Evaluation of EPQ
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Project
Picking such an interesting EPQ topic to explore was a direct result of the extensive planning I
carried out. I produced many mind maps and tables to brainstorm my ideas. I made links between
my ideas and evaluated many different topics concerning my career, my hobbies, and other
interests. The topics that I was most interested in were the ones that I had expanded the most on
the mind maps and tables, which highlights the effectiveness of my planning strategies in
progressively narrowing down my topic to “long-term brain injuries in sport” in a way which didn’t
feel rushed. I therefore was certain that I had picked a topic I knew I was interested in completing
an EPQ on. Carrying out my secondary research is a pinnacle to the success of my EPQ because
in total I researched and annotated over sixty different sources. This ensured I had a wide range of
information available to support both sides of the question: Some supported the view that “Heading
should be banned” and other information was focused on why “heading should be allowed.” This
also made it easy to write 5000 words for my dissertation because there was lots of data I could
use to back up my points throughout the entire report. This meant that my work was concise yet
well explained. I also attended an EPQ Zoom meeting in October, and this introduced me to
referencing and critical analysis which were both skills that I was particularly weak at. I learned
many techniques, skills, and technologies here to help these processes, again highlighting my
commitment to plan my EPQ extensively, not just in terms of the topic, but also in terms of my
development and knowledge, which would aid the quality and efficiency of my research and
dissertation stage. I used the CRAAP acronym that I learned from the Zoom meeting to guide my
evaluation of every source I analysed, to ensure that my dissertation contained credible and
reliable references from books, journals, websites and documentaries which all helped contribute
to the overall question. As a result, I believe I have produced a dissertation of a very high quality,
and I am very proud of it. Contacting professional football clubs in the area was a highlight of my
project because I was given an invaluable opportunity to carry out primary research on a topic from
professional footballers' perspectives. The interview I conducted provided me with information that
was new, upcoming, controversial, and very rarely seen published online. This emphasises how
amazing this primary research opportunity was and it has boosted my dissertation massively in
terms of the quality and range of the content. I produced my Presentation in a unique video format
– something I had never tried before, because I really wanted to take this opportunity to try new
things. I recorded the video in Norwich City Football Club’s meeting room because I wanted to
develop as a person and make new links with people, clubs, and organisations. I was able to
experience how a professional football club presented information and this has provided me with
an incredibly useful insight into a possible future career - sports science at a professional football
club. My video also looked very professional, smart, unique, and therefore memorable which is
something I wanted to achieve to engage with my audience.
Upon reflection, there were a few instances I believe things didn’t quite work as I had hoped.
Picking a Gannt Diagram as my timeline was a poor choice, and although I had researched
different timelines, I had rushed into picking a Gannt Diagram because it looked aesthetically
pleasing. I eventually realised that I disliked it because it did not provide me with reminders and
external factors that may affect my EPQ progression. This made it difficult to meet my targets, so I
quickly abandoned the Gannt Diagram and produced a table timeline. This was a lot more detailed
and helped me to stay on track because I had a specific column for reminders and external factors
that may affect my progression. However, I wasted a lot of time producing a Gannt Diagram. This
time could have been used more optimally and so clearly I lost time here, impacting my deadlines.
On the other hand, before the EPQ I did not know how to produce a Gannt Diagram so I did learn
this skill from the EPQ and I may be able to use it for different types of projects. Secondly, I feel
like although my Source Tracker provided me with invaluable amounts of key information, there
was a lot of crossover information that perhaps I didn’t need. I was focused on finding cross
references but actually, I found too many for the topic of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy yet
, decided to still evaluate each source! This was unnecessary and slowed down my work, meaning I
did spend quite a lot more time researching the argument that heading should be banned, than the
counterargument that heading should be allowed and so my research was weighted towards the
argument. Still, this did not impact my project much, because I needed to focus on this side of the
research since I knew less about it prior to the EPQ, so therefore I needed more time to gather
information and learn about this topic.
Skills I learned and new technologies I used
I produced a skills development tracker to set out the key skills that I wanted to improve along my
EPQ process, and then I evaluated the progress I made midway through the project and at the
end. These skills are all very useful and transferrable beyond A-Level.
