Many times, students get excited about their Extended Project Qualification and can’t wait to start writing. But when it’s time to actually sit down and choose a topic, students are overwhelmed with EPQ ideas and fail to get started. In such cases, you can either start yourself or think of how you can pay someone to do your homework. Since the latter is not always a great option, let’s learn how to write a perfect EPQ by selecting the right EPQ ideas.
What Is The Meaning Of EPQ?
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is equivalent to 50% of an A level, and it is pursued by students from Wales and England. An EPQ can be a dissertation or a research/field study accompanied by paperwork. The standard guideline is that the EPQ should be around 5,000 words. About 30,000 students take an EPQ each year. It is currently graded A*-E.
What Are Some Good EPQ Ideas?
The success of your study depends on the EPQ topics you choose. Before we discuss EPQ ideas, let’s understand some guidelines for choosing a topic. The two possible options for research paper topics – are either the ‘dissertation’ or the ‘investigation/field study.’
Dissertation – A theoretical written project on any EPQ topic by presenting an argument, e.g. research into a biological, historical or environmental issue”. Dissertations are fairly straightforward.
Investigation – A practical investigatory project involving the collection of data, e.g. a scientific investigation, a geographical study of erosion, a biological study of pollution, a statistical survey, etc. These are backed by a lot of data and paperwork.
Here are some criteria for what characterises good EPQ topics-
Do the title and topic allow you to plan, research, analyse, evaluate, and explain? You won’t go far (in the essay at least) if you just describe or narrate.
- Are you actually going to be able to do this project on your own?
- Can you do what the topic needs you to do in the timescale and word count and with the resources and sources available?
- Will you understand the material that you are working with?
- Is there any risk that you won’t be as impartial as you should be?
- Try to answer these five questions before you decide on your topic and start your research.
EPQ Ideas For Students: Subject-Wise
History | Good EPQ Topics For History
- Why Did The United States of America Join WW2 So Late?
- Has The British Public Lost Interest In The Royal Family Since World War 2?
- Is it partial for a country to teach their national history to students over other country’s history?
- Was it somehow justified to bomb the Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- How did the British Empire Grow to such a huge size?
- What does one learn from events like the Holocaust.
- How did Hitler amass such a large follower base?
- Pandemics Throughout History And Their Effects.
- How Do We Document Historic Information?
- When did we first realise how our actions are affecting our planet?
- Why did London’s smog took so long to clear?
- How do we ensure that catastrophes like Fukushima and Chernobyl never occur again?
- The theft of Historical Monuments
- Why did we not accept the use of electric vehicles 50 years back?
- In what ways have women’s role changed historically?
- How does history support the reasoning that democracy is better than dictatorship?
- Why did the British Empire Value India so much?
- How has Human cooking adoption evolved through time?
- How Far Back Can We Accurately Recall History?
Economics | EPQ Topic Ideas
- Should There Be A Minimum Wage?
- How does illegal immigration effect the economy of the UK?
- The economic myth of “Trickle Down”
- How has the world’s demand for oil changed over the last few years?
- Why wealth inequality is not a big deal
- How did the Brexit affect the British Economy?
- Does the UK Have enough financial resources to take in more immigrants?
- What effects did the 2008 Financial Crisis have on the UK economy?
- Is it possible for the environment economics to address and take the right steps to address the climate change issue?
- What does the future look like for developing countries or emerging economies?
- The Economic Theory Surrounding Diamonds And Water And How It Is Applied.
- Are the worlds riches economies build on debt?
- How Petrol And Diesel Prices Fluctuate Over Time And How These Prices Mirror Real-World Events.
- What Are The Chances Of Another Global Recession?
- The Contribution Of Higher Education Towards The Economy.
- Why Can Economics Often Fail To Account For The Value Of Housing?
- How Can Irrational Consumer Behaviours Damage An Economy?
- Economics As A Social Science.
- How Do Economies Successfully Allocate And Utilise Scarce Resources?
- The Relationship Between Marginal Benefit And Supply And Demand.
