Writing a good introduction

Writing a GOOD Introduction

ne of the first things you do in the essay writing stage is to pen your introduction.
The introduction is not a mere cosmetic, peripheral paragraph. Rather, the
introduction is vital as it sets the first impression of your linguistic and intellectual
competency and in fact is your fist chance to rouse your reader’s attention and interest
them to read further. Cambridge examiners have often stressed that better candidates
pay attention to crafting Good Introductions. Here are some tips to help you in this
venture…
Why is a Good Introduction important?
♦ Gives the first impression of your linguistic & intellectual
competency
♦ Sets the tone & direction for the whole essay
♦ Allows the marker to know from the beginning the stand
you are taking with regard to the topic
♦ When written well, can interest and engage your reader’s attention
What does a Good Introduction serve to do?
♦ INTRODUCE the reader to the topic in question.
♦ INFORM the reader of your viewpoint and the intended scope of your essay.
♦ INTEREST the marker by opening in an original way.
How do you write a Good Introduction? (Refer to table for elaboration/examples)
♦ Give General Comment(s)
♦ Interpret/Define keywords & phrases
♦ Give your viewpoint statement
♦ Give a preview of what you will cover in your essay (optional)



How do you write a Good Introduction?
(a) Give General
Comment(s)
♦ Establish the importance
of the topic
♦ Provide some factual
background relevant to
the question
♦ Highlight a problem or
controversy in the issue
♦ Open with an appropriate
quotation
♦ Share an anecdote/story
♦ Ask a thought-provoking
question
♦ Make a personal
comment on the topic
Examples
♣ One of the most significant and current discussions
surrounding cloning is…
♣ X is the leading cause of death in third world countries…
♣ In the new global economy X has become the most pressing
issue that plays a key role in influencing Y
♣ Although the genre of reality TV has existed in some form or
other since the early years of television, the 20th Century saw a
current explosion in its popularity
♣ The discovery of X has been a controversial and much
disputed subject within the field of …
♣ Concerns have been raised by several NGOs regarding the
urgent state of the environment
♣ Despite its safety and efficacy, X also has several major
drawbacks
♣ A famous person once said that…
♣ A children’s author once wrote that…
♣ The Greek philosopher Sophocles held the view that…
♣ An eye for an eye and the whole world would be blind;
Mohandas Gandhi once said
♣ It was a Friday night in Birmingham, Raglan, 21 November
1974. The pubs were filling up. Suddenly just after eight o’
clock, explosions ripped through two crowded pubs. Many lay
dead and many more were injured. Such are the dramas of
terrorism which are often flashed onto our TV screens and
headlined in the newspapers.
♣ Why is mankind so attuned to aggression? Could it be
because of our primordial instinct to survive?
♣ When does life begin? Would we ever gain concrete answers
to life’s strange puzzles? I think not
♣ Whilst many detractors would fervently disagree, I still strongly
feel that premarital sex should not be condoned
(b) Interpret / Define
keywords & phrases
♦ Clarify meaning when a
keyword is ambiguous or
has a very broad scope
Examples
♣ Qsn: A good leader should do what is necessary, not what is
popular. Comment? – Leadership can mean many different
things for different people. However, it is widely accepted that
leaders need be good role models and be of charismatic

MISIDENTIFICATION PAPER１ ＫＥＹＷＯＲＤＳ

MISINTERPRETING QUESTIONS

ØDifferent aspects of Misinterpretation

ØChoice of Question is IMPORTANT!

ØCommon language concerns – in tutorial

ØBalance

Question 1

‘The family today is confronted with more challenges.’

VS

‘The family is today confronted with more challenges.’

The family today is confronted with more challenges.’

PROBLEMS

vs

CHALLENGES

Limited

interpretation

of Keyword

ØProblem

lNot enough time spent with children

ØChallenge

ØProblem

lAging population

ØChallenge

lTo support older generation

Question 5

‘Discuss the importance of embracing immigrants in any society.’

VS

‘Discuss the importance of embracing foreign workers in any society.’

