Analysing and evaluating work
Evaluation is not deciding whether you like something. It is working out what a piece does, how it does it, and what would make it stronger.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work
Key learning points
- • Describe before judging
- • Analyse how effect is produced
- • Evaluating against intention
- • Critique that changes the work
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 24 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 24
Visual introductionPicture this
Analysing and evaluating work
Evaluation is not deciding whether you like something. It is working out what a piece does, how it does it, and what would make it stronger.
In a nutshell
Analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work
What you already know
Part 2 of 24
Before we start
What you already know
You should already be able to describe formal elements such as line, tone and colour.
Key words
Part 3 of 24
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Formal elements
- Line, tone, colour, texture, shape, form and space.
- Intention
- What the maker was trying to achieve.
- Visual impact
- How strongly a work affects a viewer.
- Critique
- A structured discussion of work in progress.
Reset break
Part 4 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 24
Learning cycle 1 of 2
A method for analysis
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 24
Learn
Describe before judging
Start with what is actually there: format, materials, dominant colours, tonal range, composition. Description is not padding; most weak evaluations fail because they judge before they look. Only once the work is described accurately can you make a claim about its effect that another viewer could check.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 24
Learn
Analyse how effect is produced
Connect a formal element to an effect: a high-contrast tonal range makes a portrait feel severe; a warm palette softens it. The useful sentence pattern is method, then effect, then evidence. Compare your own piece with an artist's handling of the same problem to see alternatives you did not consider.
Reset break
Part 8 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 24
Quick check
Part 10 of 24
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 24
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Turning evaluation into action
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Reset break
Part 12 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 24
Learn
Evaluating against intention
Judge work against what it was trying to do. A piece intended as a quiet study should not be criticised for lacking drama. State the intention first, then assess how far it was achieved, and be specific about the evidence — which passage works and which does not.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 24
Learn
Critique that changes the work
Useful feedback names one strength and one specific improvement that is actionable now: 'the background competes with the face — reduce its contrast'. Receiving critique means listening without defending, then deciding what to act on. An evaluation that ends without a next step has not finished its job.
Quick check
Part 15 of 24
Reset break
Part 16 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 24
Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 24
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often evaluate by saying what they like. Say what the work does and how.
- People often give vague feedback. Name one specific, actionable improvement.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 24
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 24
Game · Recall cards
Evaluation should begin with...
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 22 of 24
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Formal elements include...
2. High tonal contrast in a portrait often creates...
3. Receiving critique well means...
4. Comparing your work with an artist's helps by...
5. An evaluation is unfinished if it lacks...
6. Describing accurately matters because it makes claims...
Mastery quiz
Part 23 of 24
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Analysing and evaluating work
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Evaluation should begin with...
2. The most useful analysis pattern is...
3. Work should be judged against...
4. Which feedback is most useful?
Lesson round-up
Part 24 of 24
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 24 · Watch & discover