English | EPQ Question Ideas
- How Have Gender Roles Evolved Over Time in Books?
- What Strategies Do Authors Employ To Persuade The Reader To Accept A Specific Opinion?
- How Has the Development of the Internet Affected the Way We Use Language?
- To What Extent Are Journalists At Risk Of Being Replaced By Ai?
- What Shifts Did the 1800s See in Literature?
- The History Of Punctuation And Why It Was a Necessity
- How To Have An Effective Debate
- What Impact Did Literature Have During WW2?
- Are Girls Better At English Than Boys?
- Why Is Mass Media So Biased?
- What Made Shakespeare’s Plays So Unique?
- Will Technology Influence The Originality Of Creative Writing?
- How Jane Austin Used Her Novels To Address Feminism And Its Effect At The Time.
- Is The Use Of Narrators Becoming Outdated?
- Does Language Instruction Help Students With Dyslexia?
- Why General English Is Not Enough For Employability?
- Can Gaming Support Language Learning?
- An Art Or An Academic Skill: Learning English?
- The Rise Of Gothic Literature.
- To What Extent Do The Writing Styles Of Men And Women Differ?
Sport | EPQ Ideas For Sports
- What Factors Increase Your Chance Of Injury While Playing Sport?
- What Factors Affect A Sport’s Participation Rate?
- Winter Olympics VS Summer Olympics
- Should Women Be Allowed To Compete Against Men Professionally?
- How Has Statistical Analysis Changed The Sporting Industry?
- How Much More Efficient Does The Right Diet Make An Athlete?
- Should Violent Sports Be Televised?
- To What Extent Is Politics Affecting Sports?
- Is Aggression Properly Controlled In Sports?
- The Importance Of Mental Training When Preparing For Competition.
- Are All The Best Sports Commentator’s Ex-Sports Players?
- Are sporting bodies the one to blame for the lack of people’s interest in women centric sports?
- How are contact sports related to brain trauma?
- How Do Businesses Use Sports To Advertise?
- How does the new technological advancement changes the sport industry?
- Who actually decides the rules of a particular sport?
- Are Sporting Fans Too Emotionally Involved?
- The Role Of Sports Journalism Within The Sporting Industry.
- How Is Drug Testing Effectively Managed Within Sports?
- Evaluating The Gender Pay Gap In Sport
Business Studies | EPQ Question Ideas
- How much does a company’s CEO earns?
- How has the rise of internet somehow impacted the music industry?
- How do I make the most effective logo for my business?
- How And Why Do Businesses Adapt Their Marketing Strategies?
- How does taxes have an impact on small business owners?
- What did Apple do to become the Tech Giant it is today
- What Psychology is used behind Advertising
- The Value Of Becoming A Private Limited Company.
- The Ways To Control A Business’s Supply Chain.
- What Are The Stages Of Decision Making Within Large Corporations?
- How Does Politics Intervene In The Business World?
- How Is Project Management Run?
- How Important Is Stock Control?
- How Has The Airline Industry Developed Over Time?
- Is the Spotify Business model actually sustainable?
- Do multinational companies give taxes?
- How Are Successful Start-Ups Formed?
- Evaluating The Case For A Single Global Currency.
- How Does VAT Affect UK Businesses?
- The Ethical Problems Surrounding A Business Outsourcing Their Work.
Ethics
- Should We Experiment With Embryos For Medical Research?
- Should Euthanasia Be Allowed In The UK?
- Should People Be Forced To Die If Ageing Is Ever Cured?
- Are Society’s Perceptions Of What’s Right And Wrong Based On Christianity?
- Should We Always Respect A Patient’s Choice (Even If It’s Wrong)?
- Should We Impose Measures To Control The Global Population?
- The Complicated Ethics Surrounding Self-Driving Cars.
- What Determines Someone’s Inner Moral Compass?
- Should the death penalty be brought back and what kind of cases?
- Is it ethically correct to raise a child focused on a specific religious ideologies only?
- Should We Impose Measures To Control The Global Population?
- Should All Animal Testing Be Banned?
- Should Prenatal Scans Be Allowed?
- Should Women Who Incorrectly Accuse Men Of Rape Be Severely Prosecuted?
- Why Does Torture Still Occur In The World?
- Why Is Slavery Still Going On?
- Is Online Privacy Important?
- Should Everyone Receive Free Healthcare?
- How Many Immigrants Should Wealthy Countries Accept?
- How Can We Be Sure To Eradicate AI Bias?
EPQ Medicine Ideas
- What Are The Major Issues Surrounding Stem Cell Research?
- Mass-Cloning: Is It A Good Idea? Pros Vs Cons
- Is Animal Testing With Respect To Medical Purposes Ethical?
- Are There Any Possibilities For Viable Medicines That Can Be Used For Obesity?
- Mental Health Remedies: Medication Vs Alternative Treatments
- What Is The Ideal Pay For Doctors & Nurses?
- At What Stage Does Gene Editing Become Unethical?
- Are Dementia Patients Treated Well At Care Homes?
- What Is The Best Way To Define Health And Disease?
- What Effects Do Abortion Therapies Have On The Mind And Body?
- Is Euthanasia Ever Appropriate? Why Or Why Not?
- Is the UK healthcare system prepared for another pandemic/epidemic?
- What Is To Prevent Another Calamity Like The Thalidomide Controversy From Occurring?
- Are The Penalties For Violating Patient Confidentiality Strong Enough?
- Should Pharmaceutical Firms Be Privately Held?
- Are Nurses And Physicians Well Trained For Emergency Situations?
- Will Greater Use Of Technology In Hospitals Lessen Medical Errors?
Art | Interesting EPQ Topics
- Art’s Role In Addressing Societal Concerns.
- A deep dive into Van Goghs Artistical Journey
- What stands modern art apart from the traditional art?
- How do people use art to influence media folks?
- Why Is Art Not As Highly Appreciated As It Once Was?
- What Can We Learn From Ancient Art About Our Past?
- Political Art And Its Impact.
- How did Alexander McQueen contribute to the Fashion Industry?
- How Do Artist Mindsets Differ?
- Why Is Modern Art Associated With Such A Poor Undertone?
- Has The Art World Become Overly Commercialised?
- The Origins Of Stained Glass Art.
- To What Degree Can Art Represent Someone’s Mental Health?
- When And How Did Photography Become An Artistic Medium?
- What Changes Have Occurred In British Art Over Time?
- Is The Mona Lisa Overly Popular?
- Is It Wise To Invest In Art?
- What Made Paris The World’s Art Capital In The Twentieth Century?
- What Effect Does Art Education Have On The Brain Of A Child?
- Why Was There So Little Art In Mediaeval Europe?
- What Were The Contributions Of Painters To The Renaissance?
- Can Modern Advertising Be Considered Art?
- In Today’s Modern Society, Has Art Lost Its Esteem?
Computer Science
- What Role Do Graphs Have In Computer Science?
- What Steps Can We Take To Ensure Cybersecurity?
- What Role Does Encapsulating Design Have In Coding?
- The Difficulties In Accounting For Human Behaviour In Computing.
- What Is The Significance Of Internet Data Security And Privacy?
- How Do Computer Viruses Cause Less Harm?
- What Are The Most Crucial Aspects Of Computer Science?
- How Do Computer Simulations Work?
- How Have Computers Improved Business Performance?
- Computers As A Mode Of Communication And Their Relationship To Human Connection.
- What Changes Have Occurred In Computer Graphics?
- Do We Place Too Much Reliance On Technology?
- Was Apple Founded On Stolen Technology?
- Would A Greater Share Of Programmers Be Required In Future Workforces?
- Would Artificial Intelligence Pose A Future Danger To Highly Trained Workers?
- What Has Been The Impact Of Broad Automation Adoption In The Industrial Sector?
- Should Individuals Be Permitted To Vote In General Elections Online?
- Has Technology “Simplified” The Human Race?
