What is an EPQ

13

Hey yall as you can read, you know my question.i am in year 11 and i have chosen my a level subjects for year 12 ( if i get i have chosen ( if i get the GCSE grades to take the course) biology, pyschology,english literature, geography and an EPQ

I think i have chosen a good topic for my EPQ which includes most aspects of my A-levels which is good but what is it?

Ive heard it is more essay based but can i make it more like a presentation where i can include diagrams n pictures?
So yea can you tell me like the markschemes,layout and the amount of time i should spend on it per week when i start year 12

I was thinking i could start my EPQ during my year 11 summer in order to get a little nit ahead especially if i plan om doing 4 a-levels and i think i will highly enjoy it, but i dont know how to structure nor if i need to have an assets log and stuff like that

Byeee

Reply 1

Jahnvi33

7

I'm not completely sure, but my sister did hers a couple of years ago
I think that it's basically just a question that you answer thro an essay and then u make a ppt for when u have to present it
What topic ru thinking of? (no pressure to tell me btw lol)

Reply 2

PattieB

8

Original post

by Liamgriff18

Hey yall as you can read, you know my question.i am in year 11 and i have chosen my a level subjects for year 12 ( if i get i have chosen ( if i get the GCSE grades to take the course) biology, pyschology,english literature, geography and an EPQ
I think i have chosen a good topic for my EPQ which includes most aspects of my A-levels which is good but what is it?
Ive heard it is more essay based but can i make it more like a presentation where i can include diagrams n pictures?
So yea can you tell me like the markschemes,layout and the amount of time i should spend on it per week when i start year 12
I was thinking i could start my EPQ during my year 11 summer in order to get a little nit ahead especially if i plan om doing 4 a-levels and i think i will highly enjoy it, but i dont know how to structure nor if i need to have an assets log and stuff like that
Byeee

Heyy! An EPQ is kinda hard to break down and it’s depends on the school but mainly it’s an essay about a chosen topic! A lot of website will tell you “EPQ titles bound to get A* blah blah blah” none of those will meet the requirements and won’t get accepted as your question.

I did EPQ at the start of Year 12 and I actually ended up dropping it because it was too difficult/stressful even though my strong point was essay writing. You said about starting it in the summer, I tried this but none of what I did was acceptable… But from what I remember the structure once we started was this:

A literature review (you have to read a bunch of articles and books relevant to your chosen topic for the project and review them)
Every lesson you fill in your Activity Log - basically I diary of what you’re going. This is the easiest part and the most detailed ones that include what problems you faced get higher marks.
I dropped after this stage so I’m not 100% sure about the rest but from a friend basically she had to use her literature review in her dissertation (the essay). Writing the dissertation takes weeks and afterwards you do an evaluation of it (critique/analyse your work) then a bibliography (a list of all the evidence and resources she used in alphabetical order) and in the next week she is going to finish this and give a presentation!

I think that’s it… though there can be a lot of variation as this was the outline for a Dissertation EPQ and there are other choices but our school only allowed people to do Dissertations.

I know a lot of people who dropped out including myself because of the stress and work load. But that said it does teach you how to write a dissertation, which is a vital skill if you’re thinking about going to university. It will also look great on applications!

Anyway hope this was clear and helpful, not sure if this is all of it since I dropped it early on but this is what I remember!

Good luck!

Reply 3

japw

5

Original post

by Liamgriff18

Hey yall as you can read, you know my question.i am in year 11 and i have chosen my a level subjects for year 12 ( if i get i have chosen ( if i get the GCSE grades to take the course) biology, pyschology,english literature, geography and an EPQ
I think i have chosen a good topic for my EPQ which includes most aspects of my A-levels which is good but what is it?
Ive heard it is more essay based but can i make it more like a presentation where i can include diagrams n pictures?
So yea can you tell me like the markschemes,layout and the amount of time i should spend on it per week when i start year 12
I was thinking i could start my EPQ during my year 11 summer in order to get a little nit ahead especially if i plan om doing 4 a-levels and i think i will highly enjoy it, but i dont know how to structure nor if i need to have an assets log and stuff like that
Byeee

