Hello Cplusplusgirl,

I think that your feelings are perfectly normal. Many people consider the writing up period as the most stressful in their PhDs, but the post-submission/ post-viva period may be more stressful.

I had minor corrections with a 3-months deadline too, and my internal examiner's corrections were written more in the form of comments - thus subject to interpretation - than as corrections. He didn't seem particularly interested in discussing any of the amendments, so I did them as I thought it was appropriate and I sent them to him along with a rationale.

I actually managed to complete them in two weeks, although at the first glance it looked like it would take forever. There were two or three amendments that I would have prefer not to insert, and I don't think that my thesis is any better with them, but this is what it was required to get through, and so I did it.

In the end I got the confirmation letter that my corrections had been accepted straight from Registry, rather than from the internal, which says enough about his personality. It was very stressful, but I was also confident that I would pull it through. Both examiners had given me their reports on my thesis after the viva, and their comments were more than positive, so although annoying it was the last effort before completion.

So, what it looks like an elephant now, may turn into a mouse once you tackle it. I would try to do it as quickly as possible, and then send your revised copy to the internal along with a rationale were you explain what you have been doing and why. If there is anything that requires further polishing is in his interest and also in the interest of the department that it is tackled properly, and you will have time to do it.

Be positive, you are very, very close to the light!
(up)

I understand your position Delta, and I agree with you.
Also my supervisor offered to come to the viva too, but I politely declined. As you said, I couldn't see the point of him being there, when I had to work by myself for the past three years.

I think that it is just matter of politely say: "Thank you very much, but I would rather prefer not. I will probably be nervous on the day, and I would prefer to be there by myself."

Hello Baileyjo246,

In the UK the MLitt is acquired after the MA as far as I know. It is a postgraduate degree, but as you probably know there are differences even between the Scottish system and the English. What I would suggest is to enquire the UK agency for international academic and professional qualifications, NARIC. I think that they should be able to tell you what the US correspondent is, and what use you can make of it in your country.

Here is the link:
http://www.naric.org.uk/

Hi Screamingaddabs,

Universities have strict entry requirements about English language. Obviously they want to ensure that students can understand lectures and produce good quality papers. In my uni there are academic language courses that PGs can attend, although I don't think that you can learn very much in six weeks or so.

Personally I think that there is never a point when a non-native speaker can write an article and submit it to a magazine without having it proof-read by a native speaker. I know a few Lecturers whose first language is not English, and definitely they get their manuscripts proof-read before they publish them.

As a non-native speaker myself, I can say that my writing has improved a lot since I first started studying in the UK. Nonetheless, there will always be something that need to be ironed out I am afraid.

I taught my native language as a foreign language, and I can say the same for my former students. Even the best and most accurate ones needed help when it was down to writing official letters/ reports etc. Some of them had excellent language skills, but the every-day use of language is one thing, academic writing quite another.

Hello Delta,

You have got excellent advice already. The only thing that I can add would be to look at the job vacancies in the web-site of your city-council. They often organise leisure evening courses on a range of topics and you could do some teaching for them.

You can of course decide to offer private tuitions. You could also try your uni library, they might need some casual help in the evenings or weekends.

In my Uni, departments ask willing PGs to take notes or assist disable students at lectures and tutorials. The hourly rate is not a lot -£8.50 - but it's better than nothing.

Good Luck with it!

C.
:-)

I think that it is entirely possible to make it, although you know that it probably won't be easy. You know that you are capable of working and achieving good results, so you should really focus on this. In the meantime, you could perhaps consider switching to part-time? or maybe taking a short suspension of studies?

Also, if your supervisor is concerned about your approach to work, could you discuss with him/her what he/she would suggest doing about it? Focus on short-term goals, do not think about 2, 3 etc years ahead. As it has been said, do not look at what other PhD students do. Every person is different and faces different problems in different ways.

Get yourself out of the house/office. Do some not-PhD related activities, go to the gym, do some voluntary work, meet people. You will face your PhD work with different eyes and a different state of mind.

Can you make it? Yes, you can! (up)

Hi Cornflower,

First of all, be kind to yourself. If you have been going through a difficult period in your life, no wonder that you struggle to concentrate effectively on your PhD. Delta's suggestion is excellent. Counselling might help you, but I guess that part of the problem here is also lack of self-confidence.

We all need to feel that what we are and what we do is appreciated to feed our confidence. Presenting a paper that is well received by the audience, teaching to a class of responsive students, publishing an article, organising a seminar, etc. are all activities that would push you out of your dark corner and help feeding your confidence levels.

I think that by mentioning the "drop out" option your supervisor wanted to give you a kick and see if it sparked a reaction, and it did. You have the ability to get this project completed, but you need to work on your self-esteem and self-confidence first. Don't be ashamed to ask for help if you need it. Everything will start to flow afterwards.

Hello Pineapple29!

I think that you are going through the struggle that we all face during the writing up period all over again, and it is normal to feel overwhelmed when you work on such a long document. But as you said, you are making good progress, you are doing all the right things, and as you are not starting from zero, you can progress through the re-writing relatively quickly. So, there are many positive points to focus on.

I wouldn't be too concerned about new things that emerge now, or be tempted to change the focus of your thesis. I would focus on what your examiners suggested. Should I write my thesis now, I would probably changed 70% of it (and my viva was only three months ago!). There is probably never a point when you can comfortably say that your research is finished, and in the end, this is only an exercise - however big - to show that you are capable of doing research.

You will get to the end of this period before you know it. July is tomorrow.

