The most common strengths identified by examiners were:

· Strong links between studio work and IWBs in candidates‘ submissions. The interdependence of these two components, with wisely chosen pages documenting the evolution and development of studio works, was clear in the case of the strongest candidates, who had successfully used their IWBs as a base for visual and written exploration and integrated all aspects of studio and investigation practice throughout.

· Creative presentation was noted in many cases.

· HLA/SLA candidates sometimes achieved a very successful visual quality in the initial stages of their IWB practical experimentation, preparation and studio development.

· Critical thinking was apparent in the best submissions, where candidates had thoughtfully analyzed their own work and that of others, especially where candidates were encouraged to explore their own interests and to consider cultural and contextual issues.

· Candidates who used a sufficient range of sources and cited them appropriately and correctly.

· IWBs that read very well, using a narrative that touched on the salient points and evidenced knowledge and understanding.

· Some candidates showed real breadth and diversity, with evidence of bold experimentation, investigating new and exciting ways of working.

The most common weaknesses identified by examiners were:

· Weaker candidates were found to be limited in considering, describing and particularly in analyzing work from other cultures and/or times. Examiners again noted that culture and context appear to remain difficult areas for some candidates, with the function and significance of culture and the role of art in different cultures rarely being explored.

· Weaker candidates omitted to effectively investigate the processes which enabled the production of studio works. Few candidates demonstrated that they had developed the ability to understand and discuss the methodologies of other artists noted that culture and context appear to remain difficult areas for some candidates, with the function and significance of culture and the role of art in different cultures rarely being explored.

· Weaker candidates omitted to effectively investigate the processes which enabled the production of studio works. Few candidates demonstrated that they had developed the ability to understand and discuss the methodologies of other artists. Examiners confirmed that many candidates working in digital media and photography were still not documenting their practical work effectively, in line with CRB requirements.

· Inaccurate and inadequate use of subject specific vocabulary for the evaluation and critical analysis of candidates‘ own works and that of others.

· Appropriate page selection for CRBs remained a weakness, with candidates not selecting IWB pages to document their creative process and to best match the requirements of the markband descriptors.

· Weak links between investigation and studio work were identified and a lack of connections noted between candidates‘ own work and that of other artists, with some difficulty in considering and reflecting upon these connections and little development of candidates‘ own ideas.

· Many examiners reported a real over-reliance on the internet for investigation, contributing to superficial responses. Candidates who achieved in the lower markbands had often presented information directly from web sources and text books, frequently verbatim, without the thorough examination of the information to gain understanding, which would have led to informed investigation.

· Many candidates failed to acknowledge their sources sufficiently or correctly, thus not complying with IB requirements for academic honesty. It is important that pages selected for assessment include appropriate acknowledgements.