General Paper - Paper 1 Notes (First Edition 2021)

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GPSTUDYNOTES.COM
GENERAL
PAPER
PAPER1NOTES
Preface
Hey there.
These study notes are meant to guide your revision as you prepare for the
General Paper examination. In this package, you will !nd a collection of
essay planning and writing tips and strategies that can be applied to
whichever essay question you choose to attempt.
Keep in mind, however, that each school has a slightly di"erent approach
to the essay paper. Thus, it is important to follow what your teachers have
taught you in class closely and use these notes to plug in any gaps that may
exist.
I believe that educational resources should be open-source and

democratised. So, feel free to share these notes with your friends and
relatives if you think that they will !nd value in them.
Wishing you the best of luck with your upcoming assessments. Always
remember, though, that you are more than the sum of your grades. Keep
:
on keeping on.
Cheers!
gpstudynotes.com
First edition. July 2021.
Contents
Chapter 1: An Introduction to the General Paper Essay 2 Chapter 2:

Choosing an Essay Question 6 Chapter 3: Question Analysis 7
Chapter 4: Brainstorming, Ideation, and Organisation of Ideas 11
Chapter 5: Writing the Introduction 16 Chapter 6: Writing the Body
Paragraphs 19 Chapter 7: Writing Balance Paragraphs 22 Chapter 8:
Writing the Conclusion 26 Chapter 9: Proofreading and Editing 28
Chapter 10: Other Tips and Strategies 29
:
More free GP resources on www.gpstudynotes.com 1
Chapter 1
An Introduction to the General Paper Essay
The General Paper essay requires you to write a 500 to 800 word response in 1.5
hours to one of twelve options o"ered. You will need to present a clear stand for
any question that you attempt. You are also expected to provide supporting
ideas and evidence to back up your stand. To this end, General Paper
candidates should keep abreast of contemporary developments in order to
demonstrate their grasp and knowledge of current a"airs as well as their ability to
craft coherent, cogent arguments.
You will be assessed based on the quality of your arguments and supporting
evidence (content) and the e!ectiveness of your use of language. 30 marks
are allocated for content and 20 marks are allocated for language use. The band
descriptors forthe General Paper essay are as follows:
Content (30 marks)

Marks Descriptors
Band 1 26-30
Band 2 19-25
The response is original and insightful. The ideas presented are profound, perceptive, or thought-
provoking. The discussion is well-balanced according to the question requirements and demonstrates an
in-depth evaluation of the issues contained in the question.
The use of illustrations and examples is wide-ranging and fully appropriate. The examples are also
clearly linked to the point or idea being expressed. The illustrations enhance the overall quality of the
argument, and some of the examples may be original and not used by most people. The examples are
:
also likely to cover very recent events.
The response is fully relevant and answers the question in its entirety. The use of content shows
personal insight and possibly originality of thought.
The response is thoughtful and consistently argued. The discussion is balanced according to the
question requirements and demonstrates a clear (but not su#ciently thorough) evaluation and
awareness of the issues raised by the question.
The use of illustrations and examples may lack originality, but clearly supports the argument. Most of
the examples are clearly linked to the point or idea being expressed.

The response is fully relevant and su#ciently addresses the demands of
the question. The use of content is appropriate in supporting the ideas
being put forward. Responses with wider-ranging illustrations and
examples tend to get higher marks within this Band.
Band 3 The response is adequate: it shows an awareness of the issues being

13-18 raised, though in a relatively restricted manner. There is evidence of
some attempt at providing a balanced response according to the
question requirements, though it may be awkwardly handled.
There is a moderate use of illustrations and examples, possibly relying

on standard material. Most of the examples show some connection to
the point or idea being expressed. The examples are factually accurate
for the most part.
The response is largely relevant and su#ciently addresses the demands

of the question. The use of content that is consistently relevant will
secure higher marks within this Band; the use of content and
explanations that are not well-developed tend to secure lower marks.
Band 4 The response is limited: there is some awareness of the issues being
7-12 raised, but there may be a lack of a coherent argument in addressing
these issues. The ideas presented may be fragmentary or vague, and
there is weak balance.
The use of illustrations and examples is very limited with little or no

development in relation to the point or idea being expressed.
Knowledge of current a"airs is quite restricted. Standard references
may be used with little evidence of understanding.
There is some evidence of relevance which addresses a limited range of

points raised by the question. Responses with attempts at some
developed illustration will secure higher marks within this Band;
responses without a coherent argument or developed illustration will
tend to get lower marks.
:
Band 5 The response does not address the demands of the question. There is
1-6 no clear use of illustration and the examples used may be obscure or
non-existent. Relevance is barely apparent and the ideas are almost
completely lacking in coherence.
0 Nothing in the answer meets any of the criteria.

