Mistakes in Thesis! Stressed.

[Kamr1234]

I have been working on my doctoral thesis p/t while working full time, and raising a family. I have supervisor and he is great. However, after submitting my thesis, and preparing for my viva, I realised that I made so many mistakes. I am seeing hundreds of typos, incomplete explanations and simply a whole barrage of things I could have rewritten. I have read and re-read my thesis so many times, and yet, there they are. I am devastated that I sent this to be reviewed (supervisor said it's okay, but could be better). I am at my wits end. I am making a list of all the issues I have found to discuss with my supervisor, and I am now worried that I may not even pass the doctorate and will be awarded an MPhil. I believe it is so poorly written with too many mistakes, not befitting of a doctorate at all. The mistakes do not change the outcome of the results, but things that I know will call for a rewrite of some sections. I don't know what will happen, just that I am now in a place were I am completely devastated, and in my pragmatic way, under no illusion it will be marked for major corrections or revise and resubmit - at the very best.

I love my thesis and so enjoyed doing the work. It was a complete labour of love. Nonetheless, I am going to be stressed from now until the viva.

Any words of encouragement will be greatly received.

How long till your viva?

Panic not. If the main content and findings of the thesis are OK then the chances are you will get opportunity to resubmit before they fail you. It may mean an additional, shorter viva.

But I would prepare your responses in advance for areas or weaknesses you have spotted, ready for discussion in the viva.

If the process is the same as it was 20 years ago, much will depend on your viva. Then you will most likely either pass with minor corrections, or have major corrections which they would want you to resubmit before passing you, or they would say essentially "not ready yet" in which case you resubmit and re-viva. All is not lost if this is the answer it has happened to many people I know.

It will be fine, you will most likely get minor corrections if fundamentally the premise of the thesis is correct but some things need clarifying/tidying up etc. most PhD thesis get minor corrections, it’s the norm. Try not to panic, prepare for the viva and just know you will be a Dr very soon.

Your examiners will simply highlight the typos. When I re - read mine to prepare for the viva , I realised that chapters 2 and 3 should have been in reverse order . Although you are meant to defend your thesis , when they mentioned this I agreed with them. Also, I discovered that one page of diagrams simply hadn’t printed and they had a blank page. It didn’’t matter. Along as the main body of your work is sound you will be ok.

When I had my viva, my examiners identified about half of the typos that I’d spotted, and I was awarded my PhD with a month to correct them. In fact, I corrected all the errors I’d found before I resubmitted. I was supervisor later in my career, and it was extremely rare for someone to go the course and then only be awarded an MPhil. Most had to do substantial rewriting, rejigging of chapters etc.

I did the same thing. I was appalled by the number of errors in the first section alone! My contents page had gone weird half way through which I hadn't noticed and the formatting was off in places. I made lots of notes in my copy so I could show them I was aware and ready to correct them but they weren't mentioned really, it was just at the end they had a list of errors for me to correct. They were more interested in the content and what I had done and thought than what I had actually written. I would try not to worry too much but maybe at some point say you are aware of the errors and you are happy to correct them. You'll be fine. Good luck with your viva.

I was taught that in this situation the thing to do was to prepare a list of all the typos and amendments you are aware of and take it into the viva with you. When errors are pointed out you have evidence you are aware of them already and prepared to amend them before your doctorate is awarded.

If the main argument of your thesis still holds then I agree that a fail is unlikely; it is the contribution to the field that is being assessed not your skills in avoiding typos. It is a long document prepared under pressure, it is likely going to have imperfections.

Being stressed before the viva is normal, it is a culmination of a lot of work. But if your results are unaffected by the changes you want to make, and your supervisor supported you submitting, a fail is unlikely. Have you read many PhD theses? The quality is surprisingly variable.

It's going to be ok.

If the main point of the thesis is basically sound you won't fail. If there are massive holes in your argument that may end up changing all yoir conclusions once properly addressed then the outcome would be that you are told to make major revisions and have a new viva, which is fine but will obviously take a while. If it's more about spelling and grammar errors and incomplete sentences where you got distracted half way through a thought then you'll just be told to make the corrections and submit a corrected version with no 2nd viva. If the examiners aren't sure which side of this line it falls they will be using the viva to decide. Therefote what you are doing now, re-examining it and finding the flaws, is perfect preparation for the viva.

Make a list of the mistakes and take it to the viva. Be prepared to talk about them - not apologetically but demonstrating your understanding of the importance of clarity where it's missing. This is a process where current members of academia are deciding whether to give you the status of a peer who doesn't need supervisory oversight any more but that doesn't mean you are supposed to be perfect and never make mistakes. When an academic writes journal papers for publication they go through the same level of peer scrutiny (obviously without a viva!) because we all make mistakes. What's important is that you engage in the process.

