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I got an A* for my EPQ, ask me anyting :)

I'm happy to answer any questions about any topic. I did mine on Global Health (West Africa Ebola Epidemic) and got an A*. Happy to answer any and all questions :smile:
What sort of things do you include in the presentation?
This is the structure I had for my presentation:

Intro- the actual subject of my EPQ (ebola), what it is, key facts etc.

How I chose what I did (the process of changing my subject, narrowing it down)

Research- method, best bits (I did a few interviews so put a lot of focus on these, with profiles on the experts I interviewed and recordings etc.) You could put how you recorded what you found during your research and how easy it was to refer back to these when writing- odpn't worry if it wasn't great! They really like a lot of refection.

Key findings- basically the key points from my conclusion

What lessons I've learnt (ie. what would I do differently if I were to do my EPQ again)

What the EPQ has taught me (what transferrable skills I've learnt)

Other areas of research I came across and was interested in but wasn't able to talk about in my essay due to word limit and relevance

I'd say bear in mind that they're not looking for a presentation of your essay, which is what I did during my draft presentations. They're looking for an overview of the entire process- so whilst you should include your topic (obviously), focus more on key facts and your overall conclusion so that you have time to talk about the whole process of completing your project.

Hope this helps!
(edited 3 years ago)
How long did it take you to do the whole project and when did you start it?
I started my project in September/October 2019 and finished May 2020- most people finish March/April though, I had difficult personal circumstances due to lockdown so my school gave me an extension.
Do you think I could start it in a few weeks and finish it in time for me to mention it on my ps? I’m in year 12 currently :smile:
Original post by whoisevasmith
I'm happy to answer any questions about any topic. I did mine on Global Health (West Africa Ebola Epidemic) and got an A*. Happy to answer any and all questions :smile:

How was the overall experience? Did you manage to cope with it alongside school work?
Original post by Tsrtingz
Do you think I could start it in a few weeks and finish it in time for me to mention it on my ps? I’m in year 12 currently :smile:

Yes, depending on deadline for submission, but you really need to be motivated to do it and aware of the workload as you'll have to dedicate a LOT of your time to it. If you're going to be able to work on it over the summer then go for it, but if not, consider carefully whether you'll be able to do it or not. And even if you don't finish it by the time you're writing your ps, you can still mention it- by then you will be out of the research phase at least, which is the part most mentioned in ps.

What subjects do you do at the moment and what do you plan to do your EPQ on?
Reply 8
How did you do your presentation? I'm trying to make mine literally right now and Im struggling with it (hence the procrastination being on here lmao). Any tips would be great!
Original post by Cherrygrape1234
How was the overall experience? Did you manage to cope with it alongside school work?

So I originally did 4 plus EPQ, and just before xmas I dropped one of my subjects bc there is so much to do. Personally, I didn't mind the research bit so much- I did the majority in my free time but it didn't feel like work tbh bc it's an area I find so fascinating and am interested in pursuing a career in.

The overall experience was good, but I found it really stressful towards the end as I started writing quite late. Time management is really important so have a good plan of timescales ie. How long you're going to reearch for, when you're going to start writing, when you want to have a first draft by, when you want to be done with the essay, when you want to start working on your presentation etc. With writing, once you have your first draft it's not too hard- I wish I had maybe written a bit as I researched instead of separating them so much as it would have really helped with spreading things out and stopping me from stressing too much.

Basically, if you're organised, you're sorted!
Original post by ayanal8
How did you do your presentation? I'm trying to make mine literally right now and Im struggling with it (hence the procrastination being on here lmao). Any tips would be great!

I basically put together the structure (mentioned above) with some help from my supervisor, then made a list of everything relevant to each section. Then I narrowed the lists down by thinking about what was most relevant and what I wanted to talk about the most until it was a few points per slide. I then put together a script including those points (I ddn't stick to the script, I just put it together so I knew what to talk about in the presentation) and then made my slides based off what I put in the script. I put a couple of pictures/ maps on the slide, and made them colourful so that they were visually interesting but not so busy that they took away attention from what I was actually saying.

Hope this helps!
I'm about 3 weeks away from being done with research and my deadline is the 1st April. I've got a plan and everything that I'm sticking to; I was just wondering whether you had any tips on how to make the most of your writing time and not procrastinate, since I know my drafting process will be intense.

