Got an A* in EPQ, anything you want to know?

I started my EPQ in Feburary and Im not sure about the deadline! Till when to I have to finish my EPQ?Also, I am doing the AQA EPQ and I need to fill in the Production Log. I haven't started yet because I forgot about it. Do you have any advice for the log to get highest marks?

Reply 3

OP

Different schools have different deadlines so it's best to talk to a teacher about that.

Definitely try to fill in the production log as often as possible, even if it's only a couple of sentences at a time. I aimed for about 2-3 times a week but don't worry too much if you miss a couple of things. Record absolutely anything - reading an article, contacting an expert, having a conversation with a teacher etc. 70% of marks for the AQA EPQ is the planning and review - the essay/article is only worth 30% so it's really important to put a lot of effort into all of the stuff that seems pointless. In fact, my teacher said that if it had been just based on my essay, I'd have only got a B but my planning pulled it up to the A*. I missed a big period in between the end of November 2018 and mid-January 2019 where I didn't record anything. Make sure you explain any gaps like this! I just mentioned that I'd been busy with other Alevel work and had been struggling with time management - turn this into a positive e.g. so I've decided to start using a Gantt chart to better plan my time. Be really evaluative and reflective about everything you do!

Hope this helps - good luck! :smile:

Original post by seongyun

I started my EPQ in Feburary and Im not sure about the deadline! Till when to I have to finish my EPQ?Also, I am doing the AQA EPQ and I need to fill in the Production Log. I haven't started yet because I forgot about it. Do you have any advice for the log to get highest marks?

Reply 4

Liviy.Jonas18

15

Original post by hannanas

I got my EPQ results a couple of weeks ago and found out I got an A*. I saw someone else do a similar thread to this a couple of months ago and I found it really helpful so if you've got any questions you need asking, feel free to send them my way! :smile:

Ooh well done what was your question?

Reply 5

OP

Thank you! :smile:

it’s a bit niche but it was basically about whether text speak has caused a decline in grammatical accuracy

Original post by Olivia.Omo16

Ooh well done what was your question?

Reply 6

Liviy.Jonas18

15

Original post by hannanas

Thank you! :smile:

it’s a bit niche but it was basically about whether text speak has caused a decline in grammatical accuracy

Bruh... I feel like I cannot spell things probably as I’m always relaying on autocorrect. :s-smilie:

Reply 7

Liv.123.x

14

Original post by hannanas

I got my EPQ results a couple of weeks ago and found out I got an A*. I saw someone else do a similar thread to this a couple of months ago and I found it really helpful so if you've got any questions you need asking, feel free to send them my way! :smile:

What Mark did you get for an A*

Does the exam board mark you epq and give you a grade or do you get the grade based on what your teacher has marked?

Reply 8

OP

I do AQA - grade boundary was 45/50 to get an A* and I got 46. Currently subject to exam board moderation, which we’ll get back in November but our teacher said they very rarely change as they’ve been marking them for years :smile:

Reply 9

Liv.123.x

14

Original post by hannanas

I do AQA - grade boundary was 45/50 to get an A* and I got 46. Currently subject to exam board moderation, which we’ll get back in November but our teacher said they very rarely change as they’ve been marking them for years :smile:

Asif I've got 42/50 and I did aqa

Reply 10

I basically didn't fill in the production log at all till now since I started (in March of this year). Will this be a big problem? Can I just fill it in right now and act like I filled it in before? You mentioned you wrote that you were busy with other things, where would I write this in the production log. Its difficult for me because I didn't even start it and I changed my topic now.

Also, I decided to change my topic for my essay completely this week so in the production log, how should I put this? Should I put my previous topic or just forget it and only record my new topic from the beginning of the production log?

Also, do you have you production log so I can look at it as an example? I have no idea how to fill it in and I'm rly stressed out right now. And other than the production log, if there any other documents or records I have to attach to increase my grade for planning?

Original post by hannanas

Different schools have different deadlines so it's best to talk to a teacher about that.

