I understand what you're saying, Dick, but I don't believe that you are necessarily correct. Many academics when marking degree dissertations are looking at the academic rigour with which they are researched and presented, rather than the actual content - this can be deduced from the arguments put forward, the extent of the bibliography, all sorts of things, within a general subject framework - we don't know exactly what department Cristian is part of. My tutors knew sufficent about music generally to know whether what I said made sense, and this may well be true of the tutors within Cristian's college - in fact, as it's Dartington, they almost undoubtedly do.

Thanks for the PM, by the way - no problem.

Barbara