how to write a visual arts essay hsc

• Member Login
• [email protected]
• 0483 980 820

5 Tips For A Band 6 Visual Arts Essay

May 5, 2017

It is important to note that the theoretical component of Visual arts counts for 50% of your final mark. Therefore it is important to nail the essay writing and unseen plate component of the course as well as your major piece of work. Although there are many different possible case studies which could be used to answer one of the final questions there are some universal tips which may help boost your marks.

1. Know your frames, conceptual framework and artist practice

It is a given that in the exam you will be given a set of questions which come from these three Art frameworks. Therefore it is important to know what each component entails.

A summary of the requirements of each framework:

Subjective Frame : Personal, psychological experience – What are your first impressions?, How does it make you feel?

Postmodern Frame : Ideas that challenge the mainstream – Has the artwork been appropriated? Does it include irony?

Structural Frame : Communication, systems of signs – Describe the visual language, use of line, symbolism and colour etc.

Cultural frame : Cultural and social meanings – What cultural group or race is presented? What ideology is revealed.

Conceptual framework : The relations between the WORLD, AUDIENCE, ARTIST AND ARTWORK

Artist’s Practice: Art Making – What procedures are used? How is meaning given to the Artwork? How are symbols and codes used?

Art History and Art Criticism – How do artists intend others to respond? How have other artists explored this concept? How has this idea within Art been expressed over time.

A tip for being able to quickly recognise which frame the question is coming from and what needs to be included would be to go through past paper questions and practice identifying what needs to be included in order to address the question.

2. Take an interest in certain artists or exhibitions.

Many previous questions in HSC Art exams have asked students to evaluate a single artist’s practice or components of a contemporary exhibition. It is important to stay up to date with relevant case studies and exhibitions so that you can provide interesting and useful information for the markers. If you do not do individual studies of artist’s in class  you could easily complete a case study on an artist that you used as inspiration for your major work. This way you will learn more about the processes of the artist which may help you with your practical component and you could also use this information in the exam room. I would also encourage you to stay up to date with exhibitions and art museums. I was able to complete a case study comparing different art exhibition spaces within Sydney based on the Sydney Biennale. I found that studying art exhibition spaces applied very well to previous HSC questions.

3. Consolidate your knowledge on Artist movements.

Know at least 2 artists and examples of 2 artworks by each artist.

Many schools focus largely on movements such as Modernism and Feminism which is largely applicable to questions given in the HSC. It is great to be able to compare Artists who address similar content in different time periods however it is important that you know your artists well. For example for a case study in Feminism i would compare artists from each of the feminist movements and know at least 2 examples of artworks of theirs that address the topic of feminism. I would also note differences and similarities between each artist as this could be a useful analysis to include in your essay. It would be great if you could include artists who have different artist practices, making it easier to compare and contrast and add depth to your essay.

4. Structure your essay well and provide a direct and succinct Introduction and conclusion.

Because the HSC markers for Visual arts have to mark many different case studies it is important that your ideas are well organised and structured. Your introduction should address the question that you have chosen as well as components of the art framework it involves. If you are including artists you should name them and provide brief context of in relation to how they operate in terms of the question. Your body paragraphs should also be structured and i would encourage splitting them up in terms of artist and artwork in order to provide in depth analysis in terms of each. You should be specific with your dates and examples and utilise detail in reference to artists and their practice. Your conclusion should not be a last minute addition to finalise your essay. Rather, the conclusion should provide a summary of your argument, examples and analysis. It should bring the markers back to understanding how you answered the questions and all the great examples you used to show your understanding.

5. FINAL TIP: Know your case studies! AND Stay up to date

As Major works can take up a lot of your time it is common for theoretical study to take the back seat throughout the HSC. However it is important to build up a bank of essay case studies which can be utilised in your assessments and final exam. These case studies should be up to date and you need to know your stuff. You cannot walk into the exam and attempt to wing the essay without knowing a lot about your artists and artworks. So practice timed responses, create mind maps and EBT’s and INCLUDE CRITICAL QUOTES . Quotes are especially important in elevating your essay, however you need to integrate these quotes and use them to contribute to your argument rather than just adding them in. It is also important to constantly research new information which could be included in your essay. This could include new artworks, new art historian or critic quotes or new exhibitions, this will help keep your essay relevant and fresh.

