IB Diploma Programme · SL & HL
Component requirements and criteria for the Comparative Study, Process Portfolio and Exhibition — plus formal analysis vocabulary and curatorial rationale structure.
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Aligned with the latest 2026 syllabus and board specifications. This sheet is prepared to match your exam board’s official specifications for the 2026 exam series.
Visual Arts is assessed almost entirely on documentation: how you analyse other artists' work, how you evidence your own process, and how you curate and explain your final body of work. Strong studio practice with weak documentation scores badly. This reference sheet sets out what each component actually requires and the analytical vocabulary that makes the writing credible.
Comparative Study — structure and criteria
Process Portfolio — what counts as evidence
Exhibition and curatorial rationale frameworks
Formal analysis vocabulary for writing about art
Check the current subject guide for the exact screen counts and weightings for your cohort — they differ between SL and HL.
A written, screen-based comparison of artworks by different artists from different cultural contexts, submitted as a set of screens.
The cultural-contrast requirement is not decorative — comparison across contexts is what the criteria reward.
At least three artworks by at least two different artists
Artists from contrasting cultural contexts
HL additionally reflects on how the study influenced your own practice
Includes a list of sources cited
Selected screens evidencing your experimentation, development, skill acquisition and critical reflection across the course.
Must show sustained experimentation, not finished pieces
Must cover more than one art-making form
HL requires a greater range and a larger submission than SL
A curated selection of your resolved artworks, with a curatorial rationale and exhibition text for each piece.
Coherence of the whole selection is explicitly assessed. A set of unrelated strong pieces scores below a coherent set of good ones.
A coherent body of resolved work, not your best individual pieces
A curatorial rationale explaining the selection and intentions
Short exhibition text accompanying each artwork
HL submits more artworks and a longer rationale than SL
You must work across more than one form over the course.
Two-dimensional — drawing, painting, printmaking, collage
Three-dimensional — sculpture, ceramics, installation, textiles
Lens-based, electronic and screen-based — photography, film, digital, animation
This is an art-historical analysis, not an appreciation. Every claim needs visual evidence from the work.
Use annotated visual diagrams on screens, not blocks of unbroken text. This is a visual subject and presentation is assessed.
Introduce the artworks, artists and the basis for comparison
Formal analysis of each artwork in turn
Function and purpose of each artwork
Cultural context and significance of each
Comparison of formal qualities across the works
Comparison of function, purpose and context
HL: how this study influenced your own art-making, with evidence
Sources cited
Cover all four for every artwork. Students routinely do formal analysis well and neglect function and context.
Formal qualities — what is physically there and how it is organised
Function and purpose — what the work was made to do, and for whom
Cultural context — the conditions of its production and reception
Material and technique — how it was made, and what that choice means
Comparison must be integrated, not two separate studies followed by a summary screen.
Both artists use …, but to opposing ends: … whereas …
Where … resolves this tension through …, … leaves it unresolved by …
The shared motif of … carries different meaning in each context because …
HL marks require demonstrated influence, with visual evidence of your work before and after.
Name the specific technique, composition device or conceptual approach you took up
Show your own work that demonstrates it
Explain what changed in your practice as a result
Images and ideas must be cited. Uncited sources risk an academic integrity issue, not just lost marks.
Cite every image: artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, location
Cite every source of ideas and quotations
Use one consistent referencing style throughout
Precise terminology is what makes written analysis credible. Use the term, then say what it does in this work.
Line — weight, direction, quality, contour, gesture
Shape — geometric, organic, positive, negative
Form — mass, volume, void
Space — depth, perspective, foreshortening, picture plane
Colour — hue, value, saturation, temperature, complementary, analogous
Texture — actual and implied, impasto, smooth, worked surface
Tone / value — contrast, chiaroscuro, tonal range
Balance — symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial
Emphasis — focal point, how the eye is directed to it
Movement and rhythm — repetition, sequence, visual path
Proportion and scale — relative and relational
Unity and variety
Contrast and juxtaposition
Framing, cropping, and the use of edges
Observation plus effect. One without the other scores half.
Naming an element without an effect is description. The criteria reward interpretation grounded in observation.
Weak: the artist uses dark colours
Strong: the narrow tonal range, confined to umbers and near-blacks, flattens the figure into its background and denies the viewer a focal point
Formula: specific observation → effect on the viewer → link to purpose
Patronage and commission — who paid, and what they wanted
Iconography — conventional symbols and their meanings
Provenance and display — where the work was meant to be seen
Appropriation, quotation and intertextuality
Movement or tradition — and whether the work conforms or resists
This component rewards the messy middle. Resolved, finished work belongs in the exhibition, not here.
Document failures. An abandoned experiment with a reflection on why is stronger evidence than a successful piece with no process.