======= Date Modified 29 Oct 2011 19:33:26 =======
Hi Boatgirl,

I am really sorry that you are going through such a difficult time. I don't feel the best equipped person to give advice to anyone, but as I am not anymore in my 20s (thus I have some experience of life), and I completed my PhD in spite of poor supervision, I can say something about my own personal experience.

Unfortunately there are a few threads on this forum about poor supervision/ bad relationships with supervisors, and the frustration that comes with that. This means that this is much more common than we think. Nonetheless, students tend not to talk with other colleagues/ staff in their departments, because complaints are often dismissed lightly.

I have been in the university environment in different capacities (tutor/ clerk and student), so I have some knowledge of how things are handled, and there is very little in place to support students or to check how supervisors do their jobs (albeit things are slowly changing). Review forms in my uni were made in such way that my supervisor could access my review of his supervisory work, but I couldn't read what he wrote about my progress, which I feel was unfair to say the least.

As I probably said elsewhere in the forum, if you complain you are perceived as a trouble maker, and this reinforces the feeling that supervisors can get away with anything. To make a long story short, I fought in the only way I knew I could get to the end: by dealing with my supervisor as least as possible, keeping my projects to myself and keeping supervisory meetings to the bare minimum. I also kept records of them and any e-mail correspondence as reference.

The PhD itself was a wonderful project and I really enjoyed my research time. I am an independent person and luckily I managed to keep on track without his support, but there have been some very hard moments, where i wondered why I was putting myself through that emotional roller-coaster. I think that I reached completion only thanks to my determination.

Retrospectively, I think that I made the right choice, but only because it was for a few years. Certainly there is a system that needs to be changed, and I can see that rules are getting stricter for both students and supervisors now -possibly because many people leave or fail. But so far I have never seen a bad supervisor being sacked. Sadly, on the contrary, I saw students who had to resign because the department was totally unsupportive.

Other people may have more positive stories to counter-balance my not-so-positive experience. I think that the important thing for you now is to focus on your completion and find ways to cope with what you are going through (e.g. counselling). If you have a 2nd supervisor or anyone else you can rely upon, you can see if they can help you to move forward with your research.

There is not an easy way forward, but you can find your own way to reach completion. If you are in the humanities it will be easier than it would be if you were in a lab working with a restricted group of people.

Anyway, I wish you all the best for your project, and hope that things will improve soon for you.

C.

Hi Nick1,

You don't mention at what stage you are - year 1 or 2? And in what area you are researching - humanities, social sciences? That can make quite a difference!

Is it the first draft of your chapter? Have you gone through annual research assessment interviews yet? I don't think that anyone can expect to write something that is not object of criticism.

I went against all the published literature in my subject area, particularly against what my external examiner had published, but I provided compelling evidence that my idea was correct and for this very reason I got my PhD.

It is important that you realise that:

1) your peers might be wrong
2) You can learn to defend your thesis (e.g. what evidence do you have to support your theory x?)
3)  Even if they are right you can use their criticism to improve your thesis
4) You cannot expect to have a fully developed project in year 1 or at the beginning of year 2. Even in the course of your "writing up" year things can develop further, or take an unexpected direction.

I know that we build our self-confidence also on the basis of what other people think about us and what we do, but it is a healthy exercise to detach from
other people's opinions and focus on how to improve our work.

I agree with Ian here. I have been there, and in my experience I can tell you that people will show a lot of sympathy, but they will do nothing to help you.

My own sup made a complete fool of himself in front of other colleagues, but then, he was forced to apologise and it was made clear to me that I should have accepted the apology. He is now HoS. I very much doubt that an official complaint would have changed anything.

Again, as Ian suggested, I would tread very carefully. Your current sup is in the position to poison the environment, and it would be very, very difficult for you to move forward in that case. Who do you think they are going to support? You said that your 2nd sup didn't sound too surprised - this should tell you something. I am sure that this person's behaviour is well known, nonetheless he is there and aware that he can get away with it, which is sad.

Although we work in a department we might not be fully aware of the dynamics of that place, and what is going on behind the curtains, so I would try the "soft" approach before going for the official complaint.

Many thanks for your help and support Bilbo. You will be missed!
I send you a virtual present(gift)

Hi Delta,

Well done for submitting! I do understand your concerns, but as you said there is a moment in which you have to take the plunge and write the word end.
You have done your very best and you deserve to pass with flying colours. Good luck with your viva, and do keep us posted.

(up)

Hello Alan1612,

I am really sorry that, like Florence, you feel so low. It's easy to end up in a spiral of depressive thoughts when you work by yourself for a long time. A lot of other factors, such as poor supervision, lack of structure or support etc., can influence our perception and attitude.
But we can work to change this. Getting counselling is a very good thing to do. You read your thesis as whole, coherent piece of work, which is an excellent idea. You have seen were the "holes" are, and if you stop panicking for a moment, I am sure that you can also see how to fix those problems. You still have time to do it.

I won't bore you with my personal story, because I surely annoyed everyone else to death with it already, but I thought about withdrawing from my studies many times. In the end, if I had done so, I would have wasted four years of work to no avail. So I thought that if I stayed on board, in the worse case scenario I might have finished with a lower degree (e.g. MPhil), which - however disappointing - still is a higher degree.

Luckily this was not the case and I am going to graduate with my PhD shortly. It was a long journey, sometimes exciting, sometimes very hard, but it worth the effort.

If you sit down and list all the good things that you have done/ achieved in the course of your PhD, I am sure that you will find renewed energy to move forward. I am sure it will be a long list (and for Florence, if you are a funded student, this must mean something!).

You are both very, very close to completion, you cannot miss the finishing line!!!







(up)

You are welcome. Good luck with your work, I am sure that you will make it.
I send you a virtual cake to lift your morale in the meantime! (mince)