Dear all

Recently I have posted about how my supervisor said I should quit and aim only at Mphil. I'd like to thank everyone giving me kind advice on the thread, thanks! I have done what you guys suggested: I said to my supervisor that quitting is not my option and if at the end of the day Mphil is all I'm gonna get then so be it, but right now I wanna do all that I can.

However, things will not be easy, as I'm in my final year and still barely have anything done. Due to multiple topic and supervisor changing in my early years, plus my inexperience and underestimation of PhD, right now my furthest progress is to almost have finished the *first* draft of my lit review and *second* draft of methodology. I've also finished my data collection and transcribing. The end of my course is May 2015, so you might get it now why I'm so stressed about it.

I wonder if any of you could suggest how I should plan out my timeline from this month onwards. I am fully aware that I don't have that much time and that a lot need to be done on my work. Right now I'm planning of sending a chapter to my supervisors every month or so (maybe two for the analysis chapter). Is that realistic? If possible I'd like to have my first draft of thesis before xmas (major correction expected), saving some time for proofreading and revising. My ex-sup. from my master's told me that within this time scale, my plan is still doable. I just have to be very disciplined and stick to the plan.

My friend suggested that I can also start with writing up the findings and analysis first, leaving lit review and method. chapter for later. Do you think that's a good idea too?

Really, any advice will be highly appreciated. It's been so long since I last had a dream that's not related to my PhD. It would be nice to hear what others have to share. Thank you so much in advance!

Hi MrsButterby

I'm glad you are feeling much calmer and happier about the situation.

My advice would be to think about the total number of words you need to get written before your first full draft submission, and the number of full working days you have free to work on it. Divide number of words by working days and that is you daily word count target (not including revisions). Then sit down each day and absolutely make yourself write those words, no matter what. Personally I think that just getting the bulk of it out of your head and onto the paper is the number one goal, and I don't think it really matters what order you do them in. (You could 500 words on chapter 1, 600 on chapter 2 in the same day and it just doesn't matter).

Some other good advice I find useful is to write the easy stuff first, to get into the swing of it. If you get stuck and aren't sure what to write next, instead of stopping to stress over it, write in block capitals or some other obvious font 'come back later' or 'needs work' and move on straight away.

Once you have the words on paper you can start thinking more about how they fit together and what your narrative is. These are just a few things that have helped me in the past, but I hope you find what works for you.

Good luck!

Hello ApolloBullit

Can't say I'm much happier than before as I still wake up everyday with a stone in my chest but at least I've stopped freaking out now, so thank you :)

Your method of writing management sounds very systematic and maybe even someone like me could do that, thanks! Another quick question though, I really have no idea how much time I should spare for the revisions? I imagine it would be an ongoing process, no? As my course will end in May 2015, and presumably when I will have to submit my thesis, I was suggested I should leave a few months in early 2015 for revision and proofreading.

Thanks again for your comment. It does mean a lot to me.

I would also be interested in how long people have taken to do revisions after completing the first draft. I guess it depends on how good the first draft is. My absolute final deadline is September 2015. I would like to submit earlier than that though but when I told friends that I was aiming to get my first draft finished by the end of December this year, they said I should try to get it done earlier than that to allow enough time for all the revisions etc.

9 months sounds like plenty of time to me, unless you have a bunch of other commitments in the first few months of next year. I finished my first full draft in September last year and had the whole thing up to standard by mid-January. It was pretty intense, but do-able, although I guess as you say it depends on how good the first draft is. Being a perfectionist pays off in this respect, but it does mean you take bloody ages to get it done in the first place because you can't get it 'just right'...