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I got an A* for my EPQ - ask me anything!

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Reply 20

hi, congrats on your grade. ive got a couple of qs so please bear with me aha:
1. In your essay did you have two sides to the argument and is this a necessary requirement because my topic is to what extent has the pandemic had an affect on the NHS and I'm not sure how I would argue both sides. Would this affect my chances of getting an A*?
2. How did you evaluate your sources
3. How many sources were in your source log

Reply 21

also in your bibliography, how'd you cite your sources

Reply 22

Original post by wintersun57
I'm glad! I chose 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë, and 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker as my literary texts. There are definitely other texts I could've used - sometimes I regret not choosing 'Jane Eyre' instead of 'Dracula', for example!

Thats great. Any chance for you to send it the essay here?
I am planning to the role of women in Mary shelly's Frankenstein and Bram stoker's Dracula

Reply 23

Original post by laurawatt
Hi! Well done on your mark :biggrin:
When I look at examples online they often seem to have pages of articles or notes of the sources with annotations around, is this necessary for the research element? I’ve just kinda dove straight into the investigation

It's not necessary, but it's definitely a good way to show how you've evaluated and handled your sources. I also just started making notes from sources straight away, but then I went back and annotated some key articles that I'd used quite often in my essay. You don't have to do it with every single source you come across, just pick a few so you can stick them in your project appendix and gain some marks.

Reply 24

Original post by Idk131
Hey great job on your mark :smile:

So I have picked to do an epq for my a levels next year (I am currently in year 11) and I was wondering if it was true that you can't do a topic related to your subjects? I have picked A level Biology, Psychology and Philosophy.

Also would you be able to give me any advice for picking your topic and starting an epq? x

Thank you! So, that is partly true: the EPQ specification states that you can't do a project on a topic you're already covering in your A-Level courses. This is just so you use the EPQ correctly: as a way of exploring a topic outside of your A-levels, almost to a university level. However, you are allowed to take a topic from your A-level syllabus IF your study of it goes sufficiently beyond what you are taught in your A-level course. For example, my EPQ was about Gothic literature. In the beginning, my supervisor raised the concern that I'm already studying a Gothic text (Frankenstein) in my A-Level English Lit course. But because my EPQ was on three Gothic texts I have never studied for A-Levels or GCSEs, and because I was going far beyond the A-level course in the depth of my research about women in Gothic literature, there wasn't a problem. Essentially, if you happen to find a topic interesting, but it just so happens to be something you study in your A-level course, don't worry too much about it. As long as you go above and beyond the stuff in the specification, you should be fine.

Honestly, I struggled with picking my topic at first. I'm very indecisive, I think I gave my supervisor about 10 different ideas before I chose my final one! Try mind-mapping - start with the general subject you want to do an EPQ on (medicine, law, biology, philosophy, etc), then focus on topics within those subjects that you're curious about, then find a niche within those topics. Look at news articles to see what major debates are happening in these subject areas - for example, one of my earlier ideas was on examining the human rights violations in the Kashmir region, just because that was a very current and major geopolitical story when I started Year 12. If you plan to go down the science-y route with your EPQ, for instance, studying something around Covid or pandemics could be really interesting! Whatever you do, make sure it's a topic that genuinely interests you, not just something you think sounds smart or impressive - it makes the process so much easier if you're studying something you genuinely enjoy learning about.

When it comes to starting your EPQ, I'd start off by planning out how long you'll be spending on each stage of your EPQ right at the beginning. For me, I was given December 2019-September 2020 to complete my EPQ, so I gave myself about 4-5 months for researching, two months for planning and writing, then the rest just for editing and refining my essay. Also, try speaking to a teacher, or even contacting an academic, to get a sense of where to begin - my supervisor was brilliant and dropped about five different books in my hands to read after my first meeting with her. Last but not least, make good use your production log - I know it feels really boring to do, but try and treat it as almost a journal. Write out what you plan to research first, and note down times where you changed your mind about what you wanted to study. It makes it easier for you to organise your thoughts and makes the process of starting your EPQ much less daunting.

