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EPQ: Whether or not?

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Reply 20
I completed an EPQ in less than 3 months start to finish, and got an A*.
Its really not that hard. You just need to manage your time well.

The trick is to focus on your log and referencing. I thought my essay was absolutely awful but the sophistication of my referencing and log brought me up to the A* :smile:
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by kcorbins
I am considering doing the EPQ at my college, but would like to know more about it. Is it hard to complete? Or is it something that requires no worrying?

Thanks for your help.


I did mine in Year 12 and it was really enjoyable, ended up finishing the 20,000 word mini-book I wrote on the Titanic in less than 10 weeks because I was enjoying it so much although the paperwork is a ****** pain. My teacher told me to write a 1000 word supporting essay, physically couldn't write it in that word limit, it ended up being 5000 words (was possibly marked down for that I guess!) Apart from the paperwork, it was such a valuable experience - I got an A for it and feel I learnt more from those weeks than I did in a whole year of an AS level for an AS subject (which I got an A in too).

Go for it if you know exactly what you want to do for it :biggrin:
Depends on what subject you want to do at university. It's of more use to someone studying English than it is to somebody doing Engineering. Certain universities (eg Southampton) will also drop offers by one grade if you get an A or an A* in an EPQ and you've applied to a certain subject.
Reply 23
Original post by Bloxorus
I completed an EPQ in less than 3 months start to finish, and got an A*.
Its really not that hard. You just need to manage your time well.

The trick is to focus on your log and referencing. I thought my essay was absolutely awful but the sophistication of my referencing and log brought me up to the A* :smile:


Nice! I wish I could get an A*! I haven't started the EPQ and don't know much about it, but when referencing don't you just write the source, so a website will do or is there more to it? And logging, how can I improve it, isn't it just writing what you did and when?
Reply 24
Original post by goodmorningworld
I did mine in Year 12 and it was really enjoyable, ended up finishing the 20,000 word mini-book I wrote on the Titanic in less than 10 weeks because I was enjoying it so much although the paperwork is a ****** pain. My teacher told me to write a 1000 word supporting essay, physically couldn't write it in that word limit, it ended up being 5000 words (was possibly marked down for that I guess!) Apart from the paperwork, it was such a valuable experience - I got an A for it and feel I learnt more from those weeks than I did in a whole year of an AS level for an AS subject (which I got an A in too).

Go for it if you know exactly what you want to do for it :biggrin:


I know what I want to do. Got any tips? Cheers. And congrats on your A!
Reply 25
Original post by kcorbins
Nice! I wish I could get an A*! I haven't started the EPQ and don't know much about it, but when referencing don't you just write the source, so a website will do or is there more to it? And logging, how can I improve it, isn't it just writing what you did and when?


Thanks.

Theres is a little more to referencing than that but thats the basic idea. If using a website you get extra marks for putting the date which you accessed the website, the editor etc.

And to improve your log, the best advice I can give is to be as patronizing to the examiner as possible. It sounds silly but write about everything in a stupid amount of detail, i.e down to the stationary you used when brainstorming ideas etc. When marking they just have to tick boxes so you need to make sure you can let them do that.
Reply 26
Original post by audi_turbo
Depends on what subject you want to do at university. It's of more use to someone studying English than it is to somebody doing Engineering. Certain universities (eg Southampton) will also drop offers by one grade if you get an A or an A* in an EPQ and you've applied to a certain subject.


Yh I've heard that. Did you do an EPQ? Or are you in the process of doing one?
Original post by kcorbins
Yh I've heard that. Did you do an EPQ? Or are you in the process of doing one?


I did an EPQ last year alongside 4 AS levels as it was compulsary at my sixth form.
Reply 28
Original post by Bloxorus
Thanks.

Theres is a little more to referencing than that but thats the basic idea. If using a website you get extra marks for putting the date which you accessed the website, the editor etc.

And to improve your log, the best advice I can give is to be as patronizing to the examiner as possible. It sounds silly but write about everything in a stupid amount of detail, i.e down to the stationary you used when brainstorming ideas etc. When marking they just have to tick boxes so you need to make sure you can let them do that.


Thanks for the advice! When I go to do it, I'm just going to research it on the internet, book, etc., I'm not going to brainstorm or anything. Would you recommend that I make up the brainstorming bit? I can't think of anything else to put in my log, any ideas?
Thanks for your help:biggrin:
Reply 29
Original post by audi_turbo
I did an EPQ last year alongside 4 AS levels as it was compulsary at my sixth form.


Wow, 5 courses! You're sixth form is demanding! What other subjects did you do and what grades did you get? (If you don't mind me asking)
Original post by kcorbins
Wow, 5 courses! You're sixth form is demanding! What other subjects did you do and what grades did you get? (If you don't mind me asking)


I got 4As in Maths, Physics, French and Philosophy and a B (one mark less would've been a C) in the EPQ.
Reply 31
Original post by audi_turbo
I got 4As in Maths, Physics, French and Philosophy and a B (one mark less would've been a C) in the EPQ.


Nice! Are you going to uni? If so, which course?
Original post by kcorbins
Nice! Are you going to uni? If so, which course?


Yeah going to do mechanical engineering at Bath :smile:
OMG! If you have the opportunity to do one... DON'T HESITATE!! It's an awesome chance to prove to unis how much of a good candidate you are on your personal statement :3 you can talk about the things you learned through the course of the EPQ in your uni interviews too!

Just plan properly, and start writing it in chunks from a very early stage and you won't even notice the work load xD good luck
Reply 34
Original post by audi_turbo
Yeah going to do mechanical engineering at Bath :smile:


Nice, Bath sounds like a good uni:smile:
Reply 35
Original post by R Dragon
OMG! If you have the opportunity to do one... DON'T HESITATE!! It's an awesome chance to prove to unis how much of a good candidate you are on your personal statement :3 you can talk about the things you learned through the course of the EPQ in your uni interviews too!

Just plan properly, and start writing it in chunks from a very early stage and you won't even notice the work load xD good luck


Thanks, what did you do your EPQ on?:smile:
It took me about 8 months or so to complete my EPQ. It was stressful, hard work, but very rewarding in the end. I got an A grade.

The thing I found most difficult was motivating myself to do it, and the least favourite parts were the logs and the source referencing, but nonetheless I finished it and am proud of it.
Original post by kcorbins
Thanks, what did you do your EPQ on?:smile:


You're very very welcome xD

My question was "How much fluoride should British tap water contain?" It was based primarily on dentistry ans some hints of chemistry:biggrin:

Feel free to pm any questions :3
Reply 38
Original post by MalteseMalteser
It took me about 8 months or so to complete my EPQ. It was stressful, hard work, but very rewarding in the end. I got an A grade.

The thing I found most difficult was motivating myself to do it, and the least favourite parts were the logs and the source referencing, but nonetheless I finished it and am proud of it.


Nice! Well done! And I'm also dreading having to constantly do the logs and referencing but hopefully I'll get through it. What did you do your EPQ on?
Original post by kcorbins
Nice! Well done! And I'm also dreading having to constantly do the logs and referencing but hopefully I'll get through it. What did you do your EPQ on?


Yeah it's definitely better to do the logs and referencing as you go along - I left all of mine until after I'd written the essay :colonhash:
But the title for mine was "Should the UK's Taxation System be Simplified? - with an emphasis on the Flat Tax"

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