Definitely try to fill in the production log as often as possible, even if it's only a couple of sentences at a time. I aimed for about 2-3 times a week but don't worry too much if you miss a couple of things. Record absolutely anything - reading an article, contacting an expert, having a conversation with a teacher etc. 70% of marks for the AQA EPQ is the planning and review - the essay/article is only worth 30% so it's really important to put a lot of effort into all of the stuff that seems pointless. In fact, my teacher said that if it had been just based on my essay, I'd have only got a B but my planning pulled it up to the A*. I missed a big period in between the end of November 2018 and mid-January 2019 where I didn't record anything. Make sure you explain any gaps like this! I just mentioned that I'd been busy with other Alevel work and had been struggling with time management - turn this into a positive e.g. so I've decided to start using a Gantt chart to better plan my time. Be really evaluative and reflective about everything you do!

Hope this helps - good luck! :smile:

Reply 11

OP

Document changing your topic and why you decided to do this - it shows that you've overcome challenges. This is something the exam board loves! My title changed about 6 times but you've got to be able to justify it each time e.g. topic too broad, not enough secondary resources available. It's probably not encouraged but it's definitely possible to back date journal entries. But definitely keep your previous topic recorded! I believe the production log is the initial plan, part A etc - our school used a website called project Q to manage this. if you google it you can find a list of all the other documents this should include. Definitely make sure you're keeping a journal to document your process. Like I mentioned, I had a big gap in my journal, but it's got to be explaied. Record anything you've done in the time since you've started NOW and roughly when you did it and then comment that you've decided to start keeping a journal to better document your process.

To increase my grade, I increased a 4 page document evaluating every single one of my 30+ secondary sources, why I'd used/not used each one, the disadvantages of the authorship etc....

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions :smile:

Original post by seongyun

I basically didn't fill in the production log at all till now since I started (in March of this year). Will this be a big problem? Can I just fill it in right now and act like I filled it in before? You mentioned you wrote that you were busy with other things, where would I write this in the production log. Its difficult for me because I didn't even start it and I changed my topic now.

Also, I decided to change my topic for my essay completely this week so in the production log, how should I put this? Should I put my previous topic or just forget it and only record my new topic from the beginning of the production log?

Also, do you have you production log so I can look at it as an example? I have no idea how to fill it in and I'm rly stressed out right now. And other than the production log, if there any other documents or records I have to attach to increase my grade for planning?

Reply 12

OP

Well done!! :smile:

Original post by Liv.123.x

Asif I've got 42/50 and I did aqa

Reply 13

It really hard for me to approach this because I am not sure where to include that I changed my topic completely. In my AQA production log I have to fill in the 'Initial idea/topic', 'Planning Review (a plan of how I will tackle the topic research and writing)', 'Mid Review (I am supposed to complete this when I decide my final title and finished my research)', 'Final Review (when I am almost done writing the essay)'

I am not sure in which section to say that I changed my topic completely and that I couldn't work on my production log beforehand.

Should I possibly do it in the 'Initial idea/topic' section? I could first write my first topic and why I wanted to do it but then I can say that after consultations and consideration about the topic, it was too broad, I was too emotionally attached which can show bias, ... etc so I decided to change the topic to a new one. Then the rest of the sections, I can just write about my new topic completely ignoring the previous topic.

However, I have no idea where to write about the fact that I didn't use the production log before hand. Do you think it will be alright if I just fill everything in with the dates I should have filled it in before? Do I really have to mention that I didn't use it for 3 whole months from the beginning till now? (because I wrote all my plans on a separate document as I didn't know about the production log till last week. So I did do it regularly but just not on the log itself)

Where did you write down that you changed your title and that you missed a few months? on which section? I get I have to write it but I just don't know where

Also, where did you add that additional 4 page document with the evaluation of sources?

Original post by hannanas

Document changing your topic and why you decided to do this - it shows that you've overcome challenges. This is something the exam board loves! My title changed about 6 times but you've got to be able to justify it each time e.g. topic too broad, not enough secondary resources available. It's probably not encouraged but it's definitely possible to back date journal entries. But definitely keep your previous topic recorded! I believe the production log is the initial plan, part A etc - our school used a website called project Q to manage this. if you google it you can find a list of all the other documents this should include. Definitely make sure you're keeping a journal to document your process. Like I mentioned, I had a big gap in my journal, but it's got to be explaied. Record anything you've done in the time since you've started NOW and roughly when you did it and then comment that you've decided to start keeping a journal to better document your process.

