Revision systems

EPQ presentation examples: build your own explanation

See what belongs on a slide, what to explain aloud and how to respond when someone challenges your conclusion.

Editorial

Lead authorRobin GibbonsFounder & CEO·Latimer Tuition
Reviewed byHeather LatimerTutor Matching & Customer Service·Latimer Tuition

Before you begin

Set the boundaries before making slides

For students taking Level 3 EPQ in England, use the guidance for your awarding body and assessment year. Agree the audience, format, time including questions and required records with your supervisor. AQA allows different formats: presentation software is optional. Its 2026/27 guidance asks candidates to record presentation planning during preparation and rehearsal and discuss practical arrangements with their supervisor.

Do not adopt a universal ten-minute rule from an example online. Pearson’s Issue 4 specification suggests about ten minutes including questions but permits longer presentations, whereas its student webpage gives a ten-minute maximum. Use the specification with your centre to agree your arrangement. Discuss any access needs or delivery changes with the centre before rehearsing.

Example setup

The fictional project: should a library trial a quiet zone?

Imagine a student asking: “Should our sixth-form library trial a designated quiet study zone?” This is a proposal, not a claim that silence raises grades. The imagined project folder contains a floor plan, a small set of voluntary user comments, notes on published literature and a planning log. No real school, survey results or research findings are represented here.

For the exercise, assume the plan has one possible corner for individual study, the comments include both quiet-study and group-work preferences, and the student has not measured learning outcomes. These deliberately limited ingredients let us practise matching a conclusion to its evidence. A real project would need its actual sources, permissions, methods and findings.

Worked example

Slide 2: show what each source can tell you

On the slide

Floor plan → possible space

User comments → preferences

Published literature → context to examine

Spoken explanation

“The floor plan helps me discuss layout, not demand. Voluntary comments tell me what these respondents wanted, not what everyone wants. My literature notes help frame questions about study environments; I would need to explain each study’s setting and method before applying any finding here.”

Why this choice helps

Source quality depends partly on fitness for the claim. In your version, put a short source label beside each item and retain full details in your bibliography. Do not replace evaluation with a long list of links.

Adapt it: Choose one source you relied on. What does it support, and what does it not establish?

Worked example

Slide 3: make the trade-off visible

On the slide

Option A: quiet corner — less group space

Option B: keep shared use — no designated quiet area

Decision criteria: access, competing uses, feasibility

Spoken explanation

“A quiet corner would meet the expressed preference of some imagined respondents, but that alone does not settle the decision. I also need to consider people who use the area for group work. I cannot label Option A ‘best’ without explaining which uses would be displaced and whether the layout remains workable.”

Why this choice helps

Two alternatives force the explanation beyond ‘I found supporting opinions’. The audience sees the cost of the favoured choice; you explain how your criteria affect the judgement.

Adapt it: What is the strongest reasonable alternative to your conclusion?

Worked example

Slide 5: give a conclusion with conditions

On the slide

Consider a small trial, if access and group provision can be protected

Not established: improved learning

Before proceeding: agree how to evaluate the trial

Spoken explanation

“My recommendation is conditional, not proof that the zone works. The imagined comments give a reason to explore it. Before a trial, the library would need to decide whether the space is practical and how to assess effects on different users. I have not measured learning, so I cannot promise higher grades.”

Why this choice helps

The answer still takes a position. Conditions make clear what would have to be true for that position to stand; they are not a substitute for answering the question.

Adapt it: Complete: My evidence supports ___, but it does not show ___.

Worked Q&A

A difficult question: does preference justify the proposal?

Audience: “You say some respondents wanted silence. Why does that justify taking space from group users?”

Weak answer: “Most people prefer quiet, so it will help them learn.” This introduces an unsupported majority and turns preference into a learning result. Neither follows from the fictional evidence.

Stronger answer: “It does not justify a permanent change on its own. The comments show a preference among some respondents; they do not show how representative those views are or whether learning improves. That is why I recommend considering a limited trial only if group users still have suitable space. If that condition cannot be met, I would revise or reject the proposal.”

How the answer works: first accept the valid challenge; then identify precisely what the evidence supports; finally explain how the limit changes the recommendation. This is more convincing than defending an exaggerated conclusion.

Follow-up: “What evidence would change your mind?”

Response: “Evidence that the layout restricts access or leaves group users without suitable space would undermine my recommendation. I would need to consider another layout or retain shared use. Positive comments from quiet-zone users alone would not resolve that trade-off.”

For your project, practise with a challenge to your strongest claim and a challenge to your weakest source. AQA advises spontaneous, student-specific questions rather than an identical prepared list. These examples rehearse reasoning; they do not predict assessment questions.

Try this

Turn rehearsal feedback into a visible change

Start with your actual question, conclusion, one important source decision and one change of plan. Draft visual prompts from those records; keep the explanation beside them in notes. Rehearse aloud against the time agreed with your centre, including room for questions.

In the fictional first rehearsal, the listener says: “I heard that you did lots of research, but I do not know why you changed the question.” The original slide reads: “Read articles; collected comments; changed plan; wrote report.” Replace it with Slide 4’s original-plan → revised-plan contrast. Explain the missing budget evidence aloud. Rehearse that passage again and ask the listener what caused the change. If they can identify the evidence limit, the revision has fixed the communication problem.

Record the actual feedback and change in the required project record. For AQA 2026/27, presentation planning belongs in the preparation and rehearsal process, not a reconstruction after presenting. If the talk overruns, remove duplicated background before cutting the reasoning that connects evidence to your conclusion.

Related Ed Centre pages

These linked pages help students and parents move between closely related guidance instead of reaching a dead end.

Section overview

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Support and clarity

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.

Should every source appear on a slide?

Make the evidence you discuss identifiable, for example with a short author or organisation label beside the relevant point. Keep full details in your project bibliography and follow your centre’s requirements. A slide crowded with references does not explain why a source was useful.

Can I use this example for an artefact project?

Use the distinction between visual evidence and spoken reasoning, rather than copying the library proposal. Show a relevant design choice or version of your artefact, explain what testing or feedback changed, and evaluate it against your own aims. Agree presentation format and any demonstration arrangements with your supervisor.

Should I hide a change of mind?

No. Explain the evidence that changed your judgement and what followed. A specific change, such as narrowing a proposal because cost evidence was missing, communicates more than simply saying the project went well.

1.
AQA: The project presentation for Project Qualifications
AQA
2.
Pearson: Level 3 Extended Project Specification, Issue 4
Pearson
3.
Pearson: Guidance for students
Pearson
4.
AQA: 2026/27 guidance notes: Level 3 Extended (7993) Project
AQA

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