Language Use (20 marks)
Marks Descriptors
Band 1 There are very few errors of spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
17-20 Sentence structure is varied and expressions are apt and precise
throughout. Vocabulary is wide-ranging, sophisticated, and appropriate
to the task.
The organisation of ideas is excellent. There is a clear and e"ective

introduction and conclusion. The essay is segmented into e"ective
paragraphs. Each paragraph focuses on one point or idea. There is a
wide range of linking devices and discourse markers used. The
conclusion is persuasive.
There is a strong personal voice in the response. There may be a few

language errors, but they do not a"ect the meaning of the ideas at all.
The response demonstrates con!dence and conviction.
Band 2 There may be minor errors of spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
13-16 There is some evidence of a variety of sentence structure and
vocabulary. Expressions are mostly apt but are sometimes clumsy.
The organisation of ideas is very good. There is a clear and e"ective

introduction and conclusion. The essay is segmented into e"ective
paragraphs that discuss one point or idea each. Some linking devices
and discourse markers are used. The structure of the essay is clear
throughout, though it lacks subtlety and e"ectiveness.
The precision of language use determines the mark within the Band,
but the errors are relatively minor and do not signi!cantly a"ect the
meaning of the ideas. The response shows some con!dence, but lacks
quality and assurance.
Band 3 There may be frequent errors of spelling, punctuation, and grammar,

9-12 but the meaning of the ideas is not a"ected signi!cantly. Sentence
structure and vocabulary are adequate for the task, but tend to be rather
simple and repetitive. The use of language may be ‘safe’ or ambitious,
but $awed.
The organisation of ideas is reasonably clear throughout, but the

introduction and conclusion may be too short or overly laboured.
:
Paragraphing and the use of linking devices and discourse markers may
be basic or repetitive, but are still evident. There may be some ambition
in the response, but the existence of errors takes away from the overall
clarity of expression. Lower marks in this band indicate a consistent lack
of clarity due to frequent errors or unsure or forced expression. Ideas
can still be discerned without the examiner having to construe the
meaning.

Band 4 There may be frequent errors of spelling, punctuation, and grammar
5-8 that a"ects the meaning of the ideas being expressed to varying degrees.
Sentence structures and punctuations are inconsistent. Vocabulary is
simplistic or incorrectly used.
The organisation of ideas is weak; the introduction and/or conclusion is

confusing and lacking in precision and focus. Paragraph linking is very
basic or unsystematic. The meaning of the ideas is not securely
communicated due to the presence of errors of language use and
expression. Re-reading is required to understand the ideas being
conveyed.
Band 5 Few sentences show control or accuracy, to the e"ect that meaning is
1-4 barely conveyed. Basic errors occur constantly. Vocabulary is very
limited or insecure. Paragraphs, introduction, and conclusion -- if
present -- are very basic and lack clarity, focus, or coherence. Re-reading
is required, but sometimes no ideas may be deduced.
0 Nothing in the answer meets any of the criteria.

Chapter 2
Choosing an Essay Question
In general, it is wise to choose an essay question only if the following

criteria are satis!ed: 1. You are familiar with the topic area.
2. You understand and can accurately and f ully de!ne all the key
words in the question.
3. You have su"cient content knowledge or concrete examples to
address the question requirements fully.
4. You have a !rm stand on the issue and are con!dent of persuading
someone to agree with your position.
It is also good practice to have prepared for at least 4 to 5 di"erent topics

before your General Paper examination. Make sure to equip yourself with
:
up-to-date examples from current a"airs so that your essay response can
bene!t from a wide-ranging and relevant pool of supporting
evidence..
I’d strongly encourage you to do your own independent content research

early on. Start as early as possible! Build up the habit of reading the news
regularly. However, if you do not have time to conduct your own content
research, you can purchase my current a#airs content packages here:
www.buymeaco"ee.com/gpstudynotes/extras. I’ll be adding new volumes
periodically, especially before major examinations.
Keep in mind that you need not purchase the content packages to do well
for GP! There are a plethora of free resources out there. However, if
you prize convenience and if you have found some value in these notes,
please do consider supporting me if you are willing and able to do so.

Chapter 3
Question Analysis
Before you even start to brainstorm ideas for your essay response, it is
important that you perform at least some element of question analysis.In
performing question analysis, you: ● Identify the requirements of the
question so that you are less likely to go o"-topic, ● Clarify the main issue
posed by the question,
● Start the process of identifying any contentious or questionable
underlying or implicit assumptions in the question, and
● Begin formulating your balanced stand in response to the question.
There are a few steps involved in question analysis. The mnemonic, “AFK
SIA”, may help you to recall the question analysis process with more ease.
Question Analysis Mnemonic: AFK SIA

:
1. Absolute or relative terms
2. Focus of the essay
3. Key terms you need to de!ne
4. Scope of your response
5. Implicit Assumptions
When performing question analysis, go through each of the steps on the

following page to gain a greater understanding of the question
requirements and the way you should approach writing your response.
Practice makes perfect! Try performing question analysis for di"erent

kinds of questions. In fact, throughout your pre-university career, you
should go through these steps in question analysis every time you come
across new types of essay questions.

