Please report back here with an update after your viva. Like the others said, if the science is good but the thesis is bad, the worst you are going to get is R&R. And I doubt it would even come to that. I bet you pass with minor corrections.

I've said it before, but Mendeley does all this and more. Yes I know it's a reference management software, but it allows you to highlight text and make notes and search everything simultaneously. You can see when you uploaded articles and see which ones you haven't read yet. You can sort stuff into folders as well if you want. It's a great free resource.

Bear in mind you can never remember everything and you shouldn't try to. As long as you can find it when you need it, that's enough.

Oh yeah, mine's similar actually. Forgot about that as I don't know anyone that's ever done it. You have to pay £500 if you go into the 5th year and if you get a revise and resubmit verdict.

My department charges zero for the 4th 'write up' year, and for any correction time, unless it was pre-agreed that you would pay (ie if you're funded for four years with fee payment for 4 years). I've known them to waive fees in the 4th year as well for students whose funding fell through.

Your uni is a little crazy I suggest.

Um looks like it's the same everywhere. Put it this way, term starts next week at my uni and they only just employed me yesterday. I will be teaching some subjects I have no idea about and I can't start for at least a month either!

Yes you can ask a PI for a recommendation letter if you were only in the lab for a semester. You could get other letters from your academic tutor, or a unit leader that you had some decent interaction with.

Don't worry about the doctor thing. You can always explain this in any interview you get if needed. I doubt anyone cares about that.

I would mention your gap year in your statement of purpose, yes.

I wouldn't mention your health in the statement. They aren't supposed to be judging applications on a personal basis, so that's why they aren't in the application form. They can't ask these kind of questions at interviews either (although they may do).

Yes you can include unpublished papers in your CV as 'under preparation' or 'under review in xxx journal' if applicable. You need to be honest about author order. To tell you the truth, no one cares about 2nd or 3rd authors, only first and last.

In the UK, if you take a stipend and quit you don't have to repay.

Obviously I'm not an expert, this is just information I've gleaned from my previous work in financial services and from financial qualifications I've taken.

Your local council gives you free council tax on the basis of your student status - your university informs them of this automatically, although sometimes they hassle you for written proof, which you can get from the university as well.

It doesn't matter how rich you are or how much you earn, if you are a student you don't have to pay council tax.

Expenses also don't count as income so you don't need to declare those to anyone either.

You just let yourself be paid by whomever is going to pay you, and then HMRC will treat you as any other employed person. You don't need to mention your stipend to them as it is not classed as income so doesn't make any difference. If you get 'benefits in kind' from your employer, those need to be declared to HMRC as they are taxable. Expenses are not benefits in kind though. I'm not sure about claiming rent expenses - that may be a benefit in kind.

Thank you Chickpea!

Biological Sciences for BSc, Genetics for MSc and Molecular Biology PhD.

Ok, so you may have a bit of a learning curve as you're switching topics slightly. My masters was relatively similar topic area so was an easier transition.

I bet you'll be fine though. Good luck!

Yep this is pretty normal - just check your supervisor is ok with your progress and if so you will likely be fine.

I think 12 hours a week is ok, but you would need to make sure it didn't go beyond this otherwise you will lose value time for research/your social life. If you like teaching, or want an academic position afterwards, then I think the teaching one is a good choice.

My PhD was a general scholarship and I did around 3 hours of teaching a week.

I just got a temporary teaching position at a great uni :)

I reckon a year's break is fine - just put a spin on it with the transferable skills you will have learnt :)

No it's not normal - a student should know what every line of their thesis means in the sciences too. I have also had to help many people with basic Word functions, so that doesn't surprise me, although it shouldn't be that way!

I think you need to stick with your supervisors advice if you haven't got any better ideas. You might need to ask him for more specific help if you are really stuck.

Have you spoken to anyone in your department about this? The head of your graduate school or pastoral carers?