Read the criteria for your qualification
Start with the current mark scheme supplied by your school. Awarding bodies use their own wording and weightings; this guide explains broad skills, not a substitute marking grid.
Ask what evidence in your project would demonstrate each skill. A claim that you worked independently needs to be supported by the decisions and work recorded.
Management and research
A useful plan shows milestones, resources and how progress will be reviewed. Strong management includes adjusting the plan when evidence or time constraints change.
Research quality is not a count of websites. Consider relevance, method, authority and limitations, then explain how the evidence influences the investigation.
Development and analysis
The project should use research to develop an answer or outcome. Description establishes necessary context; analysis explains relationships, tests claims and weighs alternatives.
Check that the conclusion follows from the work and acknowledges limits. Do not claim more certainty than the evidence allows.
Review and reflection
Review both the outcome and the process. Which decisions helped, which did not, and what would you change? Specific reflection is more informative than saying the project went well.
Use the criteria to identify missing evidence while work is underway. Retrospectively inventing progress or decisions is not an acceptable way to fill a gap.
Check your school’s current specification and supervisor guidance. AQA’s qualification overview illustrates one awarding body’s requirements; formats and criteria can differ.