Step 1: Identify absolute or relative terms and take note
of their implications ● Absolute terms
○ Examples of absolute terms: all, none, nothing, never, always,
only, merely, solely, greatest, most, least, best, worst, completely,
totally, utterly, etc.
○ Implication: You need to give a yes-or-no answer.
■ E.g. “Advertising is always bad.” Do you agree?
■ Possible responses:
● Yes: All instances/aspects of advertising are bad.
● No: At least some instances/aspects of advertising are good/not
bad.
■ Unacceptable response:
● To some extent: Advertising is always bad to some extent.
● This is unacceptable because this stand is contradictory. This is
analogous to saying that the school cafe is always open
sometimes; that’s plainly impossible. The school cafe is either
always open, or it is only open sometimes!
● Relative terms
○ Examples of relative terms: mainly, mostly, predominantly,
:
largely, generally, usually, better, worse, more, less, etc.
○ Implication: You need to take a more calculated approach
and weigh both sides of the issue before deciding on your
stand.
■ E.g. Is environmental protection more important
than economic progress?
■ Possible responses:
● Yes, but... (there are exceptions: developing countries)
● Yes, and... (it is the most important factor to consider in all
human endeavours because…)
● No, economic progress is more important because…
● No, and environmental protection should never be a concern
because...

Step 2: Identify the focus of your essay: what do you need to judge or
evaluate? ● Identify what the question is asking you to judge/evaluate.
To do so, it is always helpful to paraphrase the question.
● Complete the sentence: “I need to judge ___.”
○ E.g. “Print media is becoming increasingly irrelevant.” Is this
true in your society?
○ Essay focus: I need to judge whether people in Singapore (my
society) still think that things like newspapers, magazines,
books, pamphlets (print media) are important/valuable in
their lives.
● Tips for identifying the essay focus:
○ Don’t change the meaning of the question
■ Don’t choose questions with words you don’t 100% understand.
○ Don’t forget the context if it is given
■ Pay attention to words like “today” and “in your society”
○ Double check to see if u missed out any key parts of the question
Step 3: Identify the key terms that you need to de!ne in your
introduction ● It is important to de!ne key words in the essay
question so the examiner knows exactly what you are talking about.
● Words you HAVE to de!ne:
○ Subjective words
:
■ Words that mean di"erent things to di"erent people
○ Words with hidden meanings
■ Metaphors, !gurative words or phrases, words with
positive or negative connotations. E.g. “Reality TV
is pure garbage”.
○ Topic words that are open to interpretation
■ E.g. the media, globalisation, technology…
● Words you CAN de!ne (but don’t have to):
○ Topic words that only have one standard meaning
■ E.g. physical newspapers, the law, marriage, education
● Words you SHOULD NOT de!ne:
○ Words like “a, the, it”, absolute and relative terms, words like
“agree, extent, how far”, 5W1H…

Step 4: Determine the scope of your discussion
● Some questions require you to only consider events and people in
your society only ● Other questions need you to consider an issue in
a global manner
● If the question contains the phrase “in your society”, then you have
to consider events and people in your society only.
○ Note: If you have lived in di"erent societies, write about the
one you are the most familiar with.
● If the question does not contain the phrase “in your society”, then
you need to talk about events/people in and beyond your society
○ It is not enough to just talk about people in your society.
Step 5: Identify any contentious implicit assumptions that the question

may have that you wish to challenge
● Whenever we make any claims, we rely on some implicit
assumptions. ● If you can identify any questionable or contentious
underlying assumptions in the essay question, you may choose to
question it in your essay.
At the end of your question analysis process, you should know:

1. Whether you need to give a straightforward yes-or-no response;
2. What you need to judge or evaluate in your essay;
3. The key terms you need to de!ne in your introduction;
4. The scope of your discussion (global or just in yoursociety);
5. If there are any implicit assumptions in the essay question that you
:
want to challenge in your essay.

