Visual Arts subject report · November 2009

November 2009 Extended Essay reports Page 1 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2009 VISUAL ARTS Overall grade boundaries Grade: E D C B A Mark range: 0 – 7 8 - 15 16 - 22 23 - 28 29 - 36 The range and suitability of the work submitted As was the case in the May session, essays ranged from those with a clear structure and carefully reasoned argument , to unsubstantiated opinion papers. Some EE s showed careful choice of socially and culturally interesting subjects , which often had a special meaning for the candidate either in relation to their own cultural identity, a future university program, or for a current artistic reason, e.g. personal studio pursuits. There was an increase in essays on photography and the influences of art and culture in advertising. In a number of cases the research question needed to be narrowed down and strictly focused in order for the rest of the criteria - investigation, analysis, evaluation, a valid argument, and purposeful understanding of the question, to be treated effectively. Without a strong focused research question it is difficult to collect d ata and evaluate sources for comparison. However, it is not necessary to tell the whole story in the title of the essay. All candidates should be encouraged to formulate research questions of personal interest and to draw on a variety of sources to suppor t their arguments, such as textual analysis, study of original art works or designed artefacts, and possibly interviews with significant practitioners or authorities on the subject. (In several cases interviews were includ ed with persons whose knowledge/opinions contributed little to the success of the essay. For some reason some schools seem to think that it is mandatory to include an interview when it is not.) If candidates choose topics that have few academic sources they will not score very well on Cr iterion C. It is unfortunate when an essay is merely a description of artworks followed by a personal "conclusion/opinion" that is passed off as research. Some supervisors need to place more emphasis on better advising candidates of their choices, studyi ng the