I've just sent my first paper off to an academic journal (humanities) with a view to trying to get it published. I'm a second-year doctoral student, and was wondering what the likelihood of it getting accepted/rejected/subject to revisions etc might be? Has anyone else managed to get published while a PhD student, and if so was it straightforward/difficult?

Hi, cheers, many thanks. The MHRA don't make it easy do they??

Hi, I'm formatting my upgrade chapter using MHRA guidelines, but I was wondering whether anyone could shed any light on a particular issue with regard to references. I know that MHRA suggests not using ibid., as a means of cutting down on notes, and advocates using the page reference in parentheses. So, presumably, you'd write 'When I have fears that I may cease to be' (120). But what I'm not sure about is where you put the page number, before or after the quotation mark and the full stop, and whether you need to 'p', e.g. (p.120). I've looked in the handbook and there doesn't seem to be specific advice on this...any help/precedents gratefully received.

Guys, thanks for all your supportive comments- it's good to hear from people at the coal face of doing a PhD. Out of curiosity, are many of you planning on using your PhD to try to gain entry into an academic career?

Hi, I am considering starting a part-time PhD in English Literature, and was wondering whether anyone could offer any opinions/ideas/caveats about this. I started a PhD in my early 20s, but for a range of reasons, left the university after a year. The failure to complete has been nagging at me for years, and it's something I feel I need to do, for a sense of closure, but also because researching, academic life, is something I really enjoy. I am now in my late 30s, and have prepared an application to my home-town university, but will have to study for my doctorate part-time, juggling gamily (2xchildren) and work commitments. So, I know, I have made the job a lot more difficult than it would have been if I'd completed in my 20s, but I know feel much more equipped to study, in terms of motivation and maturity. I would like use my doctorate, upon, completing, to become a lecturer/researcher. There, in a nutshell, are my circumstances. Comment at will!