Completely agree with the posts below. I am not particularly clever, articulate or knowledgeable. However, I am determined, prepared to make sacrifices, and hugely critical of my own work. I will hammer away at it until my work is of an excellent standard.

Eska that's so interesting! And after all these years I have mocked him for it! I am going to email him now and ask how he's getting on with it. M x

I'm nursing a hangover and staring at a stack of unread journal articles. I hate myself. Hope you all have a more productive day than I am bound to have.

I'm nursing a hangover and staring at a stack of unread journal articles. I hate myself. Hope you all have a more productive day than I am bound to have.

I know someone who did their PhD on the names of Dickens's characters and tried to trace the etymology of each name and relate it to the personality of the character. I couldn't help but think perhaps CD was just fond of the name Oliver...

Hi guys, you have some interesting perspectives on this. I personally think it's a shame (and typical) that the fact of whether or not one is funded contributes to the competitiveness that we find in academia. No one can help what kind of background they come from, and so it's a shame that this causes bitterness and snobbery. I am self-funding, and I very rarely think about who else is.

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In a research class I was auditing the other day, one student made a disparaging remark about students who self-fund their way through a PhD. He stated that such students are typically less capable, and it was unfair on exceptional students who miss out on funding opportunities, and have to forego their PhDs because they cannot afford it. He said that as a result, weaker candidates (with rich parents) are doing PhDs, and that this made a mockery of academia. This led to a very uncomfortable discussion, particularly after he said that 'you can often tell who is self-funding'. What surprised me, was that this sparked a debate in which he got a fairly equal amount of support and criticism. What do others think about this?

Thanks guys, I'll pass this on. She is self-funding for her first year and hoping to get funding thereafter. She got a first and an award, and has been advised to go straight to PhD in her institution but still has to go through the formalities of applying (even though she has worked on her project proposal with her supervisor). I COMPLETELY agree that she should have done an MA nevertheless but there you go. Thanks M.

I ALWAYS wonder this exact thing. If approached, are supervisors obliged to agree to it? What if they secretly don't like the student, the project, or think that the student is not particularly capable? I have never come across a supervisor who has not agreed to supervise, and I always wonder why more don't decline. Not very helpful--but this is a good question!

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Any advice on what key things my sister can say in her PhD application (personal statement thing which asks about skills and training, and objectives)? Her subject is social History, which is not my field. She's going in straight from undergraduate so it needs to be impressive. Thanks, M.

Someone gave me excellent advice before: take something you wrote a while ago (an essay or an article that you haven't thought about since writing it) and go through it and mark it as if it were written by someone else. You will very quickly notice flaws in your own style that are difficult to pick up WHILE you are writing (when you're in the writing process, it is hard to dissociate yourself from your work, and so it is hard to improve your style). Once you have identified your bad habits, try to apply it to your work as you go along.

The short answer to this question is YES. My life is 100% on hold. I've felt like this for YEARS now! Sometimes I think it's good to remind yourself that since you're in no rush to get old and die, there's no point in rushing the good things either. We'll get there. M.x

Hi guys, thanks for your comments. I think you're all right when you say that it's inappropriate to mention personal circumstances, I'm just finding it difficult not to! The reference I have to fill out has a specific criteria to follow ie--how did the students grade rank against others in the course, how did the candidate respond to supervision etc, and I just want to screw it up and write JUST LET THEM IN, THEY DESERVE IT!

Hi,

I've done a few, what's the subject?

If a student has under performed due to personal circumstance (ill-health, bereavement etc), is it worth it and/or appropriate to write this in their academic reference? A potentially very capable student with an average-good grade after a slightly shaky year which wasn't anything to do with their talent. Or, is it not wise to say anything like this? For example, the student worked really hard to get the grade they got, which under the circumstances was quite impressive, but it's not an impressive mark if you don't know that they had struggled etc. Thanks M.