I have been researching about how to approach my 1000 word essay and have come across an advice page which suggests certain ideas such as how to structure an introduction, the first paragraph, follwoing paragraphs and then the conclusion. By using this 'checklist' as such, I can refer back to it whilst writing up my essay to ensure I have included all the necessary points. It also provides the main stages for producing an essay. It is a simple 10 step method including a plan of what actions to perform, a first draft, editing the first draft (with structure and content as well as style) and proof reading before producing the final copy. 

I have also researched for certain local players who were playing top flight rugby at the time in which rugby union turned from amateur to professional and came across rory underwood; top try scorer for England and Leicester Tigers. So I've order his autobiography and will try to get in touch with him to see if I could conduct a small interview with him to see how rugby union becoming professional changed his life. On the subject of researching historical players, I came across a small section of Tigers history from 1990-1999 whcih includes the team turning from amateur to professional in 1997. I've printed this off so I can refer back to it when it comes to drafting my essay and creating my documentary.   

My EPQ tutor is getting in touch with MR Condliffe and so I will soon be asking him questions surrounding the structure of a documentary and so that is something that needs to be done in the future, as well as a scheduled plan of events I must carry out which will contribute to the production of my final copy.         

Recently, I have been researching ways in which I could structure the 1000 word essay to go alongside my documentary and have had little success in finding a project which has a similar theme to mine, which in a sense is a good way as it shows originality. I did find an example of an essay of how the english language has affected the german language and simply referred to it in a structural sense. What I find interesting about the following example is the amount of references at the bottom of the page; this is the same with every page in the document as well. There have evidently been an extremely wide variety of resources used to create the document and so references have been placed at the bottom of the page to keep them in order as appose to a meaningless list in a bibliography at the end of the document.

In addition I have also been looking towards ways in which I can select a question which is open for description, argument and discussion which isn't closed or straight forward. I found the following document quite useful as it gives examples of questions and critically analyses them to pick out how it could be improved and whether it would be worth persuing. It gives me an understanding of how to select a question for my project that will have endless limitations and stimulate an essay that will tick all the criteria that will present me with a good grade.

My next step is to read up on the books I have purchased surrounding the history of rugby and to finally meet Mr.Condliffe and discuss the structure for a documentary and settle on a good project title.

Today I reviewed my performance, planning and skills when it comes to EPQ related events. I discovered that my strengths include such things as showing imagination and inovation aswell as being motivated in a sense that if I am required to complete a specific task I won't stop until it has been done. I also found areas in which I am week that perhaps need improving, for example I am poor at planning and setting myself small goals to complete one step at a time. I have found a way in which I can counteract this weakness, by producing a Gantt Chart. This is simply a document which shows the progress I have achieved up to the present time and also the tasks I need to complete in the following weeks/months etc. I do this by splitting the write up in to seperate segments I complete each week or so ultimately resulting in a controlled, stress-free end project which I am happy with.

In addition I have come across the following document which outlines key skills and areas that I need to be confident with in order to complete the project to the best of my ability. It explains the areas of 6 different PLTS (Personal learning and thinking skills), the focus and how young learners apply these to different situations. I plan to print this out and place it in the front of my folder and refer back to it after each stage of my project is completed in order to see if I am a step closer to being confident with each one.

My next step is to find a few examples of previous EPQ projects which have a similar topic to mine and see what features are included, what is good about it and how I can replicate the skills they've used and apply it to my own project. Still awaiting a reply from Mr.Condliffe so instead I am most likely going to see him personally.

Over the past few days I've researched what being a production designer entales in order to possibly find a question that may be asked about issues/confrontations surrounding it. Unfortunately I have been unable to find such information as all I can find is web pages which simply state qualifications or a brief description of the proffession (such as in the picture opposite). I found this web page relatively useful because it increases my knowledge on the topic, something I enjoy, but it does not put me a step closer towards thinking of a question which surrounds production designing.

I will however, continue searching production designing for a debateable point to present in my documentary. I will do this until I get a definate answer from a teacher/someone well educated in the production designing industry, that there is no need and that I should resort to plan B which is to research the transition of rugby union from amateur to proffessional.

http://www.media-match.com/usa/jobtypes/production-designer-jobs-402758.php -Not useful towards my project but useful for educating me in the production designing business

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-production-designer.htm- Quite useful in informing the younger generation who wish to pursue this career path but not useful in bringing up potential debateable points about production designers.

Currently retrieving information and awaiting permission to meet with Mr.Condliffe in order to be educated on how to produce a documentary with all the necessary components. Still unsure of the topic I wish to pursue as my desired topic and career path I'm interested in is production design, however there is little information on the issues around that proffession and so I am leading towards rugby's transition from amateur to proffessional. I have acquired several books from a library further North and will read through them, I am also planning to get hold of a man named Jonothan Davies, who revolutionised the game and is a class example of how rugby union, going from amateur to proffessional, changed people's lives.