how long is an epq dissertation

EPQ Guide: Expressing your ideas

• The Inquiry Process
• Developing a line of inquiry
• Finding and selecting sources
• Working with ideas

Expressing your ideas

This is the stage you have been building towards - writing your report. Although that is largely the focus of this page , it is not all there is to the EPQ.

Your EPQ will be assessed on:

• Your completed Production Log
• if your project is a research based written report of any kind (e.g. a science investigation or an essay) it should be approximately 5,000 words long
• If your project is an artefact, it must be accomapanied by a research based written report of a minimum of 1,000 words. For artefacts, you may include photos showing various stages of the production process as well as the final product. You do not need to submit a large artefact as evidence - photographs or other media are fine.
• If your product was itself a presentation then you still need to produce a presentation about the process of producing it!
• Your presentation must be delivered live to a non-specialist audience and might use flipcharts or posters, presentation tools such as PowerPoint or Prezi or short video clips. The evidence for your presentation will  include a record in your Production Log of questions your supervisor asked and how you responded.

Am I ready?

Am I ready to start writing my essay?

Before you start writing, think:

• Is my investigation largely complete? As you write you may find that you need a few additional resources or information to support your argument, but you should not sta rt to write until you are largely sure where your argument is going.
• Have I filled in a Research Organiser (which you will find on the Working with Ideas tab)? This will help you to organise your thoughts and make sure you understand the argument you intend to make and have the evidence to support it. While not compulsory, it makes writing your final essay significantly easier.
• Do I understand how to write in an appropriate academic style? Guidance is given in the Academic Writing box below.
• Do I know how to import my sources from my Investigative Journal? Don't waste time putting all your citation data in again! Import all your sources as you set up your document. There are helpsheets in the Resources for PC / Mac users boxes to the right.

You should use the Oakham APAv3 Academic Writing Template (below) rather than a generic Word template to set up your essay.

(The image below is taken from the EE LibGuide, but the template is just as useful for EPQs)

Citing and referencing

There are many different ways to acknowledge the sources you use. These are called referencing styles . You are free to use any recognised referencing style you wish for your EPQ, but Oakham's 'house style' is APA. We suggest you use this because we already have a lot of support in place for it. APA is an 'Author-date' system, meaning that you show which source you have used by putting the author and date in brackets after it in your text, and then put the full reference in an alphabetical list at the end of the essay. The Library does not support 'footnote referencing', where you put all the information in a footnote at the bottom of the page. If you want help with this then please talk to the member of staff who suggested that you use it.

For detailed information and guidance on how to use sources in your writing and how to cite and reference them accurately using the tools in Microsoft Word, consult the Citing and Referencing LibGuide . This site includes information about how to reference all sorts of different kinds of sources, including videos and works of art, and what to do if you are using a source written in a language that is not the language of your essay. It also gives some examples of how to use in-text citations , whether quoting, paraphrasing or just referring to a source more generally, and how to use the automatic citing and referencing tools in Word .

Academic writing

Stages in an academic essay

Your thesis is the point you want to make. It emerges from your research and your task is to use the evidence you have found to establish it as the most reasonable response to that research.

In both approaches, you must state the research question in your introduction, and make sure you return to it in your conclusion .

Sections required in your essay

Have a look at the Formal Presentation guide in the sidebar for a guide to laying out your essay.

Paragraph Structure

Paragraphs themselves have a structure - the most common you will have come across is likely to be PEEL. The letters often stand for slightly different things in different subjects, but the idea is largely the same - introduce your main idea for the paragraph ( Point ), justify it with Evidence and/or Examples , and Evaluate this evidence. Finally, Link back to the Research Question and/or Link forward to the next paragraph.

This is not the only way to write a paragraph and, with experience, you will soon find that your argument develops a flow of its own that does not require a formula - indeed, your essay would be very dull if every paragraph followed exactly the same structure. However, this structure can be a useful scaffold to get you started and make sure you don't miss anything important.

The structure of academic writing

Note that the following graphic was originally produced for the IB Extended Essay, but is equally applicable to the EPQ.

Planning your essay

It is vital to plan your essay before you start writing. An essay plan provides an outline of your argument and how it develops.

What sections and subsections do you need?

Although this might change as you write your essay, you should not start writing until you have your overall structure. Then think about roughly how you are going to divide your 5000 words between the different sections. 5000 words seems like a lot before you start writing, but it is much easier to write to the limit, section by section, than to try to cut your essay down once it is written.

What will the reader will expect to see and where?

Look back at your checklist and think about where in your essay you are planning to include the required information. Make sure the flow of your essay makes sense to a reader who may be a subject expert but knows little about your topic. Have you included background information? Details of experimental methods? Arguments and counter arguments?

Now get writing!

You've read all the guidance. You've made your plan. Now you have a blank screen in front of you and you just need to get started! Start with the section you think you will find easiest to write and work outwards from there, or follow the steps below to get started. Don't forget to write with the word limit in mind though.

What if you are writing lots of paragraphs but your essay just doesn't seem to be coming together?

1. Condense each paragraph into a short statement or bullet point. This is the skeleton structure of your essay.

2. Look at the order of the statements.

• Is the order logical?
• Does each point follow another in a sensible order?
• Do you need to change the order?
• Do you need to add paragraphs?
• Do you need to remove paragraphs?

3. Add, subtract and rearrange the paragraphs until your structure makes sense.

4. Redraft using your new paragraph order.  

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Willard, D. (2003) My journey to and b eyond tenure in a secular university . Retrieved from: www.dwillard.org/articles/individual/my-journey-to-and-beyond-tenure-in-a-secular-university . Accessed: 9th May 2020

Oh no! It's too long!!

If you haven't managed to write to the word limit and are suddenly faced with cutting down an essay that is over the word limit, try these tips on concise writing from Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Use the menu on the left of this page from Purdue OWL to browse the four very practical pages on writing concisely and one on the Paramedic Method for reducing your word count.

AQA Guide to completing the Production Log: Expressing your ideas

AQA copyright notice

The presentation above contains slides from the AQA presentation  Teaching slides: how to complete the production log  (available from the AQA EPQ Teaching and Learning Resources website ).  These slides are Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

A downloadable copy of the Production Log can be found here , on the Home tab of this guide.

Submission checklists

• First Draft Checklist A guide to make sure you stay on track and complete everything required for your first draft.
• Final Draft Checklist A guide detailing everything that needs to be completed before submitting your EPQ.

Guides for PC users

• Citing and Referencing in Word 2016 for Windows
• Managing Sources in Word 2016 for Windows
• Creating a Table of Contents in Word 2016 for Windows

Guides for Mac users

• Managing Sources in Word 2016 for Mac
• Citing and Referencing in Word 2016 for Mac
• << Previous: Working with ideas
• Next: Reflecting >>
• Last Updated: Jun 6, 2024 10:05 AM
• URL: https://oakham-rutland.libguides.com/EPQ

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Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

This qualification helps students develop and demonstrate their project management skills and provides opportunities for extended writing, both of which are highly valued for progression to higher education and employment.

Students can tailor their project to fit their individual needs, choices and aspirations with the agreement of their centre.

The outcome of the project can be a design, performance, report, dissertation or artefact.

A* – E

The extended project must be a single-unit, internally assessed qualification.

Students need to produce a production log, verified by the supervisor, a written report, supplementary evidence and a presentation.

