i've been writing this chapter for ages. i do know the thrust of my argument, but i find that i've got to read more to make it happen. i'm feeling frustrated not being able to give my supervisor perfect work, especially because I have had to force some areas to flow. i also can't delay handing in coz i have missed my deadline by a month or so. has anyone else experienced this? or is it just me who hands in work that isn't up to standard on a regular basis?

Hi jojo

you are so not alone, my work is never up to standard it took about 12 total re-writes for a paper till my supervisor was happy but then he is an anal git. ha ha ha ha

I would hand in your chapter - for a number of reasons. 1. imagine the relief you will feel once you do hand it in. 2. means your supervisor can read it and help you. 3. you do not delay handing it in for another month, when you could be making a great start on another piece of work. 4. this is part of the review process of academia - i.e. we submit articles, they get returned to us after the review process, we re-submit them. I would also attach a short self-critique with the chapter - shows that you know where the gaps are and is something for your supervisor to think about. Sorry for rant - good luck!!

thanks keehaa and hillg. i will definitely submit it with a piece of self-critic. well, let me take a deep breath and proof-read it one last time. can't wait to hand in and get over and done with it - for now.

It's totally fine to hand your supervisor 'crap' work. It is their job to look at what you are doing and advise you if you are going off track. Also, you might think something is 'crap', but your supervisor might think it's good ... let them be the judge!!!

I know how you are feeling (I always dreaded giving my supervisor draft chapters), but honestly, just keep churning out stuff and giving it to them for feedback.

Hi Jojo,
I used to hand in crap work and just got more crap in return. Its very soul destroying. I usually get about 2 people to read it before handing it in and this seems to work as I am now a more confident writer. Recently, one of the editors from a high impact journal commented on my article and said "its well reported and well written" and that was such a great feeling. Unfortunately, it was not accepted for publication as they were looking for current topics, specifically dealing with patient healer interaction patterns. Not my area of research.

i just handed in. yeah! can get my life back now.

Hi Jojo, good job handing it in, I know how difficult it is! I always cringe when I email a chapter to my soop but sometimes I'm pleasantly suprised by the comments

I had to write a comment coz it struck a chord with me. I handed in my literature review a little while ago, because I just couldn't bear reading any more, I hated it and I was at my wits end that even after so long writing it I could not make it work... so I handed it in I was so embarrassed and worried about the comments I would get but soop gave some really good comments on how I could restructure it and that just gave me the leg-up I needed

Hope you get a nice motivational boost for yours when you get it back! And enjoy being free of it for a little while

crap could become yummy after your supervisor revised it