2009 KS Bull Issue 2

message from the principal ksbull volume 2 2009 Raffl es Institution (Junior College) I hope all of you are familiar with C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia which has been serialised and made into movies. C. S. Lewis was a contemporary of Tolkien author of Lord of the Rings and both were fellows at Oxford University. Being dons and professors of Literature and the Classics did not mean that they wrote in highfalutin language and complex sentences. In fact, what makes Lewis’ novels bestsellers is precisely the simplicity of the language used and the clarity of his meaning. Some of you may have come across Lewis’ tips on good writing: 1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else. 2. Always prefer the clean direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them. 3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died”, don’t say “Mortality rose.” 4. In writing, don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing… instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. 5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. Perhaps this advice is worth mulling over as you read through this volume of KS Bull. Enjoy! Lim Lai Cheng Principal, Raffles Institution @XxpokesxX

contents Message From the Principal 1 GP – 2009 JC2 Common Test 1 “Celebrities make the worst role models for today’s youth.” Comment. [Claire Goh, 09A03A] 4 “Celebrities make the worst role models for today’s youth.” Comment. [Zhang Hongchuan, 09S03L] 6 Is investing in the arts ever worthwhile? Discuss the question with reference to your country. [Lin Tong, 09A03A] 8 “To lodge all power in one party and keep it there is to ensure bad government.” (Mark Twain) Do you agree? [Gan Yu Neng, 09A03A] 10 “To lodge all power in one party and keep it there is to ensure bad government.” (Mark Twain) Do you agree? [Quek Xin Er, 09S06U] 12 “Globalisation makes the world a better place.” To what extent is this true today? [Lee Jia Wei ,09A01A] 14 “Globalisation makes the world a better place.” To what extent is this true today? [Rishabh Srivastava, 09S06S] 17 Is ambition always to be encouraged? [Ngai Kuo Ying, 09A03A] 19 Should euthanasia be legalised in Singapore? [Anish Kumar Hazra, 09A01B] 21 Should euthanasia be legalised in Singapore? [Wang Zhemin, 09S03L] 23 “More government intervention, not less.” Is this the best way to solve the problems we face in the world today? [Yong Xin Tian, 09A01C] 25 “Countries have every right to respond with aggression when provoked.” Do you agree? [Lee Di Wei 09A01C] 27 In your opinion, is your c