Inquiry &

Research
”Asking good questions is half of learning.“ ~ Elijah Muhammad

Inquiry and Guided Questions

"An inquiry is the work created through the process
of developing, creating, revising, and exploring the
idea of your guiding question" (Ross). The guided
question is the topic you focus on for your Sustained
Investigation. In short, you have to ask a question
and answer it in-depth through your artwork.

Why is research important?

Research is the investigative part of the creative
process, which is required for building a proper AP
portfolio. It helps you explore your guided question
and expand your knowledge. It's helpful to know the
deeper meaning of your topic of focus and see
examples of works created with the same idea.

Open-ended questioning
Open-ended questioning, or asking a question that
requires a thoughtful and unlimited response, is a
good tactic to exploring your topic of focus. Being
answered with a "yes" or "no" doesn't qualify a
question as open-ended. It should be extensive and
allow for the answer to be expressed artistically.

How to ask good questions?

A good guided question will be "significantly broad
to give you ample area to explore, but defining
enough to guide you" (Ross). In general, asking an
insightful question requires a lot of thinking and
experimenting; it's helpful to contemplate on topics
that you are truly ready to indulge in. Make sure you
can answer your question through art.

Coming up with good topics

A good topic would be something that involves
your daily life or experiences. You should be
comfortable with the ideas that stem from the
topic and be ready to research them thoroughly
for a year. For example, if you're interested in
dogs, you can focus on the emotions of dogs.

Ross, Sherry. “AP Studio Art Guiding Questions.” 3.3 Inquiries and Guiding Questions, Fiveable, 28 Oct. 2020, fiveable.me/ap-art-
design/unit-3/guiding-questions/study-guide/qsZmpWigwGWIOdkXqnY9.

Mavis, Nailahni, director. My AP Art Portfolio// Getting the Top Score (5) While Being Mediocre. YouTube, YouTube, 11 Aug. 2020,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYE_IzGpAMk.

Mandy, director. How to Come up with a Sustained Investigation Question. YouTube, YouTube, 12 July 2021,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFN5bmZ3Zc. Accessed 24 Sept. 2021.

“AP Art and Design Program.” AP Art and Design Program - AP Students | College Board, CollegeBoard,
apstudents.collegeboard.org/art-design-program.