Choosing a topic and Working Titles – A Quick Guide
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Some universities, such as the University of Sheffield state that they would prefer an
EP that is of direct relevance to the undergraduate course being applied for – you
should consider where you might want to study, and the undergraduate course you
might with to enrol on before committing to a title.

Do not try to speed up your initial investigation of potential topics. If you choose in
haste you may come to regret your choice.

The topic must extend beyond your main programme of study – you should not have
extensive knowledge already about the topic you will be researching.

You should not have strong personal opinions or beliefs related to this topic, as these
might affect your ability to remain objective.

Ideally there should be a wide range of options, opinions and data related to the
topic, to allow you to weigh up the evidence and draw conclusions.

The topic needs to be of a scope and size that is manageable within 90 hours of
study at A-level standard – this work must be able to be completed independently.

Resources related to this topic must be both available and understandable by you.

Research into this topic must be ethically acceptable.

There should be no time restrictions related to this topic that challenge your ability
to complete by the submission date, taking into consideration the required word
limit for your chosen project.

If the product is an artefact, it must serve some purpose and
there needs to be a means of testing its fitness for that
purpose.

The working title of your proposed project and the proposed
actions must allow you to access the higher-level concepts
and skills in the qualification -i.e. to plan, research, analyse,
evaluate and explain, rather than simply to describe and
narrate.