Today I went to a meeting introducing the idea of doing an EPQ – I was told that for this you must be extremely passionate about the subject chosen and dedicated throughout its completion or the EPQ will not be a success. Furthermore I learnt that it isn’t just the final product, the analogy used was that of an ice burg, the final product is the tip with the majority of the work being all of the research, preparation, planning and evaluation of it in order to produce something however I do plan on doing one. This led me to my decision of starting a diary about my progress; however I would like to – at some point – maybe transfer all of this onto an online blog as there is less risk of that being lost as it will be permanently on the internet.
As I want to study history or classics at university my initial thought is to do an EPQ based on that, however so as not to exclude any other initial ideas I may have as it is still very early days I created a mind map of all my hobbies and interests (using the Student Room mind map making resources) to see what other options I could think of:
As I want to study history or classics at university my initial thought is to do an EPQ based on that, however so as not to exclude any other initial ideas I may have as it is still very early days I created a mind map of all my hobbies and interests (using the Student Room mind map making resources) to see what other options I could think of:
From this mind map of all of my interests, studies and plans for the future it is clear that I am interested in history and therefore I have definitely decided to do my EPQ with a historical focus. However this immediately creates some questions:
- What period?
o Personally this will come down to ancient i.e. Rome, Greece etc. or Modern i.e. civil/world wars (?) however I may find a period I have never studied before which really interests me
- What type of history?
o Political, social, military, language, influence on today, historiography
The positives of doing this will be that it is something I am passionate about; there are a lot of resources on various times in history which will give me a large scope of choice as well as there being different sorts of resources such as books, articles and journals so my work can easily cross reference sources; there are huge amounts of possible titles available. I also plan to study either history or classics at University so an EPQ on these topics should set me in good stead for it which is a personal advantage of doing my EPQ in this way.
Problems with this will be narrowing down the field of history into one question, often periods of history are based on very little information which could create difficulties & there are so many aspects of history to choose from (cultural, political etc.). Further problems that could potentially arise are:
- Finding a period of history that I haven’t really studied before could be difficult as because I haven’t studied it I don’t know about it
o This could be solved by going into the broader areas of history I like and enjoy and narrowing them down with preliminary research
- Finding a period with enough information and a variety of resources on it
- Being able to research and look up exactly what I want to find i.e. not having to read through everything to just get snippets of information
o Solution – go to the talk on the 17th June about how to conduct research (13-06-2014)
- What period?
o Personally this will come down to ancient i.e. Rome, Greece etc. or Modern i.e. civil/world wars (?) however I may find a period I have never studied before which really interests me
- What type of history?
o Political, social, military, language, influence on today, historiography
The positives of doing this will be that it is something I am passionate about; there are a lot of resources on various times in history which will give me a large scope of choice as well as there being different sorts of resources such as books, articles and journals so my work can easily cross reference sources; there are huge amounts of possible titles available. I also plan to study either history or classics at University so an EPQ on these topics should set me in good stead for it which is a personal advantage of doing my EPQ in this way.
Problems with this will be narrowing down the field of history into one question, often periods of history are based on very little information which could create difficulties & there are so many aspects of history to choose from (cultural, political etc.). Further problems that could potentially arise are:
- Finding a period of history that I haven’t really studied before could be difficult as because I haven’t studied it I don’t know about it
o This could be solved by going into the broader areas of history I like and enjoy and narrowing them down with preliminary research
- Finding a period with enough information and a variety of resources on it
- Being able to research and look up exactly what I want to find i.e. not having to read through everything to just get snippets of information
o Solution – go to the talk on the 17th June about how to conduct research (13-06-2014)
My options also include whether I produce an artefact with a 2000 word report or a dissertation. I could study a period of time and produce a replica of an artefact from that era and write about it however this creates many potential problems as to do it to any degree of accuracy would mean getting very close to other such artefacts which could be difficult because I wouldn’t be able to handle them and it is also a safety issue if, say, I have to work with metal which could restrict my options. Furthermore a 5000word dissertation is arguably more academic and would benefit me more as I have never had to write a dissertation with proper references before which should teach me some necessary skills that I will need for University. Therefore I am going in to my EPQ with the aim of doing a dissertation on a historical topic.
After all of this thinking I have a few more particular areas of history which have interested me in creating the mind map and I have never studied before which makes them potential areas for my EPQ:
Battle of Carrhae (cause of civil war)
Pros: Interesting, lots of areas for analysis/comparison
Cons: Touched on it before in Classics, amount there is known on it
Pax Romana (peaceful era of Rome, different as they normally love fighting)
Pros: Haven’t heard of it before, hard to pin point a precise idea about it, had a big impact on now
Cons: Interest in a peaceful period, amount there is known on it, broad
- (13/06/2014) have since began studying Augustus’ Rome in Classical Civilisation in context with the Aeneid where the Pax Romana is important, therefore it is not outside my study area as I would like so shall be discontinued as an idea
Leonardo Divinci / Renaissance
Pros: Really interesting, haven’t really studied that period before, impacted today
Cons: Narrowing it down?
- 13-06-2014: eliminated as an option because it is not from the period I wish to study (Ancient History)
Battle of Carrhae (cause of civil war)
Pros: Interesting, lots of areas for analysis/comparison
Cons: Touched on it before in Classics, amount there is known on it
Pax Romana (peaceful era of Rome, different as they normally love fighting)
Pros: Haven’t heard of it before, hard to pin point a precise idea about it, had a big impact on now
Cons: Interest in a peaceful period, amount there is known on it, broad
- (13/06/2014) have since began studying Augustus’ Rome in Classical Civilisation in context with the Aeneid where the Pax Romana is important, therefore it is not outside my study area as I would like so shall be discontinued as an idea
Leonardo Divinci / Renaissance
Pros: Really interesting, haven’t really studied that period before, impacted today
Cons: Narrowing it down?
- 13-06-2014: eliminated as an option because it is not from the period I wish to study (Ancient History)
Obviously I have all of my AS exams between me and the Summer which is where I plan to do most of my research and work for the EPQ which means the EPQ won’t be my mine focus until a few months’ time, however I plan to come up with areas that interest me between now and then so when I do start to seriously plan it I won’t start completely in the dark. I have other, more important commitments, between now and Summer than the EPQ so I will designate this period for my exams and after my exams are over for more serious work on my EPQ.