- Are Binary Search Trees Overused In Favour Of More Efficient Data Structures?
- Will Relational Databases Become Outdated In The Future?
Chemistry
- Is chemistry taught at an appropriate standard in schools?
- What’s the connection between chemistry and physics?
- How might chemical research become more environmentally friendly?
- How is organic chemistry knowledge implemented in the real world?
- Could there ever be a day when we run out of things to learn in the subject of chemistry?
- What role does chemistry play in agriculture?
- What is the connection between chemistry and engineering?
- Changes in our understanding of chemistry over time.
- Should chemistry be made a required subject in UK schools?
- Soil chemistry and how it affects plant development.
- The chemistry of vitamin insufficiency in humans.
- What substances contribute to human ageing, and can they be avoided?
- Should Fritz Haber have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to chemistry?
- Are GMOs harmful to human health?
- How is the nutritional makeup of food determined?
- The connection between chemistry and biology.
- What remedies to climate change have chemists proposed?
- Evaluating the chemical composition of different kinds of lava rocks.
- How do food preservatives work and which ones are used the most?
- What are the possible enduring repercussions of using specific pesticides?
- What is the environmental impact of acid rain?
Mathematics
- What percentage of music is a quantitative measure?
- How can maths help to enhance healthcare?
- The importance of logic in solving complex arithmetic problems.
- What are the challenges of learning with dyslexia?
- Is maths anxiety a significant issue?
- Does our cosmos have a finite number of mathematical constants?
- The most effective methods for simplifying complicated mathematical problems.
- How do inadequate mathematical abilities affect employability?
- The term “electronic commerce” refers to the sale of electronic goods.
- The most important mathematical equations and their functions throughout history.
- Sports and the application of probability to improve performance.
- The most significant algebraic number theories are number 37.
- What are the interference rules in mathematics?
- How do business and economics utilise statistics?
- How do physics and mathematics relate to one another?
- Why is maths so crucial for the growth of the brain?
- What are the most crucial mathematical principles that everyone should learn?
- Should calculators be allowed on maths exams?
- Geometrical analysis of complicated equations.
- Why do we employ equations that are simultaneous?
What Is The Purpose Of EPQ Ideas?
The main objective of EPQ is to make students understand the real meaning of research. It also helps students demonstrate and develop their project management skills which are highly valued for progression to higher education and employment. By having free rein in selecting their EPQ ideas, students improve their decision-making skills.
What Are The Benefits Of EPQ?
Putting a lot of effort into your EPQ can really help you because it will provide you valuable experience for college. For example, writing essays will undoubtedly play a significant role in your curriculum if you choose to study English literature in college. EPQs will help you improve your writing abilities. The fact that you finished a large 5,000-word essay entirely on your own and with your own thoughts will also liberate you!
Additionally, EPQ not only looks good on your personal statement (when it’s time to apply to universities) but also lowers the grade requirements for a few courses. So, when looking for EPQ ideas, make sure to check if your chosen course has any sort of lower grade requirements.
Source: Think Student
FAQs
1. Can you get an A* in EPQ?
An EPQ is worth half an A Level; it is rated A* to E and can be worth up to 28 UCAS points, which can help pupils get their desired university seat. (In 2022, 23.5% of students received an A* in their EPQ, while 71% received a B, worth 20 points).
2. How many UCAS points are required for an A* EPQ?
Students often take the EPQ as a stand-alone credential in addition to their A-level coursework. Approximately 30,000 students take the EPQ each year. On an EPQ, 28 points are required in order to receive an A* again.
3. Is an EPQ Certification mandatory to enrol at Oxbridge?
You do not need an EPQ to study at Oxbridge, although having one does not weigh against you. While neither the University of Oxford nor the University of Cambridge requires an EPQ for admission, both are supportive of the qualification.
4. Which are the top universities that accept EPQ qualifications?
Some of the top UK universities that accept EPQ qualifications of applicants include – the University of Birmingham, the University of Bath, the University of Bristol, the University of Cambridge, the University of Leeds, and more.
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