i have just had my lit review returned to me with huge chunks having been rewritten by my supervisor, and to be honest when i saw it i felt like crying! i felt like he hadn't trusted me to write it myself, especially as all he had done was put what i had written into different words, without actually adding any extra information. i have three supervisors (1 from industrial partner + 2 from uni) and i felt he had done it just to impress the other supervisors with his writing style. not only that but his spelling and grammar was atrocious, so it has made more work for me in terms of correcting his work, and picking out which bits are actually worth including. i don't want to offend him by ignoring his additions, but at the same time it is really frustrating as i don't feel that his corrections added anything to the original! he said my first draft was fine, then he discussed it with my other supervisors, i did a second draft, and that is when he suddenly decided to rewrite big chunks.

so overall , i wish my supervisor wouldn't do it as it makes me feel like my writing style isn't good enough, and instead of trying to help me out and improve, he just imposes his style on me instead! and somehow i can't imagine he's going to write my thesis for me, so i wish he would offer some constructive criticism which would be of more use to me in the long run :-s

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we have primary school (4/5 - 11 years), then secondary school (11-16 years), after which we can leave school or continue on to a college or sixth form (16-18 years). we take GCSE exams at the end of secondary school at 16, then A and AS levels at college/sixth form at 18 years.

so although the structure is different, the exams you take at the end of Liceo are equivalent to A or AS levels, as they are a prerequisite for university.

Hi,

in the uk we take A levels at the end of our final year at school (at the age of 18). we usually take exams in three or four different subjects, so you would leave school with 3 or 4 A levels as a qualification. as an alternative, there are also AS levels, that are the equivalent of half an A level, so you could have 6 or 7 AS levels instead of a number A levels (ie. 1 A level = 2 AS levels).


these are roughly equivalent to the international baccalaureate system, and they are the last exams you take before you start at university.

hope that makes sense!

spill

steady on jouri, it's not a competition to see who is having the worst experience!! i think twinkle has good reason(s) for complaint, not being paid on time in particular is extremely stressful, esepcially when you have a mortgage/rent to pay! at my uni we have to have an advisor appointed to us individually as well as our supervisor who is there for non-academic issues - is there anyone like that that you can go to? if not, then i would definitely approach the postgrad office and discuss all these issues with them, as it does sound like you're having a hard time of it! it can be very demoralising when everything seems to be going badly so i sympathise - but don't let all this grind you down! try to focus on the things you *like* about your phd, it would be a shame to leave for reasons that are unrelated to your research (although i can see how they have an effect on it!). chin up, and good luck! :-)

class

trash

chop

to be perfectly honest, this attitude is not really very helpful - what is wrong with sweeping streets for a living anyway? and anyone who wants access to education in this country can get it, whether through funding FROM THE GOVERNMENT or by working damned hard to get what they want. personally, i receive full government funding for my phd (including tuition fees), and i probably wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise, not because my family is 'working class' but because i haven't depended on my family to fund my education since i left school, and i went out and found funding for my phd and earned the place on the basis of my talents not how much money i had in the bank. i am actually offended by the suggestion that my career may be hampered in some way just because i don't come from the 'right' background - i work just as hard as anyone so why shouldn't i get the job/career/life that i want? blaming failure on being held back because of class seems a pretty lazy excuse to me.

treat

drab

i started in july so am a few months in now, and the deadline for my lit review is looming at the end of this week..... feel that overall it is going well though. i am based most of the time with my industrial partner and they have been very helpful and supportive so far! my practical work (i'm in pharmacology) was slow to start but i am being let loose in the lab on my own this week so looking forward to doing some actual science! my supervisors at uni aren't quite as helpful as i have only been in to uni a few times, all the other newbies there have settled in and know where everything is, whereas i don't even have a proper desk there so feel a bit lost whenever i go in. hopefully that will improve as time goes on.

recently i was trying to shut some sliding doors on a cupboard but they were sticking, so being the clever phd student i am, i stuck my head inside the cupboard but forgot to stop tugging on the doors... and hey presto, i shut my head in the cupboard! not a good look, fortunately i don't *think* anyone saw me :$

cook

thinking of asking my supervisor if i can change the direction of my thesis to something along the lines of 'which is the best method for clicking on the ball - random swinging or gentle bouncing?' so far i'm in favour of gentle bouncing but will let you know how the research goes ;-)