YOUTH

Characteristics of Youth

nToday’s youth,

nIs a critical youth which, having considerably increased its cultural assets, is logically led to think more, to reflect, to judge;

nIt is a demanding youth which, though it may sometimes exaggerate and succumb to personal selfishness, wants and claims honesty, truthfulness, justice and consistency;

nit is a questioning youth which wants to account for what is happening, which looks for the meaning of its own life and the significance of the history of man and of the whole universe, which invokes certainty and clarity on its own destiny and with regard to its own conduct;

nit is a youth anxious for truth, ideals for which to live, responsibility, moral beauty, innocence and joy.

nGeneration Y came of age during an unprecedented time of growth, when technology was rapidly growing in popularity. The environment in which they grew up expected more of them. They needed to be faster, more efficient, smarter and more available then previous generations…

nThe generation Ys (born between 1980 and 1999)

nA period of falling birth rates

nSometimes called the trophy kids generation – high demands to succeed

nMore connected than any previous generations

nOf those surveyed, 76% use instant messaging applications (IM)

n75% IM while doing school work

n28% own blogs

n69% have facebook accounts

nAccording to psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, the Gen Ys may be heading for a fall when their self-esteem is punctured by reality. Gen Ys think too highly of themselves

nAccording to the biggest time trend study conducted in Britain, the mental health of teenagers have declined sharply in the last 25 years.

nIn Singapore, juvenile crime rose more than 50%  between 2001 and 2002

nWhat are the problems typically plaguing the youth of today?

nYouth deviants – a real threat. What are the major causes of deviation in youth?

n

n Today’s affluent youth are plagued with idleness, which encourages experimentation

n

nDistance and aversion between youth and elder family members.

n

nParents going out to work, and spending less time at home.

n

nInfluence of the mass media

nAn idle mind is the devil’s workshop

n

nHow far to do agree with the dangers of idleness?

n

nWhy are the youth of today faced with this problem?

nE.g. one in three young people regret one-night stands

nA quarter of study participants had regrets about their tattoos

nDistance and aversion between youth and elders

nSearch for own identity

nOther priorities

nTeenage angst

n

nDo teens hate their elders?

nWorking parents spend less time with teens

nTeens going to others’ for advice / comfort

nNot able to spot ‘warning signals’ early

nMaterial compensation worsens the problem

n

nMass media

nTeens spend 5-6 hours a day with some form of media

nTeens actively seek to understand the media

nMass media – teens’ sources of sexual information

nParents (uncomfortable)

nSchool / religion (abstinence)

nPeers (learning from media?)

nMedia (by default?)

nIdentity: Who am I / want to be?

nSelection: Which media satisfies my information need / mood/ entertainment

nInterpretation: What does it mean?

nApplication: How does it fit into my life?

Paper 1 Skills

(1) Question Analysis
Understanding the requirements of the question you are attempting is the key to answering
the question well. It would be wise to note that both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ bands for the marking of
Content for Paper 1 demand that students’ work are “fully relevant”. Giving the question
requirements ample consideration before you launch into your essay would therefore help
focus your efforts on addressing the question and gearing your essay towards the coveted
‘A’.
‘Question analysis’ forms part of this pre-writing stage. It involves dividing the question up
into manageable components, identifying the key issues and the relationships between these
issues, and structuring your approach. 2 steps to achieve this are as follows:
I. IDENTIFYING KEYWORDS
RECOGNISING EXTREME VIEWS
DEFINING KEYWORDS
Keywords are the words in a question which indicate what information is required.
Underlined below are examples of keywords in a question.
E.g. ‘Young people have never been as stressed as they are today.’ What is your view?
E.g. ‘The root of prejudice and misunderstanding is ignorance.’ Do you agree?
Keywords are very often subject to interpretation. Keywords expressing extreme or
unrealistic views also need to be challenged. You need to define these clearly in order for
a common understanding to be established between your reader and you on what the
keywords mean, and where relevant, how you intend to rewrite statements presenting
extreme views into those which are more moderate. Examples of definitions and
restatements of keywords are presented as follows:
E.g.1 ‘Young people have never been as stressed as they are today.’ What is your
view?
Keywords Definitions (if necessary)
‘young’ (not necessary)
‘Stressed’ 2 aspects of stress that must be discussed are mental and physical stress
‘Today’ delimit examples and instances of modern day stress to the 21st Century
‘never’
Suggests that present-day phenomenon of stress amongst the young has reached
unprecedented proportions (extreme view)
A more moderate view would be that ‘while it is true that young people experience
more stress in some aspects of modern life, there is correspondingly more
infrastructure available to help alleviate the stress

E.g.2 ‘The root of prejudice and misunderstanding is ignorance.’ Do you agree?
Keywords Definition (if necessary)
‘root’ Suggests that instances of conflicts and irrational hate arise mainly from
ignorance
‘prejudice’ Because these unfavourable opinions are formed without a proper
examination of facts, presenting the facts in a way that takes into
consideration cultural sensitivities might help curb some instances of
prejudice
‘misunderstanding’ The general failure to communicate an idea across effectively may be due
to genuine ignorance or other more worrying factors
‘ignorance’ Since this denotes the condition of being uninformed/ill-informed or
uneducated, efforts must be made to better inform/educate the public
The definitions we ascribe to certain keywords can sometimes give us an idea of how we can
approach the question. For example, the term ‘today’ in e.g.1 suggests we could possibly
use the framework of time to compare stresses across the generations. Similarly, the term
‘misunderstanding’ in e.g.2 suggests that ignorance may not be the main cause of the world
being at war with itself.
II. POSSIBLE APPROACHES
This step examines the methods in which you can structure your approach to the question.
The table is not exhaustive. This is simply to illustrate ways in which you may develop your
paragraphs at different junctures of the essay (i.e. in the introduction, the body and the
conclusion).
E.g.1 ‘Young people have never been as stressed as they are today.’ What is your
view?
Problems and
solutions
Cause and effect Time Compare and
contrast
Some instances of
stress can be alleviated
through new and better
infrastructure to combat
that stress
e.g. The faster pace of
life is met with the
influx of resorts and spa
facilities promising a
safe haven from your
cares
Explore some of the
causes of increased
stress amongst young
people today
e.g. With the world
experiencing greater
levels of literacy and
people becoming better
educated, the young
are expected to work
harder and faster in the
face of increased
corporate competition.
Discuss the stresses
faced by young people
of previous generations
in the light of those
faced by young people
today
e.g.(i) Young people
today have to contend
with the pervasive
influences of the mass
media, while past
generations were
spared such pressures
e.g.(ii) Given the
relative prosperity of
the younger generation
Compare the levels of
stress amongst young
people across different
geographical locations
and social backgrounds
e.g. Would a young
person growing up in a
well-to-do family
experience different
levels of stress from
one who is raised in a
financially less endowed
family?

to those of their
struggling immigrant
forefathers, the former
has largely been
relieved of the
economic burden faced
by the latter)
E.g.2 ‘The root of prejudice and misunderstanding is ignorance.’ Do you agree?
Problems and
solutions
Cause and effect Time Compare and
contrast
Solutions to the
problems of prejudice
may be addressed here
as a conclusion of sorts
e.g. the task of
educating the public on
making the distinction
between Islam and
terrorism was promptly
taken up by the
Singapore government
soon after the 9/11
attacks
Suggestion 1:
Explore ways in which
ignorance is the main
driving force behind
misunderstanding and
prejudice
e.g. Some countries
plagued by rampant
illiteracy have been known
to perform acts of
irrational hate and
discrimination against
others who hold views
which are contrary to
theirs
Suggestion 2:
Explore ways in which
ignorance is not the main
cause of misunderstanding
and prejudice
e.g. Cultural dogma can
lead whole groups of
people to develop
xenophobic tendencies
towards other cultures
and beliefs which require
more than just reeducation
to eradicate.
Not relevant The different causes of
misunderstanding and
prejudice may be
weighed and the main
cause decided upon
e.g. If ignorance,
cultural dogma, etc.
have been discussed at
length in the essay,
these may be
evaluated for their
being the main reasons
behind the
misunderstandings and
prejudices in the world
In conclusion, question analysis can be likened to putting a question through a distillation
process. Having understood the nature of each distilled component and their
interrelationships, you are now in a better position to appreciate the composite question in
its entirety.

To help you generate ideas for your GP essay and to enable you to
see the issue from a larger perspective, here are three
brainstorming strategies. Depending on the question itself, there
could be one strategy that is most appropriate or all three may be
equally suitable. Sometimes it’s just a matter of preference. Each of
these strategies has been exemplified through an analysis of a
selected essay question.
(2) Brainstorming Skills
1. SPERM
SPERM enables you to consider a few major categories suitable for discussion. Whether you
are addressing the issue for a personal perspective or a global one, you can never go wrong
with this.
S – Social, Science & Technology
P – Political, Philosophical
E – Economic, Educational, Environmental
R – Race & Religion
M – Mass media, Morality
Sample Question
‘Globalisation is beneficial to all.’ Do you agree?
Social
The uniformity and sense of familiarity brought about through
globalisation can be reassuring to travellers and immigrants when
abroad. E.g. being able to find Chinese food in America
S
Science &
Technology
Sharing of technology and expertise E.g. developments in medical
technology
P Political The spread of democracy has seen the fall of oppressive regimes
E Economic With the mobility of goods, competition for better products heats
up, benefiting the consumers ultimately
R Race &
Religion
Indigenous cultures are slowly becoming extinct E.g. American
Indians
Mass media Availability of wide variety of TV programmes E.g. American drama
series, Taiwanese variety shows M
Morality Locals may pick up negative habits practised by foreigners E.g.
drug abuse
Advantages: Allows for a comprehensive coverage of GP topics
Pitfalls: Not very helpful for tackling topic-specific questions


