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