EPQ Help?

My school has made it compulsory to do an EPQ because me and the other students are only doing three A-Levels due to budget cuts but whilst I don't mind doing it, I'm unsure on how to lay it out or format it. Can anyone help?

Thank you so much for your reply I'm doing the 5,000 report, presentation and logbook with AQA. My teachers haven't bothered going though with our class how to lay out the EPQ but your reply really helps I'm hoping to do the EPQ on something Geography related as I want to do Environmental Policy and Management at university. Thanks a lot for the information and well done on that A; I hope to get that grade as well

Universities only need 3 A-levels usually when giving out offers - why would the school feel it necessary to make the EPQ compulsory?

That said, if done well and not spending a massive amount of time on it, it can be very worthwhile, counting as equivalent to an AS-level qualification

Our school made it compulsory because originally, all the students at my school did four A-Levels but because we're only doing three starting from this year, we had "too much free time" on our timetables.

That must've been difficult - 4 compulsory A-levels? Man, Unis don't even need students with that level of stress [I guess it may help slightly in terms of coping with high workloads. Still ]

Lol I don't what I'd do without all my frees - actually study? I'm one of those people that needs constant supervision over or I just won't work. Simple as.

Yeah, my school's really strict But don't worry I spend most of my frees at the beginning of the year playing Cards Against Humanity with my friends before the head banned it altogether

A very clever use of your time - I must've wasted away 50+ hrs on our flimsy table-football that broke after less than one academic yr. I must have given both tables a few mots extra lifespan by acting as the fusball engineer, fiddling and fixing it with my DIY mastery

You must be proud - you guys must've been rebels to have had your pastime banned altogether from anyone else playing

Hi Hodgicus,

I did an EPQ with AQA (AQA seems to be the most popular EPQ exam board, so here's some advice for AQA as I don't know much about the other boards)

With AQA there are basically 2 formats you can choose from:

1) A 5000 word essay + presentation + Log Book
2) An artefact + 1000 word essay + presentation + Log Book

Assuming you chose to do the 5000 word essay, a format like this would be good:

1. Introduction (bear in mind that the introduction is often easier to write at the end of the project)

Start by introducing your question, for example: "The question I am researching is '[question here]'", 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.

2. 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 and images you use so that the examiner can refer to them in the bibliography.

3. 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.

4. Bibliography

The bibliography should include sources for all images and quotes you use in your essay. Keep a note of the date when you found each source as well and add them in square brackets after each source. If I remember correctly, you need at least three different types of sources of information, for example a book, a website and a TV programme – you get marks specifically for doing this. Also remember that the bibliography should be kept separate from the main essay; I'd suggest keeping them as two different documents.

The presentation

When you have completed your essay, you’ll need to give a short 10-15 minute presentation on your EPQ topic. The presentation should have slides dedicated to the following: why you chose to do an EPQ, why you chose your specific title, sources of information you used, what you found out, your conclusion, any problems you encountered during the project, benefits of doing an EPQ, what you would do differently if you did the project again, and whether you would recommend doing an EPQ to others. There must also be opportunity for the audience to ask questions, either during the presentation or at the end - this is to fulfill the criteria of having an 'interactive element'.

The Log Book

The last component of the EPQ is the Log Book (I think it’s also sometimes called a Production Log) - remember to fill it in thoroughly because this is the part which gets you most of the marks. You fill in the Log Book at various stages during your EPQ: at the start, middle and end of the project.

Inside the Log Book there is guidance on what to include, but I found it very vague, so basically at each stage you’ll write about 1) what has gone well and what has gone badly, 2) any changes you have made to the project e.g. the title, structure etc, 3) what you plan to do next, and 4) any recommendations from your EPQ mentor/supervisor. You also need to write about your presentation, but again, the Log Book will have instructions on what you need to include.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what to do; if you have any more questions feel free to message me (I got an A in my EPQ)