EPQ Advice

Does anyone have any advice on how to get a Grade A on an EPQ? Are there particular topics which could help?

Hi, I did AQA EPQ and got an A* so hopefully this helps (might be different advice for different boards)

1. choose something you are interested in but aren't an expert in.
This will keep you motivated to research it for months
2. Keep a log of what you do every week
Create a document where you record: What you wanted to do that week, what you did and why. This will allow you to show the examiner how you completed your project. The EPQ grading is not just the final product, they want to see how you overcame issues with your essay/artifact but also how you adapted. For example, my essay was on Ancient Rome, I initially started it on the senate but found too little evidence so I change my question.
3. Give yourself time to write.
I planned my EPQ summer after year 11 until Christmas of year 12 then planned it all out in Jan-Mar year 12 and then wrote it for my deadline in May. Spacing it out will give you a much better chance of structuring it clearly. Your examiner will not be an expert on the subject you pick unlike your A-Levels, so you need to make sure that they can clearly follow your line of thought and argument even if the nuances are lost.
4. Dont stress!
Its a lot of work, I wont lie, but if you make yourself do little and often (maybe 1/2 hours a week) you'll find it much less stressful than those who left everything to do with 3 weeks to go. Also think of the benefits, my uni offer from Nottingham was lowered from AAB to BBB because of my EPQ.

Good Luck :smile: