Present: Communication and the AP Portfolio

Big Idea 3 is about presenting your work. The AP exam is a portfolio 作品集 — not a written test. It has two sections, both submitted digitally.

• The Sustained Investigation 持续探究 section: 15 images showing inquiry, practice, experimentation, and revision, plus written evidence.
• The Selected Works 精选作品 section: 5 works that best show your 2-D skills, with written information.
• Works may be physical or digital, but all are submitted as digital images. There is no timed exam — the portfolio is built across the whole course.

The Sustained Investigation is judged on the inquiry and the practice, experimentation, and revision it shows.

• Submit 15 images — works and process documentation that show the investigation over time.
• Provide written evidence 书面材料: identify the guiding questions 引导性问题, and describe how the work shows practice, experimentation, and revision.
• Images should tell the story of the inquiry, not just show finished pieces. Detail and in-progress shots are allowed.

The Selected Works section shows your best evidence of 2-D skills 二维技能 and synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas.

• Submit 5 works (physical or digital) as high-quality images.
• For each, give the materials, processes, and ideas used, plus the size.
• These works are judged mainly on the skilful use of the elements and principles; they need not belong to the sustained investigation.

Writing communicates your inquiry, processes, and ideas to viewers who cannot ask you questions.

• Written evidence must fit within the College Board character limits 字数限制 — be concise and specific.
• State the guiding question(s) of the sustained investigation clearly.
• Describe how the work shows practice, experimentation, and revision — use evidence, not vague claims.

How work is presented affects how viewers interpret it — image quality is part of the grade.

• Photograph work with even lighting, sharp focus, true colour, and no distracting background.
• Crop to the work; avoid glare, shadows, and tilted edges (keystoning 梯形失真).
• Follow the required file formats and sizes; keep resolution 分辨率 high. Poor images can hide real skill.

Both sections are scored against published scoring guidelines 评分标准 — knowing them helps you build the portfolio.

• The Sustained Investigation is scored on inquiry and on evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision.
• Selected Works are scored on 2-D skills and the synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas.
• Readers use visual evidence in the work plus your writing to apply the criteria. Design your work with the criteria in mind — not to a formula.

Portfolios must be your own work; using others' work without permission or citation is a serious violation.

• Work based on published or photographic sources 参考来源 you did not create must move far beyond duplication and cite 注明出处 the source.
• Never present another artist's work — or an AI-generated image — as your own.
• Citing influences shows integrity 诚信, not weakness. When in doubt, work from your own photos, observation, and imagination.

Worked example (portfolio written evidence). For the Sustained Investigation you write a short statement about your inquiry and how the work developed. A strong statement links idea, materials, and change: "My inquiry asked how repetition can show the passing of time. I began with pencil grids, then moved to printmaking so I could repeat one image with small changes, revising the spacing in later prints to slow the visual rhythm." One or two sentences that connect idea → process → revision score far better than a description of the finished pictures alone.

• Know the two sections: the sustained investigation (15 images) and selected works (5 works).
• Use images for process, not only finished pieces, and name the guiding question in the writing.
• Write specifically and within the character limits — point to visible evidence.
• Photograph well: even light, true colour, avoid keystoning, and keep resolution high.
• Keep it your own work: transform any sources far beyond copying and cite them.