Students will be assessed against four objectives:

Identify, design, plan and complete the individual project or task within a group project, applying organisation skills and strategies to meet stated objectives

AO2 Use resources

Obtain and select information from a range of sources, analyse data, apply relevantly and demonstrate understanding of any appropriate linkages, connections and complexities of their topic

AO3 Develop and realise

Select and use a range of skills, including new technologies, to solve problems, to take decisions critically, creatively and flexibly, and to achieve planned outcomes

Evaluate outcomes including own learning and performance. Select and use a range of communication skills and media to convey and present outcomes and conclusions

Mark grids are provided for each unit to demonstrate student performance at three levels for each assessment outcome, and how marks may be allocated. In general terms, progression across the mark bands is characterised by increasing:

• breadth and depth of understanding,
• coherence, evaluation and analysis,
• independence and originality.
• Feedback from HEPs suggests that the skills that students develop as part of the EPQ are highly valued.
• Some HEPs signal this by adjusting their standard A level offer for certain courses to include the EPQ.
• Others use EPQ results in Confirmation and Clearing to distinguish between students who have the same A level results.
• A number of universities and colleges encourage applicants to refer to their project in the personal statement and interviews.
• EPQs are widely valued by universities and colleges making points-based offers.
• The EPQ is not as widely offered to students as e.g. A levels.
• Due to the unique structure and assessment method of the EPQ, teachers and advisers may not feel equipped to predict a grade. If a predicted grade is not supplied, we would encourage teachers to use the reference and/or school specific URL to provide information about the EPQ and any policy for predicting grades, to help inform admissions decision making.

Links to awarding organisation websites and specifications:

www.aqa.org.uk

www.cityandguilds.com

www.ocr.org.uk

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/home.html

www.vtct.org.uk

www.wjec.co.uk

www.asdan.org.uk

How To Write An EPQ Essay (Step-by-Step Guide)

In A-Level by Think Student Editor March 29, 2019 8 Comments

Whatever the reasons were for you choosing to write an EPQ, the grade you get is most definitely important to you. That is why I have written this (hopefully) detailed guide on how to write an EPQ.

1. Think Of An EPQ Topic That Genuinely Interests You 

It’s important to choose an EPQ you’re interested in, or you may run into some problems . Many students take EPQs each year, and many students fail because they make this mistake.

If you don’t take an EPQ you’re interested in, you’ll have no motivation to work on it . This will be because you start to want to do other things, anything instead of your EPQ.

Think about revision, for example. Is it interesting? Nope. Would you rather be playing videogames, watching Netflix, or literally anything else? Yeah, me too.

If you’re not motivated to write your EPQ essay, then you’ll either not do it or do it badly. If you don’t work hard for it, you won’t get good marks – and therefore there’s less point in even taking it in the first place .

If you find an EPQ topic to write your essay on that genuinely peaks your interest, you’ll find it much easier to get better grades in it.

A more interesting EPQ essay topic will mean that your focus is better . This will result in a better EPQ, meaning more marks when you hand it in.

You’ll also enjoy the EPQ a lot more if you find it interesting . You’ll find the whole experience a lot more fun, and therefore a lot easier too.

To find an EPQ topic that genuinely interests you, you just have to think about what you like. There are lots of different things you can do, but you only get to choose once – so choose carefully.

And if you’re really stuck on ideas, take a look at this list of 600+ EPQ ideas that guarantee an A* . Any of these ideas will be great for your EPQ, so just choose one that interests you and that you’ll actually enjoy.

2. Create A Mind Map Surrounding Your EPQ Topic

A mind map is where you write down everything you know about a topic . In this case, you’d be writing down all the ideas and concepts surrounding your EPQ topic.

That way you can see everything you need to write about in your EPQ essay. You’re essentially making a mood board for whatever EPQ idea you’ve chosen, and it will help you get in the right mindset for the task ahead.

Mind maps are most commonly used to identify gaps in your knowledge . Students tend to use them when revising to work out what they don’t know, whilst also helping them consolidate what they do know.

In terms of your EPQ essay, a mind map will provide a loose structure for you to follow . You’ll come up with lots of different things you can write about, and that will make the essay a lot easier.

In addition to this, whilst creating your mind map you may even decide to change your topic entirely. You might find that the topic you’ve chosen isn’t giving you any idea inspiration, and so you move on to a different topic. 

To make sure you get your mind maps right, you might want to follow this helpful guideline . It’s mainly about studying, but the same things can be said for planning your EPQ essay.

Don’t try rushing in to your EPQ essay without first creating a mind map . Mind maps are more useful than most students think…

Mind maps will help you avoid getting lost in what you’ve written, what you’ve missed, and what you’re planning on doing. You can use your EPQ topic mind maps as a sort of checklist as you write your EPQ essay.

3. Use Your Mind Map To Think Of A Question Related To Your Main EPQ Topic

Many students forget to think about this, but it’s probably the most important part of your EPQ . If you get this bit wrong, you can say goodbye to a good grade in your EPQ.

The question relating to your EPQ topic of choice is what you’ll spend your time working on . The 5000 words you write will be about this question, and so it really needs to be a good one.

If you don’t make it a question that interests you, then you’ll find it harder to write as much about it. Find a question that genuinely peaks your interest (relating to your EPQ of course) and the rest will come naturally.

It’s also important, however, that you choose a question where there’s a lot to write about . If you choose a question with lots to write about, you can use that to your advantage when trying to reach those 5000 words.

However, if you don’t choose a question where there’s a lot to write about, you’ll find that your EPQ is slow and drains you. Not only that, but it’ll probably be worse in terms of grade too.

I’d suggest doing a little background research into your question before you start writing your EPQ essay . Just check that there’s lots to write about and then you can avoid starting something you can’t finish.

As a general rule, you’ll want questions that don’t have definitive answers. If you can find a question that is inconclusive, you’re onto a winner.

If you can’t be bothered to look up EPQ questions, then there’s an alternative . Take a look at this list of 600+ EPQ ideas that guarantee an A* .

4. Write Down Subtitles That Relate To Your Main EPQ Question

Writing down subtitles for your EPQ question means that you’ll have a better idea of what’s actually going into your EPQ essay .

When you create your subtitles for your EPQ essay, you’re essentially writing down all the mini-topics you’ll write about. You split up the massive 5000 word count into smaller, more manageable parts.

I’d suggest making as many subtitles as you can that relate to your main EPQ question. Just go for a massive brainstorm ( potentially using your mind map ) to try and come up with lots of subtitles.

That way you maximize the chances of you making some actually good subtitles. You’ll have lots of options to choose from, and your EPQ will benefit from having such a varied range of points.

You also put yourself in the right mindset for your EPQ essay . You’ll be much more open to different ideas and approaches whilst actually writing the EPQ, and examiners will see this and give you extra credit.

However, you need to make sure that the subtitles you’re writing actually relate to your EPQ question . If they don’t, you could run into some serious problems.

If you choose to work on a subtitle that doesn’t wholly relate to your EPQ question, you risk filling up your word count with irrelevant information. That means less room for the important stuff, and less marks for you.

Make sure you check all your subtitles before you start writing . Work out what the plan is before you start writing, so that you don’t have to rewrite a large portion of your EPQ essay.

So grab a pen and paper, sit down, put on some nice music, and get to writing those subtitles.

5. Triple Check That Every Subtitle Question Actually Relates To The Main EPQ Topic

By this point, you should have around 16 subtitles that you want to include in your EPQ essay . 16 subtitles will give you a nice 300 word per subtitle guide, give or take a few.

Any more subtitles, and you run the risk of overcomplicating your EPQ. Any fewer, and you’ll struggle to reach that gargantuan 5000 word count.

It’s essential that you break down your EPQ essay into smaller modules like this, to make it easier for you in the long term. 16 subtitles will mean the best productivity for you when you actually come to write your EPQ essay .

The next step is to order your subtitles, for easier reading. You’ll want to make the layout of your subtitles as sensible and as easy to follow as possible for your examiner .