LITERARY TECHNIQUES

Texts and human experience, module c - the craft of writing, pdf of our planning pad for download, pdf of our mind map pad for download.

“Let’s Talk About the HSC”

The ultimate podcast for students and parents navigating the journey of the HSC. Presented by HSC CoWorks, each episode dives into the challenges and triumphs of the HSC experience, offering expert advice, study tips, and insights into achieving academic success.

Whether you’re preparing for exams, managing stress, or looking for ways to stay motivated, this podcast is your go-to guide for all things HSC. Join us as we chat with educators, students, and professionals to help you thrive during this important academic milestone!

🔥 NEW PODCAST EPISODE 🔥 This week, HSC CoWorks Founder and HSC Modern History Teacher, Fergus Gardiner, reveals the importance of training for Modern History exams and discusses why so many students struggle with essay writing for this subject. Listen to the full episode! 🎧 Link in Bio 👆🏼 + DM us to have a FREE Mind Map Pad posted to your door 📥

CoWorks members! 📣 Are you in the August raffle? Submit Challenge Questions and Mindmap pads on the portal for your chance to win 1 of 3 $75 Westfield Vouchers! 🏆 Any submissions you make will also go towards our Yearly Raffle which will be drawn in October. Let’s go! 🤩

A mid-Trials reminder: all of your hard work will pay off! Keep pushing 💪🏻

Considering HSC CoWorks for Year 12? Reserve your spot! Places are filling up fast so don’t miss out! Link in bio 👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼 #hsccoworks

Wondering how to prepare for your next exam? Practise Exams beat Notes every time! ✍🏼🔥 Listen to the full episode (Link in Bio 👆🏼)

[table id=1 /]

Please login to system to use all resources

Search the forums now!

We have moved.

We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has made the original ATAR Notes forum such a helpful, warm and welcoming place. Your contributions are appreciated and we will be leaving the forum in archive mode for posterity.

Please visit our new website and discussion area .

Welcome, Guest . Please login or register.

• ATAR Notes: Forum »
• HSC Stuff »
• HSC Subjects + Help »
• HSC Creative Arts/PDHPE »
• HSC Creative Arts »
• HSC Visual Arts (Moderator: maddiewainwright ) »
• Visual Arts: How To Ace the Exam (GUIDE)

Author Topic: Visual Arts: How To Ace the Exam (GUIDE)  (Read 10071 times)  Tweet   Share  

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

• Respect: +10

jamonwindeyer

• Honorary Moderator
• Great Wonder of ATAR Notes

• Posts: 10150
• The lurker from the north.
• Respect: +3108

Re: Visual Arts: How To Ace the Exam (GUIDE)

• Fresh Poster

sina_wildr99

Camillablome, dancing phalanges.

• Forum Leader
• Respect: +312

Hi, I was just wondering how many artists you think you should write about in the section II?

shaniakalan

Hey, I was wondering how many paragraphs you did on each artist and how you split it up? Also, how did you connect your artists especially if they are all so different? -Q

maddiewainwright

• HSC Lecturer

• Respect: +15
• Trendsetter
• We can always improve, right?
• Respect: +3

Hi, I've been doing the same three artists for my past exams (Do Ho Suh, Ai Wei Wei and Doris Salcedo), however, they're all contemporary artists. Just wondering if I should study an artist that is from a different art period, I know one work pretty well by Caravaggio, the Baroque painter. Would it be a disadvantage if I were to just do the artists from same period? Thank you!

Recent Posts

• Skip to content
• Skip to search
• Staff portal (Inside the department)
• Student portal
• Key links for students

Other users

• Forgot password

Notifications

{{item.title}}, my essentials, ask for help, contact edconnect, directory a to z, how to guides, creative arts k–12, writing about visual arts in stage 6.

