What does AO2 require, and how do you evidence exploring and refining media?
AO2 requires experimenting with and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
What AO2 of WJEC A-Level Art and Design requires: experimenting with and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, and reviewing and refining ideas as work develops, with guidance on how to evidence it across the units.
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What this dot point is asking
AO2 is the second assessment objective, and it is about exploring and refining media. It rewards experimenting with a range of resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, and then reviewing and refining as the work develops. This dot point sets out what AO2 requires and how to evidence both the breadth of experiment and the depth of refinement, so your media work earns marks.
What AO2 means
AO2 is about the making and the materials: how you handle media and how that handling develops. It asks for experimentation (sampling resources, media, materials, techniques and processes) and refinement (reviewing what you learn and improving it), joined by selection (choosing what is appropriate for your intentions). The crucial phrase is "as work develops": AO2 is a process over time, not a single experiment.
How to evidence AO2
Three things turn media use into AO2 marks.
- Show genuine experimentation. Sample a range of media, materials, techniques and processes in relation to your theme, discovering what each can do.
- Select with purpose. Choose the approaches that suit your intentions, and say why. Appropriate selection, not random trials, is what the objective asks for.
- Refine over time. Review your experiments, develop the strongest, improve control and combine processes, so the work visibly gains quality as it develops.
What strong AO2 looks like
Strong AO2 shows a clear cycle: a breadth of purposeful experiment, then a focused refinement of the most appropriate approaches, with control and quality visibly improving as the project develops. The candidate does not simply try things once but reviews, selects and pushes a chosen direction, ending in confident media use that serves the personal response.
Try this
Q1. State the wording of AO2 and name its two connected halves. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Experiment with and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops; the two halves are experimentation and refinement, joined by appropriate selection.
Q2. Explain why selection matters in AO2 and how refinement differs from experimentation. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Selection matters because AO2 requires appropriate choices that suit your intentions, not random trials; experimentation is the breadth of trying a range of media and processes to discover possibilities, while refinement is the depth of reviewing, selecting and developing the chosen approaches with greater control and quality as the work develops.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC specification6 marksState what AO2 requires and explain the difference between experimenting and refining.Show worked answer →
A recall and understanding task. Award marks for the wording and the distinction.
AO2 requires the candidate to experiment with and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.
Experimenting means trying out a range of media and processes to discover their possibilities. Refining means reviewing what is learned and developing it: selecting what works, improving control, and pushing a chosen approach further. AO2 rewards both the breadth of experiment and the depth of refinement, with selection (the appropriate choice) connecting them.
A strong answer notes that the word appropriate matters: AO2 is not about random experiment but about purposeful selection that suits the candidate's intentions, with evidence of review and improvement over time.
WJEC AO28 marksExplain how a candidate evidences both experimentation and refinement in AO2, and why selection matters.Show worked answer →
An explanation task rewarding understanding of purposeful media development.
Experimentation. The candidate samples a range of media, materials, techniques and processes (for example, different drawing media, mark-making, printmaking, mixed media), discovering what each can do in relation to the theme.
Refinement. The candidate then reviews these trials, selects the most appropriate, and develops them: improving control, combining processes, and pushing a chosen approach to greater quality. Refinement is the depth that follows the breadth of experiment.
Why selection matters. AO2 requires appropriate selection, so the choices must suit the candidate's intentions, not be random. A top answer stresses the review and refine as work develops clause: AO2 rewards a visible cycle of trying, evaluating and improving, where each stage informs the next, ending in confident, controlled media use that serves the personal response.
Related dot points
- AO1 requires developing ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.
What AO1 of WJEC A-Level Art and Design requires: developing ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding, and how to evidence it across the units.
- AO3 requires recording ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions in visual and other forms as work progresses, reflecting critically on work and progress.
What AO3 of WJEC A-Level Art and Design requires: recording ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions in visual and other forms as work progresses, and reflecting on work and progress, with guidance on how to evidence first-hand recording across the units.
- AO4 requires presenting a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language, drawing together the investigation, experimentation and recording.
What AO4 of WJEC A-Level Art and Design requires: presenting a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language, drawing together the investigation, experimentation and recording, with guidance on how to evidence it.
- Each unit is marked against the four equally weighted assessment objectives using mark bands, internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC, with weighted unit marks combining into the A* to E grade.
How marking works in WJEC A-Level Art and Design: each unit is judged against the four equally weighted objectives using mark bands, internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC, with the weighted unit marks combining into the overall A* to E grade.
- WJEC requires learners to include evidence of working with processes and media associated with more than one title, with the final resolution drawn from a single endorsed title or a combination of disciplines.
The WJEC requirement that learners evidence working with processes and media associated with more than one title, while the final resolution may be drawn from a single endorsed title or a combination of disciplines, and how this breadth requirement is met in practice.
- Recording and observational skills mean capturing ideas, observations and insights first-hand in visual and other forms relevant to intentions, reflecting on them, which is the practical heart of AO3.
The recording and observational skills assessed in WJEC Art and Design: capturing ideas, observations and insights first-hand in visual and other forms relevant to intentions and reflecting on them, the practical heart of AO3, with guidance on recording from direct observation.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCE AS/A Level Art and Design specification (from 2015) — WJEC (2015)
- GCE AS and A level subject content for art and design — Welsh Government / Ofqual (2015)