I had a nightmare when i decided to combine all of my sections into one and had to re-do the numbering of the headings etc.

I used section breaks to set up the roman numerals and used the intructions which are already posted below but if your using word 2007 then i have no idea if it is the same.

On page one of the intro im sure there is a 'start at one' or any other number that you choose box or somthing like that to tick in that same section - if its not there then its in the footer tab

i used the insert endnote function in word for referencing - my text shows it as numbers but if i want to cross-reference it then i have to figure out what the roman numeral equ is

good luck - im hoping its done next week so feel your pain

Do not make the same mistake i made and buy the other ones - if you really liked the first one then you will lose the next 3 days reading them all and get nothing done.

I thought book 4 was a little silly i think so theres no real need to rush out and buy that one

its also healthy to have another interest than just doing pHD work - im so looking forward to reading for pleasure and not necessity (yeah for next week if i manage to hand in the thesis)

This discussion reminds me of an old one about does a phd make you ugly and discussion with other phd'ers in my department confirms weight gain as a consequence of too many nice biscuits and cakes in the office (especially when they are swedish death by chocolate which is just butter, chocolate and sugar).

sorry but true especially when now spend almost all day in front of a computer typing a thesis

I think i have used stuffit (or its called something really similar) to zip files before - im sure its free or you can get a trial version

Hey I also coming to the end of my third year in september of a science phd and have found the best way to right up is doing it as you go along.

After my 21 month (july 08) report i cut and pasted the results that i had then into a seperate document and have added the results from all my experiments since into it. Its worked out really well as both my supervisors can see the results of all of the experiments i have done and its all there in one document so if we are having a discussion and something interesting comes up then we can go back and see if i already have the info or need to do a new experiment. Also it has given me an idea of what the key experiments are that need to be done before september so i dont realise before its too late to do them. Its in no way thesis quality but i have all of my graphs drawn, in the same format and all of my diagrams done which from experience can take hours and bonus its over 10,000 words. Anything that can be done now like graphs and diagrams will save lots time in october

Just last week i gave my supervisors a copy of my thesis plan which was made up of all the things that cant change between now and september so they at least know that i am thinking about writing up and its not a last minute panic (which tends to happen)

On looking for a 'proper' job starting as soon as you finish third year is not something i would recommend - in my research group no one has submitted within the year if they started a industry full time job - its taken some at least 2 years to submit. I plan on saving as much money as i can between now and september and submit as close to xmas as possible as i cant afford to have no money much longer than feb.

good luck

I have not posted very much on the forum but it has been a life saver - its good to know that there are others actually admitting that they are scared/stressed/panicing/etc.  Am sorry for maybe pointing this out but i cant get over the fact that there are only 9 pays to go and thats it no money - i will definitely be writing my thesis after September.  i am hoping to be finished my experimental work in July however the cog that i have is industrial sponsors so even if i think i have finished experimental they will probably give me something to do or try.   (the industrial sponsors are high maintenance and we have a meeting to discuss my progress every 3 months)

I have however been putting all of my results into one document (not anywhere near thesis quality but has a million graphs) and it has made things so much easier - i just add my new experiment to the document and send it to my supervisors.  They have a copy of all of my data so it keeps them happy and it has nearly 9000 words (i still have to describe whats happened during experiment and why have done it) its 75 pages and thats not really trying. Also as all my results are in one doc its easy to see if there are any holes which i need to patch. 

I highly recommend it especially for science phd's are there were a lots of things i realised i still needed to do and i have time to do it at the moment

I also took a course at my uni and now know how to use word properly so i can add figures and the numbers will all automatically update, use headings and generate tables of contents (my undergrad thesis was a nightmare as no idea how to do them) so im now hoping all my formatting nightmares are history

There is still loads to time left (i hope)

im third year and it doesnt matter how many hours per day that you do - you could work 6 am to 10 pm and not achieve anything. The main thing is that the work gets done. My supervisors expect at least a 9 to 5 and i dont have a problem with it as after all they are giving me money every month. Some days will be better than others and i find reading really boring so end up breaking it up with lots of coffee breaks or try and break it up with some gossiping. If im running an experiment and analysing then i have really productive week and if im not then i dont really achieve that much in a week. I find my best 'reading/writing' hours are between lunchtime and 10 pm and i am not a morning person.

The best advice i can give is ignore what everyone else is doing - as long as you feel you are achieving something in a reasonable time frame then who cares

If your a science phd then its easy to advertise as a tutor - it usually pays cash and you can charge at least £20 per hour (at least in my area).  Gumtree and the local papers are good places to look especially around school exam times and often we get phone calls to the dept. The money often is not very consistent so if your looking for a regular income then its prob not the best

hey i also feel like i ignore my boyfriend all the time - he works offshore adhoc so we cant really plan anything and live weekend by weekend. When he is home i normally try finish off stuff ive not managed to do during the day/week. its very difficult not letting it try to take over everything