I'm surprised that so many people have had spelling or similar errors in their thesis when submitted. Mine was completely clear of silly errors because my two supervisors did their job properly and effectively proof-read the whole thing for me.

Unfortunately, my thesis needed re-submitting, basically because the examiner didn't approve of my methods. For personal reasons, I took a long time to re-submit and in that time they changed the external examiner. The new examiner was very happy with a few tweaks and more elaboration and arguments in favour of my methodology so went through on second attempt.

Don't be to down on yourself, mistakes happen and I'm sure it will all be good in the end.

It's normal to find flaws after submission and it's normal to spend the period between submission and viva stressed. Hopefully the viva is quite soon so it's not hanging over you too long.

I suggest focussing now on having the incomplete explanations nailed down so you can explain them fully in the viva.

Do you have any mock vivas planned? It's worth having a couple, even if it's only asking fellow PGRs to read a chapter each and ask questions. The viva is an oral exam (assuming you're in the uk) so you need to have your explanations fluent, not just on paper but also when you discuss them. It's a good idea to read your examiners' work too so you know how they approach and use these concepts, so your understandings match.

At this stage be prepared that the meeting with your supervisor might not be that helpful. Firstly, because it's with the examiners now and that's out of their hands. Ultimately all they can say is what we're saying, which is to identify the gaps and have a plan about how to address them. Secondly, because, like you, they are familiar with the work and so, like you, that means it's not always easy for them to spot the gaps because you already know the context.

Hope the prep goes well. I found that the post submission period when I could think about the thesis as a whole was the point when I got to grips with what it meant to be a researcher - which includes reflection on the flaws of your work.

It is not at all your supervisors' job to proof-read your thesis. They are field experts not proof-readers. It is your responsibility to either proof-read your work or engage a proof-reader to do that.

This is really common, don’t panic.
I went into my viva with a (several pages long) list of all the typos I’d found after submitting to reassure my examiners that I had spotted them too.
As it happened, they told me it was a very ‘clean’ thesis and they hadn’t found many typos! Obviously I surreptitiously hid those sheets of paper…
Even if you pass with no corrections there’ll be the opportunity to address any minor typos/ referencing errors before your thesis is uploaded to the repository.
Good luck with the viva!

I agree with @GCAcademic that proof reading the thesis is not the job of the supervisor and certainly not the job of the second supervisor.

Proof reading is certainly not something I expected my supervisors to do, nor is it something I offer to students to I supervise now. It’s the responsibility of the student.

You are fab. I failed my thesis due to family life and work

I clearly had wonderful supervisors who both went above and beyond to make sure my thesis was as good as it could be. They both read the whole thing through on a regular basis and would return it with any errors marked-up.

Yup. I have absolutely noted typos when returning a chapter when I see them, but I’m engaging with arguments and evidence, substantive stuff. Proof-reading is not a supervisor’s responsibility.

I’m a very experienced PhD examiner. Most submitted theses have several typos, bits needing rewriting etc. Do as PPs say, make a list and just acknowledge errors if the examiners bring it up. I usually just summarise this by saying it needs a thorough proof read in the comments section of my report. The examiners should concentrate on the substance of your thesis.

I had to refer back to my thesis the other day - I submitted it 20 years ago ago and it passed without corrections. Found three typos in one chapter alone and cringed at some of the writing. You will probably be fine! As previous posters have said, identify any structural weaknesses you spot in case they come up in the viva and have a response for what you would/will do to correct and it is unlikely to be a major issue. Congratulations on submitting, good luck for the viva!

Editing errors and misses in proof-reading happen to all of us. I had a page where I ended up with an extra paragraph and none of us spotted it. I finally spotted it 2 years later when I was looking at it to show my own PhD student!
Make a list of proof-reading errors that you spot and take it to your viva in the back of your notes. If they give you minor corrections then you can say 'and I'd like to get these corrected too'.

As long as your arguments are sound then you won't fail. You might get major amends or a re-write but typos won't be a huge issue you'll just be asked to address them.
Good luck with the viva!

I think you're probably your most severe critic from what you're saying about the content. Unless you were out of time and -had- to submit something, anything!!!, then your supervisors will have made sure that you've got a passable piece of work. You might get major corrections if you need to address substantial things, but it's part of being in academia and peer review. Think of it as a revise and resubmit if you get majors. It'll improve your work and contribution to the field.
Good luck with your viva!

Hi Hanto,
It's in the third week of February.

@Thingamebobwotsit Absolutely!
I have created a table of the typo or sentence I am not happy with and the page number. Though it is serving to aid the feeling of foreboding, but at least I am highlighting the areas they may query in preparation.
Thank you!