Let me know if you have any more questions! :smile:

Reply 25

Original post by dent0202
hi, congrats on your grade. ive got a couple of qs so please bear with me aha:
1. In your essay did you have two sides to the argument and is this a necessary requirement because my topic is to what extent has the pandemic had an affect on the NHS and I'm not sure how I would argue both sides. Would this affect my chances of getting an A*?
2. How did you evaluate your sources
3. How many sources were in your source log

Thanks! And no problem, I'll do my best:

So, I didn't have two sides to my argument - I had my argument (which was a response to a critic and a thesis of its own wrapped in one) and just kinda barrelled on with it for the whole 7,000 words I wrote. I had the occasional counter-argument or a critic I disagreed with, but that was it. So, don't worry too much about that. I think picking a 'to what extent' question style is nice because it takes you beyond a simple for-and-against essay structure and allows for nuance.
For you, I think it should be less about finding arguments that say 'the pandemic had an effect' and contrasting them with arguments that show 'the pandemic had no effect'. Instead, consider your question with more depth: what TYPES of effects did the pandemic have? Was it financial, structural, psychological, etc? What effect was most significant, and where did the pandemic have less of an impact? When you say the NHS, consider the people that make up the NHS, and who has most/least affected by the pandemic among them - was it the nurses, doctors, paramedics, pharmacists/pharmacy technicians, psychologists? There are ways of weighing up this issue beyond just 'yes, it had an effect' and 'no, it didn't'. Of course, the ideas I suggested aren't the only ways of examining your topic, so feel free to focus on other areas!

As for your next two questions, I've already answered them earlier on. But just to reiterate: in your source log, evaluate your sources based on credibility (I mention a few ways you can do this in an earlier post) and whether or not you ended up using them in your essay, explaining why.
I ended up having over 100 sources in my source log, but there's no need to have that many. You can research half that number and still end up doing well. Just make sure you've got enough sources to support your arguments.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Reply 26

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.

Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.

well done on your mark!
However you named this a AMA and my standard procedure with AMA's have to go ahead.
What is your card number, expiry date and CVV2?

Reply 27

Original post by dent0202
also in your bibliography, how'd you cite your sources

Oops, forgot to reply to this one! There are guides online that can explain it much better than I can, but I used a Harvard referencing format and generally cited my sources like this in my bibliography:

If it's a book:
[last name of the author, initial of author's first name], [year of publication in brackets], [title of book, using italics], [edition, if not the first edition] [place of publication], [name of publisher], [date you accessed this source]
eg: Simons, N. E., Menzies, B. & Matthews, M. (2001) A Short Course in Soil and Rock Slope, Engineering. London, Thomas Telford Publishing. [Accessed 6 March 2020]

If it's an online academic article:

[last name of the author, initial of author's first name], [year of publication in brackets], [title of article, using quotation marks], [title of journal, in italics], [volume and/or issue number], [page numbers of article], [available from: include URL of article], [date you accessed this source]

If you're finding it too confusing, use online tools to help you cite correctly. Also, if you're using Google Scholar or JSTOR, both have a 'cite' button you can use which will create the correct format, which you can then copy and paste.

Reply 28

Original post by Sarrah Jones
Thats great. Any chance for you to send it the essay here?
I am planning to the role of women in Mary shelly's Frankenstein and Bram stoker's Dracula

I'm really sorry, all of my EPQ work is on a school drive I can't access right now. But feel free to message me and I can help you with those texts as much as I can!

Both of those texts feature women in passive or objectified roles, which is pretty typical of the Gothic genre. However, I think it's important to note that both texts also feature men dominating the traditional role of women in certain ways, almost attempting to erase or control them. In 'Frankenstein', Victor attempts to create a being on his own through science, instead of through childbirth - literally usurping the reproductive role of women. He also destroys the female companion he creates, in fear of her sexuality and potential power. Nature is portrayed in a feminine, maternal way in that book, as Victor attempts to control and find out its secrets through his study of natural philosophy, which can be a metaphor for fears about science being used to control and subdue women. In 'Dracula', the transferal of blood from all of those men to Lucy when she's bitten has been analysed by a lot of critics as a form of rape - an attempt to exploit and control the powerful, deviant woman. There's also the scene where Lucy drinks the blood of a child - the mother nourishing herself on the child, rather than the other way round, would be considered deeply unsettling to Victorian readers. The scene where Mina drinks the Count's blood is significant too - Mina, throughout the book, is portrayed as maternal, but in that scene, she's reduced to the role of a child drinking from a mother's body.

Sorry, I've started rambling here, I just love both of these books so much. Good luck with your project!

