What is Component 2, the Externally Set Assignment, 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 10-hour supervised final outcome, worth 48 marks and 40 percent, assessed holistically 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 10-hour supervised final outcome, worth 48 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 GCSE Art and Design, worth 48 marks and 40 percent. It is a response to an Eduqas-set paper of starting points, with a preparatory period followed by a 10-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 early January 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 Portfolio, 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-project: research artists and ideas, experiment with relevant media, record from observation, and refine toward a clear plan. Because the project is shorter than the Portfolio, 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 12 marks each (48 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, judging the work holistically.
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 refine, AO3 record) developing a response to a chosen starting point, then 10 hours of sustained focus under supervision producing the final outcome (carrying AO4 present); both within a 48-mark, 40 percent component marked holistically.
Q2. Explain why thorough preparation determines the quality of the final outcome. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The 10 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 early January of the final year. It is worth 48 marks and 40 percent of the GCSE.
Two phases. First, a preparatory period in which the candidate develops responses to a chosen starting point, evidencing AO1, AO2 and AO3. Then 10 hours of sustained focus under supervision, in which the candidate produces the final outcome (AO4).
A strong answer notes that it is judged holistically against all four objectives, that the preparatory work informs the final outcome, and that the 10 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 10 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 GCSE Art and Design: a practical, portfolio-assessed course with no written exam, offered as seven endorsed titles (Art Craft and Design, Fine Art, Critical and Contextual Studies, Textile Design, Graphic Communication, Three-Dimensional Design, Photography), assessed by two components against four objectives.
How Eduqas GCSE Art and Design is structured: a practical, coursework-assessed course with no written exam, offered as seven endorsed titles and assessed by two components (Portfolio 60 percent, Externally Set Assignment 40 percent) against four objectives.
- The question paper and preparatory period: the Eduqas-set paper of broad starting points released from early January, choosing one starting point, and using the open preparatory period to investigate, experiment and record toward a resolved plan that carries AO1, AO2 and AO3.
How the Eduqas Externally Set Assignment question paper and preparatory period work: the paper of broad starting points released from early January, choosing one starting point, and using the open preparatory period to investigate, experiment and record toward a resolved plan.
- The 10-hour supervised exam: the rules of the sustained focus period, that preparatory work cannot be altered during it, that the outcome must be made unaided, and how this timed final outcome differs from the unsupervised preparatory work.
How the Eduqas Externally Set Assignment supervised period works: the 10 hours of sustained focus, the rules (preparatory work is fixed, the outcome is made unaided, no new work brought in), and how the timed final outcome differs from preparatory work.
- Connecting the outcome to preparatory work: why the final outcome must grow from the preparatory period rather than being a new idea, how the connection is what AO4 rewards, and how to make the line from development to outcome visible to the moderator.
Why the Eduqas final outcome must connect to the preparatory work: the outcome must grow from the development rather than a new idea, the connection is what AO4 rewards, and how to make the line from development to outcome visible.
- AO4 present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language: a resolved outcome that grows from the developed line of enquiry, is genuinely the candidate's own, and uses the formal elements with control.
What AO4 rewards in Eduqas GCSE Art and Design: presenting a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language, resolving the developed line of enquiry with controlled use of the formal elements.
- How the marks and grades work: the 120-mark total split 72 (Portfolio) and 48 (Externally Set Assignment), each judged holistically against the four objectives, internally marked against the Eduqas bands and externally moderated, with the total graded 9 to 1.
How marks and grades work in Eduqas GCSE Art and Design: the 120-mark total split 72 (Portfolio) and 48 (Externally Set Assignment), judged holistically against four objectives, internally marked against the bands and externally moderated, graded 9 to 1.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Art and Design specification (from 2016) — Eduqas (2016)
- GCSE subject content for art and design — Department for Education (2015)