IB Visual arts connections study (SL): structure and steps
The connections study is an externally assessed Visual arts task for SL students. It is 1 PDF of at most 10 screens and 2,500 words, marked on 3 criteria for 24 marks. This structure has 4 sections: connections with context, connections with artworks, investigation of cultural significance and a separate sources file.
Some details on this page are still being checked against the IB guide.
At a glance
| Task | Connections study (SL) |
|---|---|
| Guide | Visual arts guide, first assessment 2027 |
| Sessions | May 2027, November 2027 and May 2028 |
| Levels | SL |
| Assessment | External |
| Weighting | 20% at SL |
| Limit | 2,500 words on at most 10 screens, in separate sections whose screen counts you decide, with all 3 sections covered. Examiners stop reading at the limit. |
| Criteria | A Connections with context(s) (8), B Connections with artworks (8), C Investigation of cultural significance (8): 24 marks. |
| What is changing | New course from May 2027: every Visual arts task is new, replacing the comparative study, process portfolio and exhibition of the 2017 guide, which were last assessed in 2026. |
The structure, section by section
1. Connections with context(s)
Required by the IB · Criterion: Connections with context(s)
How the chosen resolved artwork connects with the student's own context or contexts.
- Show your chosen artwork large, with title, medium and size.
- Check that it is 1 of the 5 artworks in your internal assessment.
- Identify the context or contexts that shaped it.
- Link each context to specific choices in the work.
2. Connections with artworks
Required by the IB · Criterion: Connections with artworks
Technical, conceptual or stylistic links with at least 2 artworks by different artists.
- Choose at least 2 artworks by different artists.
- Show each with full details and a reliable source.
- Name each link: technical, conceptual or stylistic.
- Set your work beside each artwork and point to the link.
3. Investigation of cultural significance
Required by the IB · Criterion: Investigation of cultural significance
Research into the chosen artworks' significance in their original context and across time and place.
- Research each artwork's significance where and when it was made.
- Trace how its meaning or reception changed across time and place.
- Support each claim with a reliable source, cited on the screen.
- Use subject vocabulary.
4. Sources file
Required by the IB · Outside the word count · Submitted separately
Every image and text source, in a separate file.
- Log each source when you first use it.
- Export the list as a separate file.
What counts toward the limit
Every word visible on a screen counts, typed or handwritten, including words inside scanned material; title pages, image labels (artist, title, medium, size, location), words that are part of an artwork, citations and references do not. The counter cannot read images, so you declare the words visible in each image yourself, after cropping, blurring or covering any text you want left out.
The limit: 2,500 words on at most 10 screens, in separate sections whose screen counts you decide, with all 3 sections covered. Examiners stop reading at the limit.
Graphs and visuals
- Reproductions of other artists' works Image, very common
Required in the connections study, for at least 2 artworks by different artists. Label fields (artist, title, medium, size, location) sit outside the word count; give a reliable source and use a good-quality reproduction. - The student's own resolved artworks Image, very common
Required in the connections study. Flag the work as your own, give title, medium and size, and use a good-quality reproduction. - Annotations drawn on images (arrows, compositional lines, colour notes) Drawn, common
Their words count. Frequency is inferred from the guide: short annotation is the expected form of writing.
The frequencies are our estimates, from what the IB guide expects and what teachers advise. We did not count them in marked work.
Citations
The IB prescribes no style and your school chooses; MLA 9 is a common choice for artworks. Sources go in a separate file.
The workspace keeps your sources and writes the bibliography in MLA 9th to start with. You can switch to APA 7th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes (footnotes) or Harvard at any point.
Pitfalls
- A chosen artwork outside the 5 resolved artworks of your internal assessment.
- Reproductions of poor quality, or with no reliable source.
- Covering fewer than all 3 sections: the study needs connections with context, connections with artworks and cultural significance.
- Scanned handwriting left in view: it counts toward the limit unless you crop, blur or cover it.
- A title screen: the guide says to leave it out.
Write it in the workspace
These sections in order with their steps, a word counter that counts the way this page says, your sources and a bibliography, and graphs from your own data. Export to Word or PDF.
The workspace is free with an account, and it never writes or rewrites your text. What we will and will not do with your coursework →
Sources
- IB, Visual arts guide, first assessment 2027 (published Feb 2025)
- IB, Visual arts subject brief, first assessment 2027
- IB, "Study visual arts" course page
- IB, "Read curriculum updates" (page last updated 24 March 2026)
- Visual arts guide, first examinations 2017 (published 2014, updated Feb 2017)
The IB documents behind this page, checked 29 October 2026. The linked ones are on ibo.org; the others are IB documents we read in copies hosted elsewhere, so we name them without a link. Everything above is in our own words: the official wording is in your subject guide, which your coordinator can give you. LimeAdmissions is independent of the International Baccalaureate Organization, which has not endorsed this page. Every coursework structure →