EPQ Essay Structure

Hey sis/bro,
my teacher told me to do it this way:

-Introduction - outline question
-Literature Review - basic history of the topic, e.g. who was the first person to think about wind energy ect..
- Main discussion - use questions as subheadings and answer these questions
- Conclusion
- Smoke weed

I haven't done any of it yet!

Reply 2

Here is the structure I used for my EPQ and what to put in each section:

Introduction

Start by introducing your question, for example: “The question I am researching is "...?", then explain the aim of your project, i.e. what you plan to find out. Also mention what sources of information you will use, and how your essay is going to be structured. These are easiest to write about at the end of the project, so don't worry about writing a thorough introduction straight away.

Main essay

Here you should discuss all of the main points and arguments which will help to answer your question. This should be the bulk of your essay; remember to use paragraphs and reference any quotes you use so that the examiner can refer to them in the bibliography. Use at least 3 different sources throughout your essay, for example a book, a website and a TV programme (you get marks specifically for using a variety of sources).

Conclusion

In the conclusion you should briefly discuss the most significant points/arguments again and come to a conclusion which answers your original title question.

I hope this helps :smile:

Reply 3

jfljkwsdnabkjf

3

haha sounds fun! GIGGLE

hi again

GIIGGLEE

Original post by jfljkwsdnabkjf

hi again

GIIGGLEE

giggles also
xoxo

**** off

Original post by darklipsdarksoul

I'm doing an EPQ on Social Media but I'm struggling with the structure of my essay... any tips/examples people have?

It's helpful to think of the different essay sections as answering a series of questions your reader might ask when encountering your thesis. (Readers should have questions. If they don't, your thesis is most likely simply an observation of fact, not an arguable claim.)"What?" The first question to anticipate from a reader is "what": What evidence shows that the phenomenon described by your thesis is true? To answer the question you must examine your evidence, thus demonstrating the truth of your claim. This "what" or "demonstration" section comes early in the essay, often directly after the introduction. Since you're essentially reporting what you've observed, this is the part you might have most to say about when you first start writing. But be forewarned: it shouldn't take up much more than a third (often much less) of your finished essay. If it does, the essay will lack balance and may read as mere summary or description."How?" A reader will also want to know whether the claims of the thesis are true in all cases. The corresponding question is "how": How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counterargument? How does the introduction of new material—a new way of looking at the evidence, another set of sources—affect the claims you're making? Typically, an essay will include at least one "how" section. (Call it "complication" since you're responding to a reader's complicating questions.) This section usually comes after the "what," but keep in mind that an essay may complicate its argument several times depending on its length, and that counterargument alone may appear just about anywhere in an essay."Why?" Your reader will also want to know what's at stake in your claim: Why does your interpretation of a phenomenon matter to anyone beside you? This question addresses the larger implications of your thesis. It allows your readers to understand your essay within a larger context. In answering "why", your essay explains its own significance. Although you might gesture at this question in your introduction, the fullest answer to it properly belongs at your essay's end. If you leave it out, your readers will experience your essay as unfinished—or, worse, as pointless or insular.

Reply 8

gcse0

10

Original post by Leviathan1741

Here is the structure I used for my EPQ and what to put in each section:

Introduction

Start by introducing your question, for example: “The question I am researching is "...?", then explain the aim of your project, i.e. what you plan to find out. Also mention what sources of information you will use, and how your essay is going to be structured. These are easiest to write about at the end of the project, so don't worry about writing a thorough introduction straight away.

Main essay

Here you should discuss all of the main points and arguments which will help to answer your question. This should be the bulk of your essay; remember to use paragraphs and reference any quotes you use so that the examiner can refer to them in the bibliography. Use at least 3 different sources throughout your essay, for example a book, a website and a TV programme (you get marks specifically for using a variety of sources).

Conclusion

In the conclusion you should briefly discuss the most significant points/arguments again and come to a conclusion which answers your original title question.

