Just writing a calendar of things to do before I hand in - what did other peoples thesis look like so close to hand-in? I am hoping that this is plausible, and it has to be. So what did your thesis look like (or does look like) with just over 2 weeks to go?

I'm very close to the bone for time with a lot to do and I have only really realised that whilst writing this post out . I have done very little for weeks due to a bit of a breakdown so I am trying to compile a checklist today of everything that needs to be done before taking the thesis to the binders on the 28th June. I would be really interested if any body could suggest anything my hazy mind has missed out or got grossly wrong in terms of timeframe required... anything I can bear in mind to make assembling the thesis a bit smoother. I do not have a good eye for proofing and footnotes so need to bear that in mind. I feel awful for wasting weeks - but there it is. Now I'll have to try and do all this whilst doing research assistant work and other pt work for £....sigh...

11 - 14th June: re-do intro and send to supervisor for last-chance comments.

15- 16th June: do changes to the first chapter

17th (evening only) : do some of the illustrations

18 -19th: changes to the second chapter

20 - 23rd: changes to the third chapter (very weak)

24th - changes to chapter four (minimal)

25 -27: proofing, assembling images, checking references, formatting biblio (2/3 done already)

Day of printing:

1) print out 2 copies of thesis
2) print out illustrations in colour
3) compile.
4) check order
5) go to bindery
6) hand-in at graduate office.

A big brussels sprout for dinner afterwards as a cathartic punishment! (sprout)

======= Date Modified 11 Jun 2010 11:05:24 =======
I drew up a to-do list of things near the end, and some extra ones on there (many wrapped up in your proofing to-do item) were

- check for any double spaces
- check for any wrongly bold things
- check for double question marks
- spell check
- go through and check no tables/figures are split over pages
- insert page numbers for figures and tables
- edit page numbers for chapters
- type up submission date ["February 2010"]

I wasn't doing automatic caption numbering or table-of-contents production, so some of those items were relevant to me, but maybe not to you.

And I had to write my abstract of course. Is that what you refer to as your intro? I wrote that very close to the end. Just a 1-page double-spaced summary of my thesis. I left it to the end because I was still figuring out what my big conclusions were at that stage.

I didn't print my thesis myself. My university's printing service offered that service, so everything was printed in the right colour, and saved me quite a lot of hassle. They actually printed and soft bound 5 copies of my thesis in under 90 minutes which was rather impressive! I just emailed them the PDF of my thesis, overnight, and they dealt with it the next morning. Saved me an awful lot of hassle with a printer and collating a mix of colour and b&w pages. And carrying lots of papers in to be bound.

Good luck.

======= Date Modified 11 Jun 2010 10:55:18 =======
Oh and I had to get my thesis signed by my supervisor as well of course. He had to sign it before submission, and I had to sign it too. This is part of the regulations at my uni. Pinning him down to a signing date was a bit of a hassle, but we got there. My Dad ended up having to take it in to be signed, because I'd been called into hospital at short notice for a rearranged consultation! Dad was sent in with the bound copies for signing, a map and very clear instructions to find my sup's office, and then where to go to take it to Registry. It helped he knows my sup (has attended evening classes).

my last 2 weels were spent waiting for my supervisors to finish reading the final draft. The day I met with them to get feedback they said it was fine, so I did last minute checks, printed, got it signed and bound, and submitted. Job done.

I'd say your list is pretty comprehensive and looks like it's definitely do-able. I think proofing at this stage is vital because typo's can be uber frustrating when preparing for the viva!!

Good luck!! :-)

Thanks bilbo - that list you wrote is an exhaustive one to add to my own. thanks. I have enlisted two proof-readers today, and JimKim, I am amazed that your sups kept you in the dark about changes so close to the deadline - congrats on not needing many - I have been given many, many times over! argh.

Good luck Chrisrolinski. I am submitting on 30th of this month too. Following your method, I made a list of things to do, and looks like I have at least 3 times more work to do. Including a re-write of a brand new chapter (latest addition).

I don't mean to take over your thread, but where are you going to print yours? Are you putting all colour-illustrations altogether in a different section? Mine is spread around the text, but I'm thinking maybe it will be too costly as it will force full colour printout of the whole thesis.

Do you know if it would be allowed to change the layout of the thesis after viva? I mean print only the illustrations section separately in colour first, but lay it out as I initially intended after the viva, after all the corrections done.

======= Date Modified 11 Jun 2010 22:23:09 =======

Thank you BilboBaggins. I live far far away from uni. It looks like I'll have to print the work with a private company here in London before I travel to my uni on the day of submission. My uni's print shop is cheap but it would be too risky to email them the whole thing and hope that everything will be ok on the submission day (I'll be able to travel only once due to lack of time and finances).

But it's good to know that, so thanks for your answer. I'll do some calculations and work out the costs...

@404 Could you go into the print office of a local uni to see if they woudl do it cheap as you are a student - they might not ask for id to check you are one of their students?

good idea Jepsonclough, I'll try

I am unsure what to do with my printing - I am a bit skint at present so I could print out for free in b & w on my department printer but that would not be very high gsm paper (just the normal sort). Taking it to the printers and getting it done would be more efficent....will research this on a coffee break today...

I will print the images in colour and then insert them in the end of each chapter, rather than a big section at the end of the thesis.

How about buying some decent paper and putting that in the department printer before you print - that way you get the better quality paper but still at a cheap price

11 days left - argh! So much to do, I think the final thesis is going to be very lacklustre, kind of major corrections /re-submit boundary. argh! (cry)

Good luck, Chrisrolinski! I'm sure it won't be major corrections - and I'm certain it won't be a lacklustre thesis! We're our own worst critics (unless you're me and have no standards), and it can work for us and against us.