S2 Unit 2: Recording & Sustained Study
A Level Art & Design · Semester 2 Plan · Unit 2 of 5 · ← Unit 1 | Unit 3 →
What this unit does
This is the recording / sustained-study stage, entirely under AO1 Record, carried in C3 specialist language. You compose recording pages so your thinking is visible to a stranger; you sustain two observed studies, each across a genuine two-day run without restarting; you annotate critically (what the study taught you about the theme, not what happened); and you shoot and annotate your own photographic reference. This unit closes the recording sequence and carries A1, the semester’s first attainment.
Dates & span
Weeks S4–S5 (Mon 2027-03-14 → ~2027-03-27), 10 sessions. These spring dates are provisional and may shift once the school publishes the calendar for that period; see the semester plan.
Sequence of work
| Code | Session | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| U2·L1 | Compose the Stage 1 page | Thinking visible to a stranger |
| U2·L2–L3 | Studio: sustained study 1 (2-day session) | One study sustained, not restarted |
| U2·L4 | Critical annotation | What the study taught about the theme |
| U2·L5 | A1: Recording milestone | Everything recorded so far, marked against AO1 |
| U2·L6 | Feedback and targets | Three specific actions from the feedback |
| U2·L7–L8 | Studio: sustained study 2 (2-day session) | Pushed past the first |
| U2·L9 | Photography and annotation | Own reference, annotated for what is seen |
| U2·L10 | Studio: build the recording pages | Sequenced so AO1 reads without explanation |
Assessment
A1, Fri 2027-03-19 — recording milestone (approved intention, Stage 1 pages, your first sustained study, supporting recording), marked against AO1 with C3 specialist language in view. One CS task inside the unit: CS3 Fri 2027-03-26 (recording pages build check, consolidating your A1 feedback actions). See the full register.
Key content
- Both sustained studies must show duration — layered decisions, not single sittings.
- Descriptive annotation caps your AO1 mark; critical reflection on progress is the top-band behavior.
- All reference is self-generated: nothing found, nothing borrowed.
- Convert your A1 feedback into three named actions and act on them visibly by CS3.