Inside This Unit: The Full Breakdown
Unit 3 explains the Sustained Investigation (60% of the portfolio): a cohesive body of drawings that develops a guiding inquiry through practice, experimentation, and revision, with written evidence of that development.
Why it matters
The Sustained Investigation is the largest and most distinctive part of the portfolio — coherence and evidence of development raise scores.
Key concepts
- Sustained Investigation = a developing inquiry, not unrelated finished drawings.
- Show practice, experimentation, and revision over time.
- Written evidence names the inquiry and how the work evolved.
Sustained Investigation
Frame a specific yet open inquiry you can explore through drawing, sequence images to show evolution, include experiments and revisions (even unsuccessful ones), and write clear evidence of inquiry, practice, experimentation, and revision.
AP exam tip
Pick an inquiry you can draw many ways — too narrow or too vague stalls the investigation.
Connections to other units
- Unit 2: Media experimentation feeds the investigation.
- Unit 4: Resolved drawings may become Selected Works.