Software skills – I learned from a YouTube tutorial that I could use the app GoodNotes to
annotate and highlight information. This made my editing and research more critical and efficient,
as I didn’t need to print off work to highlight it. I therefore could spend more time evaluating work. I
used PowerPoint to produce my planning sheets. This was because I knew PowerPoint contained
tools to present my work in a format that was clear and neat. I have now had a lot of experience
using PowerPoint and have been able to use the app for other projects outside of my EPQ, like
creating neat fixture templates for my local football club. I also created my presentation slideshow
on PowerPoint which my audience said was very good visual aid. I feel like I have developed my
PowerPoint skills because my slideshows are improving in terms of how I use them (minimal
content, pictures to talk about). I have produced many Word documents and therefore have
reinforced this skill. My typing speed has also improved because I have spent a lot of time typing
work up and have noticed my efficiency when working on a laptop has significantly improved. I
watched a tutorial to produce a Gannt Diagram on Microsoft Excel, which is an application that
before the EPQ I had no idea how to use. Now I can use Excel to explore the other features it
contains to upgrade work elsewhere. I edited my presentation video on Microsoft Clipchamp and
have significantly improved my editing skills. I am now able to slow down my athletic training
videos using this app as a result of learning how to use it during the EPQ. Critical Analysis –
Before the EPQ I believed my critical analysis was poor, and this often caused me to make rushed
decisions without the information I needed. I learned to use the CRAAP technique to evaluate each
source, and this boosted the reliability of my dissertation. This is also helping me to make better
decisions outside of the EPQ project, for example using credible and reliable websites for my PE
coursework images. Dissertation Writing Skills – I had never written a dissertation before and did
not know what a dissertation was. I watched a dissertation structure tutorial and this helped me to
organise my dissertation to make it clear and easy to read. I also produced a dissertation contents
plan that helped guide my writing, to ensure that I spent enough time writing about each point. This
was definitely a good strategy and I will keep this in mind when I go to university and write a
dissertation. Referencing Skills – I did not know how to reference before taking the EPQ,
however, my booklet and EPQ mentor explained how I can reference. I decided to use Harvard-
style referencing and used Word, as well as Cite This For Me (and eventually MyBib) to produce
references without spending too much time on it. I now understand why and how to reference and
this will give me an advantage at University referencing will be required when I write dissertations.
Time-Management Skills – Firstly I researched different time-management strategies. I then used
these throughout the EPQ to minimise procrastination so that I could get things done. Strategies
such as prioritising tasks and splitting bigger tasks into smaller tasks helped because I felt less
overwhelmed, and I also felt that this actually benefited my A-level revision because I was more
efficient with the time I spent revising. My productivity therefore has increased as a result of the
EPQ. Presentation Skills – Throughout the presentation I showed a variety of skills, through good
eye contact, varying the tone of my voice, and being clear and relaxed. Presentations were
something I wasn’t particularly good at before the EPQ however I felt confident during this
presentation because I had planned well in advance what I was going to say. My audience gave
me positive feedback regarding my presentation skills and I am sure that the EPQ experience will
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Project
Picking such an interesting EPQ topic to explore was a direct result of the extensive planning I
carried out. I produced many mind maps and tables to brainstorm my ideas. I made links between
my ideas and evaluated many different topics concerning my career, my hobbies, and other
interests. The topics that I was most interested in were the ones that I had expanded the most on
the mind maps and tables, which highlights the effectiveness of my planning strategies in
progressively narrowing down my topic to “long-term brain injuries in sport” in a way which didn’t
feel rushed. I therefore was certain that I had picked a topic I knew I was interested in completing
an EPQ on. Carrying out my secondary research is a pinnacle to the success of my EPQ because
in total I researched and annotated over sixty different sources. This ensured I had a wide range of
information available to support both sides of the question: Some supported the view that “Heading
should be banned” and other information was focused on why “heading should be allowed.” This
also made it easy to write 5000 words for my dissertation because there was lots of data I could
use to back up my points throughout the entire report. This meant that my work was concise yet
well explained. I also attended an EPQ Zoom meeting in October, and this introduced me to
referencing and critical analysis which were both skills that I was particularly weak at. I learned
many techniques, skills, and technologies here to help these processes, again highlighting my
commitment to plan my EPQ extensively, not just in terms of the topic, but also in terms of my
development and knowledge, which would aid the quality and efficiency of my research and
dissertation stage. I used the CRAAP acronym that I learned from the Zoom meeting to guide my
evaluation of every source I analysed, to ensure that my dissertation contained credible and
reliable references from books, journals, websites and documentaries which all helped contribute
to the overall question. As a result, I believe I have produced a dissertation of a very high quality,
and I am very proud of it. Contacting professional football clubs in the area was a highlight of my
project because I was given an invaluable opportunity to carry out primary research on a topic from
professional footballers' perspectives. The interview I conducted provided me with information that
was new, upcoming, controversial, and very rarely seen published online. This emphasises how
amazing this primary research opportunity was and it has boosted my dissertation massively in
terms of the quality and range of the content. I produced my Presentation in a unique video format
– something I had never tried before, because I really wanted to take this opportunity to try new
things. I recorded the video in Norwich City Football Club’s meeting room because I wanted to
develop as a person and make new links with people, clubs, and organisations. I was able to
experience how a professional football club presented information and this has provided me with
an incredibly useful insight into a possible future career - sports science at a professional football
club. My video also looked very professional, smart, unique, and therefore memorable which is
something I wanted to achieve to engage with my audience.
