How to write an EPQ introduction

The first thing to do is to establish the purpose of the essay – in doing this, we want to break down the question that is being answered and examine the components of it. This sounds like it is just an exercise in definitions, and to an extent it is, but it’s more complicated than it may appear because it also requires justifying contentious points in those definitions. For example, if the question is “How important has religion been in shaping modern Britain” we would have to define what a religion is and set parameters for what ‘modern Britain’. Furthermore, we would then have to justify these definitions and explain why certain things had been discounted e.g. an EPQ on this would have to go into detail about Christianity and Islam, for example, but would the Jedi religion be mentioned? How about Hinduism, has it had enough of an impact to merit discussion? Or the ancient religions – if you trace causes and effects back far enough they have definitely left their mark, but is there space to craft them in to a 5000 word answer?Once the question has been thoroughly unpacked, we move on to the second aspect of the introduction, which is to signpost the argument to come. There are two facets to this: firstly, the structure of the essay should be laid out to guide the reader through what is to come and provide an overview. Then, you should also discuss the scope of the essay, explaining why certain points or views are omitted or given only a brief mention – these are topics that cover a lot of ground and the examiners appreciate that you only have a limited amount of words, so it’s better to discuss a narrow range in depth than fleetingly cover everything.