Skill acquisition and technical experimentation across forms
Risk-taking, including attempts that failed
Critical investigation of other artists' work and its influence on yours
Reflection that changes the next decision, visibly
Clear communication through annotated visual screens
Annotation should explain decisions, not label what is visible.
Weak: 'Charcoal study of hands'
Strong: 'Switched to charcoal to lose the hard contour that was making the hands read as diagrammatic — the smudged edges let the form sit in the shadow'
Formula: what I tried → why → what it revealed → what I did next
The portfolio cannot be assembled retrospectively — the criteria look for development over time.
This is the single biggest practical difference between high- and low-scoring portfolios.
Photograph work in progress, not only when it is finished
Date entries so the development sequence is legible
Write the reflection in the week you did the work
One idea per screen, clearly titled
Images large enough to read; annotation legible at screen size
Consistent layout across the submission
Keep text concise — this is not an essay in screen form
You are curating, not submitting a portfolio of greatest hits.
Examiners assess the relationships between works. A tight set of good pieces beats a loose set of strong ones.
Identify the thematic or conceptual thread first
Exclude a strong piece that breaks the thread
Consider how works relate across the physical space
Show a range of forms where the thread allows it
A short, tightly written argument for the exhibition as a whole.
The word limit is tight and strictly applied. Draft long, then cut to the argument.
The theme or conceptual focus of the exhibition
Why these works, and how they relate to each other
Your intentions — what you wanted the viewer to experience
The reasoning behind the layout and sequence
The relationship to your technical and conceptual development
A very short text for each piece. Give title, medium, size, and the intention behind the work.
Keep within the stated character limit — excess is not read
State intention, not description of what is visible
Avoid repeating the curatorial rationale
Examiners see your exhibition only through these photographs. Poor documentation of good work loses real marks.
Photograph the exhibition as installed, including wide views of the space
Light the work evenly; avoid flash and colour casts
Photograph each work individually, square to the picture plane
Include a view showing the relationships between works
The three areas run through all three components. Use them to check your coverage.
Investigating how and why art is made, in your own and in other cultural contexts.
Examine artists from contexts unlike your own
Consider function, audience and reception, not only form
Investigating and acquiring techniques, materials and processes across art-making forms.
Experiment deliberately and record the outcome
Work in more than one form
Deciding how to present work and articulate intention to an audience.
Curation, display and the viewer's route through the work
Written articulation of intention — the rationale and exhibition texts
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It is the only component that cannot be rescued at the end. Fifteen minutes of photographing and annotating each week is worth more than any amount of final-term effort.
Abandoned experiments with honest reflection are strong evidence of risk-taking and critical thinking. Hiding them weakens the portfolio.
Most Comparative Studies are strong on formal analysis and thin on why the work was made and for whom. That imbalance is where marks are lost.
Decide your thread, then select against it — including cutting a piece you like. Coherence is explicitly assessed.
Even light, square to the work, wide shots of the installed space. The examiner sees nothing but your photographs.
Quick answers about this free PDF and how to use it for exam revision and active recall.
Yes. This Tutopiya formula sheet is free to use and you can download it as a PDF from this page for offline revision. There is no payment or account required for the PDF download.
This page groups key Visual Arts formulas in one place for revision. Reference sheet for IB Diploma Visual Arts (SL & HL). Requirements and assessment criteria for the Comparative Study, Process Portfolio and Exhibition, plus formal analysis vocabulary, curatorial rationale structure a… Always cross-check with your official syllabus and past papers for your exam session.
No. In the exam you must follow only what your exam board allows in the hall—usually the official formula booklet or data sheet where provided. This page is a revision and teaching aid, not a replacement for board-issued materials.
It is written for students preparing for assessments at IB Diploma Programme in Visual Arts, including classroom revision, homework support, and independent study. Teachers and tutors can also share it as a quick reference.
Work through past paper questions, quote the correct formula before substituting values, and check units and notation every time. Pair this sheet with timed practice and mark schemes so you see how examiners expect working to be set out.
Explore Tutopiya’s study tools, past paper finder, and revision checklists linked from our tools hub, or book a trial lesson with a subject specialist for personalised support alongside this formula reference.
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Most marks are lost to technique, not content — describing when the question says explain, missing the mark scheme trigger, or misreading the command word. The Exam Technique Cheat Sheet breaks down what each command word demands and what examiners actually reward, question type by question type.
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This reference sheet covers component requirements, assessment focus and analytical vocabulary for IB Diploma Programme Visual Arts at SL and HL.
Screen counts, artwork numbers, word and character limits, weightings and the assessment criteria are set by the IB subject guide for your cohort and differ between SL and HL. Always confirm the exact requirements with the current guide and your teacher before finalising a submission.