Project Work – this infamous A level subject would usually be the buzz around school during JC1. Perhaps you would have heard rumours about it during your secondary school days. Or maybe your seniors mentioned their sleepless nights, their pain and suffering, and the incurred emotional damage 😉
While I am not denying that there is some truth behind these rumours, there are plenty of others who have had a wonderful PW experience. Ultimately, whether you like it or not, a good part of it comes down to luck. You really cannot control how competent (or frustrating!) your groupmates are or whether your teacher knows what they are doing.
But do not be afraid, because in this six-part series, I will be covering everything PW, from the tedious content ideation and writing, to the handling of cumbersome groupmates and finally the dreaded but salient oral presentation.
Now, my experience was definitely not the best one to begin with. From the get go, we were off to a rough start. But rather than explaining it with words, here is a short video of the first few months of PW up till we had chosen our topic.
Perhaps my experience cannot apply for all of you. Different schools have different ways of selecting your topics.
But, one thing is for sure, we should not overlook the importance of the topic selection and crafting. Here’s some tips on how to ace your topic selection and crafting!
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Be Clear On Your Target Audience And Beneficiary, Intervention and Main Agent
First and foremost, when thinking of your topic, note that there is no ‘correct’ or ‘wrong’ topic. Generally, this can be anything under the sun. (What you read, what you hear or what you are interested in.)
However, one thing you need to be certain of when coming up with your topic is the four main components of your project. This includes your target audience (who your project intends to target), your target beneficiary (who your project aims to benefit), your main intervention (your proposed initiative that will help you achieve your aim) and your main agent (the one helping you execute this initiative).
Every part of your Written Report has to link back to these four components. As such, it is vital that you are clear on them from the start.
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Scope
Secondly, you must be clear on the scope of your project. For instance, perhaps my group wants to propose a fun run that aims to target adults to promote healthy living, with the help of the government. The problem with this statement is that it is too vague. The adult population is too large and it would be better to narrow it down to perhaps ‘adults struggling with diabetes’ or something along those lines.
The same goes for the initiative and the main agent. You need to give greater detail on what this fun run comprises of. Additionally, using an agent as broad as the ‘government’ is not going to work out. Is there a specific section of the government that is better suited to take on the role of promoting healthy living?
These are the considerations that you would need to ponder on when determining your scope. It may be a hassle at first. (it was for my group!) But by sharpening your scope, the content ideation process becomes much smoother overall.
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ATQ!
And lastly, make sure to answer the question. Every year, there should be different task requirements that come with the topics given, so ensure you address all of them!
That’s all we have regarding topic selection and crafting! Look out for Part 2 next week where we share tips and tricks on how to write an excellent Written Report!