If you please your examiner like this, they’ll be more inclined to give you more marks. They mark you on your written communication, and therefore you’ll want to make sure you’re communicating the most effective way.

Try ordering your subtitles by the order of most important to least important . Laying out your subtitles this way will show your examiner that you’ve really thought about your EPQ and understand what they want to see.

Alternatively, you could lay out your subtitles chronologically . What I mean by this is that you start with your question, move onto research, then explanations, and finally a conclusion.

This is probably the best way to lay out your EPQ essay subtitles . It’s the easiest way to follow the process you went through, and examiners like to see EPQ essays that are laid out like this.

It’s how I laid my EPQ essay subtitles out, and I got an A* – so I’d suggest doing the same.

6. Allocate A Word Count To Each Element Of Your EPQ Structure

You’ll want an introductory paragraph to start with, and that should only take about 200-300 words . Don’t go overboard with your introduction, as you should aim to make the bulk of your essay about your EPQ question.

I’ve already mentioned it, but you want to write about 300 words per subtitle . This is the perfect amount of words to write if you want the EPQ essay to go as smoothly as possible.

16 subtitles at 300 words each will put you at just under 5000 words – 4800, to be exact. That will leave you just enough room to add a short introduction too.

You can go for less subtitles, but that means a higher word count for each individual subtitle . If you make your word count per subtitle too high, then you’ll struggle when it comes to actually writing your EPQ essay.

You could also try more subtitles if you want, but that then means you’d write less per subtitle . That means there’s less room for all your explanation, and less marks when you hand it in.

I’d recommend keeping your subtitle count between 14 and 18 . That way you give yourself the best chances of your EPQ being easier to write.

You also make it easier for you to enjoy, too. Making your EPQ essay subtitles this long means you’ll find it easier and less monotonous, and therefore you’ll enjoy it more.

The word count of each element in your EPQ essay has an impact on your productivity and focus, too . Generally, the shorter the piece of writing you have to do, the more productive you’ll be.

Setting yourself short-term goals like this will help you stay focused and make your EPQ that little bit better. It’s worth setting effective word counts for your EPQ essay elements for those extra marks .

7. Research, Research ( And A Little Bit More Research )

Research should make up about 40%-50% of your total EPQ essay . That’s a lot of research, and you can see from this figure that quality research is crucial to your success.

The reason research takes up so much space is because you need to explore all opportunities within your question. Research will help you develop ideas and improve your knowledge of the subject, helping you to better answer your EPQ essay question.

And besides, who doesn’t want help reaching the massive 5000 word count?

There are many ways to research, with the most common being the internet, and books . Both ways of researching are valid and useful, but you still need to be careful.

Especially with the internet, you may come across facts and information that isn’t entirely accurate. This is because anybody can access anything, and usually the information you see online is edited by people who aren’t professionals.

Try to stay away from websites like Wikipedia, where anybody can change the information you see . There are much better alternatives out there, like Google Scholar for example.

Whereas with books, they have to go through a long-winded process to ensure they’re accurate . Books tend to be slightly more reliable than the internet, especially if they have an ‘exam-board approved’ label on them.

I’d also recommend keeping track of all the sources of your information, as you’ll have to write a bibliography at the end of your EPQ .

What that basically means is that you have to reference each individual source of information after you’ve written your EPQ essay. That’s just so examiners can check to see if you’re plagiarising any content, in case you were wondering.

8. Check That Your EPQ Structure Still Makes Sense

You should have around 16 subtitles ready to go, in chronological order or order of importance . I’d suggest chronological order, but that’s up to you.

You should also have space to add an introduction and conclusion paragraphs . They shouldn’t take up too much space, but still leave some room for you to add them in.

You’ll actually want to wait until the end of your EPQ essay to write either of these paragraphs, so it might help to add placeholders until you get to writing them.

Around 7 of your subtitles should be based on research . You’ll want to leave yourself a nice amount of in-depth research, whilst also allowing room for all that explanation.

If you don’t give the right proportions for your research and explanation subtitles, your EPQ can become lopsided. Examiners will easily spot this and take away precious marks.

You’ll want your conclusion to be longer than your introduction, as you’re essentially summing up all that you’ve written . Your conclusion should be about the same size as your subtitles, but maybe just a little bit bigger.

If all else fails, just read through your structure and think about it from an examiners’ point of view. Does it all make sense? Are the subtitles in a sensible order? Have you left space for your introduction and conclusion paragraphs?

If you reckon you’ve got all these elements in the right order and the right sizes, you should be good to go. Just keep a clear focus on your EPQ essay question, and you can’t go wrong.

9 . Write Down The Answers To Each Of Your Subtitles

Start with your subtitles to get the main bulk of your EPQ essay underway . The quicker you get your subtitles done, the sooner you can finish your EPQ.

Starting your subtitles first is a good idea, as they make up most of your EPQ. You’ll want to get them done first, and then you have time after that to work on the finer details.

As I’ve said, your subtitles should be around 300 words long . This will allow you just enough space to answer the subtitle, without repeating yourself or going overboard.

If you go too far over 300 words, you risk either repeating yourself or just extending your points so much that your words become empty. Empty words = no marks, which is what you definitely don’t want.

If you don’t write 300 words, the points you make are likely to be underdeveloped. This means you can’t get into the top band of marks no matter how good what you’re saying is – there’s just simply not enough of it.

Of course, if you think you can express yourself in more or less than 300 words, go for it . Everybody’s different, and some people have better writing skills than others.

The amount of words you write per subtitle can also depend on how many subtitles you have . If you have less subtitles, you write more words per subtitle, and vice versa – simple maths.

Try to explore every possibility within your subtitle. The more routes you go down and the further the detail you go into, the more marks you’ll get from the examiner.

10 . Write The Introduction And Conclusion Paragraphs

Your introduction paragraph needs to be slightly shorter than your average subtitle paragraph . Usually about 200-300 words, the introduction will basically talk about what’s to come in your EPQ essay.

If you make your introduction too long, you waste space that you might need for your research/explanations. You also take up space that could be used for your conclusion, which is very important.

It’s a good idea to write your introduction paragraph after you’ve written all of your subtitles . It may sound odd, but there’s method to the madness.

If you write your introductory paragraph last, it’ll be a lot more accurate than if you’d have done it at the start. You’ll know exactly what’s in your EPQ, and therefore your introduction can accurately ‘introduce’ your essay .

Your conclusion paragraph should be slightly longer than your average subtitle, and definitely longer than your introduction . I’d say about 400 words, your conclusion should sum up everything you’ve talked about in your EPQ essay.

Your conclusion should essentially answer the question you asked at the start of your EPQ essay. You should aim to include everything you talked about in your other subtitles (that’s why it’s a little bit longer).

You’ll obviously want to write your conclusion paragraph after everything else, or you’ll have nothing to conclude. Once you get on to your conclusion, you’re on the home stretch.

11. Get Someone To Proof Read It To Make Sure There Are No Errors

Proof reading your EPQ essay is so, so, SO important to your success . If you don’t proof read your EPQ essay, you may miss some pretty crucial mistakes…

I’m not just talking about the spelling mistakes you may have made (although you might want to fix those too). I mean the mistakes where you contradict yourself, go off topic, or even just get your facts wrong.

I’m sure I don’t need to explain it, but these mistakes will cost you dearly when your EPQ gets examined . Sometimes just a few marks can be the difference between an A and an A*, so you need to maximize your chances of success.

A good way to ensure your EPQ essay is perfect is to get someone else to look through it. Having a second opinion ensures that everything you’ve written is accurate and concise, and it’s better than just checking through it yourself.

