Syeda's EPQ

In our first EPQ lesson, the teacher gave us an overview of the course itself, and how we should begin to prepare for it. We were also given advice on how to keep records effectively and neatly, so that when we need them, they are easy and efficient to use. We were told to; - keep records right from the start - to begin creating a bibliography, or at least start keeping records of sources of information used - to update our plan regularly, and updating every change/ thought process As I have already thought about my ideas, and created my first working title (even though this will probably be adapted as the project goes on), I started to think about where I would get my information and research from. My main source of information will be from the books I choose to focus on, such as books I feel do/ don't portray depression very well. Also, in order to gain knowledge on depression itself, I will use the internet and various texts from libraries to aid my research.

In order to prepare us for an EPQ, the teachers running the course advised that we complete a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). The MOOC I did is called " How to Succeed in Your EPQ: the Nuts and Bolts of Completing Your Project " [1]. During this process, I commented on the MOOC with the first draft of my working title: " To what extent have attitudes towards mental health and awareness of the subject changed in literature throughout history? " In response, I received a comment which advised that I choose one specific mental illness to focus on, as concentrating on the whole issue of mental health would be very broad, and it would be difficult to go into detail this way. I was also advised to choose a specific time period to focus on, instead of just "history", as this will make my argument much clearer, and will help me focus on just one, distinct area. Taking these comments on board, I have adapted my question to help focus my research. The newest ...

I have always been intrigued by the concept of an EPQ, this being for a number of reasons. One being that by the end result, I will have obtained a number of new skills, which will help prepare me in advance for the different learning style at university. I plan to update this blog weekly, as it will act as a record of all my ideas and various processes. I plan on basing my EPQ project around the representation of mental illnesses, such as depression, in modern literature. English Literature is a subject which I am genuinely interested in, and I hope to be able to continue my passion for it onto university level. Having thought about my ideas in more detail, and considered what topics I believed I would be most passionate about, I created some focus questions, in order to help craft the route I want my project to take. They are as follows; - How is mental health portrayed in modern literature and why is it still treated as a taboo subject? - How has the way mental health is portra...