I would also take it to mean that there are two possibilities at play, and that they may be both thinking and re-thinking, etc. I can't pinpoint this type of writing to an exact school of thought, but it strikes me that it would tie in with more interpretative approaches.

I did a lot of reading at the start too, trying to find a gap in the literature as well as trying to understand the field better. Even when I did have research questions and a proposal, they changed over time. I wouldn't worry too much at the six-week stage - just keep talking to your supervisor about your ideas.

Congratulations!

My experiences have something in common with Pjlu's - I have not enjoyed the parts that were not under my control (recruitment has been two years of stress and uncertainty - my one tip to any prospective candidate would be to come up with a research design that gives you as much control over timing etc as possible!). That said, it has been a unique time in my life when I have had time to read, write and think about things, and when my opinions and ideas have been valued, and if I wasn't already doing a PhD I would be sitting somewhere wishing that I was.

I got a chapter draft back this week with a note saying it doesn't need to be seen again - equal parts 'yay' and 'eek'! It would be nice if I could do that with all my chapters but we'll see!

Hugh, my supervisor seems to think that writing chapters/papers in tandem doesn't involve much more work than just writing the chapter, so I'm hoping to have a go at a couple of papers as I'm writing. I'm not clear yet about whether or not the paper needs to be a complete re-wording from the chapter though, which I imagine would be a bit annoying to do.

I took part in a MOOC last year, How to Survive your PhD, which was designed and co-ordinated by the writer of the Thesis Whisperer blog. One of the strengths of that one was that it encouraged people to form online groups and share their experiences - it has spawned quite a few on-going groups and activities.

I'm sorry to hear that. It's rotten losing a job and maybe even more so at this time of uncertainty at the end of your PhD, when you had something you enjoyed. I definitely don't think a slap is in order - it is hard to go from disappointment straight into the next thing and I can understand your feelings towards your corrections just now. I recommend mixing the job-hunting up with stuff you find relaxing this weekend.

It's not a nice position to be in, writing while hoping things will work out with your experiments. I am still collecting data too - not the way I wanted things to work out, writing up the bits I can while knowing I will need to adjust my argument according to whatever set of results I end up with! I am resigned to having to do some fast work at the end and pull something interesting out of my results, whatever they might turn up.

Our max is 80,000 words. I've mapped out the approximate number of words I think each chapter should have, and it comes to about 70,000 for my thesis, with room to go over!

I'm not sure if this will answer your questions properly, but here are some of my thoughts! In terms of output and documentation, it's really the thesis and any publications/conference presentations you do during your time - over and above that, you won't be asked to document much about your learning (unless by arrangement with your supervisor etc). I've done various types of learning during my PhD - learning about the topic itself (via my reading and note-taking), learning about the process of doing a PhD and the skills needed (via workshops at uni and my own reading) and learning specific skills (e.g. via teacher training, attending courses and reading texts on my research methods). It is pretty much self-managed though, and I think the extent of your reading and note-taking is part of the challenge - knowing what's going to help your thesis and what isn't!