Chapter 4
Brainstorming, Ideation, and Organisation of Ideas
Now that you have completed question analysis for the essay question that
you have chosen to respond to, you need to start brainstorming ideas
and plan how you are going to organise them in a coherent manner.
Brainstorming and Ideation Techniques

There are two key mnemonic devices that you can use to aid in your
brainstorming and ideation process. The !rst is PAL and the second is
SPECTRA.
PAL: Perspectives, Aspects, and Levels
1. Perspectives
● When we consider di"erent perspectives to an issue, we are
essentially considering the di"erent stakeholders who are
involved.
● A stakeholder in a particular issue refers to someone who
has reasons to care about that particular issue.
● E.g. “The process is more important than the product in
education.” Do you agree?
○ Stakeholders include: students, parents, teachers,
school principals, schools, universities and institutes
of higher learning, the Ministry of
Education, the labour market, future generations…
:
● We consider di"erent perspectives of an issue so that we can
generate more points and ideas for our essay. Some
questions you can ask yourself when you are brainstorming
include:
○ Which stakeholders would agree with the claim in the
essay question and which ones would fervently
disagree?
○ Whose opinions should we give more weight to, and why?
○ Is there a way to appease all the stakeholders in order
for us to attempt to come at a consensus?

2. Aspects
● Di"erent aspects of an issue refer to the various dimensions,
sides, or facets of that issue. We can often consider a single
event through di"erent lenses.
● We can use the SPECTRA mnemonic to help us consider
the di"erent aspects of various issues:
○ S – social/social injustice/inequality; science and medicine; sports
○ P – politics and leadership; philosophy; prejudice; poverty
○ E – environment; ethics; education; economy
○ C – culture; consumerism; crime and punishment; corporations
○ T – technology; terrorism/con$ict/war/military
○ R – religion; race
○ A – the arts and media; aesthetics
● We think about the disparate aspects of an issue to make sure
that we do not provide a one-dimensional analysis in our
essay.
○ Example: Trump’s threat to ban TikTok in 2020
Aspects Elaboration
Technology, the media This issue concerns the survival of TikTok.
Politics and leadership, Trump’s threat was issued in the
con$ict backdrop of a souring US-China
relationship.
Economy Immense amounts of money generated
on TikTok; Microsoft wanted to buy the
rights to operate the application in the
U.S.
:
Culture, the arts and TikTok users would have lost a platform
media, aesthetics to express their identities.
Ethics, politics and leadership Should governments be allowed to

ban apps and sti$e the free-$ow of
information for political reasons?
● In considering the di"erent aspects of an issue, decide which

aspects you think are the most signi!cant. Choose those to
discuss in your !nal response, making sure that the ideas
that you come up with through this ideation technique
answers the essay question directly.

3. Levels
● The di"erent levels of consideration for an issue refers to the
di"erent stages at which the issue can play out in society.
● Examples of levels include:
○ International
○ Regional
○ National
○ Community
○ Family
○ Individual
Organising Ideas
After brainstorming and coming up with as many ideas as possible, you
need to transform them into REASONS that directly answer the essay
question.
Let’s work on a sample essay question together:
“It is impossible to prevent doping in sports.” Do you agree?
Possible reasons that directly answer the essay question:

1. It is impossible to prevent doping because most countries have the
ability and incentive to cheat.
2. It is impossible to prevent doping because the countries or athletes
:
who do not cheat are just the minority.
3. We cannot completely eradicate doping because advancing
technologies make it di"cult to detect and catch dopers.
4. It is impossible to prevent doping because the international agencies
responsible for preventing doping (IOC, WADA) experience a
con%ict of interest.

Now, you need a systematic way to organise your ideas. Here are some possibilities:
● Individual→Society→World→Analysis
● World→Society→Individual→Analysis
● Past→Present→Future→Analysis
● Present → Short Term → Long Term → Analysis
● Pros→Cons→Analysis
● Bene!ts→Costs→Analysis
● There may be others too…
An example of how to organise the potential reasons on
the previous page:
INDIVIDUAL→SOCIETY→WO
RLD→ANALYSIS
Point 1: INDIVIDUAL
● It is impossible to prevent doping in sports because advancing
technologies make it di#cult to detect and catch dopers. In fact,
many individual athletes have admitted to doping.
○ According to an anonymous survey conducted by the IAAF
in 2011, 44% of athletes admitted to doping, but only 1-2%
of themare ever caught.
:
Point 2: SOCIETY
● It is impossible to prevent doping because most countries have
both the ability and incentive to cheat in sports.
○ Russia’s elaborate doping scheme in the 2014 Sochi Winter
Olympics; this got them banned in the 2016 Rio Olympics
○ They got caught cheating again in 2021 and they even faked a
car accident for Russian high jumper, Lysenko, so that he could
avoid going for a drug test.

