I am completing a social sciences PhD and wanted to ask those who are currently writing up (or finished) how long is it taking? I have been writing up since before last Christmas and can't imagine I will be finished until the end of this year. Last year my supervisor said it was unlikely it would take longer than 7 months -now I'm thinking either he is crazy or i'm extremely slow!

Writing up always takes longer than you think! However, it helps to have a deadline in mind, either sn official one or one you set yourself as this will help you focus. It's a tough time, especially if you are a perfectionist. Try to be guided by your supervisors, if they think a chapter is good enough, then consider it finished and move on. Good luck, you will get there! :o)

thanks for your advise, but its definitely not me being a perfectionist, i think its more my supervisors not understanding how long it takes. Anyone else have an opinion??

I am beginning to worry about this too. I know someone who wrote up in six months and my supervisor has also told me it shouldn't take longer than 6-9 months.

I think if you are producing work at a slower rate than you are comfortable with it may be worth checking you are working productively. Re-evaluate your timetable, deadlines and keep track of what you are doing during the day. Sometimes a couple of hours prodctive work is better than all day spent at the computer producing very little

That's good advice Camper, and it's true that some days are just more productive than others. It's good to try to write something everyday though, even if it's just a paragraph or a plan for your next chapter. Like most things, the more you do the easier it becomes.

Thanks Ann but I write more than a paragraph a day, I am in my final year you know. I wish you would stop being so patronising. We all know you have finished your PhD -but you are not really helping..

Hi Jena, I know I had several days in my final year when I only wrote one paragraph; some days the ideas flow, some days they don't. I'm glad that things are going much better for you.

Actually, I`m a little bit worried about this as well, I used to write really quickley, but now it takes me about three hours just to write a paragraph. Think there`s something wrong with my brain