Keep a coursework journal that records research, observational drawings, experiments and reflections, showing the development of ideas honestly and continuously

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to keep a coursework journal that records your research, drawings, experiments and reflections, and shows how your ideas developed honestly and continuously. The journal is one of the most important parts of coursework, because it is the visible story of your thinking, not just the finished work. The central idea is that the journal records the journey, including the rough parts and the dead ends, and that keeping it continuously and honestly is what makes it valuable.

The answer

What the journal is for

The coursework journal (or sketchbook) is the visible record of how your project developed. It shows the examiner your research, your thinking, your experiments and your decisions, so they can see the journey behind your final piece, not just the result. Two students might make similar final works, but the one whose journal shows genuine development, exploration and improvement demonstrates far more. The journal is where the real learning is shown.

What to put in it

A strong journal holds a range of things:

• Research: gathered images, photographs, and notes about artists who relate to your theme (in your own words).
• Observational drawings and studies: drawings of your subject that build your looking and your visual bank.
• Experiments: trials of different media, techniques, colours and compositions.
• Ideas and plans: mind-maps, thumbnails and rough plans for pieces.
• Reflections: short notes on what you tried, what worked and what did not, and what you will do next.

Crucially, the rough, messy and unfinished pages belong in the journal too; they are the evidence of real work.

Keep it honest and continuous

The single biggest rule is to keep the journal going throughout the project, not fill it in at the end. A continuous journal records real decisions and experiments as they happen, so it is honest and shows genuine development. A journal faked at the end is tidy but empty of real thinking and dead ends, and examiners can usually tell. Work in it regularly, even briefly, so it grows alongside your project.

Writing useful reflections

Reflections are the writing that explains your thinking. A useful reflection is honest and specific: it says what you tried, what worked, what did not, and what you will do next, rather than vague comments like "this is nice." Linking your thinking to your next step shows the examiner that your project is developing through real decisions. Even a few honest sentences per page make the journal far stronger.

Examples in context

Example 1. A developing sketchbook. A journal that moves page by page from first research and observational drawings, through media experiments and rejected ideas, to plans for the final piece tells a clear story of growth. Its honest record of dead ends and improvements shows the genuine development that examiners reward far more than a tidy, empty book.

Example 2. A reflective page after an experiment. After trying a new technique, a student writes a few honest sentences: what they attempted, that it half-worked, and what they will change next. That small, specific reflection turns a page of trials into evidence of real thinking, showing why useful reflection matters.

Try this

Q1. Explain what a coursework journal is for. [2 marks]

• Cue. It is the visible record of how your project developed, showing your research, drawings, experiments and decisions, so the examiner sees the journey behind the final work, not just the result.

Q2. List four kinds of things you should put in your journal. [2 marks]

• Cue. Research and gathered images, observational drawings and studies, experiments with media and composition, plans and mind-maps, and short reflections (including rough, unfinished pages).

Q3. Explain why it is better to keep the journal going throughout than to fill it in at the end. [3 marks]

• Cue. Continuous recording captures real decisions and experiments as they happen, showing genuine development, while a journal faked at the end is tidy but empty of real thinking and dead ends, which examiners can tell.