Make: Practice, Experimentation, and Revision

Big Idea 2 is about making. Its heart is the Sustained Investigation 持续探究 — a body of work that explores one question or idea in depth over time.

• A sustained investigation is guided by questions or inquiry and develops as you make.
• It shows practice, experimentation, and revision — not a set of unrelated pieces.
• The 2-D portfolio's Sustained Investigation section is 15 images plus written evidence.
• A clear, focused inquiry gives the whole body of work direction and coherence 连贯性.

Making advances through three linked actions.

• Practice 练习 is repeated work to build skill and understanding.
• Experimentation 实验 tries new materials, processes, and ideas to discover possibilities.
• Revision 修改 changes a work based on reflection, feedback, or new questions.
• These are shown across the body of work, not just in one final piece. Evidence of experimentation and revision is exactly what the AP readers look for.

Strong works show synthesis 综合 — materials, processes, and ideas integrated so the whole is more than its parts.

• Synthesis means the components combine to create a unified effect.
• The chosen material should support the idea; the process should serve both.
• When components are integrated, viewers read one clear message rather than separate parts.
• Synthesis develops through investigation — trying combinations and keeping what works.

The portfolio must show 2-D skills 二维技能 — the elements and principles used to organise a flat surface.

• 2-D skills are the skilful use of line, shape, value, colour, texture, space, and the principles of design.
• Skilful work shows control of value, colour, composition, and mark-making.
• Skills are demonstrated across many works, in a range of materials and processes.
• The Selected Works 精选作品 section is where 2-D skills are judged most directly.

Craft 工艺 is the quality of making; composition is the arrangement of the work — both communicate care and intent.

• Craftsmanship 匠艺 is the skilful, controlled handling of materials and processes.
• Composition applies the principles of design to organise the picture plane.
• Craft should serve the idea — sometimes a rough or raw handling is the right choice.
• Consistent quality across the body of work signals a developed artist.

A sustained investigation shows ideas developing 发展 — growing and changing across the body of work.

• Development is visible when later works build on discoveries in earlier ones.
• New questions, materials, or processes push the investigation forward.
• Not every experiment succeeds — evidence of what did not work is still valuable.
• A body of work with clear development scores higher than a set of finished-but-static pieces.

Worked example (showing development). The Sustained Investigation is scored on evidence of thinking, not just finished pieces: "My first three works used flat colour; after seeing they felt lifeless, I experimented with layered glazes in works 4–6, then in works 7–9 I combined the best of both." Describing a change and the reason for it is how you demonstrate practice, experimentation, and revision.

• Build the sustained investigation as a connected body of work, not one-offs.
• Show practice, experimentation, and revision — a documented failure still earns credit.
• Push synthesis and clear 2-D skills, and keep craft clean to the edges.
• Let each work develop from the last, raising the next question.
• Choose materials and processes that embody the guiding question.