Art has always been my best subject and I’m really good at drawing, but I’m getting a B for my coursework. What can I do to get an A*?

While traditional techniques and drawing are certainly important in the A Level, they only count for a small percentage of your grade. Coursework projects that receive the top grades will present a consistent line of enquiry, from initial responses to the title – where your drawing skills are important – through to the final piece. Along the way, it is important to demonstrate that you have experimented with a wide range of materials, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone in the process, refining your ideas as certain approaches prove to have been more successful. You must also engage with the work of other artists, analysing their work in depth, and developing meaningful links between their work and yours. The final piece is an opportunity to bring your individual investigation to an exciting conclusion: make sure it follows on logically from your experiments, and be ambitious. For an A*, the examiner will be looking for consistent evidence of strong observation; excellent evaluation and refining skills; relevant contextualisation, and an individual, inquisitive approach.