GP Blog recommendation: While I Read, I Write

Here‘s a useful GP blog that’s worth a read.

Useful link: Broader Perspectives [available online] (Part 2)

More past issues of Broader Perspectives here.

Blog recommendation: CJC General Paper

Check out the CJC General Paper blog for useful articles. Because to ace the General Paper, we have to read, so we have something to think about, so we have something intelligent to write about.

Blog recommendation: Progress in G.P.

Check out this excellent GP blog, by Mr Marc Kenji Lim:

http://cjcpig.wordpress.com/

Useful link: Broader Perspectives [available online]

Past issues of Broader Perspectives are available here.

Characteristics of Singapore

Most Application Questions (AQs) ask for a Singapore-specific response. As such, it’s useful to know Singapore-specific information. But anyone can say that “Singapore is a multi-racial society” or that “Singapore seeks to become a healthcare hub” – so when mentioning characteristics of Singapore, do back them up with solid examples. These could take a variety of forms, from facts, case studies and statistics to news reports, forum page comments, parliamentary speeches and government policies.

[Note: This page is under construction. Do help contribute to this resource by leaving a comment below and providing, with examples, characteristics of Singapore.]

Task

Hit the “leave a comment” button below. State a characteristic of Singapore, and exemplify your point. Do provide references where possible.

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[Update: 9/2/2011]
One useful site to harvest examples from is The Economist’s Country Briefing page on Singapore:

http://www.economist.com/countries/singapore/

[Update: 13/3/2011]

Check out the Singapore Issue of Broader Perspectives here.

For future links, examples, statistics and facts pertaining to “Characteristics of Singapore”, click on the “Characteristics of Singapore” category in the sidebar.

Note: Although this is presented as a handy resource for the AQ, do note that all the information here would be equally useful for a Singapore-based essay question.

Globalisation: Pros & Cons

Should we welcome or fear globalisation? The following post gives snippets of some common arguments for and against globalisation.

On economic globalisation and trade:

In countries throughout the world, there is broad support for key economic features of globalization. The 47-country 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey found strong support for international trade, multinational corporations, and free markets. However, the survey, conducted among representative national samples in 39 countries and disproportionately urban samples in 8 countries, also found important differences across various countries and regions. Perhaps the most notable among these are the increasing signs of economic anxiety among the wealthy nations of the West.

International trade is at the heart of globalization. The tremendous expansion of global trade over the last few decades has driven economic growth in many developing countries, while providing more diverse and less expensive products to consumers in the developed world. At the same time, it has created dramatic upheaval, as workers in poor countries have moved to cities in search of new jobs, while some in wealthier nations have lost jobs that have moved overseas. The 2007 Pew Global poll shows that, all things considered, people consistently endorse international trade. Sizeable majorities in all 47 countries said growing trade ties between countries are having a positive impact on their country. In 9 countries, at least 90 percent of those surveyed took this position. Favorable views are especially common in sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s poorest region. In all 10 African countries included in the survey, over 80 percent said trade was having a positive impact.

Large majorities also back trade in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, but the trend in these developed nations is clearly headed in a negative direction. For example, both Italy and France have seen double digit declines in support for trade since 2002. However, the ebbing of enthusiasm has been particularly dramatic in the United States, home to the world’s largest economy.

 

On inequality:

As the 2007 Pew poll revealed, in many countries, there is a strong and growing concern about the gap between rich and poor. In countries as disparate as South Korea, Kenya, Indonesia, and Chile, large majorities named the growing gap between rich and poor as one of the top two dangers facing the world. In China, which has enjoyed remarkable economic growth in recent years, the divide between the rich and the poor was rated as one of the top two dangers by 51 percent.

 

On the environment:

Pew’s 2007 poll found a strong upsurge in environmental concerns: in Latin America, Europe, and Asia the number of people rating environmental problems as one of the top two dangers facing the world increased significantly. Even in the United States, where these issues tend to be less of a priority than in other economically advanced nations, concern for the environment has risen steeply. There was widespread concern over global warming, especially in Latin America, where large majorities consistently rated it a very serious problem, including 88 percent in Brazil, 78 percent in Venezuela, 75 percent in Chile, and 69 percent in Argentina. Europeans also expressed high levels of concern for the environment, particularly in Spain (70 percent) and France (68 percent).

Furthermore, people generally say they are willing to sacrifice economic growth to secure a clean environment. In 46 of the 47 countries surveyed by Pew in 2007, majorities agreed with the statement “Protecting the environment should be given priority, even if it causes slower economic growth and some loss of jobs.” In rich and poor nations alike, there is a consensus that damaging the environment is too high a price to pay for economic expansion.