Upon reflection, there were a few instances I believe things didn’t quite work as I had hoped.
Picking a Gannt Diagram as my timeline was a poor choice, and although I had researched
different timelines, I had rushed into picking a Gannt Diagram because it looked aesthetically
pleasing. I eventually realised that I disliked it because it did not provide me with reminders and
external factors that may affect my EPQ progression. This made it difficult to meet my targets, so I
quickly abandoned the Gannt Diagram and produced a table timeline. This was a lot more detailed
and helped me to stay on track because I had a specific column for reminders and external factors
that may affect my progression. However, I wasted a lot of time producing a Gannt Diagram. This
time could have been used more optimally and so clearly I lost time here, impacting my deadlines.
On the other hand, before the EPQ I did not know how to produce a Gannt Diagram so I did learn
this skill from the EPQ and I may be able to use it for different types of projects. Secondly, I feel
like although my Source Tracker provided me with invaluable amounts of key information, there
was a lot of crossover information that perhaps I didn’t need. I was focused on finding cross
references but actually, I found too many for the topic of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy yet
, decided to still evaluate each source! This was unnecessary and slowed down my work, meaning I
did spend quite a lot more time researching the argument that heading should be banned, than the
counterargument that heading should be allowed and so my research was weighted towards the
argument. Still, this did not impact my project much, because I needed to focus on this side of the
research since I knew less about it prior to the EPQ, so therefore I needed more time to gather
information and learn about this topic.
Skills I learned and new technologies I used
I produced a skills development tracker to set out the key skills that I wanted to improve along my
EPQ process, and then I evaluated the progress I made midway through the project and at the
end. These skills are all very useful and transferrable beyond A-Level.
Software skills – I learned from a YouTube tutorial that I could use the app GoodNotes to
annotate and highlight information. This made my editing and research more critical and efficient,
as I didn’t need to print off work to highlight it. I therefore could spend more time evaluating work. I
used PowerPoint to produce my planning sheets. This was because I knew PowerPoint contained
tools to present my work in a format that was clear and neat. I have now had a lot of experience
using PowerPoint and have been able to use the app for other projects outside of my EPQ, like
creating neat fixture templates for my local football club. I also created my presentation slideshow
on PowerPoint which my audience said was very good visual aid. I feel like I have developed my
PowerPoint skills because my slideshows are improving in terms of how I use them (minimal
content, pictures to talk about). I have produced many Word documents and therefore have
reinforced this skill. My typing speed has also improved because I have spent a lot of time typing
work up and have noticed my efficiency when working on a laptop has significantly improved. I
watched a tutorial to produce a Gannt Diagram on Microsoft Excel, which is an application that
before the EPQ I had no idea how to use. Now I can use Excel to explore the other features it
contains to upgrade work elsewhere. I edited my presentation video on Microsoft Clipchamp and
have significantly improved my editing skills. I am now able to slow down my athletic training
videos using this app as a result of learning how to use it during the EPQ. Critical Analysis –
Before the EPQ I believed my critical analysis was poor, and this often caused me to make rushed
decisions without the information I needed. I learned to use the CRAAP technique to evaluate each
source, and this boosted the reliability of my dissertation. This is also helping me to make better
decisions outside of the EPQ project, for example using credible and reliable websites for my PE
coursework images. Dissertation Writing Skills – I had never written a dissertation before and did
not know what a dissertation was. I watched a dissertation structure tutorial and this helped me to
organise my dissertation to make it clear and easy to read. I also produced a dissertation contents
plan that helped guide my writing, to ensure that I spent enough time writing about each point. This
was definitely a good strategy and I will keep this in mind when I go to university and write a
dissertation. Referencing Skills – I did not know how to reference before taking the EPQ,
however, my booklet and EPQ mentor explained how I can reference. I decided to use Harvard-
style referencing and used Word, as well as Cite This For Me (and eventually MyBib) to produce
references without spending too much time on it. I now understand why and how to reference and
this will give me an advantage at University referencing will be required when I write dissertations.
Time-Management Skills – Firstly I researched different time-management strategies. I then used
these throughout the EPQ to minimise procrastination so that I could get things done. Strategies
such as prioritising tasks and splitting bigger tasks into smaller tasks helped because I felt less
overwhelmed, and I also felt that this actually benefited my A-level revision because I was more
efficient with the time I spent revising. My productivity therefore has increased as a result of the
EPQ. Presentation Skills – Throughout the presentation I showed a variety of skills, through good
eye contact, varying the tone of my voice, and being clear and relaxed. Presentations were
something I wasn’t particularly good at before the EPQ however I felt confident during this
presentation because I had planned well in advance what I was going to say. My audience gave
me positive feedback regarding my presentation skills and I am sure that the EPQ experience will
