What
makes a successful EPQ Title?
When you are choosing the title for your EPQ, bear in mind the
following points:
1. A good title
is clear and specific. You need to have a sharp focus for your project.
The title can take different forms, depending on which unit you are
entering for:
·
For a dissertation, you should have a specific
research question.
·
For an investigation/field study, you should have
a testable hypothesis
·
For a performance, you need to have a commission
from a client. (The client could be real or imaginary).
·
For an artefact, you should have a design brief;
again, this will involve establishing a purpose for the artefact which relates
to the needs of a client (either a real or a hypothetical client).
With performances and artefacts, a question may help to give
focus to the project, but don’t use a question which will simply confuse
things. The important thing with performances and artefacts is thinking about
the work you are doing in relation to the audience or the client. Establish a
clear, specific purpose for your project through the commission or design
brief. If it is helpful to ask a question, then you can do this as well – but
it may simply lead to confusion, in which case, just stick to the task of
meeting the demands of the commission or client brief.
2. A good title will lead you into research.
All forms
of Extended Project involve significant research. If you have chosen a good
title, it will be fairly obvious where you need to begin researching. On the
other hand, if your title does not lend itself to research, this may well
indicate that it isn’t really suitable.
In many
projects, the title emerges as a result of a process of thinking and
researching. You don’t need to fix the title immediately. Choose a title which
you think will work and then do some initial research. If you start to find
useful source materials, this is a good indication that you may be going in the
right direction. On the other hand, if you are struggling to find any research
sources, then this may be an indication that your title isn’t suitable.
3. A good title will lead into a process of
development work.
Your
project should last for around 80 hours. If you pick a question which you can
answer in a much shorter space of time, or if you pick a brief which can easily
be met without much work, then you have probably not picked a suitable title.
For
written projects, there should be substantial development of argument.
You should pick an open question: one that can be answered in different
ways. Don’t pick a closed question which can be answered just by finding out
the right pieces of information. There needs to be something to argue about.
In your
project, you will be researching different answers, analyzing them, and arguing
about which answer you think is best. This will mean looking at arguments and
counter-arguments, or, in the case of an investigation/ field study, different
interpretations of the data.
For
performance or artefact projects, make sure that there are alternative possible
developmental routes. If you have chosen a suitable title, there should be
different ways of designing or creating your project outcome. Then in your
project, you will be able to explore these alternatives and evaluate them
critically.
4. A good project title will lead to a set of
objectives which can be evaluated.
Once you
have decided on a potential title, think about the specific objectives for your
project. The objectives are the tasks you need to complete in order to answer
your question, test your hypothesis, or fulfil the commission or brief for your
work. Normally there will be a few objectives. Think of them as the stages on
the journey to the completion of your project. Bear in mind that one of the
final stages in your project is the review stage. This is where you evaluate
the extent to which you have achieved your objectives. It is important, then,
that you have clearly defined objectives – otherwise it will be difficult to
evaluate the extent to which your project has succeeded.
5. A good project title is at the right level
Remember
that the Extended Project Qualification is a Level 3 Qualification. This
means that the level of work should be comparable to the work done for an A
level. It is worth bearing this in mind when choosing the initial question,
brief, commission or hypothesis. If the level of material and ideas you are
working with is lower than A level standard, it will be difficult to access the
full range of available marks.
6. A good project title will involve extending
yourself beyond your other areas of study.
As the
name suggests, the ‘Extended Project’ is all about stretching yourself. The
project you produce should not be the same as one that could be submitted for a
different qualification. For example, it should not be just like an Art and
Design project, an English essay, or a piece of History coursework. You need to
show that you have done something different. This can happen in a number of
ways:
·
You can teach yourself a new skill. If you are
doing a practical project, you may want to learn a new technique, work with new
materials or work in a new medium.
·
You can explore a topic from a number of
different points of view. The Extended Project provides a great opportunity for
cross-curricular study. Keep a specific question in mind, but explore it using
ideas and methods drawn from different subjects. You could, for example,
explore the ethics and science associated with the topic of human cloning, or
animal welfare issues. You could look at the history, economics and politics of
the European Union. You could look at the philosophy and psychology of mental
illness, and so on.
·
You could explore a topic which does fit within a
single subject of study, but analyze it in much greater depth. Suppose that you
are an A level history student, and you have studied the topic of the causes of
the First World War. You could use this as the starting point for an Extended
Project by looking in greater depth at the concept of historical causation, and
examining what it means to talk about ‘the cause’ of an historical event. In a
project like this, you could use your knowledge of a particular historic event,
such as World War One, as a case study which helps to give focus to an
exploration of the deeper question of historical causation.
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