In this video I will present you with tips for writing a Personal Investigation for your Art A Level. I will briefly cover these 7 aspects of the essay writing process.

Since Art is a visual subject the Personal Investigation should start with an impressive Title Page which is visually interesting and uses an appropriate font. Usually an art student uses an excellent quality photograph of one of their own artworks or an image of their favourite artwork which they refer to in their essay. When you create your title page, make sure that it includes the title, your name and the word count in a big, clear and easy to read font. High quality essay title pages will make a great impression on the reader.

The entire essay must be over 1500 words in length. It should have an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. The introduction paragraphs can be up to around 400 words. The introduction should clearly outline your area of study.

The main body of text can be around 1000 words in length. It should have clear paragraphs and a well-structured plan to secure a good flow. One way of creating simple and easy structure is to have a series of paragraphs that compare and contrast a variety of similarities and differences between two artists or art forms. Another way of creating structure is by using a series of paragraphs tackling a theme through a variety of angles.

The conclusion paragraphs can be up to around 400 words. The conclusion can sum up the investigation by highlighting the discoveries of the body of the essay and linking the investigation to your own practice in implicit or explicit ways.

The illustrations come after the essay conclusion. Each artwork that you reference in the essay must be labelled in the order: artist, title (in italics), date, material and size (in centimetres). These images can be embedded into the text or placed in an appendix at the end.

You should aim to cite at least three books, three journal articles and three websites in your essay and make sure to credit the authors in your bibliography. Use guides on the internet to make sure that you reference authors in an appropriate format.

Plan

Step 1. Create a punchy title and research plan which can be identified and discussed with your tutor.

Step 2. Out of discussions, a reading list and gallery visits will be outlined.

Step 3. The plan will then be written with the help of your tutor.

Step 4. Generate the introduction paragraph of up to 400 words.

Step 5. Feedback will be given by your tutor.

Step 6. A first draft of the whole essay will be written.

Step 7. Feedback will be given by your tutor.

Step 8. A second and third draft will then be completed.

Step 9. Feedback will be given by your tutor.

Step 10. Final submission will be reached.

In this video I present tips for writing a Personal Investigation for your Art A Level. I speak about the title page, essay introduction, body and conclusion, the illustrations, bibliography and a plan. I hope that this video is useful to you and that you are successful in your writing in A Level Art. Feel free to send me questions in the comments if there are aspects of the process for which you need clarification.