EXTENDED ESSAY

The external assessment Comparative Study in Visual Art and writing an Extended Essay in the Visual Art must have clear links and this will have significant benefits. The research may be gathered by the your experience of artwork, or interest in the work of a particular artist, style or period.

This might be related to your own or another culture. Personal contact with artists, curators and galleries are strongly recommended, as is the capitalisation of local primary resources.

An extended essay in Visual Art provides students with an chance to undertake independent research into a topic of special interest. Students are encouraged to apply a range of skills in order to develop and explore a focused research question appropriate to visual arts in an imaginative but critical way.

The outcome of the research should be a coherent and structured piece of writing (with appropriate visuals) that effectively addresses a particular issue or research question, appropriate to the visual arts (broadly defined to include architecture, design & contemporary forms of visual culture).

The EE should show real understanding and personal engagement with the topic, which includes in depth analysis in response to the chosen research question. You will conduct research into the chosen topic and should include a link to a practical dimension, such as interviews, primary sources, consultations with artists or curators, museum or studio visits.

How is the essay assessed?

The extended essay is assessed against a set of common criteria for all subjects, which are interpreted in ways appropriate to each subject.

Although the supervisor gives a predicted grade, the EE is externally assessed by a qualified IB examiner and, in combination with the grade for Theory of Knowledge, contributes up to three points to the total score for the IB diploma

Extended Essay length and time requirements

This is a formal piece of writing that contains no more than 4,000 words but should not be much less than 3,000 words.

It constitutes approximately 40 hours of work by the student, although this is difficult to quantify

The supervisor should spend between 3 and 5 hours with the student, and a short interview, or viva voce with the student is recommended on completion of the essay.

Visual Arts topics

Students can choose an area of the visual arts that is of special interest to them and that they wish to learn more about. The essay should address a particular issue or research question that is appropriate to the visual arts, which is broadly defined and includes architecture, design and contemporary forms of visual culture. The outcome of the essay should be a well structured piece of writing that includes visual support material and that follows the guidelines set out in the subject specific assessment criteria.

What makes a good research question?

• It is clearly focused
• It addresses a topic that is genuinely interesting to the student
• It takes an original angle or point of view
• It provides ample opportunity for research

Remember, the EE must be formulated as a Research Question, not as a statement.

Choosing the research question is perhaps the single most important factor in determining the success of the EE.

The process of writing the essay is a journey of discovery; the student doesn't necessarily know what the outcome will be. This is why we call it a Research Question. As an EE examiner the most frequent problems I encounter when marking EEs is the lack of a focused research question, or a topic that is to general or broad in scope

Examples of some generic research questions and how they became focused, specific ones

Food in Art becomes What is the Allegorical role of food in 17th Century Dutch Still Life Painting?

Graffiti, Art or Crime? becomes a site specific investigation of graffiti in the student's own city, with examples of artistic graffiti and graffiti as vandalism. ( with good use of primary sources) How does graffiti in xxx contribute to the visual culture of the city?

Andy Warhol's Pop Art becomes How is Andy Warhol's Factory a Model for Art Production?

Rembrandt's Portraits becomes How do Rembrandt's self portraits reflect a Changing View of Self?

If you find a way to formulate your research question inline with your inquiry in your visual art study then this is very benificial. Look at what you are doing in your comparative study or visa versa and you can use the research to contribute to your process portfolio as well as your com stud.