Your Full Guide to the EPQ

There are an overwhelming amount of questions on the EPQ in the Study Help section :smartass:

so I'm here to shed some light on some of these FAQ and give you all a full, comprehensive guide to the qualification, including what you can do right now to get started! :thumbsup:

1. Picking the Perfect Title :fluffy:

1.1 Choosing the Topic

1.2 Choosing a Title

2. Planning and Deadlines :puppyeyes:

2.1 Planning

2.2 Artefact or Research Paper?

2.3 Deadlines

3. Research Sources :top2:

3.1 Picking Sources

3.2 Referencing

4. The Report :woo:

4.1 Structuring the Report

4.2 Presenting Your Data

5. The Presentation! :clap2:

5.1 A Summary

And finally, a special thanks to @Leviathan1741, @PQ and @littleswany for their contributions to the thread :grouphugs:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

computernerd1001

15

I'd have loved to have had this while doing my EPQ.

Well done :biggrin:

Amazing guide :love:

Wow this is really in-depth and explains a lot (thus demystifying the EPQ) and I will definitely be referring back to it over the course of my own EPQ - thanks! :h:

Reply 4

Notnek

21

Amazing thread! I wish TSR had so many fantastic resources like this when I was a student.

Reply 5

username1292215

22

Thanks i am doing an epq and researching over this summer :smile:

.

I shoukd ask here, do I have to record everythjng i do in terms of research...

E.g. Sunday 10pm I read 10npages of source 1 and took notes?

Reply 6

Amefish

OP

20

Original post by SuperHuman98

Thanks i am doing an epq and researching over this summer :smile:

.

I shoukd ask here, do I have to record everythjng i do in terms of research...

E.g. Sunday 10pm I read 10npages of source 1 and took notes?

You don't really have to include dates and times, but it could be useful to note down which page you got up to in case you want to revisit :smile:

Reply 7

EstelOfTheEyrie

19

Wish I'd had this when I started my EPQ last year!

Reply 8

Vikingninja

21

A* level of detail on presentation slides: pictures of the topics and naming them. I remember one guys presentation in my group was pretty much his script and he kept turning around constantly.

Reply 9

The Learn Ranger

18

So pleased about this. :smile:

Congratulations @Amefish - really great.

I taught the EPQ for many years and it was definitely my favourite course. Such a delight after the A level exam factories. Students just learned so much from it - a great preparation for uni, work and for being a critical person generally.

We've often wondered whether we should set up an EPQ sub-forum but have always pulled away as so many of the issues are better in subject forums.

Now we have this maybe we should rethink?

Before my TSR life I published books for teachers and made two about the EPQ.

http://cdn.cityandguilds.com/ProductDocuments/Skills_for_Work_and_Life/Employability_Personal_and_Social_Development/2935/Additional_documents/Managing%20Extended%20Projects.pdf

https://getrevising.co.uk/files/pages/39/element/3/Extended%20Project%20Activity%20Pack.pdf

They are for teachers but also very useful to students.

I was also wondering if it would be a good idea to add some exam board links to the OP? The EPQ is very different according to which board (AQA, OCR, Pearson) a school or college chooses. They all have support material on their websites.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 10

Amefish

OP

20

Original post by The Learn Ranger

So pleased about this. :smile:

Congratulations @Amefish - really great.

I taught the EPQ for many years and it was definitely my favourite course. Such a delight after the A level exam factories. Students just learned so much from it - a great preparation for uni, work and for being a critical person generally.

We've often wondered whether we should set up an EPQ sub-forum but have always pulled away as so many of the issues are better in subject forums.

Now we have this maybe we should rethink?

Before my TSR life I published books for teachers and made two about the EPQ.

http://cdn.cityandguilds.com/ProductDocuments/Skills_for_Work_and_Life/Employability_Personal_and_Social_Development/2935/Additional_documents/Managing%20Extended%20Projects.pdf

https://getrevising.co.uk/files/pages/39/element/3/Extended%20Project%20Activity%20Pack.pdf

They are for teachers but also very useful to students.

I was also wondering if it would be a good idea to add some exam board links to the OP? The EPQ is very different according to which board (AQA, OCR, Pearson) a school or college chooses. They all have support material on their websites.

This thread is only part of the project - I'm going to be putting out a much more thorough student friendly PDF document, like a little booklet. I'll whack some exam board links in though - that's a good idea, I'm just wary about making the thread too long :tongue:

Thanks for the links to your work too, I'll be sure to throw them in on my finished project and it will do me good to add another resource to my list, so thanks again :love:

Could you do an EPQ artefact on producing a guide to the EPQ :eek3:

Reply 12

Amefish

OP

20

Original post by PQ

Could you do an EPQ artefact on producing a guide to the EPQ :eek3:

mind = blown

Reply 13

games211

16

Great resource! :proud:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 14

Thornebush1234

7

Hello, im looking to study mathematics at university and am looking to complete an EPQ in this topic. I wanted to do it on fractals or about fermats last theorem but my teacher says i need a question which i can critically analyse to get the top marks. Any help or ideas would be much appreciated!?

Reply 15

Amefish

OP

20

Original post by Thornebush1234

Hello, im looking to study mathematics at university and am looking to complete an EPQ in this topic. I wanted to do it on fractals or about fermats last theorem but my teacher says i need a question which i can critically analyse to get the top marks. Any help or ideas would be much appreciated!?

I don't know much about fractals or Fermat's last theorem, but if you're really interested in these aspects of maths above everything else, then you might be able to shape an EPQ title to fit your interests. For example, something like "to what extent has [insert mathematical thing here] had a significant impact on society?" Maybe you could look at mathematical works by notable figures such as Katherine Johnson or Stephen Hawking in relation to how they have impacted mathematics today.

If you need to, you should be able to get a lot more answers from the whole maths community if you post your question as a thread in the maths section :smile:

There's now two MOOCs (free online courses) on futurelearn to help students with their EPQ

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/epq-success?lr=1 How to Succeed in Your EPQ: the Nuts and Bolts of Completing Your Project (from University of Bath )
and
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/research-project?lr=10 Developing Your Research Project )from University of Southampton )

They're both probably worth a look if someone is attempting an EPQ without a lot of teacher support or even just for people who struggle to manage their own time and need some external pressure/deadlines to help them structure their work.

They're both 100% focused on research project EPQs though so no help for artefacts :moon:

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/searching-and-researching?lr=9 Learning Online: Searching and Researching (from University of Leeds) looks like it might be useful for anyone struggling with analysis/evaluation of various sources.