Lol alpacalover, you have a point there!!! I remember years ago seeing an episode of Star Trek (hubby is a fan :$) and the character was reading a 'book' and it was an electronic pad thing - hubby said it wouldn't surprise him if they made things like that one day...... lol lol lol - but I said I couldn't see them catching on cos a book is tactile as well as the words! :$ Now I have to eat those words lmao!

Sneaks, I want one of those ps3 things too - want a ps3 first though!!!! Heck they cost a bomb! And I LOVED dance mats :-) so much fun lol

And yes DanB the Samsung one looks good - but then it is an android base - and we're back to HTC vs Apple :p

Lol, its terrible isn't it! I know a few people with Iphones and it always descends (from their side I hasten to add) into well my phone's better than your phone and my dad's bigger than yours and has a jag :p

Hmmmm..... yes, wouldn't mind a kindle or similar - but they are all things that I just couldn't justify spending money on when I have none. It would just be 'fun to have', but I still think I prefer a book :-) You can't beat that shiny new cover and book smell - you're not going to get that from an electronic gadget are you - wouldn't say no if someone gave me one for free though ;-)

Oh dear, I'd have felt exactly the same, but its a learning curve and we all have problems at some time. As the others have said, don't dwell on it, take the advice, use it and next time it will be much better. I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you think it was and that the advice was given in kindness to help you out. As for the HOD, it may be that it wasn't ignoring at all, just busy and nothing much to say! Its done now, in the past, and you will improve and get better. Well done you for doing it at all - I always want to be sick if I have to get up and tend to spend more time concentrating on hanging onto my dinner than how I'm talking lol! The advice from the chair and the others here is very valuable, we don't become a Dr and suddenly on cue become amazing speakers, it all takes time, and if some of the lecturers I've heard are anything to go by, some never make it lmao - but you will xx (gift)

A lot of us here swear by my tomatoes - 25 mins studying and 5 mins break - many of the drs here got their PhD working that way :-)

What I would dearly love though is a brand new, shiny notebook, nice powerful one - sigh...... can dream ;-)

Hmmm - not an iphone (spit spit) or blackberry - I'm an HTC girl ;-)

3d tv? Think not, 3d makes me puke (sorry but literally lol) I can't watch 3d as it really makes me feel horribly ill so no point

Don't like the Ipad.... out of the 3 I'd say the Ipad but only because the other 2 options are definate no nos :-) but I don't feel any need or desire for any of them really :-/

One thing I've noticed is that in books and things the top experts will thank other for their feedback and advice... and yes, its a massive learning curve. My sup was telling me the other day that he looks back on his early work and cringes at his writing style and structure! i don't think that you're necessarily thrown out with the bath water when you graduate and that others in your field, particularly ex sups etc are happy to copy edit for you and help you out. I do share the anxiety though, the thought of going alone is worrying, but I'm definately improving, my sup only makes maybe 200 corrections per page now ;-)

As for training - well, as I've been told, this is an apprenticeship - they aren't churning out experts, that comes later - they are training you how to 'do' research and improve your writing. Some of the greatest experts are awful writers and need help, others can write the most amazing things but spout utter c*ap when you actually read it. This is a life long journey as far as I can work out with improvements carrying on 20-30 years if not more after you've got your Dr hat.

I always get somebody to proof read my work, and often someone like family who can read it and point out what doesn't make sense and where I'm contradicting myself and errors in spelling and grammar. It has to be your own work though, you can't have someone else do all the editing for you - suggestions aren't a problem - 'you've said this, but might it work better if you put it like that' and ' you've written this here, but here it seems to say something different'. I find that I can't see the errors at times until someone points them out and you look at it and wonder how you made such a huge mistake lol - 'I'm not sure you meant to say that' ;-) But yes, editors are very expensive and nobody should alter your work, just maybe draw your attention to where you've maybe made mistakes with structure or spelling and grammar and then you deal with it.

I think you're quite right Sneaks, although surely to wave those elusive 5 stars at us with no hope of ever attaining greatness surely feeds the postgrad student's feelings of inferiority and lack of confidence. Do you think we could claim damages and all become millionaires?

I always consider the breadth far more important than the length :p Under normal circumstances the bigger the girth the better, but the problem you'd have is that you'd then be well over wordcount.... Ithink most thesis are maybe only around 3" - you get up to 4 or 5" and you've got an issue..... :p

I think 4 stars is still something to be proud of - it means that you're an astoundingly insightful and all round wonderful person - but those 5 stars...... I'm lucky in that I still have another year to go minimum til submission and there is a chance that I will attain that level of greatness, I can see it now - Dr. Stressed, BA (Hons) First Class, MA Distinction, 5 stars - ahhhh it will be a wonderful day - the pinnacle of academic achievement!

I'm still in the research stage but mine is currently around 10k words and it will get longer - although looking at it some that is no longer appropriate will be removed. My thesis is supposed to be about 80k words, I've written drafts of 5 of the chapters which all need expanding and its around 60k in total so far! I'm hoping to keep it to about 10k to leave enough room for the data and analysis (I'm in humanities)

You're right as ever DanB - I should be glad, the feeling of being unwanted is surely better than that of being cheated on and your heart ripped out and shoved on a stick by one such as Vivian.... I will recover quickly, for the rest of you, well.... I'm here as a shoulder to weep copious tears on if you need me - heartless wench!

Sigh... I too have been overlooked!!!! She doesn't love me, why am I not good enough for Vivian? Is it because I haven't completed my studies at Belford yet? Is that what it is? i feel hurt and unloved. but maybe its a good thing, she's obviously a bit of a floozy and would have broken my heart too :-(