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EPQ Evaluation

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10 views2 pages

EPQ Evaluation

Uploaded by

jack
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EPQ Evaluation

The planning of the report was challenging at times due to the scale of the topic discussed.
The microplastic issue is large but is also easily separated into subsections. Therefore, when
I originally started planning my report, I had planned to focus on the technology, the
decisions of governments and the public’s opinion and knowledge. However, this was too
large a topic and so would not fit within the 5000-word report. This was a continuing
potential weakness of my report: there was so much content to discuss that the inclusion of
all of it would have lessened the analysis. Therefore, I decided to focus on primary
microplastic pollution, making the research and analysis manageable. Starting with a plan
to cover a wider area then focussing in meant I had to tweak my planned timescales several
times. Meetings with my supervisor also lead to tweaks to my plans. Overall, I think my
EPQ was well planned and I learnt a great deal from this planning process.
The research phase was made easy due to the abundance of studies and other literatures.
An important consideration was accessing information from different sources and using
different sources to verify each other. Whilst access to libraries was limited due to
coronavirus restrictions, I was able to read a range of articles and papers using the internet.
The reliability of the sources was a strength of the report since the articles used were peer
reviewed and other literature was credible. The sources were also easily organised into
sections depending on their content, allowing each section of the report to be properly
explored and to avoid individual sections being neglected. For example, it was more difficult
to find information on a local level than on a national level, but once I had identified this as
a gap I was able to focus on searches and tackle this area.
I enjoy writing and tend to be quite verbose, so my initial report was overlong. I realised
that I needed to use professional language whilst also simplifying my points to make sure
they came across clearly to a reader. I tackled this by proof-reading my work and rewriting
sections until there was a good balance. I was pleased that I met the deadlines set by my
supervisor, a result of my careful planning. Discussions with my supervisor were useful and
led to me seeing my work from a different perspective, enabling me to make improvements.
These discussions and the need to be more concise helped me focus clearly on my
objectives and led to me removing superfluous information.
The process of writing the EPQ has taught me a great deal. Not only have a learnt about
microplastics, I have also gained knowledge about how to carry out an investigation and
produce a dissertation. The EPQ process includes planning and logging activity as well as
writing, which has taught me good habits to use when I go to University in September. At
first, I wasn’t sure how to reference my sources, but after looking at Harvard Referencing
and footnotes, I gained confidence in how to do this, which will also be useful in the future.
Drafting and then redrafting my work was also useful, as I didn’t have a lot of experience of
doing this. This process enabled me to really focus on my objectives and remove
information that wasn’t really needed, making my overall project much better. Working
with a supervisor was different to working with my teachers and so was another new and
useful experience which has helped prepare me for university. Being able to choose my
own topic for my EPQ was great and the knowledge I gained of primary microplastics and
their impact on oceans will benefit me when I start my marine biology course at university. I
am hoping that the future will bring opportunities for me to find out more about this topic
and that I will be able to take part in primary research to widen and deepen understanding
of this vital area.

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