hello,
I'm currently doing my EPQ at the moment. EPQ is an extended project qualification and is a 500 word essay on a topic of your choice. it doesn't have to be an essay, there is a more of a project you can do if you are thinking of doing an arty-based EPQ. they are not as common as the essay and can be harder, but its up to you in the end.
you are expected to spend around 120 hours on your EPQ but you have a long time to do it, so i would recommend about 3-4 hours a week, but don't stress if it's less than that. based on layout, that's totally up to you. For my essay, I'm doing several large-ish paragraphs-make sure it has an intro and conclusion- i'm not sure about the more practical version. also, you will have to do a presentation about your work when you finish to your group, no matter if you choose an essay or practical EPQ.
I think its a good idea to get started with your EPQ in the summer since A-Levels has a high workload, especially with 4 A-Levels, but don't get too stressed over that since you have a long time to do it, more than enough time in-between your studies and maybe just stick to finding some good sources you might use and finding a good topic that interests you (it doesn't have to be about your A-Level subjects, it can be about anything, but it might help if its linked to your preferred university course for application if your thinking of going to university).
with references, for AQA they want harvard references throughout the essay and a biolograpthy at the end of all your sources.
I would also give a few tips for EPQ that m teachers have said:
Make sure you initial question is pretty vague as EPQ love to see you adapting your question over the months if planning it, there were a few people in my class that have completely changed their EPQ question. Also, make sure you have a question to answer rather than just a topic, e.g. if you were doing it about cancer treatments, don't just state all the different cancer treatments there are, but ask a question like "how effective are modern cancer treatment?" make sure it is specific and can actually be easily answered. for my EPQ i was originally going to look at how preventative methods for laminitis have changed over time, but after a bi of research i found there weren't many sources on it so i changed my question.
hope that helped and good luck for your GCSE'S, EPQ and A-levels!

Reply 4

Liamgriff18

OP

13

Original post

by japw

hello,
I'm currently doing my EPQ at the moment. EPQ is an extended project qualification and is a 500 word essay on a topic of your choice. it doesn't have to be an essay, there is a more of a project you can do if you are thinking of doing an arty-based EPQ. they are not as common as the essay and can be harder, but its up to you in the end.
you are expected to spend around 120 hours on your EPQ but you have a long time to do it, so i would recommend about 3-4 hours a week, but don't stress if it's less than that. based on layout, that's totally up to you. For my essay, I'm doing several large-ish paragraphs-make sure it has an intro and conclusion- i'm not sure about the more practical version. also, you will have to do a presentation about your work when you finish to your group, no matter if you choose an essay or practical EPQ.
I think its a good idea to get started with your EPQ in the summer since A-Levels has a high workload, especially with 4 A-Levels, but don't get too stressed over that since you have a long time to do it, more than enough time in-between your studies and maybe just stick to finding some good sources you might use and finding a good topic that interests you (it doesn't have to be about your A-Level subjects, it can be about anything, but it might help if its linked to your preferred university course for application if your thinking of going to university).
with references, for AQA they want harvard references throughout the essay and a biolograpthy at the end of all your sources.
I would also give a few tips for EPQ that m teachers have said:
Make sure you initial question is pretty vague as EPQ love to see you adapting your question over the months if planning it, there were a few people in my class that have completely changed their EPQ question. Also, make sure you have a question to answer rather than just a topic, e.g. if you were doing it about cancer treatments, don't just state all the different cancer treatments there are, but ask a question like "how effective are modern cancer treatment?" make sure it is specific and can actually be easily answered. for my EPQ i was originally going to look at how preventative methods for laminitis have changed over time, but after a bi of research i found there weren't many sources on it so i changed my question.
hope that helped and good luck for your GCSE'S, EPQ and A-levels!

