Unless your dissertation is going to be directly related to the PhD, I don't think the length of it will make a lot of difference. From my experience / observations, the dissertation is about learning a set of skills you can then apply to the PhD (ie - less about knowledge and more about learning to research & present research) ... the amount you write won't make all that much difference.

I'd go for Liverpool because, at grad level, the quality of your department is way more important than the quality of your instituion - really, working with top academics is what'll give you a head start with a PhD and an academic career. Also, there's no reason why an MRes will be an "easier" or better route to a PhD, in my opinion. You'll get on a PhD with a good MA, with no problem at all.

Just wanted to add - the easiest thing would be to approach your MA convener / personal tutor (whatever you have or call it), and ask her / him this question.

Your referees would predict your MA grade based on previous work / their knowledge of you. I got funding for my PhD WAY before my MA results were out (before I'd even finished the dissertation) on that basis.

I agree with o.stoll - very good advice, there.

I certainly will help, QTPie - both with quotes & also proof-reading. I used to be an English teacher, so will gladly cover your writing back. Hehe.

There is a scheme where you can become a researcher in residence at a local secondary school ...

http://www.researchersinresidence.ac.uk/rir/

Worth investigating & a very worthwhile experience according to some people I know who have done it. It will also look good on your C.V., and gain you some teaching experience!

Why don't you approach the "Times High Education Supplement" & pitch an article about this subject to them. You're in an ideal position to get excellent quotes, and I think they'd really go for it. They seem to like a bit of drama, and inadqeute supervision of graduate students has been a hot topic of late ...

Try to be as strong as you can. Go and see the Doctor and get a medical diagnosis of severe stress. Get him to write a letter for you. Then, file a formal complaint against your supervisor for professional misconduct. Make it clear you will make a fuss if something is not sorted out. That would be the course of action I'd take.

Do you feel your supervisor has harassed / bullie you at all? That would also be ground for complaint, especially if you have evidence.

I'm more of a cigarettes and coke (the soft drink not the drug) kinda girl, myself. But I know many who lean of choclatey goodness ...

This is a good read on the loneliness of research:

http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/staffpages/richardb/PhDtalk.html

Very sensible it is, too!

Read this:

http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/staffpages/richardb/PhDtalk.html

Very wise words!

Everybody feels like you do, some or even most of the time. Don't let it get you down. All part of the learning curve.

1) Approach your supervisor and explain how you're feeling. Say you feel low, and need a bit of encouragement to get going again. Come up with a short, easily managed task with him/her (something simple done over a week), then meet again to discuss what you've done and get some feedback.

2) Work on your self-esteem and self-confidence. Prasie *yourself*. Write a list of all the things you're proud of in your life (NOT just in terms of the PhD) & decorate the page with smiley faces (well, perhaps that would be going too far ... ) Think about who makes you feel good about yourself (parents? siblings? friends?) and spend some time with them, letting them know you feel a bit unconfident at the moment & asking for support.

You sound like a really nice, sensitive person, so try not to let all this usual (and it REALLY is usual) PhD crap get you down! Plus you have a cool user name, which made me smile.

Hi lemoncheesecake. I'm just going to quite some snippets back from your post, as seeing them together really got me thinking about why you feel so low:

"i actually enjoyed it at the start as i was working on a small project that got me lots of good feedback so i felt like i was doing something worthwhile."

"im easily discouraged when i cant do things or when i dont understand"

"im fed up of the isolation where you feel youre the only person who cares about your work"

These things say to me that you're finding the isolation of the PhD really tough, especially as you seem to thrive on positive feedback (who doesn't?!) I don't think that there's one person who has done a PhD and HASN'T felt like this or suffered from the endless isolation. I reckon you could do two things that might help this:

Sorry - I just mean that you sound very negative about yourself in your post, and that is a classic symptom of depression ... feelings of worthlessness & guilt, I mean. I really somehow very much doubt you are THAT bad at what you do, or you wouldn't have been accepted on a PhD in the first place, and certainly would have been kicked-off by now.