I've just had feedback on a chapter and my supervisor suggested some changes and improvements but generally she said I had made a 'feisty' attempt to argue my point. I'm not sure how to take that.It comes across as a compliment but it doesn't sound very academic!

I'd take it as a compliment....
Feisty: full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited

Hey, that sounds good when you put it like that.

an odd thing to say... I would feel like my sup meant I had put forward a spirited argument but not a knock-out one yet. Not as good as 'bold' or 'strong'. Fiesty to me would mean I was getting there though...

This is probably me being pedantic - I read a million things into my comments and am pretty harsh on myself so for me feisty would indicate a bit lacking... Also, as a woman, I find 'feisty' an obnoxious term when ascribed to another woman or their activities!!!

it's generally good though i reckon!!

i think it's a compliment. meaning you're willing to think and push things further and think outside the box perhaps. and that you're willing to shake things up and challenge things and not be ordinary.

most definately a complement!

Better that than 'cocky', as my supervisor described one of my chapters!

And better than 'bolshy' which is how my other half described me after a few dates!

don't understand why some people cannot directly give comments. especially in academia.. collins dictionary doesnot seem to think Feisty as a compliment though, well he may have used it in another way though:
quote."
If you describe someone as feisty, you mean that they are tough, independent, and spirited, often when you would not expect them to be, for example because they are old or ill.
At 66, she was as feisty as ever.
= spunky "

I am nearly 42, and have just been diagnosed with anaemia!

Also a heck of a lot better than 'grotesque', as the writing in my MA diss was described by my sup two days before the deadline...

I hope it has improved since then!

Whenever I go to conferences or hear about others' research, I always end up saying "that was really interesting" which I do actually mean but "interesting" is not an interesting word. I would like to increase my vocabulary to be able to describe others' research in a better way.

hehe, sometimes, we use "boring" words just to hide our true feelings. like "this work is interesting"( hmm, how do I comment on this work without lying but not offensive as well..)

Exactly, that's why I want to find some other words, so I don't have to say interesting when I do mean it but it may be misconstrued, as you say, as boring.