Hi,
I went through countless redrafts before submission, and then had a rewrite (my story is a long one, won't repeat here, but bad comma usage was involved.)
Anyway, I'd agree with previous comments here, get someone to start looking/proofreading now. Also, try Grammarly. The basic version is okay and is free. As your documents are in seperate documents you might find it easy enough to import. Its really useful anyway.

Good luck!

M

I'd do it! Even just for yourself! You have worked really hard! Just don't tell your dept when your ceremony is if you don't want them there!

Mus x

Really feel for you bilbo!! I know how you feel! Yesterday was a difficult day. Firstly because my second supervisor is also able to make it. So I wonder who my real family is when my first sup will spend hundreds of pounds getting his proper robes (non Uk uni) and my second supervisor is willing to travel over 150 miles. My dad won't walk 0.4 miles.

Hi Zutterfly,
Talking from experience what you are feeling is completely normal! If your supervisor has said its a strong piece of work then that is the case! PhD isn't expected to be a perfect piece of work and a bit of self-critiscm is the norm. Sounds like you are preparing well for you viva. Wishing you the best of luck! Try to relax (tho' I know that is hard!)

Mus x

Hi all,

Appreciate the responses. I've decided to do the ceremony in person. My dad has let me down in the past so there is no way I'm not having the graduation I've worked towards for so long. I think there is a compromise that they may open his business later that day. I told him I'd do in absentia and after a few hours figuring what that would mean he was a bit nicer about it.

Anyway thanks once more crew!

Mus x

Hi everyone,
So... I'm graduating in July after five years of hard slog. And now, I've had something else thrown into the mix. I really want my supervisors to be able to attend my ceremony and they are also desperate to come as I'm their first grad in a while. As such, I managed to sweet talk the graduations team into changing my ceremony so that everyone can make it. I figure it'll be a good day. Whilst there have been bad times, my supervisors have on the most part assisted me throughout and they would have been quite within their rights to give up on me.

Problem is, my father is having none of it and wants me to graduate on a ceremony where neither supervisor can make it, but which means he doesn't have to hire a staff member for overtime. To put it into perspective, he came to my undergraduate graduation, arriving 5 mins before the ceremony and departing immediately after as he wouldn't close his business early and he missed my masters one entirely–again because he wouldn't give staff overtime for an hour. He recently moved with my mother down to the city I live in and promised that regardless he would attend my PHD ceremony and make a proper day of it-like actually go for a meal for example. Right now I feel broken and like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. My father would rather care about his business than a very important day in my life.

If I changed ceremony so taht my supervisors didn't come, my father still wouldn't make a day of it, rather would just rush back to his business.

I'm actually tempted just to graduate in absentia and then no one misses out. What would you guys do?

Louise

Hi Frida,
I just finished my PhD after majors. My supervisor told me throughout that it is impossible to fail unless you don't follow what the examiners want. Saying that, top tips:
-when you get the full report through read it carefully and discuss with your examination team. Now is the time to query and maybe even negotiate a few points.
-take your time- Break it into smaller chunks and if your internal examiner is amicable arrange to meet up and discuss. Mine allowed me to send him a new first draft some six months before my resubmission. That was helpful as I then knew I was on the right lines but annoying because he moved the goalposts ever so slightly.
-be prepared for minors. These should be pretty minimal though.
-feel free to PM me also.

Mus

I resubmitted a couple of months ago and yesterday found out that my PhD has been accepted subject to a few typos. So I should be graduating in July. Such a relief!

Keep in there!! A bit of chasing paid off for me. Got my results! Dr subject to a couple of days worth of typos.

I am in the same position and have waited 8 weeks so far-I probably won't make graduation as the uni managed to lose my thesis before it even made it to the external. Can you get your supervisor to give a nudge? Quote that you are job hunting and can't move forward etc.

Good idea! I will talk to them tomorrow. They've invested a lot of time and effort and are desperate to see me graduate so I should think he'd be supportive in that. Thanks muchly

Ideally yes, but the chain of seniority would mean my supervisor would be complaining to themselves. So effectively it would be going to a Pro VC whether formally or informally...

Hi folks,
Adding to the already very long PhD saga and I need a bit of advice. I've been waiting two months so far for a resubmission result and need to have everything into the uni by end of June if I'm to graduate in June instead of 2018. I'm so fed up of the situation and anxiety and wondering if its time to complain.. A brief summary:
1) 2016-got R and R. Uni charges £1600 for the priviledge
2)Nov 2016: aggressive email from finance regarding my fees, threatening to expel me after they didn't supply any information on how to pay (I was on a scholarship). I paid £800 upfront as that was the maximum they'd allow to take me upto the new academic year. They then sent an invoice with an amount of £1600. After negotiating with them they told me that despite owing £800 to take me to the end of my R and R period they would have to charge me another full £1600 as they run by the undergraduate timetable of October to June rather than the 12 month cycle of Postgrads and that money would be refunded after I submitted.
3)I handed in my thesis on deadline day and was owed £75 in fees. These have not been reimbursed and despite showing on my uni account the uni claims to have paid even though I've provided bank statements showing this not to be the case.
To top it all, I bumped into my external at a conference and they told me and my supervisor that they'd only recieved my thesis 3 days prior. This is 6 weeks after I submitted. Long story, the thesis had failled to be delivered and was returned to the uni. No one in the office bothered to email (or frankly cross the corridor) to tell my supervisors. It was only when the external chased it was resent.
4)External is turning thesis around this week. Internal despite having for 8 weeks hasn't started and will be "some time yet".

I think its now time to take it further given that if I'd handed in late I'd be forced to pay more fees, but scared of repercussions... Any advice welcome.

I'd start chasing-won't do any harm. I had an R and R also after a very unfair viva where I didn't get to defend-I've not got another viva though. Paid my £1600 resubmission fee, carried out corrections. Submitted in March. Didly Squat until I bumped into my external at a conference and he told me he only received my thesis 3 days previous after HE chased. He had been abroad, the thesis had been returned to the uni and nobody bothered to communicate this to myself or my supervisor. External is turning around my thesis over this coming week as he knows I have to move on. Internal is a different matter and has had the thesis for the full allotted time. The deadline for them is next Friday. If nothing by next Monday I will be complaining as I'm going to miss graduation at this rate.

Beginning to wonder if Hanginthere and I share the same supervisor as I had the same problem. I got R and R and the stress of this, the massive resubmission fee and full-time job led me to just not being contactable/not reminding him of stuff for an entire month. Then he wondered if I was still alive and all was sorted...until the post office lost my thesis after the uni sent it to examiners, but thats another story.

So, not ideal, but maybe just the silent treatment will work?