I hope this helps :smile:

What did you get in the end? :biggrin:

Reply 9

Original post by gcse0

What did you get in the end? :biggrin:

I got an A :smile:

Reply 10

HiddenFigure

Original post by Leviathan1741

I got an A :smile:

Wow even the advice you gave earlier was so goooodd! I am also currently doing my EPQ 5000 word dissertation and I just wanted to ask how many hours a day/week did you spend on writing and researching about your topic? What was your topic? and in what context did you write?

I would be highly grateful if you could help a sister out :smile:

Thankssss!!

Reply 11

Original post by HiddenFigure

Wow even the advice you gave earlier was so goooodd! I am also currently doing my EPQ 5000 word dissertation and I just wanted to ask how many hours a day/week did you spend on writing and researching about your topic? What was your topic? and in what context did you write?

I would be highly grateful if you could help a sister out :smile:

Thankssss!!

My EPQ was on the theories for the extinction of the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. It focused on the most popular theories for the extinction, and compared each of them to the asteroid impact theory (the most widely accepted one), to see if the impact theory was actually the most likely.

I did my EPQ about 4 years ago now, so I can't really remember how much time I spent on it. I was quite fortunate though in that I was entered for the November hand-in, so I started it in around July and was able to do most of it during the summer holidays. I didn't dedicate a certain amount of time to it each day or each week, instead I made a plan of which theories I wanted to include, and decided on a basic structure for the essay, which was introduction, a discussion of each theory with evidence for and against each one, a comparison of each theory against the asteroid impact theory, and a conclusion.

I then began writing the essay at the same time as doing my research - I recommend this approach (rather than researching first and writing later) because as you write, you'll notice more quickly if you're running out of discussion points and whether your title or topic area needs to be adjusted. Also, it's easier to keep track of your sources if you write the essay and regularly update your bibliography as you're going along.

I hope that wasn't too rambly :tongue:

Reply 12

Jas2007

2

With this EPQ thing do you have to create your own question to write an essay on

Reply 13

tlmurphy

2

Original post by Jas2007

With this EPQ thing do you have to create your own question to write an essay on

You do have to choose your own subject/question but it doesn't have to be a 5,000-word essay. You can do different things depending on what subject you choose. For example, you can choose to do a 5,000-word dissertation or you might choose to create a product instead, but you do still have to write around 1,000 words alongside it.

Hope this helps. :smile:

Reply 14

Charloot

Original post by gyugyu

shut up u horrible human being

chill out r e l a x a t i o n

Reply 15

lmao_i_need_help

Original post by oliver477

It's helpful to think of the different essay sections as answering a series of questions your reader might ask when encountering your thesis. (Readers should have questions. If they don't, your thesis is most likely simply an observation of fact, not an arguable claim.)"What?" The first question to anticipate from a reader is "what": What evidence shows that the phenomenon described by your thesis is true? To answer the question you must examine your evidence, thus demonstrating the truth of your claim. This "what" or "demonstration" section comes early in the essay, often directly after the introduction. Since you're essentially reporting what you've observed, this is the part you might have most to say about when you first start writing. But be forewarned: it shouldn't take up much more than a third (often much less) of your finished essay. If it does, the essay will lack balance and may read as mere summary or description."How?" A reader will also want to know whether the claims of the thesis are true in all cases. The corresponding question is "how": How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counterargument? How does the introduction of new material—a new way of looking at the evidence, another set of sources—affect the claims you're making? Typically, an essay will include at least one "how" section. (Call it "complication" since you're responding to a reader's complicating questions.) This section usually comes after the "what," but keep in mind that an essay may complicate its argument several times depending on its length, and that counterargument alone may appear just about anywhere in an essay."Why?" Your reader will also want to know what's at stake in your claim: Why does your interpretation of a phenomenon matter to anyone beside you? This question addresses the larger implications of your thesis. It allows your readers to understand your essay within a larger context. In answering "why", your essay explains its own significance. Although you might gesture at this question in your introduction, the fullest answer to it properly belongs at your essay's end. If you leave it out, your readers will experience your essay as unfinished—or, worse, as pointless or insular.

