5 days left until I submit! I'm starting my conclusion chapter now and though I dread the genre, I can't wait for this to be out of my sight. I'm waiting on comments on the introduction and hope it's all satisfactory enough for now. The money runs out on Friday so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my supervisors wouldn't have let me get this far only to tell me to go back and substantially rewrite something again.

Getting into the conclusion I feel so repetitive, but can't tell if the writing is actually repetitive or if I've just been thoroughly sucked into my thesis. Anyone else stuck with the problem of whether they're still making sense on paper? I'm definitely not making sense in real life anymore, that's for sure.

Soon there will be a cold beer in my hand and I will be able to catch up with my old friend sleep.

I'm submitting on friday too! I should be massively stressed, but to be honest I just dont seem to care that much any more. Just starting my discussion now, and still have loads of corrections to make, but I kind of think that its never gonna be 100% perfect, so might as well leave some little errors in there for the examiners to pick up on (after all, a lot of examiners dont feel they've done a proper job unless they've made editing suggestions, so hopefully if they have little errors to deal with they'll be satisfied!). Also, when I consider the amount of thought and time I have put into this bastard thing over the past 3.5 years, and the careful planning and good results I've got, I just cant see that a few typos or badly worded sentences could lead to a fail. I kind of think if there is enough wrong with the theisis to fail, or to get major corrections, then its too late now anyway. To be honest, thank god for a proper deadline - something I've come to really miss throughout this whole ball-ache.

Let me know how your getting on Oddnumbers - its the final push, and we're in it together. Scary, and exciting!

I'm submitting on Friday too ..

Hoorah for us, pupa and amanda! You're totally right Pupa, leave some (shocking) typos in there to make them feel good. It can be hard in the final hours to know whether the things you are changing/want to change really need it or if you're just being neurotic. I think it's both.
For me the joy of finishing comes and goes, now I feel suffocated by the last chapter I'm still revising--it still seems like a sprawling mess of track changes and references that need checking. ARrgggh...almost there now!

oh yes, and this was said to me the other day, it made perfect sense: A done PhD is a good PhD and a perfect PhD isn't a PhD.

Hi Oddnumbers,

I recognise the feeling of have seen the text a million times and not knowing anymore whether it is good or bad.
Apart from having others to read it (family, friends etc.) I am not sure whether there is a lot else you can do. Sometimes it helps to print a part, to take that with you to a library or cafe and then to re-read it in this different setting to spot any problems.

Good luck:-)

Good luck mate. We are in the same boat. Wish you well.