Eduqas A-Level Art and Design contextual and critical studies overview quiz quiz

There is no real difference; the two words mean the same thing in critical writing

Analysis is always shorter and less detailed than a description of the same work

Description states what is there; analysis explains how and why the work makes meaning

Description requires a full bibliography, whereas analysis never cites any source at all

Form

Process

Judgement

Context

As a response to ideas, events, technology, or a reaction against the preceding art

Spontaneously and at random, with no identifiable cause, context or shared aim behind them

Only from government decisions and official commissions handed down to approved artists

Always from a single artist working alone, with no shared aims or wider influences at all

It does not matter at all; only the finished list of artists ever earns marks under AO1

Context explains the meaning of the work, which a candidate can analyse and use; a list is only recall

Lists of artists are strictly forbidden by the examiners and will always be heavily penalised throughout the marking process

The names of artists are kept secret and cannot be revealed to candidates during study

They are the same activity, and examiners treat the two terms as interchangeable in practice

Responding simply means tracing the original work exactly, line for line, with no change

Copying reproduces a work; responding analyses and adapts specific aspects to your own enquiry

Copying always scores more highly than responding because it demonstrates greater technical skill

Their age, nationality and market price

Their fame, the awards they won and sales figures

Only their biography and personal life story

Their intentions, methods and visual language

Seeing a work in person reveals real scale, surface, colour and presence that reproductions lose

It does not matter in the slightest, because a printed reproduction is exactly identical to the original work

Galleries give out free prints of the works on display to every visiting candidate

It is simply faster than reading about the work in books, articles and online sources

Collect as many sources as possible, without evaluating their relevance or reliability

Evaluate, select, use analytically, and reference with a bibliography

Copy long passages directly into the study, without comment, analysis or referencing

Avoid quoting anyone at all, and rely only on your own opinions of the artwork

As a broad survey of several different artists' biographies and life stories

As a plain list of facts, dates and names with no argument or analysis

Around a focused question, so it argues a line and goes deep

Without any structure, plan or guiding question to shape the writing

Disconnected bullet points and short image captions instead of flowing, linked paragraphs

A single unbroken sentence running, without any full stops, for the whole length of the study

Only direct quotations from sources, strung together with no analysis or argument of your own

An essay with introduction, developed linked analytical paragraphs and a conclusion

At least 1000 words, connected explicitly to the candidate's own practical enquiry

500 words, and it need not connect in any way to the candidate's own practical work

3000 words minimum, kept entirely separate from the candidate's practical investigation

Any length at all, about any artist, with no link to the candidate's own enquiry

Memorising dates, names and facts so they can be recalled accurately in the exam

Analysis and judgement (the move from description to critical understanding)

Copying famous works as closely and accurately as possible to show technical skill

Writing as little as possible while still meeting the minimum word count required