Point 3: WORLD
● Moreover, it is impossible to prevent doping because the
international agencies responsible for preventing doping (IOC,
WADA) are led by people who face con$icts of interest.
○ Russian government o#cials hold leadership roles in
IOC and WADA ○ This raises questions about the
e"ectiveness of anti-doping agencies.
○ So, it seems that even with these regulatory agencies, we
cannot completely prevent doping as long as such con$icts
of interest exist.
Point 4: ANALYSIS
● Across all levels, current attempts to prevent doping in sports face
irremediable challenges. It is di#cult to catch individual athletes
who cheat, powerful countries can cover up their elaborate doping
schemes, and the institutions set up to prevent doping experience
deep con$icts of interest. So, the upshot of my discussion is
that it is impossible to prevent doping in sports unless
international sports authorities like IOC and WADA
undergo f undamental reforms.
Analysis refers to your !nal assessment of the issue based on the di"erent
considerations that you have a"orded to the issue. It is an overall evaluation
of what you are supposed to judge for the essay question based on all the
:
ideas that you have considered in your essay.
After completing the brainstorming and ideation stage as well as the

organisation stage, your essay is e"ectively complete. All there is left to do
is to write your ideas down in prose.
Don’t be afraid to spend up to 20 minutes on your essay planning!

Chapter 5
Writing the Introduction
Elements of an Introduction
1. Background (Set the context).
2. De!ne the key terms in the essay question (Refer
again to Chapter 2). 3. Explain the central tension of
the essay question.
4. Thesis statement (i.e. your stand) and include a preview of
your main points. The rest of this chapter will detail each of the
elementsof the essay introduction.
1. Background
● The purpose of beginning your essay with a background is to
set the context. ● In other words, talk a bit about the issue
raised in the essay question. How is it signi!cant in the
contemporary world?
● Q: Can the background in an introduction be a hook?
○ A: Yes, it can, but the main point of writing a hook
(e.g. interesting stories, personal anecdotes, quotes,
:
statistics, etc.) is still to set the
context.
■ Caveat: Be sure to avoid cliche or overused quotes.
Furthermore, if you use a hook, remember to show how the
hook directly answers the essay question.
2. De!ning key terms

● De!ne the key terms — speci!cally, those you have identi!ed
in the question analysis stage (Chapter 3).
● Also de!ne any new terms you have introduced that are
open to interpretation.
● Note: Some questions don’t have key terms to de!ne.
○ Cambridge examiners have remarked that there are
some words like “education” that they’d rather you
NOT de!ne.

3. Explaining the central tension
● State some of the opposing or con$icting views in this debate.
○ E.g. “All mothers should stay at home to take care of
their children.” Do you agree?
○ View 1: Some think that all women are morally
obligated to stay at home to take care of their children
once they become mothers.
○ View 2: Others think that women should have the
right and autonomy to plan alternative childcare
arrangements.
● Note: Don’t just state extremes and say some people agree
and some people disagree.
4. Writing your balanced thesis statement and your

preview of points ● Clearly state your stand in
the debate.
● Your thesis statement should be well-balanced. Since you
should avoid defending extreme views, your thesis statement
should not include absolute words like “always”, “never”,
“all”, and “none” most of the time.
● Don’t leave the examiner guessing your stand.
● Complete your introduction by providing a preview of the
:
main points that you will be discussing in your essay.
○ You should have a list of ideas by now after going
through the brainstorming and organising process in
Chapter 4. Summarise each
of your topic sentences in a few words and string them together in a
sentence. (See the following page for an example.)

Sample (not necessarily model) Introduction
Question: Social media does more harm than good. Do you agree?
Since their incipience, social media platforms have

empowered their users to rekindle and discover social connections;
they have also augmented their users’ ability to share and obtain
information almost instantaneously. (BACKGROUND) However,
recent user-data breaches on these platforms and concerns over
the pernicious e"ects these apps have on their users’ mental health
have raised questions regarding the need for legal regulation on
these sites. Thus, one can justi!ably question whether these
interactive, internet-based social platforms like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit produce detrimental e"ects to
society that outweigh any bene!ts that they may bring.
(CENTRAL TENSION, DEFINING KEY TERMS) In this essay,
I argue that — on balance — social media generates more harm
than good because the bene!ts that it brings about occur much
less frequently than the deleterious e"ects that it engenders.
(THESIS STATEMENT) In particular, while social media can
facilitate international coordination for important social
:
movements, the detrimental consequences that it generates include
the spread of fake news that threatens political stability, the threat
on individuals’ mental health, and the ease of abuse of personal data
privacy.(PREVIEW OF POINTS)
Keep in mind that di"erent schools have slightly di"erent approaches to

teaching you how to write an essay introduction. For internal examinations
and assessments, you should always default to what your tutors have taught
you in class!

