S2 Unit 4: Development
A Level Art & Design · Semester 2 Plan · Unit 4 of 5 · ← Unit 3 | Unit 5 →
What this unit does
This is the development stage, under AO3 Develop, with the research paper drafted alongside it. You build two competing compositions to the same resolved standard — the direction you choose and the alternative you genuinely reject — and critique both against your intention. Targeted tests answer only what the critique left unresolved. You then choose the final direction, write out why you rejected the other, and assemble the written evaluation and the Stage 6 page as a record of your decisions. You also complete draft 1 of the research paper from your contextual writing, following a teacher-set outline. The unit closes with A3, marked against AO3.
Dates & span
Weeks S10–S14 (Mon 2027-04-25 → ~2027-05-29), 22 sessions, including the reduced May Day week (S11). These spring dates are provisional and may shift when the school publishes the calendar for that period.
Sequence of work
| Code | Session | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| U4·L1 | Feedback; compose composition 1 | From your own studies |
| U4·L2–L3 | Studio: build composition 1 (2-day session) | One idea held across two days |
| U4·L4 | Research paper outline issued | Teacher structure, your content |
| U4·L5 | Studio: push composition 1 | As far as it goes before the break |
| U4·L6 | Studio: resolve composition 1 | Unresolved work cannot be judged |
| U4·L7 | Photograph and lay out | Honest documentation |
| U4·L8 | Studio: compose composition 2 | The rejected alternative, tried |
| U4·L9–L10 | Studio: build composition 2 (2-day session) | Equal effort for the second idea |
| U4·L11 | Studio: resolve composition 2 | A fair comparison |
| U4·L12 | Research paper sections drafted | Sections against the outline |
| U4·L13 | Structured critique | Both compositions against the intention |
| U4·L14 | Studio: act on the critique | Change something because of what you heard |
| U4·L15–L16 | Studio: targeted tests (2-day session) | Only what is unresolved |
| U4·L17 | Studio: choose the final direction | The rejection written out |
| U4·L18 | Studio: write the evaluation | Against the intention, not the effort |
| U4·L19 | Studio: assemble the Stage 6 page | A readable trail of decisions |
| U4·L20 | Research paper draft 1 completed | Sections into one full draft |
| U4·L21 | Studio: draft repair and gaps | Fix what the full draft exposed |
| U4·L22 | A3: Development milestone | Development plus draft 1, marked together |
Assessment
A3, Fri 2027-05-28 — the development milestone plus research paper draft 1 (compositions 1 and 2, targeted tests, evaluation, Stage 6 page), marked against AO3. This is the last session before the 14 days leading to A4.
CS tasks:
- CS6 Thu 2027-04-29 — paper outline populated
- CS7 Fri 2027-05-14 — paper section drafts
- CS8 Fri 2027-05-21 — targeted tests + critique response
See the full register.
Key content
- Both compositions must reach the same resolved standard, so the comparison is fair; composition 2 is not built to fail.
- A draft comparison page with clearly articulated rejections earns top AO4 in the exemplars, and you build it here.
- Draft 1 grows from your artist writing, not bolted on: argue before you polish the prose.