do next. |
Enter your slot and slide count. You'll get minutes and a word budget per section — the two numbers you need before writing a single line.
| Section | Time | Words | Slides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction & background | 2 min | ~232 | ~3 |
| Literature review | 2 min | ~232 | ~3 |
| Methodology | 4 min | ~386 | ~5 |
| Results & findings | 4 min | ~433 | ~5 |
| Discussion & conclusion | 2 min | ~263 | ~3 |
| Q&A — not scripted | 6 min | — | — |
A starting point — adjust to your department's format. Defense structures vary by country and institution, and your supervisor's guidance beats any generic split. Word counts assume roughly 110 words per minute of slot time, which allows for the pauses and transitions a real defense contains.
These come up again and again. Scripting your answers to them is worth more than rehearsing the slides a fourth time.
The most reliably asked question in a defense. Examiners want to hear that you chose, rather than defaulted — and that you know what the alternative would have cost you.
Naming them yourself is the strong move. Being told them is the weak one. Prepare three, and a sentence on why each was acceptable.
Answer in one sentence before elaborating. Candidates who ramble here sound unsure of their own contribution.
Not a trap. A candidate who cannot answer it looks uncritical of their own work.
Have the justification ready as a number and a reason, not an apology.
Turning a finished deck into a word-for-word script by hand takes most candidates a full day. SlideScript reads your actual slides — figures, data tables, findings — and writes in an academic register, with each slide given its own time allocation and transitions that connect your argument from opening to conclusion. You edit what you want to change and rehearse the rest.
Upload either directly — .pptx is converted automatically. Up to 5 files, 3.5MB each.
Not happy with slide 5? Try 'make this more academic' or 'shorten this to 45 seconds'.
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Roughly 110 words per minute of slot time — lower than raw speaking speed because a real defense includes pauses, transitions and breathing room. A 20-minute slot with Q&A included leaves about 14 minutes of speaking, or roughly 1,550 words. The calculator above works it out per section for your exact slot.
Write the full script, then rehearse until you no longer need it. The script is preparation, not a teleprompter — it forces you to decide the exact words for the hard parts, especially the methodology justification, so you are not composing sentences under pressure.
Enter your exact slot duration and SlideScript distributes speaking time across your slides automatically. If the slot includes Q&A, set that in the calculator above first — it changes the speaking budget substantially.
Yes — free users get 2 scripts per day with no signup required, for decks up to 15 slides. Defense decks often run longer than that: Starter ($0.99) covers 30 slides, Creator ($3.99) 60 slides, and Pro ($7.99) up to 100.
PDF and PowerPoint (.pptx) both work — upload either directly, and PowerPoint files are converted automatically. Google Slides and Keynote decks export to PDF, which works too. You can upload up to 5 files, each under 3.5MB.
Upload your defense slides, set your time limit, and get a word-for-word script ready to rehearse.
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