Hi,

Is it normal if I am still doing some heavy editing 10 days before submission, and have not yet shown a full draft to my supervisor? I am planning on submitting this a week before the final deadline, which will not be enough time to make heavy changes, but I am seriously hoping it will all be ok in the end.

Please tell me not all is lost yet.

Thanks

All is not lost. I've known several students who have done this, it's not advisable, but they've passed with either minor or major corrections so I'm sure you will pass too.

Has your supervisor seen drafts of chapters?

Hi, thanks for your reply. He has seen drafts a few months ago, but the issue is that I am now having to add more detail in my chapters and moving sections to other chapters. How long does it take to check references and write an appendix? Would 2 days to check references and 2 days to format the thesis be ok? I need to do my appendix, write the table of figures, the table of contents, and the abstract in terms of editing. I would also need to proof read my work. How many days does it take to proof read? I won't be able to spend more than 2 days on it I think.

If he's seen drafts before, it's ok.

My thesis was 70,000 words. Checking references took me one day, but I used a reference manager. Depends how much you have in your appendix. Mine only took a few hours, but I'd made the tables in it as I went along in my PhD. I formatted as I wrote. If you haven't formatted yet, use heading styles for headings and table and figure legends and then Word will format all that for you. Otherwise that may take days. Proofreading took me about 6-7 hours nonstop. Or, get someone to start proofreading it now for you.

Given the short time left, you just have to do the best you can. It doesn't have to be 100% perfect in terms of proofreading, formatting, etc, as small errors can be fixed post-viva, just make sure it's readable and conveys your results and conclusions adequately so the examiners can see you've done PhD-worthy work.

Most likely you will get minor corrections, but even major corrections are not the end of the world, so don't panic!

I think you will have enough time to sort everything out. Formatting the thesis will not take more than two days. Always, there will be changes that supervisors can't check before submission. Always, you will find many mistakes after submission. These issues are natural and very common. Just try to do your best. One final point: If your supervisor is to check it in a limited time, color the changed texts to hint him where to focus, more. Good luck!