Chapter 6
Writing the Body Paragraphs
PEEL is a popular framework for developing and organising the body

paragraphs of an essay. A PEEL body paragraph has the following
structure:
P - Point
● The !rst sentence in your body paragraph, also known as the topic
sentence. ● This is where you state your main idea. More precisely,
you should state a reason (refer again to Chapter 4) why your reader
should agree with your stand.
● You should only discuss one idea per paragraph.
E - Elaboration
● Sometimes, you can’t express your reason fully or convincingly in
one sentence. Use the second sentence to explain your reason a little
bit more.
:
E - Evidence/Example
● Support the main idea in your topic sentence with relevant, real-
world, concrete examples. You need to keep abreast of current
a"airs in order to provide these kinds of evidence.
● However, be caref ul not to provide too much detail in your
examples! Your main task is still to argue for a position in a
controversial debate, not simply to regurgitate everything you know
about the news.
● You are trying to persuade someone of your position; you’re not
writing a story. ● The example you use to support your main idea
should be between 20% to 40% of your total paragraph length.
○ This is an arbitrary restriction, but it’s a good heuristic to
keep in mind so that your essay does not become overly
descriptive!
○ If you spend the bulk of your essay describing current a"airs
rather than arguing for a well-balanced stand based on
your knowledge of current a"airs, then something is wrong!

L - Link
● Close your paragraph by explicitly stating how your example
supports your main idea.
● Ideally, your link will do two things:
○ 1: Make a general or abstract observation about how your
example exempli!es (shows) the main idea in your topic
sentence.
○ 2: Explain how everything you have said so far directly
answers the essay question.
On Topic Sentences
You should begin each of your paragraphs with your topic sentence. They
introduce the main idea for that particular paragraph to make sure that
your examiner understands exactly what you are going to argue for. Thus,
your topic sentences should be incisive and clear. You should only
discuss one key idea in each of your body paragraphs.
Examples of topic sentences:

:
Question: Social media does more harm than good. Do you agree?
Topic Sentence 1: Supporting Paragraph 1

Social media platforms without proper regulatory practices and
mechanisms in place allow misinformation to fester, which in turn
jeopardise the integrity of our political systems.

The super!cial interactions prevalent on social media can easily
compromise the mental health of some of its more impressionable users.

In the digital age today, one of the greatest threats that social media poses is
the frequent and pervasive infringements on digital privacy and personal
data.

Topic Sentence 4: Balance Paragraph 1
Notwithstanding, opponents of my view may point out that social media
is an indispensable tool for coordinating international e"orts to protest
against gross social injustices.
Topic sentences should invariably express REASONS for your broad

agreement or disagreement with the claim(s) expressed in the essay
question that you have chosen.
***
In the next chapter, we’ll discuss the role of balance paragraphs (sometimes
called counter-paragraphs) in argumentative writing.
:
Chapter 7
Writing Balance Paragraphs
Balance paragraphs are sometimes known as “counter-paragraphs”. They

are the paragraphs where you consider alternative or opposing viewpoints
that challenge your overall stand.
You should have at least one balance paragraph in any GP essay that
you write. Balance paragraphs are where you talk about some of the views
and ideas that you don’t agree with. By considering these counter-
arguments, you show that you are aware of the potential objections to your
argument and are mature enough to engage with them.
However, do NOT simply stop at raising an idea that directly contradicts

your thesis statement. Instead, continue by giving reasons why someone
should continue to support your thesis statement; always rebut/respond to
any idea that contradicts your thesis statement!
:
Keep in mind your ultimate goal: convince the examiner of
your thesis statement. A possible structure of a balance paragraph:
State opponent’s view (in a topic sentence)

● Discourse marker: “Notwithstanding, opponents of my view…”
Example in support of the opponent’s view
Explain how the example supports the opponent’s view
Response/Rebuttal to the opponent’s view

● Discourse marker: “Nevertheless/However/Yet, …”
Explain your rebuttal in more detail
Link: Why your view should be preferred over the opponent’s view

An example of a balance paragraph that follows the structure above:
Notwithstanding, opponents of my view may point out

that social media is an indispensable tool for coordinating
international e"orts to protest against gross social injustices. In
particular, they may cite examples like the #MatchAMillion Twitter
campaign, where fans of the Korean supergroup, BTS, rallied
together on social media to raise a million dollars in support of the
Black Lives Matter movement in just under 25 hours in June 2020.
Undoubtedly, the campaign exempli!es the immense rallying
power of social media, and it shows that these online platforms can
be used to organise social movements in forceful support of certain
marginalised populations all over the world. Nevertheless, it is
important to note that these extraordinary campaigns happen
much less frequently compared to the harms that social media
brings on a daily basis. Put another way, while we can only name a
handful of success stories like #MatchAMillion and
#BlackLivesMatter, the nefarious e"ects of social media that I have
:
explicated earlier on are much more commonplace; it is an
unfortunate truth that the exploitation of personal data and the
adverse e"ects that social media has on our mental health can be felt
almost every day. Consequently, I contend that social media’s
ability to harness political will and inspire social movements for
positive societal change fails to outweigh the plethora of injurious
e"ects that it simultaneously generates.
(Underlined words are examples of discourse markers.)

