Lesson 17: The Portfolio and the Sketchbook
Pre A Level Art & Design · Unit 4 · U4·L3 · ← L16 · semester close
At a glance
| Session | W19, one Wednesday double (~90 min) — the semester’s last teaching session, back from the break |
| Dates | Wed 2027-01-06 |
| Focus | Documentation; assemble and submit the End-of-Term portfolio; submit A5: the sketchbook |
| Deliverable | The EoT portfolio (one organized file) and the sketchbook, both handed in at close |
| Feeds | EoT (20%) and A5 (the fifth attainment) — the semester’s final grades |
| Homework | None — the semester’s work is in. Return session Wed 2027-01-20: work back, grades, 1:1 feedback |
Goal
The semester ends by choosing. Four finals, a term of process, forty-plus sketchbook pages — this double is for turning that into one organized portfolio that argues you can see, and for handing over the book that shows how you got there. Selection and sequence, one last time, at semester scale.
How it runs
- Set-up (5 min) — everything out: the four finals (drawing, series, collage, poster), process work, sketchbooks. The submission checklist from the portfolio spec on the board.
- What a portfolio argues (10 min) — a portfolio is not a folder, it is a claim with evidence: 4–5 of your strongest works, each with supporting material you choose (intention, reflections, sketches, tests, process photos — no single required formula), in one clearly organized PDF or slide file. Choose what represents you, not what took longest.
- Studio: document and assemble (50 min) — photograph or scan anything not yet digital (flat, even light, square-on — the image-quality rules from the spec); select; sequence (strongest first and last); one line of intention per work; export as one file, named properly. Submit before the close.
- A5: the sketchbook (15 min) — settle your final pages, put your name on the spine, and mark the page you’re proudest of with a paper slip. Books are collected: the fifth attainment, marked on ideas, experimentation, visual research, reflection, presentation.
- Close (10 min) — the End of Semester Survey: themes you’d want next semester, formats, freedom, what worked, the dream project. Ten quiet minutes. Exam week is next Wednesday (no class); everything returns Wed 2027-01-20 with grades and 1:1 feedback.
Assessment
EoT — the semester portfolio (20%), submitted in session and reviewed during the exam window (no sitting). A5 — the sketchbook, the whole semester’s book, submitted alongside it. Both are marked to the published criteria; grades and comments come at the return session, Wed 2027-01-20. Register: PAL S1 Assessments.