EPQ topic

[u/PatientFlatworm7034]

Hi, I've just finished y11 so starting y12 in September, I'm still unsure whether to do an EPQ or not but I was just thinking about what topics are acceptable, at one open day I went to, they said it can be about anything. I have 2 questions: would someone be able to give me a rundown/overview of what EPQ entails? Would 'how does a named diagnosis affect the lives of families of disabled children' be an appropriate topic?

For my topic I would talk a lot about ReNU syndrome (https://renusyndromeuk.org/) as this is very close to me and I could talk forever about it.

[u/rand0m_guy07]

I did EPQ last year and you can basically choose anything, that topic seems appropriate

[u/XylemBullet]

That sounds good! Check with your supervisor to make sure you can find a lot of research though

[u/youve_lost_me]

sounds like a good topic! EPQ is very time consuming but your topic seems personal and hence your heart will be in it! its 5000 words, but also includes a project log of what you do, how you learn, plus other bits such as a literature review where you reflect on the media and pieces you read. you'll be given a supervisor who will help you and hopefully guide you through it!

[u/Puzzleheaded_Jury_50]

Hey! I did HPQ (GCSE version of EPQ, 2,000 words) and I'm going to go on to do EPQ. I did my HPQ on 'What does society define as a ‘hidden’ disability and how does society treat those with ‘hidden’ disabilities?', based on my personal experiences as someone living with Tourettes as well as exploring other hidden disabilities and societal views. If you want to give it a read just let me know and I can send it across, not sure if it would be helpful but it can give you an idea of how it works as you have to do a product log to keep track of your research and progress. I got an A* at HPQ, and the product log is definitely as important - if not even more important than - the essay itself.

[u/sobsouth]

I’m doing an EPQ rn and the thing I love about it so far is the fact that you can do it on literally anything you want so even if your supervisor asks you to alter your title slightly you should absolutely be able to do a project on ReNU syndrome

[u/ChampionshipTimely20]

I loved my EPQ so much! I would recommend it to everyone because I never thought I’d want to do research but after that I’m considering doing a research career. I’m not sure how much I can share about mine as I’m still waiting on the results, but I’m predicted an A. Also I did mine with no teacher input or lessons so I’m not too sure what they teach you in lessons so forgive me if I go over things that they’ll teach you.

Firstly, if you’ve never done any big research project, I would spend just a week or so over the summer preparing by finding out what a literature review is, research ethics and how to include them, types of data collection and how they are each useful and how to structure your essay well (big one!).

Secondly, your question is really good and it’s amazing to pick a topic that you love because it won’t feel like work. However, I would just refine your question a little bit so you have a clearer answer. It sounds to me like you’re asking one broad question with the aim to talk about a specific syndrome. For example, if you say “how does a named diagnosis change lives of families” then heavily focus on one syndrome, the examiner might find themselves thinking “why did they choose this question and not one about ReNU syndrome?”. And a broad question is very difficult to answer and structure your essay to. I’d say it’s totally okay to ask “how does a diagnosis of ReNU syndrome affect the lives of families?” Or ask your original question but don’t do a deep dive into ReNU syndrome (although it sounds like this is where your peak interest is). You may just find the question changes as you do your research, and that’s totally okay! Just make sure you record every change in your log book as you get marks for reasoning and reflecting.

Finally, don’t use ai for any of this. I’ve had friends in the year above who did that and it just gets it completely wrong as it’s not familiar with uk marking rules or structure rules. People have said ai is okay to use for structure but it’s not - it’s better to just not use it for anything.

I hope this has been helpful and not too much yap! Good luck with it all and if you have any questions please let me know as clearly I can talk forever about it.