Hello, i was hoping that i could do a powerpoint presentation where i could include images and diagrams? As i think i could add way more, i could do both i guess and yea im not sure what the EPQ exam board is at my sixth form but i might ask some year 12's and look through the syllabus

Reply 5

nikiiiiiii

10

Original post

by Liamgriff18

Hello, i was hoping that i could do a powerpoint presentation where i could include images and diagrams? As i think i could add way more, i could do both i guess and yea im not sure what the EPQ exam board is at my sixth form but i might ask some year 12's and look through the syllabus

Just a powerpoint presentation would not be enough. You must produce either a 5000 word essay or an artefact (painting, sculpture, short film, performance, etc) with an 1000 word essay. After you've finished your essay and/or artefact you need to present your project to a group of peers - in this you talk about the process of researching and creating your project. Also, a lot of the points for the epq come from how well you document the process of research and writing. You'll probably need to create timelines, weekly reports (what you've done, any problems you faced, etc), and evaluations of your sources.

I wouldn't worry about starting during the summer. At my school, we start the epq in year 13 and easily complete it in a few months. We also had 2 epq lessons each week where we learned about what the mark scheme wants and a teacher could advise us a bit on our projects (although they're not allowed to give a lot of help) - I'm not sure if in other schools they expect you to make time to complete it yourself. Also btw this is for aqa.

For the topic, you're actually not allowed to pick something that you already study in school, unless perhaps you're going into much more depth about a topic that is only briefly covered. For example, you couldn't write about Othello if it's one of you lit texts, but you could write about the work of a poet who has one poem in the poetry anthology. It also doesn't have to relate specifically to your subjects - as long as you can give reasoning as to why the topic interests you and how you came across it. Most people also change their topic multiple times in the first few weeks.

I'd really recommend doing the epq btw i loved doing mine and it helps prepare you for uni.

Reply 6

Liamgriff18

OP

13

Original post

by nikiiiiiii

Just a powerpoint presentation would not be enough. You must produce either a 5000 word essay or an artefact (painting, sculpture, short film, performance, etc) with an 1000 word essay. After you've finished your essay and/or artefact you need to present your project to a group of peers - in this you talk about the process of researching and creating your project. Also, a lot of the points for the epq come from how well you document the process of research and writing. You'll probably need to create timelines, weekly reports (what you've done, any problems you faced, etc), and evaluations of your sources.
I wouldn't worry about starting during the summer. At my school, we start the epq in year 13 and easily complete it in a few months. We also had 2 epq lessons each week where we learned about what the mark scheme wants and a teacher could advise us a bit on our projects (although they're not allowed to give a lot of help) - I'm not sure if in other schools they expect you to make time to complete it yourself. Also btw this is for aqa.
For the topic, you're actually not allowed to pick something that you already study in school, unless perhaps you're going into much more depth about a topic that is only briefly covered. For example, you couldn't write about Othello if it's one of you lit texts, but you could write about the work of a poet who has one poem in the poetry anthology. It also doesn't have to relate specifically to your subjects - as long as you can give reasoning as to why the topic interests you and how you came across it. Most people also change their topic multiple times in the first few weeks.
I'd really recommend doing the epq btw i loved doing mine and it helps prepare you for uni.

Hello, this was really helpful, could i do a presentation and a video, im doing gcse IT at the moment and for our coursework it sounds like it is similar what you do for the evidence, like assets charts, data and stuff like that, could i pm you to get more detail?

Reply 7

nikiiiiiii

10

Original post

by Liamgriff18

Hello, this was really helpful, could i do a presentation and a video, im doing gcse IT at the moment and for our coursework it sounds like it is similar what you do for the evidence, like assets charts, data and stuff like that, could i pm you to get more detail?

The point of the artefact is that your research revolves around the making of the artefact ,so for example if you set out to make a silent short film you'd research the history of silent film and short film and teach yourself how to write a script, do camera work, edit, etc. So, if you do an artefact you should be making something that is new to you so you have to research it (like if you do a painting you should specifically pick a style you haven't worked in before) -its not just another medium to present research that could otherwise have been an essay. Although you can include photographs in your essay if you'd like. I'd ask your teachers for advice though. If you'd like to do a video of some sort I'm sure they could suggest something that could work as an artefact, but as I said I'm pretty sure the main point of your research would then need to be about how to create videos, not just about the content of it.

