thanks guys.... your lists are really helpful. other circumstances have forced me to take a break - a one week break. my supervisor has also got back to me and we're meeting on friday! that's a record - he'll have read my entire thesis and got back to me in a week!

am so impressed!

@pepipox - where there is a will there is a way. looks like you have no will.

am not in debt given that i work part time and get family help in the form of accommodation. it only costs about 200 pounds a year to stay registered on a phd after the 3 years because you have already paid the full course fees. you are paying to access the library. wherever you are, you would have to pay rent and expenses. with 400 pounds you can live reasonably well in a shared house; but you have to be willing to make a sacrifice. otherwise there's no point moaning about it. as the previous poster has shown you, it is possible. if this is not what you want, try to find a job that you can do full time and close that chapter. by the way as a foreigner to get the right to work full time you have to graduate - whether thats PhD or Mphil in your case. if i were you i would go for the Mphil - worst case scenario - to get the right to work. otherwise you will be stuck in manual jobs.

all the best.

the problem is am afraid of a break because i think i might forget my argument! sigh... and spend ages trying to remember it!

but you're probably right. i have written the abstract and acknowledgement (which keeps changing!). i could do my bibliography.

My list:

1) bibliography.

you can do it!8-)

i can totally relate to that. i have written my whole thesis in exhaustion after having to restart after 3 years!

tip 1: take one day a time. forget how tiring it has been writing 5 chapters already. congratulate yourself for meeting that daily target.

tip 2: take weekends off. work hard in the week and reward yourself regularly. otherwise you'll burn out. you can attend to your friends in this time and inform them you are unavailable in the week.

tip 3: have targets. i found monthly targets helpful in going for the first draft. although i didn't meet them all, they kept me on my toes.

tip 4: you are more than halway there. you have started writing and supervisors are cooperating!

all the best!

hi Sneaks! that is really encouraging. i also have a publication from the wrong PhD! maybe i should look to getting more out of it when am done.

Pepipox - i restarted after THREE years! when my supervisors said there was a problem with my research question i almost died! how could they have wasted my life and money for so long!

anyway, here is what i have to say: for me i did it because i could not see life another way. my phd was my dream, my passion. if i quit i would have spent the rest of my life feeling like a failure. today, about a year and 9 months later i have a complete draft of my new thesis! in three months, i should be done. what i did was change supervisors and find someone who was willing to supervise under the circumstances.

this happened to a lot of my friends - foreigners - in my rubbish uni which claims and is regarded as one of the top unis. all of them quit. only one girl stuck it out. she was literally depressed by it all. one of my friends got high blood pressure and was on constant medication. i don't know if she ever finished.

but what i can say is am here and i have done it. 1.5 years is a long time to get your act together with a cooperative supervisor. 2. 5 adding the extra year is too much time. you will find that you do things faster. you know more. even if its a different field. you're more disciplined after the shock, so you can do it if you put your mind to it.

i can understand the age factor. it is a pain thinking about it. but am only 3 months away and for me it was worth it not giving up. whether i get a job or not. funding-wise; my funding ended. i work part time and get support from family.

take time off and think seriously and follow your hearts desire.

all the best(up)

hi guys, so I have now completed and handed in my first draft which has taken me over four years after various bad experiences with supervisors. i thought i'd be over the moon, but i feel lost.

what do you do next. i know my thesis is still over the word count and some arguments could be better. am aware that i could work on these but am wondering if i should wait to hear from my supervisor first.

what did you guys do after your first draft. what do people do in the corrections phase? do you just keep improving. how did you manage your time. did you allocate a week to improve each chapter?

i need some guidance here so i don't laze about and waste more time. i want to be done asap.

a list of things i could check and work on would really been helpful from those who've been there.

thanks a lot guys!

ps: having a structure didn't work! i ended up mixing it all up for it to flow..

what was your experience?

now its time to polish it and get this phd off my back!

So i have written a sensible (one that flows) draft of the discussion chapter - but its far behind in quality than what i expected! its also a tad bit boring!

has anyone experienced this kind of anticlimax? there is only so much that can be said in 15000 words! the good thing though is i see some connections between theories which can be improved on further reading!

how do the rest of you feel about your draft discussion chapters?

congrats!

I usually aim for three productive hours a day. Any more than that is icing on the cake. Some good days I have six productive hours. I think more time is spent reading and thinking.. and less writing. By productive hours am refering to writing time. Just do what works for you as long as you stick to it each day.

this may be an encouragement to someone:

my supervisor finally got back to me on Chapters which i thought were pretty damn silly. i'd even cringe reading them as I'd taken a risk to just be myself and put down my thoughts on paper - i.e. forget what everyone is saying and speak for yourself and then relate to what everyone is saying approach.

apparently my supervisor was really impressed with them and as a result is very confident about me getting this PhD should i write the next chapter well. He even went to point out what the originality of my thesis was - i was not that confident in it - til he put it into words. we even went on to agree on what the remaining chapter should be about!

am so happy!!! i've got my energy back now. :-) am amazed by how quickly the energy levels return after positive feedback.

hang in there.. it will all work out. put the fear aside and just go for it. it may be that risk you take - saying stuff you're not sure about - that ends up being your original contribution as is the case in my thesis.
i'm going for near final draft standard, therefore i anticipate just one revision of the thesis.

i only have one Chapter to go - the discussion chapter (still struggling with it! but at least we've ironed out what should be there and what shouldn't be there) - which he wants to see soonest. Lets see what I can get done by Friday!

*or lacking depth.

i can't remember when i last enjoyed a good night out on Friday! have to keep up with the writing..

today's been ok.. although creativity has been at zero! lets hope when i read it tomorrow it will make some sense.

anyway, the only way out of this is to get it written. i suppose that's the hardest part. no one ever recognises what you started. just what you finished.

Sigh.. that said, am almost done with the boring part: comparing. then i'll write the exciting part which is the discusion. i feel like am either repeating myself of lacking depth in analysis, but i suppose i will improve that in the next draft which is the second and final (fingers crossed) draft!
;
i have come to accept that the most important thing is to get it all out there - mistakes and all - and then polish it. :-)

Sneaks - i also feel like i can't follow things anymore. especially the chapters i've drafted 5+ times! take heart, we'll get there - eventually. speaking of exhausting, writing can be so draining!

Aye!