I really can't take the stress anymore. All day ive worked on that monstrosity of a thesis and I've gone backwards.....Yep I ended up with less words than I started with due to deleting a load of crap and repititions in the discussion. The final straw was when I started having a look at other theses online and seeing how different/rubbish mine looks. I just can't face it. I have 60,000+ words and probably need another 15,000 but it seems like the mountain is getting bigger, not smaller haha! Seriously considering asking to submit for MPhil so I can be done with this hell.

Sorry for the self pitying rant - but I'm currently hiding in bed hoping somehow it will all work out by next week when my next draft is due but it's no different from the last....lol

That is normal for a lot of students. Take a break for a while, ask for extended deadline. What year are you? Time pressured?

I feel that my writing is rubbish about 90% of the time. I put off sending drafts to my supervisor till the last minute because I'm too embarrassed for her to see it. Luckily she is a very supportive, positive person so she manages to make me feel better about it whilst making plenty of suggestions for improvement. For a few days after our meetings I think yes I can do this and then gradually I slip back into a pit of despair.

Lemonjuice, you're probably being too hard on yourself. You improved your discussion chapter yesterday even if you ended up with fewer words, so that's progress. I doubt that your thesis is rubbish compared with others (I feel the same about mine) but can you learn from what you liked about those theses and try to use it to improve your own work?

I hope your supervisors are supportive like mine, but if not, is there anyone else you could discuss your work with to get some moral support?

This is good! This is editing! Isn't your thesis *better* for deleting a load of repetition etc?

Precise word count doesn't matter. DO NOT COMPARE YOUR THESIS TO OTHER PEOPLE'S. Just don't. Comparative word count doesn't matter - what matters is what you've actually put.When you say you need another 15,000 words, do you mean that you actually need another 15,000 words of particular content you haven't done, or do you just think there *ought* to be another 15,000 words to bulk it out?

As long as you've ticked all the content boxes, it doesn't matter how long your thesis is. It only needs to be as long as it needs to be.

A final point about other people's theses - they will *always* look better to you than your own. This is because you know all the flaws in yours, and you are not an expert in other people's topics, so their work looks great. If the authors were stood next to you as you read them, and were being honest, they'd tell you there's are just as rubbish as you think your own is.

I felt like this for most of the writing-up phase. It really is a kind of hell, isn’t it? The PhD is mostly a crazy test of perseverance.

60,000+ words is amazing! And cutting words is actually a good sign - you're pruning and shaping what you have into a more streamlined and considered argument. Take a break and then keep going - you're probably much closer to the top of the mountain than you think.

Hi All!

Thanks for your replies :) Really is a comfort to now I'm not alone on struggling with this.

AislingB you're quite right, I'm very hard on myself - the problem is that only leads to more procrastination, not work! So I've tried to be kind to myself and have breaks (watch a movie or some tv) and I've been really productive as a result! I'm going to keep going whilst I still have the mental energy - fingers crossed I can get a full draft done by the end of the month.

HazyJane that's good advice! I stopped looking at others' theses for a while and started feeling better lol! But I took a look at one yesterday to see how they structured it and that was helpful too....I need to find a balance.

Thank you Kelpie! :) Writing up really is Hell! I honestly thought this would be the easy bit.....how wrong I was haha!