although i think that i would have done things differently if i were to start again, it has not been a waste of time. i have learned a lot though this. about myself, about many things and i am sure that this self introspection would be of good value to my future career. not many people can truly answer the question of what are your strengths and weakenesses. my weakenesses have been blantly exposed through the phd process. and that's made me stronger. ready to tackle the real world.

enough on mylife.com. back to work now. expected finish date: december, 20. and another era will begin.

am also in my year 8 part-time but despite some problems along the way -obviously- can't claim that they were good excuses. i think when one wants one can.

I think the real problem is to do with the reasons why people like me started a phd in the first place: it was a personal thing that i hadn't really linked to any rational reason. hence the slow pace due to changes of topic, extended fieldwork etc.

good luck jojo! i am also looking at practice tests and have surfed the web for help on maximising results but there seems to be little on strategy to do better. i guess it comes down to the skills we were told whilst at school: read carefully the text before answering and so on. don't rush.

good luck! i wish i had your enthusiasm. i find the whole revising stage quite painful. it is a never ending process. and it makes me realise that i am not cut for academia. so get distracted by other possibilities for a career change...then because of the distraction, produce something not great...so goes the vicious circle.

so in a word: focus. switch off your internet connection. don't watch TV. Just focus and your mind will produce something great.

Dunleavy's authoring a PhD is great for providing guidelines on writing a thesis. the nitty gritty of structures etc.

sorry!! it's
[email protected]

i must say, i don't understand your unwillingness to reveal that you are sick. but respect it as i presume that you have your own reasons.

one of my phd colleagues had brain cancer. she never spoke about it and looked healthy whenever she was coming to the office. i only got to know three years down the line...well through gossips. but i felt that there was nothing wrong with knowing. on the contrary, it made me admire her courage, although we never mentioned it in our conversations. closer friends of hers from the phd programme were able to help out whenever she had a chimiotherapy sessions. and her supervisor was sympathetic. nobody had ever been condenscending because of her illness.

hi again, am 1h south of london.
here's my email: [email protected]
looking foward to hearing from you.

thanks!! will set up a bluelife email and will get back to you. i am an hour away from london by train.

i agree with jojo: i have set up a timetable with an editor recently. and have to stick to it. this may sound weird but: since he is new to the 'ping pong' game of sending chapters back and forth between myself and my supervisors, i find that i value his deadlines. they come across as being 'real' deadlines from the 'real' world.

thanks cc! it's great that even after you've submitted you still find the time to give some feedback to those of us who are still struggling to get there.
i was more thinking of tips about where to find people who can help with the tedious bits. there are lots of website about help on writing dissertations and essays -which look more like plagiarism to me- but not much on assitance on basic issues like formatting, graphics and references...it is research assistance work basically.

Hi there, the stress is building up for me...I don't have much time left and would like to concentrate on the editing and re-structuring work that I need to do on my thesis. I am looking for someone to do the following (paid of course):
1-Trace most of my references just by using the names and years cited in my text, input them into Endnote for me to use afterwards.
2-Format tables and graphics.
3-In the final stage: format the text and check for remaining errors.
Can anyone help? Thanks a lot!

congratulations cc!! that's great. enjoy your freedom!
am also hoping to submit in december: tentative date 14 dec. i should change my tone and say I MUST SUBMIT IN DECEMBER. a support group would be great. for those of you in the same boat: how much work do you still have to do?

just curious to know if you have managed to write your 8000 words by last friday? if yes, congratulations!!

thanks cc. this is very helpful. any similar advice about the last three months of a thesis would be very helpful! anyone else?? thanks in advance.