A Stage 6 resource for students to develop skills and understanding about the Visual Arts HSC examination structure and how to develop responses.

Level up your skills in section 1

The purpose of this student learning guide is to help students write insightful, concise and well-informed section I responses for the Visual Arts HSC written examination. By reading the information and completing the activities, students will learn how to apply their knowledge and understanding of the Visual Arts Syllabus to answer each question in section I of the examination.

• Overview (PPTX 9.8 MB)
• Preparing to write a response (PPTX 6.4 MB)
• Breaking down the question (PPTX 5.8 MB)
• Planning your response (PPTX 5.3 MB)
• Deconstructing a modelled response (PPTX 5.2 MB)
• Introductory sentence(s) (PPTX 5.2 MB)
• Scaffold the body of your response (PPTX 5.2 MB)
• Concluding sentence(s) (PPTX 5.4 MB)
• Review and edit responses (PPTX 5.3 MB)
• Further advice for developing section 1 responses (PPTX 5.2 MB)
• Advice for teachers (PPTX 6.3 MB)

Supporting documents

• Review and edit responses (DOCX 89.7 KB)
• Responses to questions 1 and 3 (DOCX 83.2 KB)
• Table 1 – KCI example – example response for question 2 (DOCX 85.2 KB)
• Table 16 – PEEL and KCI scaffold (DOCX 86.3 KB)
• Table 18 – question 1 PEEL paragraph incorporating KCI (DOCX 81.7 KB)
• Table 19 – question 3 PEEL paragraph incorporating KCI (DOCX 81.6 KB)

Level up your skills in section 2

The purpose of this student learning guide is to help students construct a well-informed, extended response for section II.

By completing the activities and integrating their case study knowledge, students will be better prepared to answer a section II question.

• Overview (PPTX 2.4 MB)
• Breaking down the question (PPTX 1.2 MB)
• Visual arts word bank (PPTX 1.4 MB)
• Planning your response (PPTX 1.2 MB)
• Writing an introductory paragraph (PPTX 1 MB)
• Writing the body of an extended response (PPTX 1.6 MB)
• Writing conclusions (PPTX 1 MB)
• Improving language skills (PPTX 1.2 MB)
• Completing your own extended response (PPTX 1 MB)
• Further advice for developing responses (PPTX 1 MB)
• Advice for teachers (PPTX 2.3 MB)
• Table 17 – break down PEEL paragraph (DOCX 84.5 KB)
• Connecting verbs activity (DOCX 84.6 KB)
• Table 18 – PEEL scaffold (DOCX 82.7 KB)
• Table 19 – PEEL paragraph scaffold for artists 2 and 3 (DOCX 81.3 KB)
• Visual Arts

Business Unit:

• Educational Standards

Art Essay- Contemporary Artist- Band 6

DOWNLOAD THE RESOURCE

Resource Description

Band 6 essay for art. Many artists and very adaptable to questions.

Exhibitions are carefully constructed and curated in an attempt to convey a certain concept and point of view to its their audiences. Curators have a responsibility to not only create an exhibition of aesthetic value but one that renders thought within its audience creating a personal impact. Thus, within the exhibition titled “Who am I? Who are you? Who are we?”, artworks have been specifically organiszed and selected to convey the notion of identity, exploring ideas of the human condition. The exhibition containing a wide variety of artists such as Barbra Kruger, Ryan Presley, Glen Ligon, Marc Quinn, and Francis Bacon respectively, contains five sub-sections: Feminist identity, Australian identity, African American identity, universal and collective identity, and political and social identity. In this way, the exhibition has been shaped to convey to the audience the diversity of identity and individuality within the collectivity, having a wide variety of artistic forms and subject matter in which the audience can resonate with. Hence, the exhibition invites the audience to reconsider their own identity, regardless of their culture, beliefs, and values, and challenge how society views themself. This correlates to my Major Work series “ The curious case of the curious humans”, exploring humanity’s most frequently asked question and thus addressing the human quality of curiosity, in humanity’s constant questioning of the world around them in an attempt to solidify their identity and understand  humanity as a whole.