Hello, can you explain the why section in a little more detail please? Am I supposed to be answering why the topic I chose is important to myself such as personal reasons or education/career-wise or why the question I asked is important for the world to know or something.
Also can you say what you received for your epq grade if you don't mind.
Btw thanks your description helped a lot.

Reply 16

Girlhood

3

You are an absolute saviour! Simple but helpful asf!

Original post by leviathan1741

here is the structure i used for my epq and what to put in each section:

introduction

start by introducing your question, for example: “the question i am researching is "...?", then explain the aim of your project, i.e. What you plan to find out. Also mention what sources of information you will use, and how your essay is going to be structured. These are easiest to write about at the end of the project, so don't worry about writing a thorough introduction straight away.

main essay

here you should discuss all of the main points and arguments which will help to answer your question. This should be the bulk of your essay; remember to use paragraphs and reference any quotes you use so that the examiner can refer to them in the bibliography. Use at least 3 different sources throughout your essay, for example a book, a website and a tv programme (you get marks specifically for using a variety of sources).

conclusion

in the conclusion you should briefly discuss the most significant points/arguments again and come to a conclusion which answers your original title question.

i hope this helps :smile:

Reply 17

happydayys

15

I did mine on the use of Espionage in the cold war, here's my structure; (i got an A btw)
intro: outline basic points and put forward main argument point in Q format (ie. how useful was espionage in the cold war)
pg 1: state what espionage is and explain using examples
pg 2: talk about why helpful to the USA (this actually took about 3 paragraphs)
pg3: why helpful to the USSR (about 3 paragraphs)
pg 4: why it wasn't helpful or backfired
pg 5: continue on from pg 4
pg 6: use some primary sources and evaluate them to fit with you chosen conclusion (ie. it was useful to the USSR but not to the USA)
pg 7: summarise basic points giving a balanced overview
conclusion: conclude and argue your final point DO NOT SUM UP/ REPEAT POINTS AGAIN

hope this helps :smile:

Reply 18

jaydenbhn

1

Original post by Leviathan1741

Here is the structure I used for my EPQ and what to put in each section:

Introduction

Start by introducing your question, for example: “The question I am researching is "...?", then explain the aim of your project, i.e. what you plan to find out. Also mention what sources of information you will use, and how your essay is going to be structured. These are easiest to write about at the end of the project, so don't worry about writing a thorough introduction straight away.

Main essay

Here you should discuss all of the main points and arguments which will help to answer your question. This should be the bulk of your essay; remember to use paragraphs and reference any quotes you use so that the examiner can refer to them in the bibliography. Use at least 3 different sources throughout your essay, for example a book, a website and a TV programme (you get marks specifically for using a variety of sources).

Conclusion

In the conclusion you should briefly discuss the most significant points/arguments again and come to a conclusion which answers your original title question.

I hope this helps :smile:

Original post by Leviathan1741

Here is the structure I used for my EPQ and what to put in each section:

Introduction

Start by introducing your question, for example: “The question I am researching is "...?", then explain the aim of your project, i.e. what you plan to find out. Also mention what sources of information you will use, and how your essay is going to be structured. These are easiest to write about at the end of the project, so don't worry about writing a thorough introduction straight away.

Main essay

Here you should discuss all of the main points and arguments which will help to answer your question. This should be the bulk of your essay; remember to use paragraphs and reference any quotes you use so that the examiner can refer to them in the bibliography. Use at least 3 different sources throughout your essay, for example a book, a website and a TV programme (you get marks specifically for using a variety of sources).

Conclusion

In the conclusion you should briefly discuss the most significant points/arguments again and come to a conclusion which answers your original title question.

I hope this helps :smile:

What were the other theories for extinction?

Reply 19