TMJC GP Bulletin October 2019 (JC2)

1 General Paper Bulletin Oct 2019 (JC 2) Welcome to the final issue of TMJC’s GP Bulletin for 2019! Here are a few more essays written by your peers during the recent Preliminary Examination. Once again, thanks to the students who have contributed their essays, who have proven that good writing is very possible despite the exam conditions. Do take note again that these essays are not perfect or model essays, and while reading these essays, you may find some of the examples and points useful for application to other questions . Please exercise judgment and discretion in using such information in a manner that is relevant to the question you are answering. Lastly, you should not attempt to copy and hand them in as your own! All the best for the upcoming A-Level Exam! Editorial Team ___________________ Mdm Sukhvinder Kaur Mrs Annie Clayton Mr Teddy Tan Mr Max Cheong Contents Q2: ‘Winning at all costs ruins the spirit of sports.’ What is your view?.................................................... 2 Q4: Evaluate the claim that the regulation of technology is a desirable, but unrealistic, goal. ………... 3 Q5: To what extent does formal education guarantee success today? ………………….…………………. 5 Q9: Assess the view that poverty is the result of poor governance. ………………………......................... 7 Q11: How far do you agree that social media empower people to make a change? ……......................... 9

2 Q2. ‘Winning at all costs ruins the spirit of sports.’ What is your view? (TMJCJ2PE2019) Throughout the history of humankind, sport has always been a vehicle of unity and character. From the ancient Olympic Games, where athletes from Greek states congregated in Athens to compete for state pride, to the varied sporting events we have now, with professionals training for months and years to bring glory to their home, we see time and time again how sport is used as a vehicle for good. In modern times, however, we see increasing stakes attached to victory in such competitions, leading to a win-at-all-costs philosophy among athletes. Many argue that this thinking kicks the spirit of sport to the wayside, as it ignores all the virtues and values that sport imparts. I agree with this view. The win-at-all-costs mentality ruins the spirit of sport as it leads to unethical behaviour among sportsmen. Sport is often regarded as the best way to teach the values of honesty and respect. However, due to the idea of victory above all else, these values are forgotten, leading to a toxic culture of cheating and disrespect. A famous incident illustrating this is the Sandpaper Gate incident. The Australian cricket team, while playing agai nst South Africa, was found to have cheated when one member, Cameron Bancroft, was caught using sandpaper to rough up the ball, which would allo