If you rely on your own methods of checking through your work, you’re more likely to miss mistakes . Having a fresh perspective on your work broadens the chances of catching every mistake you make.

It doesn’t matter who you get to check your work . You can ask friends, family, or even your teachers/tutor – just get it proof read before you send it off to be marked .

If you need to check through it for spelling mistakes or wording issues, there’s a handy little trick I used for my EPQ essay. Paste your entire essay into google translate, and have it read out to you .

That way you can listen and check for anything that’s not quite right, and sort it out in time for your EPQ essay to be examined.

Thanks so much for the help !

This is so, so helpful, thanks so much!

How many resources should I have for my EPQ?

20-25 should be the right number

Hi, thanks for the cool tips! I will definitely keep it for myself

Hello, thanks for the cool advice, but the most difficult thing for me is 1 point – to think through the topic itself. Therefore, already at the first stage, I give up and turn to the college essay writing service. This service helped me more than once or twice. My friends also use it. Also, it is difficult for me to create a mental map, which is in point 2. Therefore, I would rather spend my writing time on purposes that are useful to me.

This is so useful! I have been working on my EPQ over the past few weeks and have had a few big quandries about how I should go about forming an answer to my question and this has made it much clearer. Thank you!

Save £500 when you enrol by 30th September! T&C’s apply

• A Complete Guide to the EPQ | Oxford Royale Summer Schools

The time for you to apply to university is fast approaching, and you may be starting to think about how you’re going to make your university application that little bit more eye-catching. If you have the prospect of a long summer stretching before you and you have no other plans, why not use the summer months to give yourself the best chance of a successful university application? In this article, we introduce you to one way of doing this: the Extended Project Qualification, or EPQ. You may not have heard of it, but we’re going to show you that there are lots of reasons why it’s worth considering.

What is the EPQ?

The Extended Project Qualification, or EPQ, is offered by many schools, and it’s a standalone qualification that’s a bit like a mini-thesis. You’re allowed to choose whatever topic you like – it doesn’t even have to be related to your A-levels – so it’s about as flexible as you can get. It’s unlikely to be included in your university offer, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a respected qualification; it’s certainly no General Studies. Most people start their EPQ over the summer between AS and A2 levels.

What do you have to do to get an EPQ?

You’ll need to register for the EPQ through your school, assuming they offer it. Once you’ve chosen your topic (more on that later), your task is to conduct detailed academic research into that topic. You then have two options: 1. You write a 5,000 word report. 2. You create a ‘production’ or ‘artefact’ and write a 1,000 word report.

Why bother with the EPQ?

So why bother with it, when you already have A-levels to worry about? Well, at a time when it’s increasingly difficult to make your university application stand out, what’s needed is a qualification that highlights the academic skills that admissions tutors are looking for. The EPQ is just such a means of proving that you have talent in the very same areas needed to succeed at university. It’s an academic exercise that has direct relevance to the way in which you’re likely to study once you get to university, as it involves conducting research, just as you would for a university thesis. It’s also a great talking point on your personal statement and in university interviews, demonstrating your enthusiasm for the subject and giving you the chance to show off your knowledge of a particular area of the discipline. As well as the obvious research skills the EPQ helps you develop and demonstrate, it has many additional benefits, as it confers on you a range of other useful skills and demonstrates your suitability for undergraduate study in numerous ways. These advantages include:

• It helps you develop the ability to conduct your own, self-directed programme of study. You’ll be planning your own work, and nobody is going to be there to tell you what to do (though you’ll have a supervisor who’ll be able to give you rough pointers).
• It shows you to be self-motivated, as you’ll need to have the discipline to see your project to fruition – even though it’s the summer and you’ll have plenty of distractions.
• It demonstrates that you have the initiative to pursue your own academic interests. Admissions tutors will love this, because that’s exactly the initiative you’ll need at university.
• It develops your knowledge of your subject beyond the A-level syllabus. This gives you a deeper understanding of the subject and places you at an advantage over those who’ve merely done the A-level.
• It teaches you how to make use of different research materials, not just A-level textbooks. You’ll learn how to use a library for research, and get used to the idea of writing footnotes and bibliographies, which you’ll have to do at university.

What’s more, it doesn’t just help you with applying to university; it’s a satisfying thing to do for your own sake, simply because it allows you to explore a subject you find interesting, in depth. Leaving aside the fact that you’ll come out with an extra qualification, it’s learning for learning’s sake, and you can revel in the fact that you can devote your time to studying something you genuinely find interesting. This will probably make a refreshing change from the classroom, in which there will inevitably be subjects forced upon you that you’d rather not bother with.

What kind of things can I study for my EPQ?

The beauty of the EPQ is that you decide what you study. Of course, in view of the fact that you’re applying to university, it would make sense to select a topic that ties in with the subject you’re planning to study at university (hopefully you’ve decided this by now!). Below you’ll find some guidance on how to choose what to study and whether to choose the longer thesis or the ‘production’ option.

Choosing your topic for a 5,000 word report

When you can choose pretty much any topic you want, it can be difficult to figure out what to do. It makes sense to choose a subject that’s related to what you’re aiming to study at university, as this is an extra way of demonstrating your enthusiasm for the subject, and the fact that you possess the research skills needed to excel in it. It’s also a good way of keeping your mind active and thinking about your future university subject over the summer, ready to write a brilliant personal statement come the start of the new school year. The topic can’t be too broad, or else you don’t stand a chance of doing the topic justice; for example, there would be far too much to cover if you chose the First World War (as a whole) as your topic. A much narrower research focus is needed, to allow you to explore one aspect of a bigger topic in plenty of depth. For example, in the First World War example, you’d stand a better chance with a very specific aspect of the war, such as the Christmas truce, or the Zeppelin attacks on England, or the role of a specific type of aircraft, such as the Sopwith Camel. To give you another example, let’s say you were aiming to study music at university. Trying to address an entire period of classical music, such as the Baroque period, might be a bit of a tall order in a 5,000 word thesis. Even picking the life and works of a famous Baroque composer, such as Bach, might be quite an undertaking. But you could find a lesser-known Baroque composer to research and write about, about whom less is generally known. Or you could research a particular (unusual/antique) instrument and the works written for it during the Baroque period. You could even look into the different kinds of venues used for musical performances during the Baroque period. Ultimately, you’ll need to come up with a specific research question to give direction to your research. For example, taking the Sopwith Camel example above, your question might be “To what extent did the Sopwith Camel shape the outcome of the First World War?” Your question will need to be approved before you can start work.

Choosing your production or artefact

If the thought of writing a 5,000 word report fills you with dread, your alternative is to choose a production or artefact instead. You’ll still need to produce a written report to accompany it, but it’s much shorter, at 1,000 words. What you can do for this is just as flexible as the longer report option. Here are a few examples:

• A musical performance or recording
• A mobile phone app
• A piece of software
• A short film
• A short story
• A model of something
• A piece of art
• An invention
• A charity event
• A fashion show

Ideally, if you’re applying to university, you would choose something that’s in some way related to your future university course. For instance, if you were going to be studying art, then a piece of art would make sense as your chosen EPQ project. A short story would tie in nicely with English Literature, while a musical performance would demonstrate your capabilities in music if that’s what you’re aiming to study at university. Your future career aims may also lead you more towards this option rather than the 5,000 word report, as you can use your project to build up relevant experience for your CV. For example, if you want to go into the fashion industry, then organising a fashion show is an obvious fit. If your ambition is to work for a charity, organising a charity event will be invaluable experience as well as giving you an extra qualification. The benefits of the EPQ, then, go far beyond simply having an extra piece of paper to add to your collection of certificates.