Reply 8

Katy07503

7

Original post

by Liamgriff18

Hey yall as you can read, you know my question.i am in year 11 and i have chosen my a level subjects for year 12 ( if i get i have chosen ( if i get the GCSE grades to take the course) biology, pyschology,english literature, geography and an EPQ
I think i have chosen a good topic for my EPQ which includes most aspects of my A-levels which is good but what is it?
Ive heard it is more essay based but can i make it more like a presentation where i can include diagrams n pictures?
So yea can you tell me like the markschemes,layout and the amount of time i should spend on it per week when i start year 12
I was thinking i could start my EPQ during my year 11 summer in order to get a little nit ahead especially if i plan om doing 4 a-levels and i think i will highly enjoy it, but i dont know how to structure nor if i need to have an assets log and stuff like that
Byeee

Hi Liam!

I did an EPQ in Y12 and got an A*. I really enjoyed it and would really encourage you to do it!

In Summary an EPQ is an extended project qualification and is a level 3 qualification just like the rest of your A-levels. It is worth up to half an A-level (28 UCAS points). The grade you get determines how many ucas points you get, A* being the highest, E being the lowest.

It involves:

•

Choosing a topic of your choice (preferrably something you have a large interest in) also it can link to a subject you are doing but it cannot be something you study! For example, i did pyschology at A-levels and my EPQ title was "Are psychopaths more successful in committed or non committed relationships?"

•

Researching the topic! Try to use a range of sources during your research and check they are reliable! I used my bib which helped me to keep all my sources in one place!

•

Writing a report or essay thats 5000 words or making an artifact with 1000 words alongside it

•

Giving a presentation about the project

How is it assessed?:

•

After completing your project you will present it to teachers and students (i did mine in a hall with other students where we all had displays that people could walk around and visit. However, it will depend on how your college want to set it up)

•

Teachers of the EPQ will come around and have you present to them. They will mark your presentation and ask you some questions for further marks!

•

After the presentation all of your project, including the final product and any research you have done along the way will be sent off along with the teachers marks to be moderated and assessed by the EPQ exam board

•

You will then get a grade back on results day that ranges from A* being the highest and E being the lowest

What are you assessed on?:

•

Planning and Managing:

Research planning - How you plan your project, mange your time, and decide on your approach
Project management - How effectively you organise and structure your work throughout the process, from selecting a topic to completing your final outcome
Time management - Demonstrating the ability to meet deadlines and balance the workload throughout the project

•

Research:

Sources and evidence - The quality and range of sources you use, how you evaluate their reliability, and how you integrate them into your work
Depth of research - Your ability to explore your chosen topic in-depth, presenting critical analysis and a well-rounded understanding
Use of primary and secondary data - How well you gather, analyse and interpret different types of data of information related to your project

•

Analysis and Evaluation:

Critical thinking - how well you analyse and evaluate different perspectives or information related to your topic
Synthesis of information - Your ability to bring together different strands of information and draw conclusions that are supported by evidence
Reflective evaluation - How well you assess your own progress, including any challenges faced and how you adapt your approach in responses

•

Communication:

Clarity and structure - How clearly and logically you communicate your ideas and findings, both in your written report and in your presentation
Final product presentation - The quality of the final presentation or report
Visual aids or supplementary materials - How you use visual materials like charts, graphs or presentations to support your projects

•

Reflection:
Process log - The extent to which you record and reflect on your journey, from the initial idea through to completion, noting any obstacles you encountered and how you overcame them
Self - evaluation - Your ability to critically assess your performance and learning throughout the project

•

Final Product:
Outcome quality - The standard of your final product
Originality - The creativity or originality of your project, particularly in how it adds something new to the topic or area of research

In terms of how long you should spend on it a week i did 5 hours a week but if i could I would try do a bit more just to get ahead of the workload!

You can do a presentation with plenty of diagrams ect!
I got really creative with mine! I would reccommend having a laptop with your presentation on and then a display board with lots of graphs and information on to make it look interesting and appealing to the eye of the viewer/listener!

If you need anything or would like help with your EPQ i would be more than happy to help just inbox me! Normally you would get allocated an EPQ supervisor to help you and navigate you towards getting the best marks but you havent started college yet! I would also reccomend waiting until you get into college to begin as colleges often have their own EPQ timescale (E.G what day your presentation will be ect) but i think just thinking about your title and looking at different areas is a great thing for you to do right now !

What is an EPQ

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