======= Date Modified 31 May 2012 07:24:58 =======
Hi all, It is good to see everyone is doing great!!!! I got to keep going too :-)

Hi PamW, I am pretty much at your stage. Don't panic, last minute can do wonders!! Just hang in there and as others have said take print outs of the whole document and finalise page by page. That is what I am intending to do after I manage to complete the two chapters I am currently working on :-) All the very best (up)

Hi Human, I am sorry to hear that you are being delayed by your supervisor. I do not have anything else to say in addition to the wise advice of others below. It is really hard when supervisors can be totally indifferent at such a crucial stage. There is no way he/she can insist you to just wait and work on the comments of the reviewer. I hope you get this sorted soon. I send you good luck! (gift)

Hi Swetch, Thanks a lot and well done on submitting your first draft. It is great you are doing your corrections which means you are even closer to the finish line!!! :-) Good luck to you (up) and I am sure you will have a fantabulous final version of the thesis soon!!!!!!!!!!! (gift)

======= Date Modified 28 May 2012 23:09:57 =======
Hi Swetcha,

You won't believe I was thinking about you and Huhu today :) How have you been? How is it going for you? I am sure you have submitted already!

I am extremely sorry I haven't been writing much here. I have completed 5 chapters out of 7 (or 8) and working on the final two. I feel like such a failure for having taken such a long time and yet haven't submitted. But I am hoping to submit sooner rather than later. My absolute deadline is 30th Sep 2012. All my life's important events are going to happen in the next 6 months - submitting PhD, wedding, viva and will have to find a new job in the city where my fiance lives. I am trying not to think about anything but just keep going! I am in the valley of s**t http://thethesiswhisperer.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/the-valley-of-shit/ and I hoping to get to the other side :)

Take care! Hugs!!! (up)

======= Date Modified 28 May 2012 23:00:48 =======
Sorry repetitive post!

Hi Marybell, could you please PM me your email id? I have got the article.

Hi all, firstly, apologies for this negative post. I am a fourth year science PhD student (finishing 3 years and 6 months now by the end of March) and have started writing in the end of 2011. I haven't completed all my data collection yet, still working on the data collection of my last chapter which includes simulations - they have been failing all the way along. I have eight chapters in total out of which four chapters are of my own work and four other descriptive chapters about the algorithms, models I used for my study + introduction and conclusions. I have completed the first draft of two of these chapters and currently working on the third one and I am finding it really hard to write. To be honest, I don't really know what to write :-( I feel like I don't really have anything to say about my results but my supervisors think that I have done comprehensive work which has never been done before. But I am lacking confidence in writing (English is not my native language) and I don't really know if I am going to ever make it. My funding has run out but I have saved up some money which will last for the next 6 months.

I still have some of the results of one of the main chapters to sort out as one of the values I have used for my calculation may not be right and another experimental work doesn't match which my supervisors think can be written as such mentioning the possible reasons why it didn't work.

I don't have any idea how to get on with the rest of my simulations as they have been failing all the way through. I don't really have any one who can help me in fixing this :-( I haven't taken a break since Jan 2011 and I feel totally burnt out. Also, I am getting engaged in a couple of months for which I will have to fly to my home country for 2 weeks and will be getting married some time in November. I haven't told my supervisors yet about the engagement but I kind of told them that I want to take 2 weeks off for which I didn't get a positive response. They want me to submit before taking a break. I am freaking out at the moment and I am really depressed :-( It has been a arduous journey until now and I have really really worked hard all the way through and I definitely want to complete my PhD except that I don't know what or how to do it :-(

Hi Swetch,

Thanks. I agree, I have now changed my working hours, working during the day time these days and trying to sleep enough hours. I am glad you don't have the hassle of changing uni at this stage but I feel sorry for the other students who got to do it. It has to be hard moving to a new city mid PhD. I hope you will get your thesis read by her and all the very best with the rest of your writing. I have started the third main chapter, after this one more to go and then four other basic chapters - intro, algorithms, models, conclusions. I hope I will have my first draft of all chapters written by the end of this month and a decent version by the end of April when I go home to get engaged :-)

Hi all, I am pretty much done with the first draft of the second main chapter of my work (9200 words for now), have written the intro, materials and methods, results - which I am going to send to my supervisors today. My secondary supervisor suggested I have a separate intro, discussion and conclusions chapter which I don't feel comfortable with. Anyway I am still working on the captions of the figures now and hopefully will be able to email it to them in couple of hours. I hope it wouldn't go to their bin as soon as they have a glimpse ;-) I have been working over night and sleeping during day time these days and I badly want to change it back. I have been sleeping only around 4 hours every day which is not good either :-(

Hey Swetchha,

Everything will fall into place soon :-) You are a hop skip and a jump away from the finishing line!! Good luck!!!! (up)

Hey FM, massive congratulations on submitting your first draft and for the job!! That's great news (gift) You have got every thing lined up well :-) All the very best with your conclusions chapter and I am sure it is fab!!!!! (up)

Hi Huhu, Swetcha,

Thanks for your reply. Sorry for getting back late, I moved to my friend's house this week end and I was totally knackered as I didn't sleep for 32 hours :-( I totally understand that we will have to look upon the upcoming days instead of the ones that are long gone. I will definitely try to be more positive from now on and aim to send my chapters one by one. I am aiming to send all the chapters by the end of this month. I am done with two, still have six - perhaps it is a bit too ambitious but it is just the first draft. I am glad both of you are doing well :-) Good luck (up)

Hi Ady,

That's so sweet of you :-) Thank you very much for the cheerful words :-) I will definitely try to keep up the motivation! Cheers again :-)

Oh dear, am I ever going to hit the finish line? I am really loosing hope, end of Dec is long gone and I am dreading the end of March when funding will run out. I am totally burned out and I can't sleep other than panicking :-( I was supposed to submit the first draft of all the chapters today but I haven't even sent one chapter to my supervisors yet. I am dying of guilt and am burying myself in my tiny little room, not wanting to face the outside world :-( God, save my PhD!!! Sorry for the rant :-( am in a low point!!!

Hi Ady, Thank you very much for your words! That was very much needed :-)

Hi Swetcha, wow it is great to hear that you have pulled the threads together. I am pleased for you :-) I am sure your conclusions chapter will be as fantastic as the rest (up)