Is it worth trying to fix my computer, or should I look into purchasing a new one?

I currently have an aluminum Macbook from late 2008. It has a 250GB hard drive and 2 GB RAM. I'm running OSX version 10.8.2.
Recently my laptop has been running really slowly; programs will often just give me the spinning beach ball when I try to open them, searching for files on the hard drive takes forever. Also, if I close the computer without putting it to sleep and then try to reopen it at any point after that, I get a black screen with the spinning beach ball, and I have to reboot the computer before I can use the computer. Applications frequently crash in the middle of using them and I've lost entire assignments as a result (I know I need to save more often, but it's still annoying that I lose entire applications). It started happening really suddenly, there was really no warning
I'm entirely computer illiterate, and I've gotten varying advice from people I know who are better with computers than I am. Some say to install more RAM and reinstall the the OS, while others say that because the computer is 5 years old, it may be smarter to just go ahead and purchase a new laptop, especially since I will be heavily using my computer next year to write a thesis (various statistics programs, maybe running flash programs/videos for data collection, writing my own programs for data collection and writing the actual paper).
Just in case it matters, my battery only lasts around 30 mins on a full charge, and I have a few dead pixels on my screen.
Any advice you guys can give would be super helpful!
Thanks!

if your issues were a simple RAM and software reinstall - then I would suggest to keep your Macbook and invest a couple of hundred $$$.
but because your battery is toasted - and your screen has some issues - i suggest to get a refurbished Macbook from Apple or get a 2 year old used macbook.
it's not worth spending x amount of $$$ in your macbook because of the dead pixels in your screen.
if your screen was perfect, then i would say spend a couple of hundred $$$ and fix it up.
I still have both my late 2008 Macbook Uni 2GHz and 2.4GHz running perfectly.
Good luck

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http://i.imgur.com/Fjp5tXO.jpg
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