Another way to structure your balance paragraph (same as the one above,
but with 2 additions):
State opponent’s view (in a topic sentence)
Example in support of the opponent’s view
Explain how the example supports the opponent’s view
Response/Rebuttal to the opponent’s view
Explain your rebuttal in more detail
*NEW*: Anticipate an objection to your rebuttal

● Discourse marker: “At this point, my opponents may respond by…”
*NEW*: Refute the objection and present a revised

version of your view that accommodates the objection
that has just been raised
:
● Discourse marker: “Nevertheless/However/Yet, …”
Link: Why your view should be preferred over the opponent’s view
To recap, having balance in your essay is to ensure that your essay has
considered alternative points of view and how these objections may be
countered.

Two suggestions for where to include balance paragraphs in argumentative essays:
:
Balance
Paragraphs:
Supporting
Paragraphs:
How to introduce balance points:

● “Opponents of my view may contend that…”
● “Some of my detractors may object to my view by
maintaining that…” ● “An unreasonable viewpoint on
this issue is one that suggests that…”
● “Others may mistakenly argue that…”
● “There is a rather misguided view that posits that…”
● “Critics of my argument may point out that…”
By including balance paragraphs (i.e. by raising opposing views before

following up with a proper rebuttal), it allows you to make others’
opinions less compelling or convincing than yours. Here are some
ways you can do so: Argue that
● The opposition’s point is good BUT SO IS YOURS;

● The opposition’s point is good BUT YOURS IS BETTER;
● The opposition’s point is true, BUT ONLY OCCURS VERY
RARELY; ● The opposition’s point is UNTRUE/ HAS
PROBLEMATIC ASSUMPTIONS/ IS AN EXAGGERATION/ IS
OVER-GENERALISED, etc.

Chapter 8
Writing the Conclusion
:
Elements of a Conclusion:
1. Discourse marker
2. Reiterate your thesis statement and main ideas
3. Highlight the signi!cance/ impact/ implications of the issues
4. Include a call to action
The rest of this chapter will detail each of the elementsof the essay conclusion.
1. Discourse marker
● Including a proper discourse marker will signal to your
examiner that you are concluding your essay.
● Examples of discourse markers for the conclusion: In
conclusion / in sum / to conclude / in the !nal analysis / all
in all…
2. Reiterating your thesis statement and main points

● The purpose of restating your thesis statement and main
ideas is to remind your examiner of your main arguments.
● Make sure you paraphrase your thesis statement and main
ideas and that you are not simply copying whatever you have
written from your essay introduction.
3. Highlighting the signi!cance or implications of the issues

● The purpose of highlighting the signi!cance of the issues is to
strengthen your stand by suggesting what might happen if
people do not agree with or accept your thesis statement.
4. Ending with a call to action

● The purpose of including a call to action at the end is to
show how your argument has signi!cance for the future.

Sample (not necessarily model) Conclusion
Question: How far should online learning be encouraged?
In conclusion (DISCOURSE MARKER), I argue that

online learning should be strongly encouraged unless it
:
worsens inequality in society. This is because A, B, and C.
(REITERATING THESIS STATEMENT AND MAIN
IDEAS) At the heart of it all, education is supposed to be a social
equaliser that bridges the inequality gap in society. So, if online
learning is encouraged to the point that some students become
signi!cantly disadvantaged because of it, then, ironically, the
whole enterprise of online learning becomes antithetical to the
main purpose of education itself. (HIGHLIGHTING THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ISSUE) Thus, despite the numerous
advantages of online learning that I have highlighted so far, it
remains true that society !rst needs to make sure that most students
have access to the relevant technology that allows them to
participate in digitalised education. Ultimately, even though I still
believe that online learning should be strongly encouraged, we
need to think of ways to create a more robust system of
ensuring equity in education before we can a"ord an unreserved
countenance of online education. (CALL TO ACTION)
Again, di"erent schools have di"ering approaches to teaching you how to

write the essay conclusion. When in doubt, always follow what your
teachers have taught you in class!
A common consensus regarding the essay conclusion, however, is that you

should not be introducing new ideas at this stage. Include all the
elements of your argument in your body paragraphs. Do not be tempted to
raise new points or points that you did not have time to develop in detail in
the conclusion; these ideas will come across as unsubstantiated and it
might work against you instead.

