What is the Externally Set Assignment, how does the preparatory period work, and how is it marked?
Component 2 the Externally Set Assignment: a response to an Eduqas-set paper of starting points, with a preparatory period followed by a 15-hour supervised final outcome, worth 80 marks and 40 percent, assessed against all four objectives.
What the Eduqas Externally Set Assignment (Component 2) requires: a response to an Eduqas-set paper of starting points, with a preparatory period and a 15-hour supervised final outcome, worth 80 marks and 40 percent, assessed against all four objectives.
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What this dot point is asking
The Externally Set Assignment is Component 2 of Eduqas A-Level Art and Design, worth 80 marks and 40 percent. It is a response to an Eduqas-set paper of starting points, with a preparatory period followed by a 15-hour supervised final outcome. This dot point sets out what the component is, how its two phases work, and how it is marked, so you can plan a focused project that evidences all four objectives within it.
What the Externally Set Assignment is
The Externally Set Assignment is the externally directed component. Rather than choosing your own theme, you respond to a starting point from a paper Eduqas releases (normally from 1 February of the final year). Within that, the response is still personal: you choose which starting point to take, research it, develop it and resolve it in your own way. It is judged against the same four objectives as the Personal Investigation, so it rewards the same investigation, experimentation, recording and resolution, in a shorter, more focused project.
The two phases
The component is built around two phases that map onto the objectives.
Choosing and developing a starting point
The paper offers several broad starting points. Choose one that connects to your strengths and to contextual sources you can analyse, then develop it like a focused mini-investigation: research artists and ideas, experiment with relevant media, record from observation, and refine toward a clear plan. Because the project is shorter than the Personal Investigation, it must be efficient: a focused enquiry that arrives at a resolved plan in time for the supervised period.
How it is marked
Like Component 1, the Externally Set Assignment is marked against all four objectives, here worth 20 marks each (80 total). The preparatory work carries AO1, AO2 and AO3; the final outcome carries AO4, though it should also show the qualities the other objectives reward. Centres mark internally using the grid and Eduqas moderates a sample.
Try this
Q1. State the two phases of the Externally Set Assignment and which objectives each carries. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. A preparatory period (carrying AO1 develop, AO2 explore, AO3 record) developing a response to a chosen starting point, then 15 hours of sustained focus under supervision producing the final outcome (carrying AO4 present); both within an 80-mark, 40 percent component.
Q2. Explain why thorough preparation determines the quality of the final outcome. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The 15 hours of supervised time cannot be used to redesign and the preparatory work is fixed once it begins, so a resolved plan (composition, media, process) from the preparatory period is what lets the supervised time be spent making a finished, strong outcome rather than deciding.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas specification6 marksState what the Externally Set Assignment comprises, its marks and weighting, and the two phases of work it involves.Show worked answer →
A recall task. Award marks for the structure, figures and the two phases.
The Externally Set Assignment (Component 2) is a response to a question paper of broad starting points released by Eduqas, normally from 1 February of the final year. It is worth 80 marks and 40 percent of the A-Level.
Two phases. First, a preparatory period in which the candidate develops responses to a chosen starting point, evidencing AO1, AO2 and AO3. Then a period of 15 hours of sustained focus under supervision, in which the candidate produces the final outcome (AO4).
A strong answer notes that it is judged against all four objectives, that the preparatory work informs the final outcome, and that the 15 hours is for making the planned outcome, not for deciding.
Eduqas Photography ESA8 marksExplain the purpose of the preparatory period in the Externally Set Assignment and how a candidate should use it.Show worked answer →
An explanation task rewarding understanding of the preparatory phase.
Purpose. The preparatory period is where the candidate develops a personal response to a chosen starting point: investigating contextual sources (AO1), experimenting with media (AO2), and recording first-hand (AO3), arriving at a resolved plan for the final outcome.
How to use it. Choose one starting point, research artists and ideas that connect to it, experiment with relevant media and techniques, record from observation, and refine toward a clear plan (composition, media, process) so the supervised time can be spent making.
Why it matters. The 15 hours of supervised time cannot be used to redesign and the preparatory work is fixed once it begins, so the quality of the final outcome depends on thorough preparation. A strong answer stresses that the preparatory period carries three of the four objectives and produces the blueprint the final outcome realises.
Related dot points
- The structure of Eduqas A-Level Art and Design: a linear, portfolio-assessed course with no written exam, offered as endorsed titles (Art Craft and Design, Fine Art, Graphic Communication, Textile Design, Three-Dimensional Design, Photography, Critical and Contextual Studies), assessed by two components against four objectives.
How Eduqas A-Level Art and Design is structured: a linear, portfolio-assessed course with no written exam, offered as endorsed titles and assessed by two components (Personal Investigation 60 percent, Externally Set Assignment 40 percent) against four objectives.
- The 15-hour supervised period of the Externally Set Assignment: the rules of the period, that preparatory work cannot be altered during it, and how to plan and pace the making of the final outcome within it.
How the Eduqas Externally Set Assignment supervised period works: the 15 hours of sustained focus, the rules (preparatory work cannot be amended during it), and how to plan and pace the making of the final outcome.
- Resolving a final outcome: planning and producing a resolved response that realises intentions; drawing the development together; the final piece as the culmination of the line of enquiry (in both components).
How to resolve a final outcome in Eduqas Art and Design: planning and producing a resolved response that realises intentions, drawing the development together, and making the final piece the culmination of the line of enquiry in both components.
- Building a line of enquiry: narrowing a broad theme into a focused, personal question; sustaining a connected thread of development from starting point to outcome; making the enquiry visible to a moderator.
How to build a line of enquiry in Eduqas Art and Design: narrowing a broad theme into a focused, personal question, sustaining a connected thread of development from starting point to outcome, and making the enquiry visible to a moderator.
- AO4: present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.
How to satisfy Eduqas A-Level Art and Design AO4: present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language, drawing the whole project together in both components.
- How the marks and bands work: the four objectives equally weighted at 25 percent, the marks per component, the performance band grid, and how internal marking and external moderation produce the grade.
How Eduqas Art and Design is graded: the four objectives equally weighted at 25 percent, 30 marks each in the Personal Investigation and 20 each in the Externally Set Assignment, the performance band grid, and internal marking with external moderation.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCE A Level Art and Design specification — Eduqas (2015)
- GCE AS and A level subject content for art and design — Department for Education (2015)