Extended Project Qualification

People of TSR!
(aimed at those who are thinking of doing EPQ at A-level and those who have done it)
I have decided to do 3 A-levels, and instead of doing 4 which I had decided initially, I have decided to take up an Extended Project Qualification, and I just wanted to know if you guys have any ideas on what one could do for EPQ and how to get as best a grade as possible.
Ta :smile:

))))

Reply 1

Jehaan

There's a really good guide that walks you through it
http://cdn.cityandguilds.com/ProductDocuments/Skills_for_Work_and_Life/Employability_Personal_and_Social_Development/2935/Additional_documents/Managing%20Extended%20Projects.pdf
It's really helpful and helped me to get an A*

Reply 2

Jordi_Carter

Original post by Jehaan

ahhh thanks so much for this, this will come in handy

Reply 3

Guardianbright

Ooh it's really easy to get an A in EPQ. I just wrote down whatever nonsense popped into my head after I got my uni offer without needing the EPQ and got an A. In terms of topic I would pick something that links into what you want to study at university if possible. I'm going to study English Lit so I did mine on why female authors throughout history have used male pseudonyms. That way you can maybe talk about it if you have an interview for uni or something. Someone who wanted to do Law debated on the death penalty, another of my friends decided to look at the creative influence of anime and another at Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. Just make sure it's something that you will have plenty to talk about!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4

Jordi_Carter

Original post by Guardianbright

you are like my holy grail for sixth form info, thank you again for this :biggrin:

Reply 5

Guardianbright

Original post by Jordi_Carter

you are like my holy grail for sixth form info, thank you again for this :biggrin:

haha no problem I ended up studying 6 a level subjects: English Lit, Sociology, Economics, Biology, Geography and Chemistry (4 full A levels and 2 AS levels) and EPQ so I picked up quite a bit of info on the way :P

Reply 6

username2088165

Hi! I got an A in my EPQ, so I can give you a few tips :smile:

•

Try to choose a topic for which there is an element of argument, i.e. come up with a title question for which you can present arguments in the essay and come to a conclusion at the end. Titles starting with ‘To what extent’ or ‘How far can’ are usually good choices.

•

You can then structure your essay by giving a brief overview of the issue (introduction), describing and explaining all the points/arguments for and against each side (main essay), giving a comparison of the arguments, then a conclusion which answers the title question. I hope that made sense!

•

Make sure you reference all of your quotes and images, diagrams etc properly, and use at least 3 sources of information, e.g. a book, a website and a TV programme - you get marks for doing this! Also make a note of the date that you used each source and include them in square brackets after the corresponding source in the bibliography.

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Fill in the Log Book as thoroughly as you can, because (annoyingly) the majority of the marks come from this, not the essay itself. Obviously try to make your essay as good as possible too! But keep in mind that the Log Book is what generates most of the marks.

•

When you do your presentation at the end of the project, make sure you have slides covering the following: why you chose to do the EPQ, why you chose your title, resources you used, what you found out, your conclusion, any difficulties you encountered, the benefits of doing the EPQ, what you'd do differently if you did the EPQ again, whether or not you'd recommend the EPQ to others and why. Also make sure you give the audience the opportunity to ask questions at the end, to meet the criteria of an 'interactive element'.

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Also, write the essay WHILE you are doing your research, not afterwards. It's easier and quicker to spot whether you're running out of stuff to write about if you write the essay while you're researching. If you do all your research beforehand, you may run out of time to tweak your title to provide more scope etc, especially if you start the essay late!