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I got an A* in my EPQ - ask me anything and I`ll happily help :)

As the title says - I`m here to help

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Reply 1
What was your EPQ on?
How are EPQs structured?
Original post by epicnm
What was your EPQ on?
How are EPQs structured?


I did an engineering project for a NASA brief. Ended up I got in touch with NASA at Washington DC who even helped with some research I was doing!

Structured like any normal engineering brief. Research first, then introduction highlighting the brief, first major concerns/problems / outline of timescale and deadlines - milestone theory (check that out)

Basically
-Intro
-Background to study area
-Research
-Proposed Idea
-Draw backs / reference to research
-Proposed idea in more detail and broken down/ manufacture / developement / each had their own chapter
-Conclusion
_references

As you go along with your research its best to keep a log of what youve been reading etc
how many hours did you put into researching
Original post by 21allthebestx
how many hours did you put into researching

Hour a night before bed normally? What happened was I spent all September up til Christmas getting ready for it on and off, then pretty much spent a whole week at Christmas blasting it from start to finish. Completed everything, felt like a muther ducking king when I got back from the holidays and handed it in haha
Original post by allofthestars
As the title says - I`m here to help

What advice would you give yourself if you went back in time to do the EPQ again?

What advice would you give in general to getting an A* for the EPQ?
Original post by Kiritsugu
What advice would you give yourself if you went back in time to do the EPQ again?

What advice would you give in general to getting an A* for the EPQ?

I say this so often as a teacher. Education doesnt come down to grades first. ITS ABOUT THE LEARNING. If you put the learning and being inspired and enjoyment first, the grades just fall into place. It`s not like GCSE where you can tick all the boxes and heres your A*, its about being passionate in what youre doing, and embracing the things about your subjects you love and hate as all good self building things. My EPQ was on something I cared about, its the whole point of doing an EPQ, not to boost your profile but for the love of learning and having something different to talk about in interview. I have no advise for my previous self, I did it right. If I was nit picking just get it out the way as quick as possible so you can 1) improve it more as you go further into your studies and 2) have more time for the main studies in A2
Little secret 0 The EPQ is marked internally - find a tutor who likes your work too , its always good to have someone passionate about what you`re writing about.
Original post by allofthestars
I say this so often as a teacher. Education doesnt come down to grades first. ITS ABOUT THE LEARNING. If you put the learning and being inspired and enjoyment first, the grades just fall into place. It`s not like GCSE where you can tick all the boxes and heres your A*, its about being passionate in what youre doing, and embracing the things about your subjects you love and hate as all good self building things. My EPQ was on something I cared about, its the whole point of doing an EPQ, not to boost your profile but for the love of learning and having something different to talk about in interview. I have no advise for my previous self, I did it right. If I was nit picking just get it out the way as quick as possible so you can 1) improve it more as you go further into your studies and 2) have more time for the main studies in A2
Little secret 0 The EPQ is marked internally - find a tutor who likes your work too , its always good to have someone passionate about what you`re writing about.

Awesome, thanks for sharing!
i want to do a epq but my english is very bad
Original post by 21allthebestx
i want to do a epq but my english is very bad

Do an epq in your own language?
Hi I want to ask what did you mean by proposed idea?
Also I want to study engineering at university so I’ve been thinking about engineering topic to do my EPQ one but i actually found another EPQ topic that I’m more passionate about but it isn’t linked to engineering ? Should I do something that links to the course I want to do or is it just important that it’s written good ?
Original post by allofthestars
As the title says - I`m here to help


Sameeeeeeeee! I was so happy as I didn't know if my mark would change. But well done!
Original post by eden-hvniyya
Hi I want to ask what did you mean by proposed idea?
Also I want to study engineering at university so I’ve been thinking about engineering topic to do my EPQ one but i actually found another EPQ topic that I’m more passionate about but it isn’t linked to engineering ? Should I do something that links to the course I want to do or is it just important that it’s written good ?

don't beat yourself up about the topic! To be totally honest, if you chose a topic that is in some shape/form related to your future degree that would be good but if you really are passionate about your topic then just go for it. At the end of the day you'll still develop the same skills and I would argue unis are more concerned about the skills you gain rather then the knowledge because they'll teach you the content of your degree but skills are better developed/learnt from experience! Besides, you have a lot of other opportunities to develop your knowledge about your future degree such as wider reading!
Original post by New Wonder
don't beat yourself up about the topic! To be totally honest, if you chose a topic that is in some shape/form related to your future degree that would be good but if you really are passionate about your topic then just go for it. At the end of the day you'll still develop the same skills and I would argue unis are more concerned about the skills you gain rather then the knowledge because they'll teach you the content of your degree but skills are better developed/learnt from experience! Besides, you have a lot of other opportunities to develop your knowledge about your future degree such as wider reading!

I slightly disagree with this, I think you should do something your passionate about and also relates to your degree choice? reason being is my EPQ was involved in my personal statement and was a killer attribute to my overall application. If I did a EPQ on which My little pony represents the 4 horses of the apocalypse and was applying for uni for engineering then I wouldn`t be able to mention it. What are your topics youre thinking of? Maybe there is a link to engineering already there?
Original post by allofthestars
I slightly disagree with this, I think you should do something your passionate about and also relates to your degree choice? reason being is my EPQ was involved in my personal statement and was a killer attribute to my overall application. If I did a EPQ on which My little pony represents the 4 horses of the apocalypse and was applying for uni for engineering then I wouldn`t be able to mention it. What are your topics youre thinking of? Maybe there is a link to engineering already there?

Plus another way to look at it is that when youre at Uni youll have to write up reports on sometimes things youre not wholly passionate about. Everything in Engineering doesnt make my eyes drop out with excitement, its one of those subjects that somedays you love it, others your sick of the hard work but its rewarding.
Original post by New Wonder
Sameeeeeeeee! I was so happy as I didn't know if my mark would change. But well done!

I did my EPQ and A levels years ago but thought id help anyways. Well done :smile:
Original post by allofthestars
I did an engineering project for a NASA brief. Ended up I got in touch with NASA at Washington DC who even helped with some research I was doing!

Structured like any normal engineering brief. Research first, then introduction highlighting the brief, first major concerns/problems / outline of timescale and deadlines - milestone theory (check that out)

Basically
-Intro
-Background to study area
-Research
-Proposed Idea
-Draw backs / reference to research
-Proposed idea in more detail and broken down/ manufacture / developement / each had their own chapter
-Conclusion
_references

As you go along with your research its best to keep a log of what youve been reading etc


That sounds cool!

Was the title of your EPQ a question that you then had to debate (for/against and then a final judgement)? Because I also want to do my EPQ on engineering but I was told it has to be on something contreversial that you can debate about, and I dont really know what controversies exist within engineering or where to start with my research.

Thanks :smile:
Thank you!!

P.s are you studying engineering at university??
Original post by eden-hvniyya
Thank you!!

P.s are you studying engineering at university??

I will be yeah :smile:
What did you get on your GCSEs?

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