Conducting the research

This may be your first big piece of academic research, so you may be wondering where on earth to start with such an undertaking. You will have a supervisor who’ll be able to teach you the skills you need and point you in the right direction. Some general tips for conducting effective academic research may come in useful. For example, try to make use of as many different resources as you can when you’re conducting your research, including primary and secondary sources, books in the library, the internet, and so on. As you go along, keep a bibliography and record everything you’ve read, including specific page numbers. Be critical of your own methodologies in collecting data, if that’s what you’re doing, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of your methods. These are things you’ll need to get used to thinking about when you go to university, so the EPQ is an excellent warm-up.

How is the EPQ marked?

You’ll need to get a grade between A* and E in order to be awarded the EPQ – anything lower than an E means you don’t get the qualification, so it’s slightly different from A-levels in that respect. Looking at the AQA Specification, there are a number of ‘assessment objectives’ used to decide your final grade, the weighting of which is divided up as follows:

• Manage – 20%. This covers your ability to come up with a project idea and plan how you’re going to achieve it, using “a range of skills, strategies and methods to achieve objectives.”
• Use Resources – 20%. This covers the research phase and how well you’re able to select, organise and deploy relevant information. It also looks at your ability to analyse data, including your ability to see the connections between things you’ve observed, and your appreciation of the “complexities of the topic”.
• Develop and Realise – 40%. This aspect means how well you’re able to carry out your project and see it to fruition, using a range of appropriate skills and technologies.
• Review – 20%. This means how well you evaluate every aspect of your project, such as whether you’ve achieved your objectives, and how well you’ve performed throughout the project. It also reflects your ability to “Select and use a range of communication skills and media to present evidenced project outcomes and conclusions in an appropriate format.”

The mark scheme makes it sound scarier than it is, as mark schemes always do. But if you’re looking for an interesting project to get your teeth into, you can’t do much better than the EPQ thanks to the excellent preparation it gives you for thinking like an undergraduate. It’s a fair bit of work, but the rewards – both in terms of university preparation and personal enjoyment – make it more than worth the effort.

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How to Approach EPQ Research (EPQ Advice #3)

Thursday 25 july 2024, applicant, sponsored articles ucas media service, make the most of your open day, how to find a job, five reasons to sign up to the ucas newsletter.

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What is the A-level extended project? 

Does the extended project count as an a-level , is it hard to get an a in epq .

• Is A-level 3 extended project an AS-level? 

Do Unis care about EPQ? 

Does oxbridge care about epq .

• Does the EPQ give UCAS points? And can you get an A* in EPQ? 

Can you get into uni with 2 A-levels and an EPQ? And does EPQ lower entry requirements? 

Can you fail an epq , is an epq harder than an as-level , is an epq really worth it or is epq a waste of time .

• How many UCAS points is A* A*A *? 

What are good topics for EPQ? 

What are the benefits of epq .

• How many hours a week is EPQ? 

Can you do EPQ in Year 13? 

How many hours a week should i spend on my epq .

• Do you have to write 5000 words for the EPQ?

Can you write a book for EPQ? 

Can you use first person in epq .

The A-level extended project qualification (also known as the EPQ) is an A-level standard standalone qualification designed to develop a person’s abilities beyond what is offered by the A-levels syllabus . The EPQ aims to demonstrate skills which will help the candidate’s application for university or a job. 

The EPQ is worth up to 28 UCAS points (which is equivalent to half of an A-Level). 

The EPQ is an independent student-led project. This means that students get to plan and conduct their research however they like. The only condition is that the topic they choose can not be covered by their other qualifications. They need to think outside the box! 

Students will have to write an essay of 5,000 words or present an object, artefact or performance with a shorter report. 

According to the AQA website (AQA is one of the exam boards which offers the EPQ), the EPQ gives a student the chance to take responsibility for the choice, design and decision making of an individual project (or an individual role in a group project). Students: 

• develop critical thinking and independent learning skills
• demonstrate their creative and self-starter qualities
• grow planning, research, and presentation skills
• practice decision-making and problem-solving
• advance technology expertise

Undertaking an EPQ can also deliver other benefits for students, such as:

• improved A-level performance for students taking EPQ
• increasing student motivation by allowing them to study topics of personal interest
• enabling students to apply their new skills to other areas of study.

The OCR website provides an example EPQ project which might be useful to look at. 

The EPQ counts as half of an A-level. This means that you get EPQ UCAS points. Doing an EPQ boosts your UCAS credits which means that you can apply for university even if your A-level grades are slightly below the university’s entry requirements. Don’t forget that sometimes retaking A-levels can be a winning solution . 

Instead of viewing the EPQ as an A-level, try and look at it like an A-level booster pack! If you get straight A*s then the EPQ can make you stand out against someone who hasn’t. 

This question really depends on each student. Some people find it easy to get top marks in the EPQ and others find it more of a challenge. 

Take a look at the specifications of the EPQ very carefully. If you follow the marking scheme, it is much easier to know what to do to get top marks. This way you can also see if the EPQ is a good fit for you in terms of learning style. 

Remember that each exam board has different specifications for the EPQ. These are all the different exam boards’ EPQ specification guidelines in one place. 😇

• AQA EPQ specification
• Edexcel EPQ specification
• OCR EPQ specification
• WJEC EPQ specification
• ASDAN EPQ specification      

Our GoStudent Tutors can help you prepare for your EPQ by giving you some one-to-one tutoring to target your topic and subject! 

Is a level 3 extended project an AS-level? 

If you want to make this a points system, technically an EPQ outranks an AS qualification. An A* in your EPQ will count as up to 28 UCAS points while an A* in an AS-level subject will only count for 20 UCAS points. 

An AS-level is the qualification you get below a full A-level. A full A-level counts for 56 UCAS points! 

If you want a full breakdown of what different qualifications are worth in terms of UCAS points, have a look at the UCAS points breakdown which includes the IB, BTEC, Scottish Highers, and Welsh Baccalaureate. 

One of the big questions people often have about anything extra-curricular is: do universities care? The answer is: yes, they do! 

Universities want good candidates. They want students who can think outside of the box, take the initiative, and people who have the motivation to work hard. The EPQ is designed to showcase all of these things and universities rate them very highly. 

It is important to say that some universities don’t value them as much as others. But, at the end of the day, having an extra qualification won’t ever work against you! 

As with all things, you have to balance what you gain against what it costs. There are many people who argue that the time and energy dedicated to doing an EPQ can be better spent elsewhere. But that is down to the individual and what they think they are capable of. 

If you’re thinking about which university to choose, have a look through our guide for choosing the right university for you. 

Both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford recognise the EPQ for undergraduate applications. The University of Oxford says:

“Where applicants have undertaken the EPQ, this will not be a condition of any offer but the University recognises that the EPQ will provide an applicant with the opportunity to develop research and academic skills relevant for study at Oxford. Candidates are encouraged to draw upon relevant EPQ experience when writing their personal statement.”

This means that your EPQ will not be ‘make or break’ for your university application, but it will benefit your application overall and you should definitely mention it in your personal statement . 

So Oxford is a kind of ‘yes’, but how does Cambridge (some argue the better uni) 😉 look at EPQ? The University of Cambridge says, 

“We welcome the EPQ and would encourage applicants to take one as it will help to develop independent study and research skills valuable for higher education.”

So both Oxbridge universities recognise and appreciate the EPQ. 🥳

If you are considering applying to Oxbridge, then we suggest you read our handy article on how to apply to Oxford and Cambridge . 

Does the EPQ give UCAS points? And can you get an A* in EPQ?

