as my son says 'yup, yup' I can get it for you - pm me where to send it

My sympathies, I really feel for you. I received minor corrections, not a R&R but some of my 'minor' corrections are tricky and I totally, fully, completely 'get' you when you say that you can hardly open your thesis document. Might it help psychologically to remove the beginning bit or at least not look at the title page etc and just try to focus on it as a word doc. It is really hard (and you know this) but the more you get back into it, the sooner you will be finished.

What I did was re-save the word doc and re-named it 'resubmission doc' and I work off that; somehow it helps a bit. At the moment I am tweaking a few things and restructuring my chapter layouts and so I am not rewriting anything. Therefore although I am working on it I am not reading it - that can wait! However it does help as a means of getting back into it.

Best of luck with it (up)

Inspirational news, huge congrats on your great achievement (up)

Hi Timefortea

I can get it if you want to pm me and tell me where to send it:-)

I wasn't asked this but at the same time it sounds like a variation of an early 'put candidate at their ease' type-question. There is no way Dalmation that you can anticipate everything, or indeed anything that can be asked. I was prepared to be asked about any weaknesses of my research but not what I was most proud of.

Your viva is soon, isn't it??

I tend not to go to conference dinners so maybe that's been my problem:$

LarryDavid is right though; try not to get too stressed - easier said than done I know. Less is def more re: slides - even a slide a minute is quite a lot. Postgrads, in my experience, don't tend to get asked too many difficult questions but even if you do, you could 'admit' that it's not something you had thought of/factored in etc but that it is an angle worth considering. Flatter the questioner and ask them to elaborate what they mean, or if they could point you to any references etc.

20 minutes is not long; trust me it will go by in a flash, or is that a blur??? Use the opportunity to network but also to go to other presentations and note the different presentations styles - what works etc, what falls flat on its face. As Larry says, don't have too much on your slides; a few key points which you then talk around. Nothing is more boring than sitting through a presentation where the person essentially presents exactly what is on their slides. Makes you feel they could have set the timer on their powerpoint and not bothered actually talking.

good luck with it(up)

======= Date Modified 02 Mar 2012 13:55:42 =======
what about http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ - it has a 'contact us' section although a trawl through the various sections might provide the data you're looking for??

Hi Swetchha

I would agree with Clupea in that you should add something like (emphasis added) or similar. While I know what you are do with the quote, I think it could be dangerous changing a quote; some examiners just might not like it. I would also leave American spellings in quotes as they are. If the rest of your thesis has British spelling you may feel you need to add (sic). However, I have a few 'sics' in my thesis which in my heart of hearts I felt were unnecessary but decided to play it safe.

Why would I laugh?; it sounds like you are going great guns :-). Far from laughing at my own typos, some of them were downright embarassing and almost brought tears to my eyes :$

Hi Swetchha, Huhu and Cindrella - you all sound a bit blue so I just wanted to say that you will do it, and the forum is behind you and believe that you will get there. The last few months/weeks I found terribly difficult and it's hard to maintain the motivation but you will all get there.

A virtual pressie for each of you, each filled with lots of positive thoughts (gift)(gift)(gift)

I did this too and as Batfink says it's good to indicate where in the thesis you have previously mentioned 'x'. Occasionally I put something like "as already discussed (See Chapter Two, Section 2.2.). Also don't forget that your examiners might not necessarily read your thesis from page 1 to 300 so it's probably advisable to signpost very clearly.

You could also try going direct to the publisher's and database websites and register with them for Table of contents alerts. You might have to be a little 'loose' with the truth as to where you are registered. I get ToC alerts for SAGE and Taylor and Francis journals very regularly. Also don't forget to use the advanced search option with Google Scholar as you can filter your results and also set up email alerts.

I would echo Bewildered's response and excellent advice. If you don't think you're at your best at the meetings in general, an agenda beforehand is a really good way to go. It shows that you are 'taking ownership':$ but also should help you get the most from the meetings.

Hi Cindrella

Good to see you back:-) - life sounds like it is full on for you at the moment. Keep plodding on as you say and you'll get there. Tick those things off your 'to-do' list and it'll happen, we have every faith in you (up)

Twice I didn't 'get' the question and both times asked for it to be rephrased only for me to still not get it:-( I thought this had cost me a pass and it affected my performance for the rest of the viva. It didn't appear to and I have since thought of fantastic answers that I should have/could have given if only I didn't get complete brain freeze.

I also had incidence where we had disagreement and handled it like Sneaks - that is part of it imo, it's an academic discussion among 'semi' colleagues. I don't think it's a problem if you disagree if you can back up what you say.

Let it go!

Why not self-impose a date for submission and between then and now, dip into it - open it up at any random section and proof for errors, typos etc. I would also scan your references and ToC for mistakes. I would also re-read your intro and conclusion chapter as this is often the first things that are read [wish I had done this myself!!]. After that, I would submit the darn thing!

Best of luck(up)