As per the title, I am finally resubmitting my very long thesis (153,000 words!) after a tedious year of corrections. I thought I would write a post for anyone who has been given major corrections or an R&R verdict in the hopes that it will give them some encouragement.

I was absolutely devastated to be given major corrections after my viva. The amount of work on my corrections list seemed impossible, to the extent that I didn't even know where to start. There were also some serious issues with both my school and my supervisor and I was let down on many levels quite spectacularly.

In light of all this, I am handing in my revised thesis tomorrow (yippee!) and wanted to share what I have learnt from this soul destroying experience:

1. I really want this PhD. I thought I wanted it a year ago but my determination to get a doctorate has definitely reached another level through this correction period. If I do get my PhD, I know I will appreciate it much more than if I had passed or been given minor corrections.

2. My examiners, to some extent, were right. My new chapters have made my thesis so much stronger. Although I still feel quite hard done by, my corrections have made me a more rounded academic.

3. Stress is inevitable but you should never let it take its toll on your health. I fainted (completely blacked out) whilst at the peak of my PhD stress and also felt very run down and short tempered. It didn't do me any favours. Be sure to make time for the things outside academia that make you happy.

Good luck to anyone working on their corrections - don't lose hope! I have to endure the long wait for my result now...which could be minor corrections, another viva, a pass or a fail. I'll keep you all updated! Thank you to the many fellow PhD'ers who took the time to write to me over the past year, it helped me enormously.

Sounds like a roller coaster mate- a slow moving and not-always enjoyable one, but at least- now! -an inevitable one. Would you be able to reveal your discipline? Just that 100,000 words I though was trad the max, give or take?

BEST OF LUCK!

Good luck - hope you get the best outcome!

Thanks Eds! Yes of course, my discipline is Sociology. When I initially submitted a year ago there was no official word count to adhere to (strange but true). Although the school has now implemented a word count of 80,000, I've been told it doesn't apply to me as I submitted before this was in place. My viva report didn't tell me to take anything out of my thesis or cut back in any way - my examiners wanted me to add more chapters. Fellow academics have been shocked by this but it is what it is...I just hope all my hard work pays off now. Will let you know! :)

Hi,
Congratulations. You are the first guy who I heard have major correction. Good thing is you have done the corrections. How did you manage your stress. Since I am always devastated by the stress from experiment and report. Hope you can give me some suggestion. Many thanks. Best of luck!
Jasmine