The Independent Research Project in A Level French
The independent research project is the largest single block of marks in A Level French speaking, and the only part of the whole qualification where you choose the content. At AQA it is 35 of the 60 marks on Paper 3. At Edexcel it is 42 of 72. Either way it is close to a fifth of the entire A Level, decided by a subject you picked yourself.
It is also the part students most often approach as an essay to be delivered rather than a conversation to be held, which is where most of the lost marks are. This page sets out how it actually works. For the whole qualification, see the A Level French guide.
Choosing a topic
The rules are narrow in one respect and very wide in every other.
It must relate to a country or countries where French is spoken. This is not a formality. AQA's mark scheme instructs examiners that where a project does not consistently relate to a French-speaking country, they should assess the performance as though the content were appropriate and then move the mark down to the equivalent point in the next band. That is a whole band, on 35 marks, for a topic that drifts.
A project on climate policy in general is exposed to that. The same project framed around France's or Senegal's or Quebec's response to it is not.
You choose it. AQA requires the student to identify a subject or key question of genuine interest to them. Edexcel expects the student to develop the focus of the question or statement independently; the teacher checks only that it will allow access to the full range of marks, and there is no approval process at Pearson.
It cannot be the text or film you write about in the works paper. AQA and Eduqas both state this. At AQA the record form makes it operational by asking you to list the Paper 2 works and declare you have not used them.
Students in the same centre should not duplicate. AQA asks that students each choose a different subject; where two pick the same general area, the title and the approach must differ, and each must do their own research.
What your teacher may and may not do
Worth knowing, because students often assume they are being under-helped when their teacher is following the rules.
A teacher may suggest a subject, discuss and advise on the title (including correcting the French of the title itself), say whether a provisional title will meet the requirements, suggest sources including websites and books, help with research technique and note-keeping, and set deadlines and monitor progress. They may give general advice on the kind of language you might use.
A teacher may not produce material designed specifically for your project, download or paste source extracts for you, give specific advice on the language of your presentation and discussion beyond the title, give feedback on your written notes or drafts, or give feedback on a practice presentation beyond telling you whether it ran over two minutes.
That last one is worth absorbing. Nobody is going to correct your presentation for you. Whatever you say on the day is what you built.
The form you take in
Every board requires a form, submitted in advance, which is then the only thing you may have in front of you. They differ in detail.
| AQA | Edexcel | Eduqas / WJEC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | Candidate Record Form | Form RP3 | IRP pro-forma |
| What it records | Title, plus sources and/or headings | Six to ten key findings | Title, up to 10 key points, around 5 sources with title and date |
| Language | English, apart from the titles of sources | English | English (English or Welsh at WJEC) |
| Deadline | At least two weeks before the test | At least three weeks before | At least three weeks before |
| Sources required | Minimum two, at least one online; maximum ten sources and headings combined | Not specified as a count on the form | Around five, with full title and date |
The common feature is the one students find hardest to accept: the form is in English. It gives you no linguistic support whatsoever. Eduqas says so outright: the pro-forma is an aid to memory and will not provide support in French. So the French has to be rehearsed until it is genuinely yours. There is no safety net on the table in front of you.
The AQA candidate record form in detail
The form asks for, in order: the subject or title of the project; at least one online source you have used; one further resource; then up to eight more sources and/or headings; then the books or film you studied for Paper 2; then a declaration signed by you and by your teacher.
Three specifics that catch people out:
- The 80-word limit applies only to the additional entries, not to the two required sources. So you have room for eight headings and should use it.
- Headings matter as much as sources. AQA's 2022 examiner report notes that some forms listed sources only, which left the examiner with no way to see what the research had actually covered, and recommends that students supply headings as well as sources so the discussion can be structured and steered. A form that is a list of URLs hands the examiner nothing to work with. A form with eight headings is effectively a set of signposts for the conversation you want to have.
- The 2026 form carries an AI declaration box, asking you to name any AI tool used including version and access link, the prompts entered, and how the output was adapted and integrated into your own work. If you are sitting an earlier series, check your own form.
You submit the form at least two weeks before the test, your centre takes a copy, and you are given the copy at the start of the test so that you and the examiner are working from identical versions. You cannot amend it afterwards.
What you may have in the room
At AQA the record form is the only permitted material. No artefacts, no images, no cue cards.
And a detail almost nobody knows: the notes you make in the five minutes of preparation may be used in Part 1 only, not in the research project. AQA's administration guidance is explicit that the preparation time is not for reviewing your record form: it is for preparing your questions on the stimulus card. The card and your notes are collected before the research project begins.
So there is no preparation time for the IRP on the day. None. Everything you say has to be ready before you walk in.
The presentation
Two minutes, and marking stops at two minutes on every board that caps it: AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas and WJEC all set the same limit. There is no minimum.
Five marks at AQA, all of them AO4: knowledge and understanding of the area of study. AQA's amplification is that the presentation should cover some key findings from the research, and that it is the quality of those findings rather than their quantity that determines the mark.
