GP Essay Skills

Discuss does not mean you need an absolute stand Your intro should usually be positive, or at least neutral. No negative intro Intro should include keywords, preferably rephrased If you disagree with an absolute keyword, dont use it in the essay. o Qualify your synonyms instead Metaphor and figurative language helps (Compare your example/ situation to another) Paragraph structure: Give a main idea, and support with more than one example from different categories Qualify your statements with: o Largely o Mostly o In most areas o According to conventional wisdom o Generally o In most cases o There is concern regarding ____, however I do not think that it is fair to o There is evidence that o It is true that ____, but it is more true that o I do concede that o I do acknowledge ____, but it cannot be denied that When you change to CA or CCA, use qualifiers like However, On the other hand When doing CA, show that its not your opinion, with: o Other people o Some people o Optimists/ pessimists argue/ believe that o Proponents of Your first point should tackle the underlying assumption o The general assumption is ___, because o Because of ____, society largely believes that Use while to show contradiction against tradition o While most people o While common sense o While tradition dictates Common counter-counter examples include safeguards like o Education to discern the cons o Laws and regulation o Awareness campaigns

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

GP talking points
For impact on world, you can talk about: o Industrialisation o Mass production o Trade o Globalisation o Environmental damage o Genetically modified food Allergens Super weeds For rebellion, you can talk about: o Governments Ghandi (Fight for independence) Jim crow laws (segregation of blacks) o Tradition President Lincoln (free slaves) Nelson Mandela (fight against apartheid policy (segregation of white and black Africians)) o Science Galileo (revolve around sun vs churchs revolve around earth) Einstein (Theory of relativity vs Newtons perception of fixed time and space) o Parents Arranged marriage o Convention Hippies (protest against the American-Vietnam war) For cartoons, you can talk about o Earning money Key part of the entertainment industry o Medical uses Teach mentally handicap Laughter is the best medicine and help to speed up recovery o Political uses Influence publics opinions and thoughts Hitlers Anti-Jew campaigns in the print media o Social commentary Chew on IT in The Straits Times o Education Inform about policy changes Raise awareness of AIDS in India Pass on moral values o Entertainment Stress-relief o Religious uses Spread religious morals to kids

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

For parents, you can talk about o Expected to inculcate values in children o Great burden on single parents o Effectiveness of parenting skills affected by external influences Lack of time Out of control factors Generation gap Conservative culture to not talk about certain topics For children, you can talk about o Rebel for the fun of it Hippy movement in America For discrimination, you can talk about o Hindering progress (in life, jobs, etc.) Discrimination against women o Systematic discrimination Indias Caste system Brahmin caste highest, Dalit caste (Pariahs) lowest Example of tradition hindering progress o Apartheid system Four groups in South Africa Natives Whites (Afrikaners) Coloured Asians Non-white had segregated housing, education, medical care and inferior service Results in uprising, protests and trade embargo o Affirmative action Positive discrimination to elderly (Cheaper bus fare), handicapped (Parking lots), children (reduced responsibility), minority races (political representation). o Protestants against Catholics in Northern Ireland Bias towards protestants (housing, jobs) o Blacks against Whites in America US civil rights movement Rose Parks refusing to give up seat Martin Luther King fight for rights o Gender Bias against pregnant women due to additional cost incurred Bias against female Wal-Mart workers, who are paid less and have less advancement opportunities Patriarchal society in less developed countries Women are sold for money and food 43% of Afghan marriages involve under 18 girls

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

Women denied the right to drive and take public transport in Saudi Arabia Resolutions UN Declaration of Human Rights Ethnic integration policy in Singapore Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR) in Singapore For Embryonic stem cell, you can talk about o Uses Regenerative medicine Tissue replacement Capacity to improve Quality of Life Stopping is akin to condemning future generations o Drawbacks Can cause tumours Controversy over use of human embryos violates the sanctity of life o Resolutions Adult stem cells Induced-pluripotent cells Regulation on use of embryos Limited funding for embryo research Moratorium (temporary ban) on reproductive cloning Cause innovation for alternative methods Cause black market for such services For euthanasia, you can talk about o Trade-off between QOL and prolonging life o Pro-choice argument Less pain Dignified death Less financial burden If one has a right to live, he has a right to die o Pro-life argument Form of murder Violates sanctity of life Devalues human life Prevent abuse by unfilial children and corrupt doctors No clear definition of terminal illness For power of the individual, you can talk about o Rosa Parks Defiance to give up bus seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was a keystone in the Blacks civil rights movement o Martin Luther King Civil rights activist for the blacks Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination o Mark Zuckerberg

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

Revolutionised the social media o Bill Gates Played a key role in developing the personal computer o Grameen Bank Microcredit firm that spearheaded microcredit for less developed countries o Lybian coup People banded together to fight oppression and change the country o Innovations by scientists For conflict, you can talk about o Scope Politics Art o Pros Unification of the United States of America through the American Civil War Rights for blacks through non-violent protests like civil disobedience Inspired great works of art Pablo Picasso: Spanish civil war Van Gogh: Inner conflict Les miserable: French civil war o Cons Loss of lives Protestors Bystanders Collateral damage of property For helping the poor, you can talk about o Tied aid Conditions for aid, like buying allegiance May be necessary to prevent aid abuse o Government corruption Prevent aid from reaching the poor in need For censorship, you can talk about o Scope Conventional media Internet Inflammatory remarks made by Campus Crusade against Thailand Movies Public censor of others Self-regulation o Possible Newspaper self-censor inflammatory reports Responsible newspaper act in US Wikileaks o Impossibility People still managed to leak out videos of the Arab Spring revolution o Acceptable

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

Child porn Information of rape victims Military secrets o Unacceptable Growth of freedom of speech Interconnectedness needed for globalisation and functioning of economy For Expensive art, you can talk about o Scope Visual arts Design Performing arts Movie Dance Band Music Culture Dance Available to the masses o Cost High ticket prices High museum upkeep Cheap street performances Jazz Hip-hop

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11

GP vocab
1. Entrenched privilege a. The large amount of resources available to someone, as they are born into a rich family 2. Slippery ethical slope a. Easy for science to lose its ethics 3. Moral regression a. Decrease in morals 4. Debilitating a. Progressively weaker b. QOL decrease 5. Degenerative a. Progressively worse b. Condition worsens 6. Moratorium a. Ban for a limited period of time 7. Unscrupulous a. Underhanded, ulterior motive

Done by Nickolas Teo Jia Ming, CG 12/11