Same place

Nearly two weeks ago I blogged that I had only this and that to complete. But I've still got only this and that to complete.

I've been working on this darned methodology chapter all week, yet I don't think I've produced anything worth showing anybody yet because it's still so higgledy-piggledy. I still have the conclusion to write, having concluded that I was nowhere near writing it, despite my hopes two weeks ago.

I seem to be in the same place. Why?

Fellow Post-Grad student has the same question. Six months ago FPG had the whole thesis planned and was going to finish in September. I wouldn't say that I'm competitive but I see no reasons why I should be lagging behind her, and so if she could expect to finish in September, then so could I. Neither of us are lazybones - we put the hours in. But FPGS hasn't submitted yet, and doesn't understand any more than I do why six months ago it wasn't obvious that we weren't going to submit yet.

At the last supervision, a supervisor commented that progress seemed slow. Yes - it seems slow to me too, but I don't need to be criticised for slow progress. Hey! It is progress. So with that slow progress in mind, this week another FPGS grilled a long memoried academic here on when a post grad last completed within the three funded years. The answer after much thought and wriggling was never in memory. So to be where we are, FPG and I are making progress, and it might not be that slow. It's just not as fast as we expected or planned.

So perhaps I'm not quite in the same place as two weeks ago, but just a fraction further.

Finishing PhD - about to submit

Delighted to watch my senior, a fourth year post grad about to submit her dissertation. She's given notice of submission, she's worked out how to use Word for big documents, formatted it according to the rules and says she's going to submit next week. Hurrah!

Presentation of the thesis

Your thesis should be typed or produced on a word processor and printed on a printer which produces letter quality print. Dot matrix printing is not acceptable. The text must be double spaced. Your thesis should be presented on good quality A4 paper. You may use both sides of the paper. The pages should be numbered consecutively.

The margins must be wide enough to allow for subsequent binding. The minimum requirement is:

· inside margin 40mm

· top and outside margins 15mm

· bottom margin 20mm.

There should be a contents page and, where appropriate, a table of illustrations and/or a list of any items not bound with the thesis (e.g. maps, plans, etc).

We'll miss her. She has quiet and sensible advice, as well as being a role model.