Report a problem

Popular HSC Resources

• Speech on George Orwell ‘1984’ – Human Experiences
• How To Survive the HSC
• One Night the Moon – Analysis (Video)
• 2020 – Physics – PHS (Trial Paper)
• Business Studies Influences on HR (Quiz)
• Sci Ext – Portfolio Pack
• 2020 – Science Ext – Exam Choice (Trial Paper)
• Domino’s Marketing Case Study

Become a Hero

Easily become a resource hero by simply helping out HSC students. Just by donating your resources to our library!

What are you waiting for, lets Ace the HSC together!

Join our Email List

No account needed.

Get the latest HSC updates.

All you need is an email address.

R . E . W . I . R . E . D

A resource site for nsw visual art, design and photography educators., general information for the 2019 hsc course will be posted here., download the web/ mobile current task for term 1 2018   here, download faculty task sheet   here.

Body of Work overview

Assessment Dates 2018-19

Assessment Task 1 : Body of Work Proposal + Cockatoo Island   Week 4 Term 1 2019

Assessment Task 2: Mid Course Review (TBA) + Exam  

Mid-Course Exams Feb 22nd – March 4th Week 5-6

Assessment Task 3: Edge of Trees  TBA

Assessment Task 4: Body of Work Progressive  TBA

Assessment Task 5; Body of Work Submission  TBA

If you experience any difficulty completing a task by the due date you will need to complete and submit a misadventure form.

A list of available printing services is available here

Use this chart to work out image dimensions for printing

Body of Work Restrictions:

Download this document to view BOSTES requirements for the dimensions of a Body of Work

Case Studies

Your Case Studies form the core of the the information you will need to inform your responses to Section 2 of your HSC exam. The artists listed below supplement the Case Studies covered in class and should allow you to build on  any ‘thesis’ based approach you might want to take to the extended response section of this year’s HSC.

A thesis based approach to responses in Section 2 suggests that you target a specific question type i.e.,

• Conceptual Framework

By doing so you can focus the information you collect in relation to the artists you study.

Ideally you should have at least 3 artists from either your inclass case studies and/or from the recommended list of online sites;

• HSC Visual Art Resources

(best if not from the same media area) and be able to discuss a range of works related to each. You should have a collection of relevant quotes related to either the works or the artists themselves.

Current Case studies to date include;

Marian Drew

Gregory Crewdson

Robert Hughes

William Kentridge

Additional Case Studies are available here

Shaun Gladewll | here

Bill Viola | here

Cao Fei | here

David Hockney | here

John Berger | here

Miwa Yanagi | here

Robert Hughes | here

Shazhia Sikander | here

Yayoi Kusama | here

Janet Laurence | here

2 thoughts on “ HSC Art ”

I’m a fellow visual arts teacher and I wanted to congratulate you on your inspirational blog. I hope you don’t think I’m rude for asking, but, I was wondering if you would be at all willing to share your program for the object unit of work (James Cornell)? It looks amazing. Thanks- Alison stewart Nowra Christian School

No problem Alison. You’re more than welcome. Gary

Leave a Reply

Login with:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• About Edublogs
• Edublogs.org
• Documentation

The Complete Guide to HSC Visual Arts Assessments

When it comes to art, it can be unclear exactly what is involved in your HSC Visual Arts assessments.

Since reading a 40 page syllabus can feel daunting, we’ve done all the hard work for you and put together a guide covering all the elements of the HSC Visual Arts Assessments!

The Overall Breakup

School-based visual arts assessments:.

• Development of the body of work (50%)
• Art criticism and art history (50%)

External Examination:

• Submission of a body of work (50%)
• Written paper (50%)

Note : The School based assessments and the external exam make up half of your mark each, but your performance and your school’s performance in the external examination will affect the scaling of your school marks.

Now, let’s look at the requirements for each of these assessments in more depth, so we know exactly what we’re doing.