To increase my grade, I increased a 4 page document evaluating every single one of my 30+ secondary sources, why I'd used/not used each one, the disadvantages of the authorship etc....

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions :smile:

Reply 14

OP

You don’t need to use the production log except to write those documents that you mentioned. Keep a separate journal in which you make entries (a bit like a diary) about all of the decisions you make, when you’ve made them, why, who you’ve spoken to about it etc. Here you can record IN DETAIL why you’ve changed your title. Don’t worry about doing this in your project log - whatever you wrote in here should be backed up by the journal. For example, If you wrote your initial plan in March about topic A, and then changed to topic B in April, you record this change in your journal, and when you get to the next part of the production log (part a I believe) you write this solely about topic b (your current topic), perhaps including a line such as “as recorded in my journal, I decided to change from topic A to topic B. I feel this is a positive change BECAUSE....”. Always be evaluative, you can’t get the higher marks if you’re not. All of the title changes etc, you record in this journal. It’s essential you update this regularly, whereas you only contribute to the production log when you have a document to complete. I included the evaluation pages write at the end of the project, after my journal (which was about 20 pages long because I was updating it 3 times a week!)

Also - I’d you've been writing your documents in a different place that’s fine, just note this in the journal and say you’ve decided to import them into your production log and have backdated them accordingly. Remember - this journal is one of the most important parts of your project. If you haven’t started one yet START IT NOW (I can’t stress this enough) :wink:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 15

hollyjayne20

3

Hi, my daughter is supposed to be doing her EPQ but is really stressed because she doesn't really understand it and has no idea where to start. She would like to do something related to Musical Theatre. PLEASE can someone help her shes really stressed and doesn't want to go to school because of it. Thank you in advance

Reply 16

OP

Hiya! Okay so first off - EPQ is not something to be that stressed about. At the end of the day it’s only worth half an Alevel and at my school the majority of people who took it ended up not finishing.So for EPQ you can either research and write a 5000 word essay, or you can create an artefact and write an accompanying 1000 word essay analysing it. I don’t know as much about the artefact, but if your daughter wants her daughter to be related to musical theatre, this could be the best way to go. I knew someone who wrote and directed a play for their EPQ. I also know someone who composed a song. The kind of things you have to do for this I would expect is research the style you want your song/performance to be and in the essay, reflect on how well this has been achieved.Is your daughter planning on going to university? If so, what does she want to study? :smile:

I hope this helps at all - I’m happy to answer any more questions but most importantly, don’t let her stress too much about it! Everyone starts EPQ in the same place, but you gradually learn what you’re expected to do along the way - and you need to document this learning experience!

Reply 17

I didn't know that a journal was necessary. Was this a requirement for your EPQ exam board? I'm doing AQA EPQ and I didn't hear anything about it. Maybe you did your EPQ on Project Q? My school just gave an docx. of the log and thats it

If it is the case that it is necessary but I didn't know about it, can you give me a brief format of the journal? Is the journal the same place where you added your 4 page analysis of sources? Also, did you attach the journal to send to mark with the log to the exam board??

Original post by hannanas

You don’t need to use the production log except to write those documents that you mentioned. Keep a separate journal in which you make entries (a bit like a diary) about all of the decisions you make, when you’ve made them, why, who you’ve spoken to about it etc. Here you can record IN DETAIL why you’ve changed your title. Don’t worry about doing this in your project log - whatever you wrote in here should be backed up by the journal. For example, If you wrote your initial plan in March about topic A, and then changed to topic B in April, you record this change in your journal, and when you get to the next part of the production log (part a I believe) you write this solely about topic b (your current topic), perhaps including a line such as “as recorded in my journal, I decided to change from topic A to topic B. I feel this is a positive change BECAUSE....”. Always be evaluative, you can’t get the higher marks if you’re not. All of the title changes etc, you record in this journal. It’s essential you update this regularly, whereas you only contribute to the production log when you have a document to complete. I included the evaluation pages write at the end of the project, after my journal (which was about 20 pages long because I was updating it 3 times a week!)

Also - I’d you've been writing your documents in a different place that’s fine, just note this in the journal and say you’ve decided to import them into your production log and have backdated them accordingly. Remember - this journal is one of the most important parts of your project. If you haven’t started one yet START IT NOW (I can’t stress this enough) :wink:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 18