Well, that's it I got the best possible result and my PhD is finished!!!

I spent a long time lurking on these forums before my PhD viva, continuously reading the horror stories which range from major revisions to R&R to MPhil to fail.

One thing became immediately apparent the choice of supervisor is KEY. I was very, very lucky in that my supervisor was readily available, offered amazing advice (both academic and personal) and read my work thoroughly. There is no way she would have even let me submit my thesis if she thought it would not have achieved a pass.

Another consideration is that my secondary supervisor also read my work. So in effect it had been peer reviewed by 2 people before entering into my thesis.

Looking at the horror stories probably wasn't so helpful but in some ways it did help prepare me for the worst. So I thought I would contribute back and say that to anyone thinking about a PhD (or who has just started and has poor supervision) really choose your supervisor carefully!

Any other questions welcome!

Dear RWDoctor,

Congratulations on your achievement. A PhD without corrections is rare and great news indeed!
I agree, choice of your main supervisor and your supervisory team is very important. This in turn should help to decide which university one should do their PhD from, because not all universities are well equipped in all fields.
Enjoy this period of bliss.

Kind Regards,
Behappy

Hearty congrats!
Hmmm you had a supporting team, this is excellent!

Success was down to you.

An excellent supervisory team cannot turn a bad student in to a good student.
A good student can excel irrespective of supervisory team.

If both student and supervisory work well together, that is when great things happen!

Congratulations! this is indeed very rare. Amazing work.

I have a question. Have you published any parts of your thesis before viva?

Many thanks! Yes, of course I did the work but the support from my supervisors was amazing, they were there every step of the way.

I had a published review but had not published any experimental papers before my viva. The way my PhD went I did all the writing at the very end (fun!). I have 2 experimental papers submitted to journal (minor corrections) and I have 3 more ready for sending to journal.