Yes, you get EPQ UCAS points. Your EPQ will be graded between A* - E. The higher the grade you get the more UCAS points your EPQ will be worth (which is the same for your A-level qualifications). 

Here is a breakdown of what EPQ grade is worth how many UCAS points: 

You can theoretically get into university with two A-levels and an EPQ, but it’s not advised. We suggest that you do all 3 A-levels and then do an EPQ on top of it. If you replace an A-level with an EPQ, then your number of UCAS points is impacted.

Remember, universities don’t just look at UCAS points. There are ways to get into uni without A-levels ! 

If you didn’t quite meet your university’s entry requirements with A-levels alone, but you have some EPQ UCAS points, then that university may well take that into consideration.

If you need a bit of help with your A-levels studies, remember that it is never too late to sign up for some one-to-one tutoring with one of our specially selected GoStudent Tutors . 

Sadly, as with most qualifications, you can indeed fail the EPQ.

If you do not meet the necessary criteria to get an E grade, you will be awarded a U, which stands for unclassified. This indicates the student has failed the EPQ. 

Follow our advice above and research the EPQ specification and mark scheme for your examination body. You will have a better understanding of what is required for success with an EPQ.

This depends on each student and where their academic strengths and motivations lie. Students that benefit from a structured learning approach may find the EPQ harder than an AS-level.

On the other hand, students who prefer to set their own learning goals and are comfortable with time management are more likely to find success with an EPQ.

As with all qualifications, the EPQ is what you make of it. If you don’t work hard and you get a low score, then it may well feel like a waste of time. If you don’t choose to study something meaningful to you, it will be a long and arduous process. 

The idea behind the EPQ is that you get to choose something that you are passionate about, and you use that to showcase your ability to excel independently. 

According to an article in London Local, the long-term benefit of an EPQ is that it shows “future employers that you’re a self-motivated character with useful skills”.

This suggests that the value of the EPQ is not only in applying for university, but also in giving you experiences which will help you after uni. 

How many UCAS points is A* A* A*? 

An A* is worth 56 UCAS points, so if you manage to get an impressive three A*s at A-level, you have racked up a grand total of 168 UCAS points. 

If you got three A*s at A-level and also an A* in your EPQ you will have 196 UCAS points. That is a UCAS score universities can’t ignore. 😏

There is a wide range of topics that are suitable for an EPQ. However, it all boils down to finding a topic that you are interested in, won’t get tired of, and you can delve into significant detail with. 

AQA advises that you ‘focus on a topic that's interesting and may not be available through other qualifications’.

It is also a good idea to consider a topic which bears some relation to what you want to study at university. 

Once you have chosen a general area that interests you, you need to focus even deeper on a specific part of that topic. The idea is that your EPQ should be unique and there shouldn’t be too many people writing about it. You will need to become an expert! 

There are many benefits to doing an EPQ. As well as gaining UCAS points, and having something to put on your personal statement , the EPQ gives you important transferable skills such as independent research and critical thinking. 

Ignoring UCAS and university applications, if you throw yourself into your EPQ, it can be an amazing experience. 

You have around six months to complete your EPQ (that is around 130 week days). The AQA website suggests that students should spend 120 hours on their EPQ – this includes brainstorming, planning, researching, and writing. 

This means that, if you spend around an hour every working day on your EPQ, you’ll have more than enough time. Undertaking an EPQ is a big commitment. You will have a supervisor who you will probably meet with on a regular basis. 

It is very important that you plan ahead and don’t leave it all to the last minute. 

In theory, you can do your EPQ at any stage of your education. Usually, people begin thinking about it in year 12, and spend the summer before year 13 doing their preliminary research. 

If you want to do an EPQ in year 13, you should talk with your school beforehand to make sure they’re happy to support you with it.  

Do you have to write 5000 words for EPQ? 

Usually, people write 5,000 words for their EPQ. If you present an artefact, then your report should be a minimum of 1,000 words. 

Many people think that using an artefact is easier, but it can be just as challenging. If you have an artefact, you need to have a very clear and cohesive report which justifies your project.

Yes! You can write a book for your EPQ. The only thing that we advise before you embark on this mammoth task, is to acknowledge the scope of the project. You will need to be realistic about time requirements. Your book will count as your artefact and will still need a report to accompany it. 

Academia has become more inclusive of different writing styles. Most universities (including Cambridge), say that it is perfectly acceptable to write academic essays in the first person. So if it’s good enough for the University of Cambridge it is probably good enough for your EPQ. 

We hope that our article has given you some useful information on the EPQ and how you should approach it. Remember, our website is full of useful articles about A-levels published by our wonderful GoStudent experts. Check out the exams section of our blog for more A-level content. 

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EPQs: why give a presentation?

What are the guidelines for the presentation?

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is an opportunity for you to work independently on a topic that really interests you or that you think is important. It is equivalent to an A-level qualification. These articles are designed to help you if you are enrolled on an EPQ.

See previous article in series: Writing up your dissertation

Why give a presentation?

Giving a presentation on the results of your work is a requirement for the EPQ. You are asked to:

• show evidence of how you approached and carried out the EPQ
• give an overview of the research you conducted.

There can be many reasons for giving a presentation. You might want to start a discussion, persuade others to share your opinion, analyse some evidence, share information, inspire people to do something, communicate an idea, teach a topic, learn something, show what you’ve been working on ...

The purpose of the presentation affects the content you include and the style you choose to use. 

Who’s in your audience and what do they want from your presentation ?

A presentation is a two-way activity. Thinking about your audience and developing a rapport with them keeps people engaged with what you’re saying or doing. 

Very often, a presentation will include a space for audience questions or discussion. If you have kept your audience engaged throughout your presentation, their questions will be more closely related to the content, making it easier for you to answer.

• Thinking about your audience
• Starting your presentation
• The EPQ audience

Starting your preparation by thinking about your audience – who they are, what they want, what they are interested in, what they like, what they don’t like – will help bring them to life in your mind.

You can imagine their characters and personalities, their interests and responses. You don’t have to think about the life story of everyone in the audience – this is about broad descriptions. But thinking about the audience means that when you are creating your presentation, you are doing it with people in mind, helping you craft a presentation that engages them as much as possible.

As an example, look at the two people in Figure 2 (or read the description) and write down five words to describe them.

How did you describe them? You might have come up with: 

• girl, writing, young, computer, relaxed, t-shirt
• man, banjo, musician, outdoors, beard

How can you use this description?

Think about starting your presentation .

If you think your audience is likely to be people like the young female writer, you could start with a (relevant!) quote from your favourite writer. For an audience of people that like to make music, you could include a piece of music that relates to your work.

Think about the content of your presentation. If you are presenting to a group of painters, you’d want to use lots of images. If you were presenting to very young children, you’d probably want to include some activities they could join in.

For example, Nisha, a researcher, gave a presentation at a science festival on the topic of ‘the future of space in society’. She characterised her audience as: 

• more than 16 years old
• knowledgeable
• interested in the future

What does this mean for how she structured her presentation? Because she imagined her audience as  adults , it’s likely she would have been comfortable discussing quite difficult topics and using complex language.

Thinking of them as  knowledgeable  means she would have been prepared for some interesting, and possibly tricky questions.

Visualising them as  interested in the future  means she would have included some material on new developments in research, and thought about the kind of questions they might ask about future work.

Who is the audience for your presentation?

For the EPQ, your audience is likely to be your fellow students and your teachers. These are probably people you know well, and who know each other well.

• What five words could you use to describe them?

What are the guidelines for the presentation ?

It’s always a good idea to know the guidelines for your presentation.

It’s helpful to have a few basic issues sorted out before you start preparing your presentation.

How long should your presentation be? Do you have to include time for discussion after the presentation or is that separate? 

