GP Tuition: Sample GP Examination Paper -RVHS
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Here’s a sample of GP Essay Paper (Paper 1) shared by our ex – RVHS student who attended our GP tutorials:
1. How far do you agree that men are more discriminated against than women in modern society?
2. In your view, which three specific areas of scientific research should be mankind’s priorities in the next decade and why?
3. “The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives.” Do you agree?
4. ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Martin Luther King)
What are the most serious kinds of injustice existing in the world today and how can they be combated? Discuss.
5. Is vegetarianism nothing more than a foolish fad?
6. Do you agree with the view that photography is vastly inferior to painting as an art form?
7. ‘Humanity has made no real progress over the past century.’ What are your views?
8. Discuss the view that most predictions for the future are full of doom and gloom?
9. ”Politicians cannot afford to be idealistic in today’s world – they have to be totally pragmatic.’ Comment.
10. ‘Less is more.’ To what extent is this sound advice for the people of your country?
11. ‘Technology is the great leveller of the 21st century.’ How far do you agree?
12. Should children have rights?
RVHS General Paper Tuition – Sample Model GP Essay Answer
Here is a full length sample answer to the following GP essay question:
Q3: “The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives.” Do you agree?
It seems, to many, that history is an irrelevant subject because it appears to be rather worthless. and impractical. Indeed, history is not applied in our daily lives the way arithmetic, language and physics are. We draw upon arithmetical knowledge to plan our shopping budget, linguistic knowledge for communications and scientific knowledge for housekeeping (the use of levers, for example, to open a tin of biscuits). Yet there is little room for the application of history: we do not mention Alexander the Great in a game of chess; we do not remember the great Irish famine of 1846 to 1848 when eat potatoes; nor do we think of Ptolemy, the Egyptian astronomer, when we look at the night sky. We do not do all these because these are not necessary to be done. Yet, based on its apparent worthlessness, a sweeping statement that history only has value to the extent that it is relevant, or can be applied, to our daily lives, is rather unfair, because such a statement undermines the greater use of history. which is beyond our daily lives, but impacts us nonetheless.
History is not limited to a study of statesmanship of the past, and can be as extensive as social history, history of economics and history of technology. Perhaps there is no need for counter-factual history (also known as “what if?” history), but when we do think of it, would not there be a need for us to acknowledge those who have contributed to our lives? What if Edison never invented the light bulb? What if universal suffrage was never thought of? We may have taken electric lighting and voting for granted, but those who possessed the intellectual capacity to realise such trivial things in our lives, without which our lives would be rather different, deserve, at the very least, not our glorification, but our acknowledgement for their contributions.
For those affiliated to a faith, it is also essential to know some religious history as well. The Bible, in particular, has been interpreted in many ways. Should a Christian know of theologians such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, they may assess the credibility and validity of each set of theology, and not blindly follow the first set of theology they come across without question.
History also bears with it cultural uniqueness. It is with this cultural uniqueness that we identify to cultivate a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging bonds people of the same culture together. With this bonding, the people can work towards a common goal, or common goals. The people of China shared the same history, and thus shared a similar language, a similar philosophy and a similar mentality. This was what fuelled their eight-year resistance against the Japanese in the Second World War. Their land was invaded, and because it was their common land, where their common history took place, they shared the common goal of repelling the invaders. From their history, they cultivated a sense of belonging that the Central Plains would always be Chinese land and they became bonded to their history. They cherish their history because they know their history, and the Chinese survived, as a great ancient civilisation, tin this day, because they do not want their history to end. The value of history here would be as noble as to ensure the survival of a civilisation Would not a Chinese do his best to repel invaders if he remembered how his predecessors valiantly resisted the Mongols, the Manchus and the Japanese?
Perhaps too grand a portrayal of the value of history. might erode its more mundane values, but nonetheless important values. Segregating the noble veneer of the value of history from its real practical value, one might discover history still has its value to be studied, but becomes rather specific in its relevance, though not its impact. Government policies are largely based on historical evidence for their raisons d’etre, so that they are the best to be implemented to date. Racial harmony is not emphasised by the Singapore government because they suddenly thought of it.
Memories of the 1964 racial riots still haunt many older Singaporeans, and the government recognises racial disharmony as serious menace to cultural, economic and technological improvement, as well as social stability. which provides the basis and pre-condition for the advancement of the country. Therefore, the government acknowledges the need to promote racial harmony, and hence the policies regarding racial compositions of communities and new towns are commissioned. The value of history here would be to ensure government policies are rightly implemented, for the greater good of the country.
Bringing the value of history out of the domestic confines, we see that it proves as important in the global community. Knowledge of history allows international organisations to address the root causes of conflicts, epidemics and problems. Such knowledge is vital to the fabrication of a solution for such problems, though there are problems that are nearly impossible to solve despite historical knowledge. The root causes of the Israeli Palestinian and the India-Pakistan conflict are territorial and religious. With such knowledge, international mediatory organisations like the United Nations would have a general direction in its formulation of a resolution. It might not eliminate the problem, but may at least alleviate it. Without such knowledge, the formulation of resolutions would lack direction, and would be ineffective because it does not address the problem itself.
As for epidemics, medical history is required. Working on Pasteur’s and Fleming’s contributions, epidemics have been totally eradicated as a problem. Had we not known how Fleming discovered penicillin, it would have been harder for doctors to discover more potent antibiotics. Regarding problems, knowledge of history would not allow us to avert similar problems from arising. Having known that the great Irish famine was caused by an over-reliance on a blight prone crop (potato blight caused the Irish potato harvest to fail in 1843, 1845 and 1846, resulting in a million deaths, and many more emigrations to America), we now know that we need to diversity crop production to reduce risk of famine. The value of history would hence be one of aversion of past problems amongst the global community.
The values of history are not restricted to these mentioned. A study of history can improve odds in a war, as generals and tacticians avoid catastrophic blunders like those starkly illustrated by the Charge of the Light Brigade in Balaklava in the Crimean War and the disastrous French deployment of mounted knights against English archers in the Battles of Poitiers and Crecy during the Hundred Years War Logistical and communicative mistakes may have persisted till today, but since those incidents, they have not been repeated as calamitously. On the other end, on a very personal level, history can be studied as a hobby, its value being entertainment.
Indeed, history is not very applicable in our daily lives, unlike mechanics and mathematics, but when we look beyond ourselves, at the larger picture, we have to acknowledge its value.
More answers and essays techniques in our GP tuition revision guide, especially for RVHS GP tuition students.
How to get to RVHS?
River Valley High School (RVHS) is located at 6 Boon Lay Ave, Singapore 649961
The nearest MRT is Boon Lay Station (EW27) on the East-West Line (EWL). From this station, take buses 198,174 to RV, a mere 2 stops away.
Instead of H1 General Paper who are strong in RVHS’s lesson sequence, take up our GP revision crash course. Alternatively, you can contact us regarding the GP tuition 1-2-1 lessons and small group classes.