2. WH-Questions
WH-Questions (or 6W1H) is a very direct approach to let you tackle the question from all
angles.
What → What is the subject matter? What is the problem/ solution?
Why → Why talk about this? Why is it important?
Who → People involved and affected
Where → Limited to specific country or region?
When → Limited to specific time period? Comparison between periods?
How → How to solve this problem/ correct the situation?
Which → Which points to focus on?
Sample Question
‘Globalisation is beneficial to all.’ Do you agree?
What Globalisation = the world becoming more interconnected
Why Why is globalisation significant in today’s world?
Who MNCs, workers, consumers
Where Developed and developing countries (i.e. all over the world)
When N.A.
How How has globalisation benefited the world? How is it not beneficial?
Which After organising your points, which are the ones you would focus on?
Advantages: Covers all aspects of the question
Pitfalls: Does not always provide a wide perspective
3. Onion Peel
Onion Peel starts out small and ‘expands’ to a global point of view. Starting from a personal
viewpoint to a social one and finally to a global one, it lets you consider the question on
many different levels.
Five levels: How it impacts:
1. Personal me as an individual
2. Social my family and community
3. National my country
4. Regional Asia
5. Global the world
Sample Question
‘Globalisation is beneficial to all.’ Do you agree?
Personal More choice E.g. buying products, watching TV
Social Refer to SPERM model
National Increased unemployment rate among Singaporeans as employers prefer
cheaper foreign labour E.g. firms hiring engineers from China
Regional Asian values diluted by Western influences
Global Countries can share medical expertise quickly in the event of a global
epidemic such as SARS or the H5N1 virus
Advantages: offers a very wide perspective by discussing different levels of impact
Pitfalls: cannot be used for country- or region-specific questions

Tackling Vocabulary

Tackling Vocabulary

Tackling Vocabulary

The vocabulary of a person is defined either as the set of all words that are understood by that

person or the set of all words likely to be used by that person when constructing new sentences.

Increasing the size of one's vocabulary, also called vocabulary building, is generally considered

to be an important part of both learning a language and improving one's skills in a language in

which one is already proficient. In GP, vocabulary is tested to ensure that you truly comprehend

the ideas and issues presented in the passages and you do not merely rehash words & phrases

used in the passage without any real comprehension and understanding. Your performance in

the vocabulary component also reveals your grasp and command of the English Language.

1. Using Contextual Clues - Scanning Up, Down, Sideways…

What? Make use of words you do know to make sense of words you do not know. Look at the

words that appear before, after, to the left and to the right of the word for clues that can help

you derive at the answer.

Consider the following worked examples –

1st Contextual Clue:

The word acrimonious precedes the noun ‘remarks’; thus we can guess that it must be an

adjective that tells us something about the type of remarks being made.

2nd Contextual Clue:

Tom Cruise made acrimonious remarks because someone describes his work as ‘sheer rubbish’ –

what type of comments would you make if someone described your work as ‘sheer rubbish’ –

would you say something positive? Or negative?

3rd Contextual clue:

Tom Cruise made acrimonious remarks in response to someone denouncing his work; how would

a person’s general tone and demeanor be when reacting to criticism?

Can you now guess from the contextual clues what acrimonious might mean?

Answer: Acrimonious means to be bitter and sharp in language or tone

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ZENITH May 2008

1st Contextual Clue: From the use of the word ‘by’; we can guess that the word castigated must

be a verb that tells us what action the coach took against the team after the humiliating defeat.

2nd Contextual Clue: From our real-world knowledge, we know that during post-match meetings,

coaches usually talk to their teams to review strengths and weaknesses of the game; thus,

castigated must be a way of speaking

3rd Contextual Clue: Since we know the coach spoke about the team’s shortcomings [as

opposed to strengths], it must have been something harsh and negative.

4th Contextual Clue: Since we know that a score of 6-0 is such a humiliating defeat in soccer

circles, the coach must have been infuriated and vexed when speaking to the team.

Can you now guess from the contextual clues what castigated might mean?

Answer: Castigated means to give severe criticism

2. Using Contextual Clues - Deducing from Examples & Explanation

What? Sometimes, a writer will explain the meaning of a difficult word for you. The writer may

do this by giving either an explanation of the word or a clear example.