For EPQ presentations, different exam boards have different specifications about timing and format, so check the guidelines for the exam board you are studying with. A typical guideline might be that you should present for ten minutes, followed by five minutes for questions and discussion.

What equipment do you need?

Will it be provided or will you have to take your own? 

Do you or the audience have specific needs that you should accommodate? 

For example, you might be asked to use a microphone because someone in the audience has hearing problems. What kind of microphone will this be? One fixed to a stand or one you carry in your hand? How will using the microphone affect your planned presentation style? If it’s a fixed microphone, and you planned to move about while you present, you might have to change some elements of your presentation.

Where will you be giving the presentation? What kind of layout will the room have? How will this affect your presentation?

For example, will the audience be seated in rows (like a theatre), around a table (like people in a café), in an informal circle, or some other arrangement? Is the room layout fixed or can you re-arrange it to suit your presentation?

Who will be in the audience?

If you have read the previous section, you’ll have thought about this and how you can create a presentation that will appeal to them.

How many people will be in the audience? 

This matters if you are planning to share handouts or ask people to look at visual aids or physical objects. You don’t want to have too few, but you don’t want to waste resources by preparing too much.

There are many different ways to present, so which kind of presentation should you choose? That depends on the kind of project you have done and the material you are presenting. 

Every format has advantages and disadvantages. You will want to choose the format that works best for you and your work.  Some common examples are:

Face-to-face oral presentation

Sometimes simply talking is enough. Telling your story directly to the listeners, with no distractions, is very compelling.

Oral presentation with visual aids

If you want to include evidence such as graphs, charts or images, using visual aids to support your presentation is helpful. Visual aids include presentation software (such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Prezi or Apple Keynote), wall displays, large posters or printed handouts.

Video presentation

You could choose to make a short video documenting your work. This allows people to look at or listen to the presentation in their own time.

This style of presentation is very appropriate for a project in which you have created an artefact or run an experiment and you need to show the whole process. 

There’s more information about giving your presentation  later in this article.

Structuring your presentation .

There will be a time limit on your presentation, so you should plan your presentation to be sure that you cover everything you need to.

• How many slides?

One way to allocate the time for the different sections is to think about the proportions you used for the dissertation.

Check out the previous article in this series ‘Writing up your dissertation’  for more info.

Introduction – 1 minute – why this question:

• the question you set out to answer
• why this question matters (perhaps to you, to your audience, to other people).

Review – 3 minutes – the evidence you found:

• a summary of how you carried out your research
• an overview of the evidence you found.

In three minutes, you probably won’t have time to cover all your evidence, so pick out the key points that are most important for you to explain.

If the audience knows there’s more you haven’t had time to say, they will be able to ask you questions about it.

Discussion – 5 minutes – why it matters:

• a summary of your key findings
• evidence for and against your question
• what the evidence means – how it helped you answer your question.

Again, in five minutes, you’ll only really have time to focus on the key points, so think carefully about what they are and which ones you want to present.

Conclusion – 1 minute – the answer:

• the answer your evidence has led you to
• the key message you want your audience to take away from your presentation.

How many slides should you make for your presentation? The most important thing to think about is how much time you have. Ann, who is a lecturer in astrobiology education and also teaches science communication, discusses this issue.

What are her suggestions?

When you’re thinking about creating the slides for a presentation, there’s a couple of good rules of thumb to remember. One is to stick to one idea per slide. 

And the other is that it takes approximately two minutes to present a slide. So for a ten-minute presentation, you’re looking at maybe five slides. 

If you divide them up roughly the same way as you divide the presentation itself, that will be one slide for the question, another slide to review the evidence that you found, perhaps a couple of slides on your discussion and analysis and one slide on the conclusion. 

You can have a top and tail. It’s good to have a slide at the beginning with the name of your talk on it, and your name. This is a good one to have on display at the beginning, while people are settling down and getting comfortable. You can also have a closing slide that you can leave up to cover the question time.

Ann’s summary

If you plan to use presentation software, it’s tempting to cram in lots of slides, because you’ve done a lot of work and you want to share it all. However, your audience will need time to absorb the material you are presenting on your slides. If you have text, they need to be able to read it; if you have images, they need to be able to take in all the details. Good communication practice suggests that you should present one idea per slide, and that it takes roughly two minutes to present one slide. So for the example outlined in Table 1, that would mean:

• Introduction – one slide.
• Review – one or two slides.
• Discussion – two or three slides.
• Conclusion – one slide.

That’s approximately five to seven slides for a ten-minute presentation, with perhaps an additional opening slide to introduce yourself and a closing slide to cover the question time (Figure 7).

Using presentation software (such as PowerPoint, Prezi or Keynote) is probably the most common way of creating a presentation, but it’s worth taking a moment to decide whether this is the most appropriate route for the topic, the presentation and you.

• Should I use presentation software?
• Making it readable
• Using images

If you do decide to use presentation software, following a few simple guidelines will help keep your presentation interesting and impactful. When deciding, think about:

What’s best for your content?

• do you have a lot of images? (useful)  
• are there graphs and charts? (useful) 
• is it all text? (not so useful)

What’s best for your audience?

• how old are they?
• what are they interested in?
• where are you giving the presentation – small room, large theatre, in the dark, in artificial light?

What’s best for you?

• what skills do you have – can you draw really good images or take great photographs? 
• can you sum up complex ideas in a few interesting words?

A good rule of thumb is to aim for presentation slides to be readable from 2.5m away.

Don’t try to crowd too much onto a slide. Aim for your text or images to take up no more than half the area of the slide. Keeping a good margin of white space around the content makes images easier to understand and text easier to read.

Using a widescreen (16:9) format for your slides gives you a larger area to work on, which means your images can be bigger and the text size can be larger.

Compelling and relevant images that are easy to understand will hold the audience’s attention and support your storytelling.

In Figure 9, it’s easy to see that the young women are sharing their thoughts by writing on a large sheet of paper. We can speculate that some of them might be mothers, as there are young children and babies in the photo.

Compare that with the image in Figure 10. It’s not very clear – there’s some open water, a flock of pink birds that are possibly flamingos and a shoreline beyond them. It’s not easy to work out what the subject is: is it the water, the flamingos or the land on the horizon? If you used this photo, you would have to explain what to look for. That means the photo isn’t doing its job of enhancing your presentation.

Where to find images

If you have your own photos, drawings or images, that’s ideal, because they will represent your work most clearly. As the creator of the image, you own the  copyright , so you can use the image in whatever way you want.

As  discussed in our ‘Writing up your dissertation’ article, you should never try to pass off someone else’s work as your own. This applies to photos and images as well as text.

If you choose to use images created by other people, look for images that are in the public domain or have a Creative Commons licence, and in your presentation, include text that acknowledges where the image came from. Websites such as Pixabay or rawPixel offer lots of usable images, with full details of how you should acknowledge the creators. If you’re using Google Images, you can also click on ‘Tools’ and then adjust the ‘Usage Rights’ settings to search for re-usable material.

Using tables, graphs and charts

Presentation software, posters or handouts are excellent for showing tables, graphs and charts that illustrate your findings. When creating your presentation, you can re-use graphs and charts that you created for your dissertation.

For more information, see  Article 1: ‘Writing up your dissertation – Tables, graphs and charts’ .

Less is definitely more when it comes to text on slides. Compare these two slides – which is easier to read and understand?

The first slide is much better. It has a pale grey background with five lines of black text, with a few words highlighted in orange.  The second slide has a large image of a woodland as the background, with approximately 25 lines of white text. The text is almost unreadable.

