Practice, Experimentation, and Revision
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| practice | 练习 | liàn xí |
| experimentation | 实验 | shí yàn |
| revision | 修改 | xiū gǎi |
| revision pair | 修改前后对比 | xiū gǎi qián hòu duì bǐ |
Three engines of making
- The CED names three engines: practice 练习 (repeat), experimentation 实验 (test), revision 修改 (modify) (CED 2.A).
- Practice repeats a skill until reliable — the tenth ellipse, the fiftieth hand.
- Experimentation tests without needing success: new tool, scale, surface, speed.
Returning to a finished work and changing it on purpose is ____.
Revision = deliberate change to existing work.
You should throw away every failed experiment.
Keep and annotate them — they are strong evidence.
Revision reimagines
- Revision returns to a work and changes it on purpose: crop, rework, redraw, or answer with a new version.
- Show all three visibly — scorers must see them, not take your word.
- A revision pair 修改前后对比 (first / revised, with one sentence) is classic evidence.
Practice, experimentation, or revision?
Sort each studio activity into its engine.
Select all examples of experimentation.
Repeating a mastered skill is practice.
Keep the failures
- Keep the failures — an annotated failed experiment is stronger evidence than an unexplained success.
- Each failed test tells the scorer you took a real risk.
- Practice, experimentation, revision are processes, not results — document them.
A first-state and revised-state pair, with a note, is a revision ____.
A revision pair is classic evidence.
Match the engine to what it builds.
Three engines, three gains.
Throwing away every "bad" drawing erases your best evidence of experimentation and revision. Keep and annotate the failures — a portfolio of only successes looks lucky, not investigated.
A revision pair: version 1, a flat frontal portrait; version 2, the same face relit from below with the background darkened. One sentence — "relit to make the calm face feel uneasy" — and the pair proves revision and intent.
Practice (repeat), experimentation (test), and revision (change on purpose) are the engines of making — show all three, keep the failures, and use revision pairs as direct evidence.