Congratulations on your A*!
Hiya, well done on getting an A*!Im just about to start mine and am planning on doing the dissertation option. I know what Im going to do it on but was just wondering are the only things you need a plan, and then the final project with your bibliography and footnotes? Also is your plan included in the 5000 words? In your final presentation do you even include the dissertation? Sorry for asking so many questions:smile:
Original post by anabundanceofas
I'm about 3 weeks away from being done with research and my deadline is the 1st April. I've got a plan and everything that I'm sticking to; I was just wondering whether you had any tips on how to make the most of your writing time and not procrastinate, since I know my drafting process will be intense.

Congratulations on your A*!

Thank you! And I honestly hear you with the procrastination thing, the number of times I sat down to write and just didn't is honestly unbelievable.

In terms of making the most of your writing time, I'd say that being in the right head space is the most important. I read through the bit of my research that I was going to write about beforehand, and then think about how I was going to include that in my essay, or even just read something related to my EPQ even if I wasn't going to use it, just to get me thinking about that topic. Sounds really basic I know, but for me getting into the right frame of mind was super hard because I really struggle with concentration. I actually also listened to music whilst I wrote- it doesn't work for everyone but for me it stops me thinking about anything else other than what I'm working on.
I'd also say plan when you're going to write each section- so I had 7 sections including my intro and conclusions. I'd look at when I had time, tell myself 'ok, you're gonna use that time to write', then think 'ok so I'm going to write about ____' in this time. Don't worry about writing it in order- I wrote my intro last and my conclusion first! - write what you feel like writing when you want to, you won't be wasting your time forcing yourself to get through something then.

Sorry it's a bit vague, but I hope it helps a little bit!
Original post by hattieroberts1
Hiya, well done on getting an A*!Im just about to start mine and am planning on doing the dissertation option. I know what Im going to do it on but was just wondering are the only things you need a plan, and then the final project with your bibliography and footnotes? Also is your plan included in the 5000 words? In your final presentation do you even include the dissertation? Sorry for asking so many questions:smile:

Don't worry about it!

Your list sound about right for what you need for the actual essay- for the whole project you also need the production log, time log, and source analysis ( I think this is all, I've not thought about this for a year!). Your plan is not included in the 5000 words- that 5000 words is purely for the essay itself. I kept the plan and submitted it as part of my production log. For the presentation, it needs to be about the whole process, it's not presenting your essay. I think I answered a similar question above, so have a look there, but basically, include the most interesting points from your essay, of course, but also talk about how you wrote it- choosing the topic, how you researched, and an evaluation.

Hope this helps!
Original post by whoisevasmith
Thank you! And I honestly hear you with the procrastination thing, the number of times I sat down to write and just didn't is honestly unbelievable.

In terms of making the most of your writing time, I'd say that being in the right head space is the most important. I read through the bit of my research that I was going to write about beforehand, and then think about how I was going to include that in my essay, or even just read something related to my EPQ even if I wasn't going to use it, just to get me thinking about that topic. Sounds really basic I know, but for me getting into the right frame of mind was super hard because I really struggle with concentration. I actually also listened to music whilst I wrote- it doesn't work for everyone but for me it stops me thinking about anything else other than what I'm working on.
I'd also say plan when you're going to write each section- so I had 7 sections including my intro and conclusions. I'd look at when I had time, tell myself 'ok, you're gonna use that time to write', then think 'ok so I'm going to write about ____' in this time. Don't worry about writing it in order- I wrote my intro last and my conclusion first! - write what you feel like writing when you want to, you won't be wasting your time forcing yourself to get through something then.

Sorry it's a bit vague, but I hope it helps a little bit!


No, your advice was perfect, thank you so much!
I've finally my EPQ and just have the presentation and the reflection part of the epq left. I was wondering in terms of the essay if you could go over 5,00 words - Ik the abstract and bibliography don't count but can everything else still go above 5,000. Also, I was wondering if you do your own journal alongside the logbook or just did a detailed logbook. Oh and one more thing if you don't mind - how did you incorporate questions into your presentation?
Thank you.
Original post by whoisevasmith
I'm happy to answer any questions about any topic. I did mine on Global Health (West Africa Ebola Epidemic) and got an A*. Happy to answer any and all questions :smile:

Hey.. how do you write an abstract?

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