Good communication practice suggests using:

• a maximum of  9   lines  of text on a slide
• a maximum of  10   words  per line
• an  easy-to-read  font; preferably sans serif (common sans serif fonts include arial, helvetica and calibri)
• large font  sizes; ideally 36-point text for titles; 30-point and 24-point for body text
• black text on pale grey (or pale yellow or blue) background; good contrast between background and text is best for people with dyslexia and vision problems. Avoid stark white backgrounds, as the shininess can cause problems
• colours  (up to five) for contrast and highlighting.

Giving your presentation .

We can learn a lot by watching and listening to other people give presentations, picking up from their good points and learning from what doesn’t go so well.

• Good presentations
• And not so good presentations
• Preparing to present – practising 

What’s the best presentation you’ve ever watched online or been to? Perhaps you have a teacher whose style you admire, or you’ve been to a public lecture or talk that included presentations. What made them so good?

If nothing comes to mind, watch this presentation on   The networked beauty of forests   from the  TED-Ed  community to get your thinking started. The presentation lasts about six minutes.

As you watch, consider anything about it that appeals to you. What are its good points?

You might have come up with ideas such as:

• a  title  that grabs your attention
• clear and relevant  images ,  graphs  and  tables
• use of relevant pieces of  video , audio  or  music
• speakers who look like they really  care  about the subject
• speakers who keep up a  good pace , not going too slowly but not rushing either
• being able to  hear the speaker  clearly
• being able to  see the content  clearly.

You probably came up with some other thoughts. How can you incorporate these ideas into your presentation?

Most of us have sat through presentations that weren’t very good. What problems did they have?

Watch this video , which was produced by Keele University, and use the bingo card below to identify some of the common mistakes made in presentations.

You probably spotted more problems than were included on the bingo card!

Of course, this was a deliberately bad presentation, but it gives us some clues about errors we can easily avoid. Sometimes speakers do things that irritate the audience because they’re nervous – people jangle keys in their pocket, chew their hair or constantly fiddle with a pen. Sometimes people don’t feel well-prepared so they read from a script, or they say ‘um’ or ‘er’ or ‘so…’ a lot. These are errors that we can avoid through good preparation and lots of practice.

Once you have designed your presentation, you need to think about how you are going to deliver it. What will you say as you present the slides?

Organise your notes

You might be very good at learning a script, but most people can’t remember the whole of a presentation by heart, and reading from a printed script isn’t engaging for your audience.

Therefore, many presenters use a ‘cue card’ system to keep on track:

• organise your notes into a logical series of points
• write a few reminder words for each point
• transfer your reminder words on to small cards (small enough to fit in your hand but big enough that you can read the reminder words easily; say 10cm x 5cm)
• have one card for the beginning, with your opening sentence written out
• have one card for the end, with a reminder of the message you want your audience to take away from the presentation
• fill in the middle with a card for each main point you want to make, or phrase you want to use.

When you are confident you have the right flow in your content, number your cue cards in sequence. Nervous presenters have been known to drop their cards and scatter them across the floor. If that happens, you’ll want to get them back in order quickly!

Practise giving your presentation as much as you can. Practise to your family, practise to your friends (and be an audience for them in return), practise to the cat or practise to a tree; the more you practise, the more confident you will be.

As you practise, you will become more comfortable with the sound of your ‘presenter’ voice and feel more like you’re talking as you would to a friend.

Something else to think about as you write your presentation is your speaking speed. You will find you need to speak more slowly when you are presenting, so that you deliver each word clearly. This means you can’t pack as many words into the minutes as you can in ‘normal’ speech.

Timing yourself over multiple practices helps you judge whether you have the right amount of content. If there’s anything there that doesn’t  need  to be there, this will give you the opportunity to cut it out. You might need to trim back and focus on fewer points, or you might find you have the space to add more material.

Practising also helps you ensure that the order of your points is logical and tells a coherent story. And finally, through practising you’ll be able to judge whether your visual aids (if you have used them) give the right message and enhance what you are saying. 

Feedback from other people can be very helpful when you’re practising, especially if you ask for feedback on specific points that you are concerned about. Asking for targeted feedback on the delivery, the slides or the visual aids (or other points) is likely to be more useful than simply asking ‘what do you think?’.

If it isn’t possible to get ‘live’ feedback, you could video yourself and ask others to watch it back and give you feedback, or you could watch the recording yourself and reflect on the presentation. Not everyone enjoys watching themselves give presentations though!

On the day.

Remember: 

• It’s your story – and you’re the best person to tell it.
• You’ve designed your presentation with the audience in mind (look back at  ‘Giving your presentation ’ ).
• You’ve prepared great content (look back at ‘Guidelines’  and ‘Structuring your presentation’ ).
• You’ve designed excellent slides, posters or other aids (look back at ‘Presentation software’ ).
• You’ve timed and practised your presentation (look back at ‘Structuring your presentation’  as well as the resources below).

Look up, smile at the audience, take a deep breath and be great! Good luck!

More resources.

There are lots of resources available online to help you prepare and give good presentations. Here are two from the Open University that you might find useful:

• Communicating and presenting: skills for OU study
• Giving presentations

Other articles in this series...

EPQs: designing your research question

You’ve already decided to do an EPQ, so it might seem a little odd to start this resource by asking you to consider why you want to do a research project. People do an EPQ for all sorts of reasons. Why do you want to do an EPQ?

EPQs: finding and using evidence

Finding the evidence that will help you understand a topic or answer a question is an important stage in the research process. And once you have found it, you will need to examine it closely and carefully, to judge how reliable it is and whether it is useful to help you answer your question.

EPQs: writing up your dissertation

You have collected and analysed your evidence and considered it in relation to your research question. The next step is to communicate all that you have done. Your dissertation is the element of the EPQ that is read and assessed by others who haven’t been involved in your research.

Become an OU student

Ratings & comments, share this free course, copyright information, publication details.

• Originally published: Wednesday, 3 May 2023
• Body text - Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 : The Open University
• Image 'Fig 1 - The research cycle: Communication' - Copyright: Ann Grand
• Image 'A woman giving a presentation. She is pointing at an image displayed on a large monitor.' - Copyright: Photo by  airfocus  on  Unsplash
• Image 'Fig 3 - Structuring a presentation' - Copyright: Ann Grand
• Image 'A powerpoint slide in wide-screen format' - Copyright: Victoria Pearson
• Image 'Women in a discussion group about health services for women and children' - Copyright: Voices from Durgapur (CC0)
• Image 'Photo of someone giving a presentation on stage' - Copyright: The Open University
• Image 'Screenshot of the presenter's view of an online presentation, showing the slide and notes.' - Copyright: Ann Grand
• Image 'Possibly flamingos? Photo by S. Filippidou, AstrobiologyOU' - Copyright: Sevasti Filippidou
• Image 'Example 1 of a slide' - Copyright: Ann Grand
• Image 'Example 2 of a slide' - Copyright: Ann Grand
• Image 'Possible audience members' - Copyright: Photo by Windows on Unsplash Photo by Meillene Ferrer on Unsplash
• Image 'Photo of someone presenting to an audience' - Copyright: Photo by Ben Moreland on Unsplash
• Image 'Photo of someone filming themselves' - Copyright: Photo by Jenny Ueberberg on Unsplash
• Image 'EPQs: writing up your dissertation' - © Betta0147 | Dreamstime.com under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
• Image 'EPQs: why give a presentation?' - Alphabet Yellow © Betta0147 | Dreamstime.com under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
• Image 'EPQs: designing your research question' - © Betta0147 | Dreamstime.com under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
• Image 'EPQs: finding and using evidence' - Alphabet Yellow © Betta0147 | Dreamstime.com under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

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