 

On culture and tradition:

People also worry that rapid changes stemming from globalization are decimating their local and national cultures. In 46 of 47 countries surveyed in 2007, majorities said their traditional way of life is being lost.

 

On immigration:

[...]  globalization is not the only cause of immigration. For example, the war in Iraq has led many Iraqis to leave their country in search of a more secure environment, which has in turn has led to increased concerns about immigration in neighboring countries like Jordan [...]

Still, the movement of people across international borders in search of new and better opportunities in the global economy is part of the globalization story. When Pew asked respondents about the main reason people leave their country to live elsewhere, majorities or pluralities in 35 of the 36 countries where the question was asked cited jobs. This was true both in relatively poor and relatively wealthy countries.

Italy is a good example of a nation where concerns about both economic globalization and immigration are on the rise. Frustrated with anemic economic growth in recent years, Italians stand apart from the other Western European nations surveyed by Pew. They were the least enthusiastic about trade and foreign companies; they were among the least satisfied with their lives and the direction of their country; and they were the least optimistic about the future.

(Source: Assessing globalization: Benefits and drawbacks of trade and integration. Full article here.)

 

Additional links and more arguments:

• Globalization: Who benefits from it? (A collection of links to various articles)
• Benefits of globalization
• The benefits of globalization
• Globalisation (BBC World service)

 

Question:

In today’s world, globalisation is more of a threat than a promise. Do you agree?

 

“I need help with grammar!” (Part 3)

I stumbled across a site featured on the WordPress homepage, which poked fun at “suspicious” quotation marks. One click led to another, and I discovered this useful blog:

Grammar Girl: Quick and dirty tips for better writing

The site includes:

• General tips
• Grammar tips (what’s the difference between “like” and “such as”?)
• Punctuation help (when do you use single, and when do you use double quotation marks?)
• Advice on word choice (do you say “between”, “compared to” or “compared with”?)
• Style tips

 

Useful videos and links: Globalisation

“Shift Happens”

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The “Rise of the Rest” (video):

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Newsweek article on the “Rise of the Rest”. Good summary of the key issues.

Some snippets:

“And—for the first time in living memory—the United States does not seem to be leading the charge.”

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“This is something much broader than the much-ballyhooed rise of China or even Asia. It is the rise of the rest—the rest of the world.”

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“Even if people in [China and India] remain relatively poor, as nations their total wealth will be massive. Or to put it another way, any number, no matter how small, when multiplied by 2.5 billion becomes a very big number. (2.5 billion is the population of China plus India.)”

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“As economic fortunes rise, so inevitably does nationalism.”

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“… today, thanks to the information revolution, [divergent national perspectives] are amplified, echoed, and disseminated. Where once there were only the narratives laid out by The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, the BBC, and CNN, there are now dozens of indigenous networks and channels—from Al Jazeera to New Delhi’s NDTV to Latin America’s Telesur. The result is that the “rest” are now dissecting the assumptions and narratives of the West and providing alternative views.”

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“The G8 does not include China, India or Brazil—the three fastest-growing large economies in the world—and yet claims to represent the movers and shakers of the world economy. By tradition, the IMF is always headed by a European and the World Bank by an American.”

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“Over the last 20 years, globalization has been gaining depth and breadth. America has benefited massively from these trends. It has enjoyed unusually robust growth, low unemployment and inflation, and received hundreds of billions of dollars in investment. These are not signs of economic collapse. Its companies have entered new countries and industries with great success, using global supply chains and technology to stay in the vanguard of efficiency.”

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“More broadly, this is America’s great—and potentially insurmountable—strength. It remains the most open, flexible society in the world, able to absorb other people, cultures, ideas, goods, and services. The country thrives on the hunger and energy of poor immigrants.”

 

- Newsweek, The Rise of the Rest

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And for a Singapore perspective on upcoming trends, check out Futures Group, the “trendwatchers, network builders, and idea generators for the Singapore economy of the future”.

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Questions:

Globalisation is a necessary evil. How far do you agree with this statement?

That ‘knowledge is power’ is now more true than ever before. Do you agree?

Should immigration be encouraged?

 

General Paper GCE ‘A’ Levels Essay Questions: 1995-2006

Here are the GP ‘A’ Level Paper 1 (essay) questions from 1995-2006:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5994934/GCE-a-Level-Essay-Questions-by-Year19952006