Consider the following worked examples –

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Contextual Clue: The phrase ‘could never adjust to the modern world’ indicates that this is

someone who is averse to modernity and instead harbors worldviews that are outdated and not

in-sync with current modern views

Answer: Old-fashioned, outmoded, obsolete or archaic

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Contextual Clue: Mrs. Ng’s attitude when giving money to charity is likened to the behavior of a

young child who is forced to give away his sweets. How would a small child give away his

precious sweets? He will do so with much reluctance and resentment. Such comparison gives us

a clue about Mrs. Ng’s attitude when giving to charity.

Answer: Resent, dislike, hate, detest or abhor

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Contextual Clue: A comparison is made to a plant without water – what will happen to a plant

that is impoverished of water? – It will wilt, deteriorate and degenerate over time. Likening a

child’s desire to learn [without good teaching] to this degenerative phenomena gives us a clue

that atrophy must be related/similar to the notion of degeneration.

ZENITH May 2008

Answer: Waste away, deteriorate or weaken

3. Using Contextual Clues – Inferring from Antonyms & Contrasts

What? Sometimes we can tell the meaning of an unfamiliar word because its opposite

meaning is given in the sentence.

Consider the following worked examples –

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1st Contextual Clue: The syllogism ‘but’ is usually used to indicate something ‘to the contrary’ of

what is already mentioned. In this case, this gives us a clue that people’s demeanor toward Mr.

Arul is now contrary to being friendly.

2nd Contextual Clue: The past tense indicator ‘was’ indicates that ‘friendliness’ was something

shown before Mr. Arul went to prison. Thus, their behavior in the present must be something

contrary to friendliness.

Answer: Because of the antonym/contrast presented in the context, we can guess at the

meaning of ‘ostracized’ – to exclude from a group.

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1st Contextual Clue: The adjective ‘suspicious’ indicates that something queer and shady is

going on that is out of sync with regular, expected behavior – hence Wendy's behavior must be

in contrary to her usual manner of speaking straight to the point.

2nd Contextual Clue The past tense verb ‘usually spoke’ is indicative that now her behavior is

unusual / contrary to her habitual tendency of speaking straight to the point.

Answer: From the clues that indicate some sort of antonym/opposite meaning, we can guess

that to ‘prevaricate’ means to stray from the issue / equivocate or quibble.

4. Breaking Up a Complex Word into its Constituent Parts

What? Many English words are complex words – i.e. not just merely root words – they are an

amalgamation of prefixes, suffixes and one or more root words fused together. ‘Defragmenting’

a complex word can sometimes give us clues to its meaning.

Consider the following worked examples –

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Step 1: Break up the word ‘debilitate’ into its constituent parts - De + Ability.

ZENITH May 2008

Step 2: Figure out the independent meanings of the word parts, then try stringing the meanings

together. ‘De’ is a prefix that indicates doing or making the opposite of something – as used in

words like ‘deconstruct’ [to undo what you have constructed], ‘Decongest’ [to un-congest

something]. Ability refers to having the mental and physical power to be able to do something.

Answer: Debilitate means to impair the strength of the body.

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Step 1: Break up the word ‘maladjusted’ into its constituent parts - Mal + Adjusted.

Step 2: Figure out the independent meanings of the word parts, then try stringing the meanings

together. ‘Mal’ is a prefix to indicate something going wrong – as used in words like malfunction

or malnutrition [something going wrong with one’s nourishment]. To be ‘adjusted’ refers to being

‘in tune’ or ‘in step’ or ‘in the swing of things’.

Answer: Maladjusted means to be disturbed, neurotic, unstable or estranged.

5. Looking for Clues Out of Context

What? Sometimes when the passage offers no or little contextual clues, we need to consider if

we have seen the word out of the passage’s context. This involves thinking about other familiar

real-world usage of the term and trying to guess if that meaning aptly fits in the context of the

passage.

Consider the following worked examples –

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Step 1: Think in what context outside of the passage have you heard this word before? – You

have probably heard of a duty roster, attendance roster or team roster. In these occasions, roster

usually refers a list of names.

Step 2: Thus we can deduce that in this case roster refers to a list of physical deformities.

Answer: Roster refers to a listing or catalogue.

Dos & Don’ts of Vocabulary!

Do use a short phrase if you do not know a synonym.

Do check if the word you have given makes sense in the context of the passage.

Do NOT give a string of multiple answers.

Do NOT change the tense or grammatical form of the word – e.g. from a noun to verb

form.

Do NOT merely replicate the same word in your answer – e.g. inevitable; something that

is not evitable.