As the course progresses, this page will fill with hints and tips on how to score the most out of the assessment. Be sure to check the exemplar page for links to examples.

Suggested Timeline

The following, as with Component 1, is given to ensure you maximise your chances of a high mark.

Component 2 Detailed Timeline (January - April)

Phase 1: Response Choice and Initial Research (January)

·         Milestone 1: Carefully review the three assignment options released by CAIE (in January).

·         Milestone 2: Select the assignment that best aligns with your strengths, interests, and the resources available to you.

·         Begin initial research on the chosen assignment theme, exploring various perspectives and gathering inspiration.

Phase 2: Idea Development and Experimentation (January - February)

·         Milestone 3: Generate multiple ideas in response to the assignment brief, exploring different creative approaches.

·         Milestone 4: Experiment with a range of media and techniques to determine the most effective way to communicate your ideas.

·         Document your experiments and the rationale behind your choices.

·         Refine your ideas based on experimentation and feedback.

Phase 3: Production Planning and Preparation (February - March)

·         Milestone 5: Develop a detailed production plan, including:

o Visuals: Sketches, storyboards, mock-ups, or prototypes.

o Technical specifications: Software, hardware, and materials.

o Timeline: Allocate time for each stage of production.

·         Milestone 6: Organise and present your supporting studies in a clear and concise manner.

·         Ensure your portfolio reflects your creative process and meets all assessment criteria.

o You are not permitted to change your portfolio once the exam has finished. All files will be taken by the exams department and secured.

·         Milestone 7: Gather all necessary resources and prepare your workspace for the supervised test.

o    You will be taking into the exam all of your evidence and supporting evidence work

Phase 4: Supervised Test and Final Outcome Production (Late April)

·         Milestone 8: Execute your production plan during the 10-hour supervised test, creating your final outcome.

·         Focus on realising your creative vision and demonstrating your technical skills.

Phase 5: Portfolio Preparation and Submission (April)

·         Milestone 9: Submit your digital portfolio, including the final outcome and supporting studies, by the 30 April deadline.

Important Considerations:

·         Time Management: Allocate sufficient time for each phase, considering potential delays or challenges.

·         Originality: Ensure your work is original and reflects your creative vision.

·         Technical Proficiency: Demonstrate a good understanding of the technical aspects of your chosen area of study.

·         Documentation: Meticulously document your research, creative process, and decisions throughout the process.

·         Feedback: Seek feedback from teachers and peers during the preparation period to refine your ideas and production plan.

By following this detailed timeline and staying focused, you can effectively utilise the time between the release of Component 2 response choices and the submission deadline to produce high-quality work that meets the assessment objectives.

Inspirations

Your inspirations are the same as with Comp 1:  You are exploring ideas and understanding of the topic through the world around you. This could be seminal literature, art, architecture or contemporary media, etc. Your understanding can also be taken from your own world through primary research.

Examples of Research Ideas

Let's say that the chosen topic is recycling and that you are to inform people about recycling. This is still vague enough to put your personal touch into the outcome. Here's some examples of how you might go about research:

• What does it mean to recycle? Are there different interpretations that are causing issues?

• How much ignorance is there around recycling? Misconceptions, etc?

• Are there associated semiotics, colours, logos, that you will want to use given they are instantly recognisable

• What existing materials are there on recycling? 

  • Posters

  • Information leaflets (including the ones given by your local council)

  • Artwork made from recycled materials in order to highlight the issue (such as the art piece as part of Blackpool Lightpool (https://www.theblackpoolilluminations.info/about/this-years-illuminations/lightpool-festival-2023/) 

  • Podcasts/news articles on the problems with current recycling that you can summarise and include within your project

  • Survey/interview people on how effective recycling is within a given area/place. For example, is your school doing recycling well, do charity shops struggle to get donations, etc?

  • Research on what encourages people to recycle. Also, what doesn't?

• Are there demographics or age groups that do NOT recycle, and if targeting different audiences, how might you go about changing this? For example, your message to teenagers could be to go home and have a talk with their parents.

• Does recycling have rules that are not followed and, therefore, need attention brought to them? For example, in large (I do mean very large) crates carrying tonnes of recycled waste, it is common for the entire load to be discarded due to contamination.

• Where is recycling successful, and where is it not? Would you want to target an area that is poorly recycled?

• Does your audience understand what happens with recycled materials? Would knowing the story make them more appreciative of the effects?

• Where are any films on recycling made? Locations, etc? This might lead you to consider making a short documentary at a local recycling facility, interviewing some key people and observing the process. This, of course, isn't AO1, but your AO1 research would lead you to believe this is a good idea.

Remember: You need to be critical and objective. When looking at something, explain if you think it's effective or not. You can even find some secondary evidence (such as a poster or film) and run a focus group (from your target audience) to see what people think - taking the analysis into your own work.

When going through this, you need to always think about your audience and what it is you want to tell them.