What is the AS Personal Creative Enquiry, and what does a strong one look like?
AS Unit 1 Personal Creative Enquiry is a broad, exploratory non-exam project worth 40 percent of the A level that integrates critical, practical and theoretical work on a personally meaningful theme, assessed against all four objectives.
What the WJEC AS Unit 1 Personal Creative Enquiry requires: a broad, exploratory non-exam project on a personally meaningful theme that integrates critical, practical and theoretical work, worth 40 percent of the A level and marked against all four assessment objectives, building the foundation for A2.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
AS Unit 1, the Personal Creative Enquiry, is the foundation unit of WJEC A-Level Art and Design and the whole of the standalone AS. It is a broad, exploratory project that integrates critical, practical and theoretical work on a theme you choose. This dot point sets out what the unit is, how it is structured, and what a strong one looks like, so you can build a foundation that carries all four objectives into A2.
What the Personal Creative Enquiry is
The Personal Creative Enquiry is the AS-year project. It is exploratory, meaning it is about investigating and trying things out, and broad, meaning it samples a range of approaches across the visual arts, crafts and design before A2 narrows into a specialism. You choose a theme that is personal and meaningful, then develop it through investigation, experimentation, recording and a personal outcome.
Integrating the three strands
What distinguishes the WJEC enquiry is that critical, practical and theoretical work are meant to be integrated, not run as separate exercises.
Choosing a theme
Because the enquiry is led by the learner, the theme matters. A strong AS theme is personal (it genuinely interests you), broad enough to explore widely (it has many avenues for an exploratory AS project), and open to artists and contexts (so the critical and theoretical strands have material). Themes such as the natural world, the built environment, identity, structure or pattern work well because they invite wide practical exploration and connect to a range of artists.
What a strong enquiry looks like
A strong Personal Creative Enquiry has three features. It shows a clear personal theme explored with genuine curiosity. It evidences all four objectives evenly, because they are equally weighted. And it integrates the three strands, so the analysis and the ideas visibly drive the making. The aim is not a single finished masterpiece but a coherent body of exploratory work that demonstrates the full range of skills.
Try this
Q1. State the three strands of work the Personal Creative Enquiry must integrate and its weighting towards the A level. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Critical, practical and theoretical work, integrated within one enquiry; worth 40 percent of the A level (100 percent of the standalone AS).
Q2. Explain why the AS Personal Creative Enquiry is described as broad and exploratory. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Broad means it samples a wide range of approaches across the visual arts before A2 narrows into specialism; exploratory means it rewards genuine investigation, experimentation and recording rather than a single polished piece produced to a formula, building a foundation across all four objectives.
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 AS Unit 1 Personal Creative Enquiry is, its weighting, and the three strands of work it must integrate.Show worked answer →
A recall task. Award marks for the description, the weighting and the integration.
The Personal Creative Enquiry is AS Unit 1: a broad, exploratory non-exam project on a theme that is personal and meaningful to the learner. It is worth 40 percent of the A level (and 100 percent of the standalone AS).
It must integrate three strands of work: critical (analysing sources, artists and contexts), practical (making, experimenting and recording) and theoretical (the ideas and understanding behind the work). The strands should work together within one enquiry rather than sit apart.
A strong answer adds that it is assessed against all four objectives (AO1 to AO4), is internally assessed and externally moderated, and is designed to build a broad foundation of skills before the greater specialism of A2.
WJEC AS Personal Creative Enquiry8 marksExplain why the AS Personal Creative Enquiry is described as exploratory and broad, and how that shapes a strong submission.Show worked answer →
An explanation task rewarding understanding of the AS unit's purpose.
Exploratory. The enquiry is about trying things out: investigating sources, experimenting with media and recording observations across a range of approaches. It rewards genuine exploration, not a single polished piece produced to a formula.
Broad. At AS the aim is a wide foundation across the visual arts, crafts and design, sampling more than one approach and material, before A2 narrows into specialism. Breadth of practice is part of what the AS rewards.
How it shapes a strong submission. A strong Personal Creative Enquiry shows a personal theme, evidence of all four objectives, and the three strands genuinely integrated, so the critical and theoretical work informs the practical work rather than being bolted on. A top answer links the exploratory, broad character to even coverage of AO1 to AO4 and to the progression towards A2 specialism.
Related dot points
- WJEC A-Level Art and Design (Wales) is a unitised, portfolio-only qualification of three non-exam units: AS Unit 1 Personal Creative Enquiry (40 percent), A2 Unit 2 Personal Investigation (36 percent) and A2 Unit 3 Externally Set Assignment (24 percent), all judged against four equally weighted assessment objectives.
How WJEC A-Level Art and Design (Wales) is built: a unitised, portfolio-only qualification with three non-exam units (AS Unit 1 Personal Creative Enquiry 40 percent, A2 Unit 2 Personal Investigation 36 percent, A2 Unit 3 Externally Set Assignment 24 percent), all marked against four equally weighted assessment objectives, with no written exam.
- A2 Unit 2 Personal Investigation is a sustained, candidate-led practical project on a self-chosen theme worth 36 percent and 160 marks, including an extended written element of 1000 to 3000 words, assessed against all four objectives.
What the WJEC A2 Unit 2 Personal Investigation requires: a sustained, candidate-led practical project on a self-chosen theme worth 36 percent and 160 marks, including an extended written element of 1000 to 3000 words of continuous prose, assessed against all four equally weighted objectives.
- A2 Unit 3 Externally Set Assignment is a non-exam unit worth 24 percent and 100 marks in which learners respond to a WJEC-set starting point through a preparatory period and a final outcome made in 15 hours of sustained focus under supervised conditions, assessed against all four objectives.
What the WJEC A2 Unit 3 Externally Set Assignment requires: responding to a WJEC-set starting point through a preparatory period and a final outcome made in 15 hours of sustained focus under supervised conditions, worth 24 percent and 100 marks, with preparatory and supervised work assessed together against all four objectives.
- 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.
- Analysing sources and artists means examining how and why artworks are made, using contextual and other sources critically to inform a personal direction, which is the contextual understanding at the heart of AO1.
How to analyse artists and sources in WJEC Art and Design: examining how and why artworks are made and using contextual and other sources critically to inform a personal direction, the contextual and critical understanding at the heart of AO1, with a method for analysing an artwork.
- 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)