Guide to the EPQ: How to Come Up With and Write an A* EPQ
What is an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)?
An Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is an A Level qualification which tests students independent research skills and allows them to explore a beyond the syllabus topic of their own choosing. It is designed to help students develop important essay writing and research skills to prepare them for university. The EPQ is worth half an A Level, and is generally taken by students as a fourth option in addition to three standard A Levels.
Students have four options for their EPQ project, they can:
Write a dissertation: A written research project addressing a specific question or hypothesis, typically around 5000 words.
Carry out an investigation or field study: A practical project involving data collection, experiments, or fieldwork to explore a scientific or social question.
Create an artefact: The creation of a product (e.g., an artwork, a piece of software, a model) accompanied by a report explaining the process and the research behind it.
Conduct a performance: A creative or practical performance (e.g., a play, musical composition, or public talk) supported by a report explaining the context, aims, and research.
After completing their EPQ, students must give a 10/15 minute presentation explaining their project to a non-specialist audience (of teachers and peers) and respond to their questions.
Should I do an EPQ?
There are lots of benefits to writing an EPQ. The EPQ can help you develop great research and essay writing skills and demonstrate them to universities. Some universities may even make a lower offer to students taking the EPQ.
If you’re going on to study a degree subject not studied at A Level, an EPQ is a great way to show to universities that you’ve taken an interest in the subject already and have gone out of your own way to research and form an argument on it. This can be great to talk about in a personal statement and in Oxbridge interviews. If a 5,000 word research project isn’t quite for you or the EPQ isn’t on offer at your school, you may also like to take part in one of our subject-specific research projects, hosted on our co-curricular division Minds Underground. Like an EPQ, these allow you to explore a subject (ranging from coding to world literature) but alongside a subject expert who can support and guide your research and introduce new, inspiring content. Take a look at the full range of clubs on offer here.
The EPQ is also an opportunity to explore a topic you’re curious about, unbound by the constraints of the school curriculum. If you’re curious about Politics but your school doesn’t offer the A Level, here’s your chance to delve into an area that really excites you. The EPQ is designed to be expansive and allow really individual responses so it’s an opportunity to research and write about just about anything, which leads us to the importance of taking time to choose an EPQ topic that really interests you!
How can an EPQ Tutor help?
While exam board guidelines prevent tutors from directly reviewing or editing your work, our EPQ tutors at U2 Tuition provide targeted support to help you excel:
Project Organisation: Work with tutors to create a clear timeline and set realistic deadlines, making the project process more manageable and less stressful.
Project Ideation: Get assistance in choosing a feasible essay topic and formulating a strong research question that fits within your project’s scope.
Skill Development: Build essential skills such as effective research techniques, identifying credible sources, and advanced essay writing strategies.
Critical Approach: Learn to approach your EPQ question with depth and critical analysis, ensuring a thorough and well-rounded project.
Book a free consultation to discuss how we can support.
Writing your EPQ
Choosing an EPQ Topic
Start off with a brainstorm. You could try a mindmap — around a bubble marked “Potential EPQ topics”, add in all your possible EPQ project ideas. You can branch off each of these as well, creating more niche subtopics. From here, you may want to try freewriting on each of these topics. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything you know or would like to know about that field. You should start to gain a sense of which project you are most curious about and might be feasible to complete within an EPQ.
It’s okay if at the beginning your EPQ topic feels broad. As you start to research and read you can get a sense of a more narrow EPQ topic that will be achievable to answer in 5000 words or turn into an artefact. This is why starting to think about your EPQ project ideas early is important; it gives you lots of time to play around with ideas and find the question that most interests you.
Remember that you’ll still have the option to review and refine your question as part of the research process. This kind of change shows your ability to adapt and self-reflect!
As we mentioned above, if you’re going on to study a degree in a subject not-studied at A Level, you may want to dedicate your EPQ to a topic within that subject, for example writing a Medicine EPQ. Even if it is an A Level subject you plan to study, there are still plenty of benefits to writing a topic within that area (not to mention it’s probably the subject you’re most curious about if you want to spend at least another three years studying it!). So if you love Philosophy and plan to study it as a degree but already do the A Level, it’s absolutely worth writing a Philosophy EPQ as it will show to admissions tutors that you really are invested in the subject and curious to independently learn more about the subject.
The final stage of coming up with an EPQ project idea, is turning it into a strong EPQ question. When you do this it’s important to ensure that:
the question allows you to explore the topic with different approaches
you have access to enough information/resources to answer it fully
the topic goes beyond the school syllabus
the question encourages you to think critically and analytically (not descriptively.)
Here are some example EPQ project ideas/questions:
Medicine: To what extent has the rise of telemedicine improved healthcare accessibility for rural populations in the UK?
Psychology: How do social media algorithms influence the development of addictive behaviours in adolescents?
Biology/Environmental Science: Can rewilding efforts effectively reverse biodiversity loss in the UK?
Engineering: How can biomimicry inspire sustainable urban infrastructure?
History/Politics: How did propaganda influence public perception of the Vietnam War in the United States?
Tips for Smarter EPQ Research
It’s essential to think critically about what you read. Part of writing an EPQ means creating an independently thought-out piece of work. It’s not about regurgitating what other sources have said and accepting them de facto. You need to think about whether you agree with a writer, what links you could make to what they’re saying (whether that’s examples to back up their point or to undermine it). This will make your EPQ research more efficient as you will already be reading with an eye to your argument and what is relevant to your question.