Reply 29

Excluding your written report and the log pages, what else did you submit as evidence of your work

Reply 30

Original post by wintersun57
Thanks! And no problem, I'll do my best:

So, I didn't have two sides to my argument - I had my argument (which was a response to a critic and a thesis of its own wrapped in one) and just kinda barrelled on with it for the whole 7,000 words I wrote. I had the occasional counter-argument or a critic I disagreed with, but that was it. So, don't worry too much about that. I think picking a 'to what extent' question style is nice because it takes you beyond a simple for-and-against essay structure and allows for nuance.
For you, I think it should be less about finding arguments that say 'the pandemic had an effect' and contrasting them with arguments that show 'the pandemic had no effect'. Instead, consider your question with more depth: what TYPES of effects did the pandemic have? Was it financial, structural, psychological, etc? What effect was most significant, and where did the pandemic have less of an impact? When you say the NHS, consider the people that make up the NHS, and who has most/least affected by the pandemic among them - was it the nurses, doctors, paramedics, pharmacists/pharmacy technicians, psychologists? There are ways of weighing up this issue beyond just 'yes, it had an effect' and 'no, it didn't'. Of course, the ideas I suggested aren't the only ways of examining your topic, so feel free to focus on other areas!

As for your next two questions, I've already answered them earlier on. But just to reiterate: in your source log, evaluate your sources based on credibility (I mention a few ways you can do this in an earlier post) and whether or not you ended up using them in your essay, explaining why.
I ended up having over 100 sources in my source log, but there's no need to have that many. You can research half that number and still end up doing well. Just make sure you've got enough sources to support your arguments.

Let me know if you have any more questions!


this is great advice thank you so so much! I was worried about how to structure the essay but im feeling 10x more confident now :smile:

Reply 31

Original post by wintersun57
Oops, forgot to reply to this one! There are guides online that can explain it much better than I can, but I used a Harvard referencing format and generally cited my sources like this in my bibliography:

If it's a book:
[last name of the author, initial of author's first name], [year of publication in brackets], [title of book, using italics], [edition, if not the first edition] [place of publication], [name of publisher], [date you accessed this source]
eg: Simons, N. E., Menzies, B. & Matthews, M. (2001) A Short Course in Soil and Rock Slope, Engineering. London, Thomas Telford Publishing. [Accessed 6 March 2020]

If it's an online academic article:

[last name of the author, initial of author's first name], [year of publication in brackets], [title of article, using quotation marks], [title of journal, in italics], [volume and/or issue number], [page numbers of article], [available from: include URL of article], [date you accessed this source]

If you're finding it too confusing, use online tools to help you cite correctly. Also, if you're using Google Scholar or JSTOR, both have a 'cite' button you can use which will create the correct format, which you can then copy and paste.


ohhh right I see. THANKS ONCE AGAIN!!!

Reply 32

Hello, Im doing my EPq on the postcode lottery in NHS ENgland?

Specifically IVF and stroke rehabillitation,
I'm not sure how to write it and how to source evaluate.
Should i evaluate as i go along?
Are my sources good enough?
Am i even going to make an argument?

I'm really starting to panic

Reply 33

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.

Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.


Hello! Hope you're doing well! I'm not too sure if you remember, but I asked you about sources a few weeks ago for my EPQ topic, which is about the effect of mental treatments on both genders through the victorian era. You kindly messages back and told me about how you analysed 'The Yellow Wallpaper', which I really appreciated and I was having a look the other day and I found out that it is based in America. You see, I completely forgot the fact that my actual title is - "How successful were the treatments for female mental health in Victorian Britain?" I want to explore hoe they were treated, what factors were involved when confining in mental hospitals started and how this affected them. Is it okay for me also ask how you analysed sources? I am quite confused on that too.

Would it be okay for you to suggest some tips for a an EPQ like this, potentially a few sources? Thank you!

Reply 34

How do you go from an A to A* ?

Reply 35

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.

Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.

Hi! I'm starting my EE and an very interested in doing a topic such as yours on 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre' and I was wondering what your research question was?

Reply 36

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.

Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.

Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.


Hi! What was your research question?

Reply 37

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.
Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.

Hi, is including a case study a good idea? I'm doing mine related to cyber security and was going to use a breach that happened to the NHS.

Reply 38

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.
Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.

hiii, please can i ask you for some advice about the epq

Reply 39

Original post by wintersun57
I got my EPQ result last week and received 48/50! I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Completing an EPQ was incredibly rewarding but also super stressful, and I can completely empathise with anyone feeling uncertain or overwhelmed whilst trying to do this project in lockdown. I've also found there isn't as much support for English Literature/humanities EPQs as there are for science projects on TSR, so I figured I would offer some advice if needed.
Just for background info, my EPQ focused on Victorian Gothic literature and its depictions of transgressive women. The novels I compared were 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and 'Dracula'.

Hi! I’m currently in yr12 doing my epq and I was wondering how many sources you used for your final project. I know it varies for everyone but I would just like to know a general idea of how many I need to work towards :smile:

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