Sorry to ask you another question but I am having problems with the last chapter of my PhD.

I have just given a draft copy of the thesis to my supervisor bar this chapter and can no longer procrastinate about it. I think about what should go in it and my mind draws a blank. I have provided mini discussion sections in each of my chapters so I need to find some way of drawing the whole thing together I think. I can see that I need to include the obvious implications of my research and also directions for future research but I am really finding it hard to see what should go in this chapter.

I realise that this is very much topic dependent but I just wondering if anyone experienced this panic with the final chapter also. I am not good with discussion so I think that is my main problem, the thought of devoting a whole chapter to my weakest point is quite daunting!

I have looked and some PhDs in my Uni library for inspiration but wondered if anyone else could offer any useful advice.

Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.

wow, someone who has got a nearly completed draft - well done! must feel good to have got so far!

dont have any suggestions, the conclusion seems so far off (from the depths of chapter 2...) but nice to know it is possible to get there

I have no experience in this myself but from looking at other people thesis in my field they also tend to include discussion and conclusions at the end of the chapters. The Conclusions chapter only contains a brief summary and comparison of each with sugestions for further work, and in my field tends to be really short (2-6 pages double spaced)

I don't know if this helps

Aliby, it is possible to get there, honest! I can't believe the time has gone so quickly, it feels like only yesterday that I started. Funny though as the end point feels so far away to me, I suppose it is all relative. I think my mantra at the moment is 'I will finish, it will happen!"

Laney, that is helpful, thank you.

Hi there,
I sympathise, this has been my most difficult chapter to write! (I'm social sciences)I think its partly because I've been discussing all the way through too (as my supervisor told me to) but that then risks the discussion chapter being repetitive. I have gone through 3 drafts of my discussion chapter(8000 words) and each time it hasn't been quite right. At first I discussed the policy implications from my findings but then I was told that should really be in the conclusion. Then I concentrated on how my findings related to the previous literature and theory, but apparently that was a bit too repetative of the earlier chapters. I also related my findings back to the aims and objectives of the research. The main thing I've learnt from the feedback I've had is that its important to be clear about what's original about your work.

My last chapter (Final Summary and Future Work) was only 7 pages. I had discussed the results in each chapter so it literally did just summarise the findings of each chapter and attempted to draw the results from the different studies together.

Hi Ann, I tried to do the same but my supervisor had other ideas! aahh!

Hi Ann and Writingup

Thanks for your input. I am in the social sciences too and I think my supervisor thinks I should write something around the 7000 mark. It is helpful to know that I was/am not alone in finding this chapter difficult. I was told it is the most 'fun' to write but I am finding it to be a nightmare!

Thank you.

I'm in the same boat as you, fluffymonster. I have a whole draft and can't put off the dreaded final discussion...it is todays task!

I'm in science, so it is just an overview of the mini-discussions and trying to pull them together to some final point(s). Other people from my lab wrote about 6-8 pages, so much shorter than socsci. I have a separate 'Future Directions' section.

My supervisor said the final discussion is also the time to comment/discuss any relevant work that has been published in my field since I started my PhD (my literature review/introduction is a snapshot of the field at the time I started my PhD, 2002).

I was thinking I would just try the 'make yourself write non-stop for 15 minutes without caring what you write or how bad it sounds' approach so that at least I have something on paper to work around. Maybe that approach would help you - no harm in trying it? Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Piglet, I find a nice glass of wine (or 3 ) helps with the 'stream of consciousness' style of discussion writing

I agree, Ann. But it is only 9am here!

Have to share a highlight of my week with everyone. Got first draft of last results chapter back from my supervisor - it was 32 pages of writing he had not seen before. I had been scared because I thought I had gone off on a tangent with it a bit. Plus, I had been a bit brave and put in some of my own opinions on what other authors have claimed previously.

But his words were "smokin'" and "a very good chapter indeed"!!!! Wow! That is a very big compliment coming from him. I am so happy!

Okay, so I gave this whole 'write as much as you can for set time no matter how crap it is' thing - and it bloody works. I was having a brain freeze panic every time I sat in front of a blank page to write my final discussion, so as I said I would, I tried this technique today. I typed without really stopping (except to check the cricket score a couple of times!) for about 30 mintues. What I wrote was poor wording, bad spelling, lots of terms I would never put in my thesis (such as 'amazing'!) - but at the end I had 3 pages of writing which I am now finding easier to rework than an empty page.

Give it a go, fluffymonster, if you haven't already. It might work for you too.

Piglet, thanks so much for the advice. I will give it a go today. Like you, I would rather have something to work with, it has to be better than a blank page!

I will report back later.

Congrats on the 'smokin' chapter, I would have been ecstatic if my sup had said that.

Thanks again. I may try the wine later too Ann, bit early for me now.

Hi Piglet

I just wanted to say a belated thanks for this tip. I did try it on two separate occasions so I now have 3000 words to play with. I am still really struggling but something is better than nothing. I too have typos, terrible grammar and 'interesting' terms but that can all be changed.

Thanks again

Ann, I still have not tried the wine tactic, think I might try that this evening.