School-Based Visual Arts Assessments

1. development of the body of work (50%).

The marking of your body of work throughout the year falls on two main criteria:

• Conceptual strength and meaning: 
• Resolution:  The level of skill in artmaking that the artwork shows

The art making practice is all about practically applying your theoretical knowledge of the frames.

In school, you’ll be assessed on how well you reflect each of the frames below.

The structure of your school assessments will look something like this:

The NESA assessment and Reporting guide explains that schools are to use their own discretion in choosing assessments, and 3-5 assessments are sufficient (including assessments on art criticism and art history).

We’ve written an article to help if you’re looking for inspiration for the HSC Visual Arts Major work !

2. Art Criticism and Art History (50%)

Throughout the year, you will be assessed on your understanding of art criticism and art history.

Your assessments may include in class responses to questions, or take-home essays.

These Visual Arts assessments will be based on the following:

Practice, Conceptual Framework and the Frames

For your Visual Arts assessments, you will be judged on your understanding of Practice, Conceptual Framework and the Frames, and how they interact with one another.

The questions asked in exams, short answers and essays will test your knowledge on these three components.

For a more in depth explanation of the conceptual framework and the Frames, have a look through here!

Investigation of Content Through at Least 5 Case Studies in Art Criticism and Art History

This section of assessment is entirely dependent on your school, and what they choose to teach, so we can’t tell you what to expect! Your teachers will choose a selection of artists art critics, historians and/or art movements.

You will learn about these case studies by applying Practice, the Conceptual Framework and the Frames.

External Examinations

1. submission of a body of work (50%).

Once again, the two defining factors in your body of work are your conceptual strength & meaning, and your resolution. Below are the syllabus outcomes.

Art-making outcomes:

• Practice: initiates and organises artmaking practice that is sustained, reflective and adapted to suit particular conditions
• Conceptual framework: applies their understanding of the relationships among the artist, artwork, world and audience through the making of a body of work
• Frames: demonstrates an understanding of the frames when working independently in the making of art
• Representation: selects and develops subject matter and forms in particular ways as representations in art-making
• Conceptual strength and meaning: demonstrates conceptual strength in the production of a body of work that exhibits coherence and may be interpreted in a range of ways
• Resolution: demonstrates technical accomplishment, refinement and sensitivity appropriate to the artistic intentions within a body of work

2. Written Paper (50%)

And finally you will be assessed during the HSC examination period with a mixture of short answer questions and a long answer response.

In this section, you will be using your knowledge of practice, the frames and conceptual framework as well as your five case studies to answer the questions.

Check out our Band 6 Essay Scaffold for HSC Visual Arts  to get a glimpse of what’s expected out of your extended responses! Scaffolding is a great way to approach your assessments for this unit so that you can organise information on your artists and artworks in a clear structure.

That’s all for HSC Visual Arts Assessments. Good luck!

Looking for extra help with HSC Visual Arts?

We pride ourselves on our inspirational hsc visual arts coaches and mentors.

We offer tutoring and mentoring for Years K-12 in a variety of subjects, with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or at our state of the art campus in Hornsby!

To find out more and get started with an inspirational tutor and mentor get in touch today!

Give us a ring on 1300 267 888, email us at [email protected] or check us out on TikTok !

Brooklyn Arnot is currently studying Philosophy, History and English at The University of Sydney. In her spare time she enjoys drawing mythical landscapes, flowers, trees, and artsy signs for her cafe during long train rides and basically any time there is a pen and paper around. Her incredible high school English teachers gave her a passion for literature and education, leading to her extreme enthusiasm for the HSC English syllabus and her dream to go to Scandinavia to study old viking literature.

• Topics: 🎨 Visual Arts , ✍️ Learn

Related Articles

Finding inspiration for your hsc visual arts major work, how to write a hsc visual arts essay using a scaffold, the master list of hsc visual arts practice papers, 45,861 students have a head start....

Get exclusive study content & advice from our team of experts delivered weekly to your inbox!

Looking for Visual Arts Support?

Discover how we can help you!