Chapter 9
Proofreading and Editing
If you had spent about 20 minutes planning your essay and about 60
minutes writing your response in full prose, you should have about 10
:
minutesleft for proofreading and editing.
Here are the things you should do in this last stretch of time:
1. Re-read your essay and !x any spelling, punctuation, and
grammar errors. 2. Go through your essay and !x any clumsy
expressions or change any words that you are not 100% con!dent
about. It’s better to use simple and accurate English than complicated
but erroneous expressions.
3. If you have time, include more accurate but sophisticated
vocabulary wherever possible.
Make sure to perform these steps if you have time left. The correction of a
few major technical errors in the !nal minutes may result in a di"erence of
a few crucial marks for language use!
However, don’t worry if you do not have any time left to perform
the proofreading editing process. Just try your best to be careful not to
make any serious technical errors (spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.) as
you are writing your essay. You will get better with more practice.
If you are prone to making these errors, I have a pamphlet that

summarises the most common errors made in General Paper essays
and how you can correct these mistakes. You can !nd it
on www.buymeaco"ee.com/gpstudynotes/extras. (Members and
Supporters get this for free.)

Chapter 10
Other Tips and Strategies
Here are a few more parting tips and strategies to maximise your score for
the General Paper essay:
:
1. Have a few key vocabulary prepared so that you can $aunt your
linguistic prowess. It is a good idea to have a few words that can be
used regardless of the essay topic. Some examples include:
“ubiquitous”, “ameliorate”, “ineluctable”, etc.
2. On the $ip side, be careful not to overuse esoteric vocabulary such

that your writing becomes unnecessarily complicated and di#cult
to parse. Someone who does that may easily come o" as pompous.
When in doubt, always choose to write clearly in simple terms
rather than to oversaturate your response with di#cult words.
3. The top essays are invariably supported by a succinct but incisive

reference to current a"airs. If you are pressed for time and are too
busy to conduct your own content research, you can purchase my
current a#airs content packages
here: www.buymeaco"ee.com/gpstudynotes/extras.
4. Brie$y browse through the news the night before your

examination (and, if you’re not feeling too stressed out, the hour
before your paper on your way to school). Examiners tend to be
impressed with “hot-o"-the-press” information. Follow me on
Instagram @gpstudynotes for regular current a"airs quizzes!
5. One of the simplest tweaks you can make to your writing to elevate
your language use score is to vary your sentence structures. Follow
longer sentences with shorter ones. This helps with the cadence of
your essay and can keep your examiners engaged.
Good luck with your assessments!

Afterword
You made it!

:
I hope you’ve found some value in these notes and that they will stand you
in good stead. Feel free to share these notes with your friends and relatives
or anyone you think might bene!t from them.
If you so wish, you can support my mission to provide free study and
revision resources by buying me a co"ee here:
www.buymeaco#ee.com/gpstudynotes Your contribution will
mean the world to me.
However, please do not worry if you can't a"ord to support me at this

moment. You can still access my A Levels GP resources
on www.gpstudynotes.com at no cost.
All the best!

gpstudynotes.com

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I believe that educational resources should be open-source and

First edition. July 2021.

Chapter 1: An Introduction to the General Paper Essay 2 Chapter 2:

Content (30 marks)

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Band 3 The response is adequate: it shows an awareness of the issues being

There is a moderate use of illustrations and examples, possibly relying

The response is largely relevant and su#ciently addresses the demands

The use of illustrations and examples is very limited with little or no

There is some evidence of relevance which addresses a limited range of

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The organisation of ideas is excellent. There is a clear and e"ective

There is a strong personal voice in the response. There may be a few

The organisation of ideas is very good. There is a clear and e"ective

Band 3 There may be frequent errors of spelling, punctuation, and grammar,

The organisation of ideas is reasonably clear throughout, but the

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The organisation of ideas is weak; the introduction and/or conclusion is

0 Nothing in the answer meets any of the criteria.

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In general, it is wise to choose an essay question only if the following

It is also good practice to have prepared for at least 4 to 5 di"erent topics

I’d strongly encourage you to do your own independent content research

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Question Analysis Mnemonic: AFK SIA

When performing question analysis, go through each of the steps on the

Practice makes perfect! Try performing question analysis for di"erent

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Step 5: Identify any contentious implicit assumptions that the question

At the end of your question analysis process, you should know:

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Brainstorming and Ideation Techniques

PAL: Perspectives, Aspects, and Levels

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Ethics, politics and leadership Should governments be allowed to

● In considering the di"erent aspects of an issue, decide which

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Let’s work on a sample essay question together:

“It is impossible to prevent doping in sports.” Do you agree?

Possible reasons that directly answer the essay question:

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An example of how to organise the potential reasons on

the previous page:

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After completing the brainstorming and ideation stage as well as the

Don’t be afraid to spend up to 20 minutes on your essay planning!

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elementsof the essay introduction.

2. De!ning key terms

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4. Writing your balanced thesis statement and your

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Since their incipience, social media platforms have

Keep in mind that di"erent schools have slightly di"erent approaches to

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PEEL is a popular framework for developing and organising the body

NEW: Anticipate an objection to your rebuttal

NEW: Refute the objection and present a revised