Remember, you don’t need to write down everything you read. Critical thinking comes in to play here to make sure you’re recording the key and most relevant information for your EPQ topic. This means you should also use your own words to re-encapsulate the argument of another scholar. Make sure you always clearly signpost where you are copying direct quotations so you don’t accidentally plagiarise.
You should also think critically about the sources you use and make sure you assess their reliability before referencing them in your essay!
Tips for EPQ Essay Structure
Now the research is done, it’s time to get writing. Having a well thought-out plan will help you a lot with this process. Think about your EPQ as being divided into three parts:
introduction
main body
conclusion
Your EPQ introduction needs to (as it says on the tin) introduce your EPQ topic to the reader of your essay. Ideally, you’ll open with an engaging sentence that draws the reader in and then discuss the broad topic and context that your EPQ essay sits within. What question(s) are you looking to have answered by the end of the essay? It can be great to use your EPQ introduction to set out the structure of your essay, signposting the key points of your argument in order to show that your EPQ essay structure will be clear and well-argued. As your EPQ is a longer essay, you can expect your introduction to be a little bit longer as well in order to set up all these ideas.
The main body of your essay should be subdivided into your main points. Clear topic sentences can help both you (in keeping your essay ordered) and your reader (in following your argument). When you plan, think about what the most logical order to structure your points is. What does the reader need to know first for the next element to make sense? To have a great EPQ essay structure, you should keep a clear thread of your argument running through your essay that links each paragraph to the next. Remember, your EPQ is not a descriptive or narrative piece (unless you’re creating an artefact!). It needs to have an argument at the heart of it. Writing is the opportunity to showcase all the interesting ideas you’ve developed in your research in a response that neatly answers the EPQ topic question you set.
If you study humanities subjects at A Level, you’ll already be used to writing clear and well-argued essays. The EPQ is just an extension of that. The longer word count isn’t space for you to add in more digressions and ramblings vaguely tied to a side point. It still requires real clarity. So make sure you take time to plan and set out your EPQ essay structure so that you know what information needs to be included to answer the question and what doesn’t, and how best to lay it out to create a convincing piece of writing.
Finally, your EPQ won’t be complete without a conclusion.
As with your introduction, your conclusion will need to be a bit lengthier than you’re used to for your A Level essays. You’ve spent quite a long time answering your question and your conclusion is your chance to demonstrate to your reader how you’ve done so (with a bit of punch if you can!). A good conclusion should begin specific, starting with the terms of your question and then broadening out to a connect to some of the more general ideas about the topic in your introduction.
How to Write an A* EPQ
For an A* EPQ, planning is everything. Before you even start the research and writing process, you need to set out a plan for tackling your EPQ topic. It’s important to have mini deadlines to breakdown the process. When do you want to have finalised your title? Completed your research? Written an introduction? Finished a first draft? Work backwards from your final deadline and incorporate any mini deadlines set by your school or tutor so you can work proactively to meet these. You may also want to factor in any other key A Level deadlines, such as coursework hand-ins that may affect your ability to work on your EPQ.
The main challenge of the extended project qualification is that it is an independent project; an A* EPQ relies on you being highly organised and self-motivated with your work. You need to spend a minimum of 90 hours on your EPQ so factor this into your organisational plan.
It’s also important to have a good system for logging your EPQ hours and work from the get go. An important element of the extended project qualification is organisation and reflection. A strong EPQ log indicates to the marker that you’ve taken charge of your project.
Another component to writing an A* EPQ is the project log. You are not only being graded on your final essay but your evaluation of it so it’s really important to think critically about your research and writing. Here are some useful questions to prompt your reflection as you work:
What went well? What didn’t go well?
What did I learn? What could I do differently next time?
Finally, A* EPQs will be well-edited and proofread. Make sure you dedicate lots of time at the end to checking and editing your essay. Unless you’re a very succinct writer, you’ll probably find your EPQ starts over the word count. This isn’t a bad thing as long as you allow time to cut it down. A longer EPQ gives you some wiggle room to cut down any overwriting and clarify your ideas. (Note though, if you find your essay is sprawling out hugely beyond the word count, it may indicate you’ve chosen a topic that is too broad to answer and you may need to refine your title!).
Working with an EPQ Tutor
While it’s important to note the guidelines set out by EPQ exam boards which mean tutors cannot directly review, edit or offer written feedback on extended project qualifications, our EPQ tutors are able to support with other aspects of the EPQ.
At the beginning of the process, tutors are happy to assist with project organisation, taking some of the stress out of it by working with the student to set useful deadlines for research and writing and coming up with a timeline for the project.
An EPQ tutor can also support students by helping them develop a focus for their essay and ensuring their question is achievable within the constraints of the project. EPQ tutors are also able to help with key skill-building to ensure students do well in the project. Working with an EPQ tutor allows students to build strong research skills, helping them know how to identify good sources and assess source credibility. EPQ tutors also offer sessions that boost essay writing technique and skills, introducing helpful formulas to ensure a successful extended essay. Working with any of U2 Tuition’s EPQ tutors ensures your child approaches their question critically and comprehensively, supplying them with the skills needed to boost their grade.
Contact us to book a free initial consultation and find out more about how our EPQ tutors can support you.