This is where the most avoidable marks on the whole paper are lost, and AQA's examiner reports are unusually blunt about how. Reported failings include:
- Spending the two minutes announcing what you are about to discuss. Openings along the lines of je voudrais expliquer…, je vais discuter…, j'ai l'intention de parler de… are described as not relevant and not attracting marks. There is no introduction section. Start with a finding.
- Giving a detailed account of the sources you consulted. Also reported as not attracting marks. The sources are on the form. The examiner has the form.
- Explaining why you chose the topic. Reported as characteristic of weaker presentations.
- Rushing. Reported as making delivery incomprehensible in some cases, and incomprehensible French scores nothing at all. The examiner reports come back to quality over quantity.
Strip all four out and a two-minute presentation has room for roughly three findings, each stated and then evidenced. That is the whole brief.
Edexcel is the exception on content: there, the presentation must summarise at least two written sources and give your personal response, and it carries 12 marks under AO2: responding in speech to written language. So at Edexcel the sources are the substance of the presentation, in a way they are not at AQA. Do not carry technique across between these two boards.
The discussion
At AQA the discussion must run at least nine minutes and no more than ten, and marking stops at ten. It is worth 30 marks: 10 for AO1, 10 for AO3, 10 for AO4. There is no AO2 in this part.
It stays on your project. AQA's guidance directs the examiner to keep the discussion relevant to the sources and headings on your record form. Unlike the stimulus card task, it does not widen out to the general course themes. Everything comes back to what you researched, which is why the headings on the form matter so much.
The examiner leads, and the emphasis throughout is on eliciting views, opinions, ideas and reactions, which you are then invited to explain, develop, justify, illustrate and defend. Knowledge of the area is what supports the responses rather than being the point of them.
That distinction is the whole difference between a good and a mediocre IRP discussion. AQA's 2023 examiner report describes the failure mode from the other side of the table: examiners working from a pre-determined list of questions, each treated as a cue for the student to deliver a mini-presentation, which the report says did not constitute a discussion at all and depressed spontaneity marks. The 2022 report makes the same point about AO4, where factual recall was prioritised over using evidence to support an opinion.
You cannot control how your examiner runs it. You can control whether your answers invite a follow-up. End on a judgement rather than a fact and the conversation continues.
How the marks split
AQA (Paper 3 Part 2, 35 marks)
| Element | Assessment objective | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation (max 2 min) | AO4: knowledge and understanding | 5 |
| Discussion (9 to 10 min) | AO1: interaction and fluency | 10 |
| Discussion | AO3: accuracy and range of language | 10 |
| Discussion | AO4: knowledge, critical and analytical response | 10 |
Edexcel (Paper 3 Task 2, 42 marks)
| Element | Assessment objective | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Presentation (max 2 min) | AO2: responding in speech to written language | 12 |
| Discussion | AO4: knowledge and understanding of society and culture | 12 |
| Discussion | AO3: accuracy and range of language | 12 |
| Discussion | AO1: interaction | 6 |
Eduqas and WJEC
At Eduqas the project is Task 1 of the speaking component: a two-minute presentation worth 10 marks, then nine to ten minutes of discussion worth 30. At WJEC the project sits in Unit 3 at A2, with the same two-minute presentation followed by a nine to ten minute discussion.
Note the shape at both: the project comes first in the test, with the stimulus card afterwards. At AQA and Edexcel it is the other way round.
What to actually do
- Frame the title around a question, not a subject. "Immigration in France" gives the examiner nothing to push against. "Has regularisation changed anything for undocumented workers in France?" gives you ten minutes of material and a position to defend.
- Anchor it geographically, in the title. The band penalty for drifting off the francophone world is severe and entirely avoidable.
- Use the headings, not just the sources. Eight headings on the form is eight prompts for a conversation you have already thought about.
- Write the presentation as three findings. No introduction, no source list, no reasons for choosing. Finding, evidence, significance. Three times.
- Time it out loud, repeatedly. Two minutes is shorter than it sounds, and your teacher is permitted to tell you only whether you went over.
- Prepare to be disagreed with. The discussion marks reward defending and qualifying a view, not reciting what you found.
- Rehearse without the form. On the day it will be in English and it will not help you say anything.
Related
- A Level French: The Complete Guide, every board, every paper
- AQA A Level French Speaking Cards: the other half of the speaking test
- A Level French Translation Practice: six passages with model answers
- French A Level past papers
- All free resources
The research project is the part of A Level French where a second person is most useful, because you cannot rehearse being questioned on your own. You can read more on the French tutoring page, or start with a free 15-minute call.
Requirements, deadlines and mark allocations on this page are drawn from the awarding bodies' published specifications, candidate record forms, administration guidance and mark schemes, and are paraphrased rather than quoted. Observations attributed to examiner reports are from AQA's published Paper 3 reports for 2022 and 2023. Forms and requirements change between series, so always confirm the current version with your centre.