SAJC Promos 2020-2022 P1 QP and Answer Guidelines

Paper 1 Practices 2022 SAJC FE P1 Questions Answer one question from this Paper. Answers should be between 500 and 800 words in length. 1. Youth today have more opportunities than challenges. Is this true of your society? 2. ‘The media today has placed children in greater danger than ever before.’ How far do you agree? 3. ‘Education is our best chance at solving environmental problems.’ Discuss. 4. ‘Women will never be truly equal with men.’ What is your view? 5. How far do you agree that your society has a culture its people can be proud of? 6. Can the Arts be an effective force for change? 7. To what extent is consumerism to blame for the ills we face in the modern world? 8. Has society sacrificed too much for the sake of progress?

2022 SAJC FE P1 Answer Scheme Q1: ‘Youth today have more opportunities than challenges.’ Is this true of your society? Question Analysis The world today is very different than what it used to be, even when compared to just one generation ago. On one hand, the rapid advancements of technology have opened up almost endless possibilities for the digital natives to thrive. On the other hand, the existential doomsday threats of global warming and increased in complexity of other global problems have caused youth today to become more skeptical of their future. This question then examines and weighs the prospects and contests that today’s youth face. Clarifications of Terms Today – A context that the students ought to unpack by using its characteristics to generate and/or support their arguments. Opportunities – This refers to the chances that are available for youth to fulfill their dreams and goals in life or to lead a more meaningful and successful life, although “success” is up to the individual to define. To avoid being example driven by listing the different types of opportunities, one more effective way is to apply SPECTRAL to frame “opportunities”. Challenges – A problem or difficult situation that requires great mental or physical effort to be carried out successfully. Challenges also test a person’s ability. Similar to “opportunities”, it would be more expedient to use SPECTRAL to relevantly and clearly unpack “challenges”. Than – “Than” indicates that this is a comparison question on whether Singaporean youth find living in Singapore allows them to grow and ultimately achieve their Singaporean dreams, thus enabling them to lead a meaningful and worthwhile life or not. Your society – A personal/local context in terms of where the writer is from. This requires students to cite contextualised characteristics of their countries of origin to engage the question contention. Possible Approaches 1. Yes, there are more opportunities than challenges for young Singaporeans. 2. No, there are more challenges than opportunities for Singaporean youth. Yes, there are more opportunities than challenges. 1. Educationally, although Singaporean youth are under a lot of pressure to excel academically, they are in good stead as Singapore stands tall – despite being a puny state – among the giants in the education world, which presents countless opportunities than challenges for our young. Singapore is well-known for its high quality of education in the world, ranking higher than many countries like Canada and Switzerland. In fact, Singapore ranks top five in the world in PISA, a ranking based on tests taken by 15-year-olds all across the world. While its stellar quality is unquestionable, this success comes at a price: stress, which could be a major problem. Nevertheless, schools provide many levels of help to ameliorate this problem, ranging from close monitoring by teachers to professional counselling by trained staff. In addition, there are the multiple pathways that allow students to harness their strengths and maximise their potential. Those who are less academically inclined have the option of going to vocational schools to learn relevant and useful skills, and due to the emphasis on nurturing 21st century competencies, like critical thinking, entrepreneur spirit, innovative mindset, etc As a result., even those who are in vocational training have been known to still make it to universities. The Ministry of Education constantly reviews its curriculum and syllabus to ensure that young people graduate with relevant skills that are in demand. Teachers attend the National Institute of Education to be

professionally trained. While its neighbouring countries produce graduates of poor and even questionable qualities, Singapore’s young graduates literally have the world as their oysters as they are even highly demanded overseas and by multinational companies with headquarters in this tiny Red Dot. These graduates could often find employment within several months upon graduation, and if not, they could be snapped up by companies even before graduation. So young Singaporeans have it among the best in education which presents many opportunities for them rather than challenges. 2. Today, despite the bleak economic outlook in the world, Singaporean youth still have more than enough resources at their disposal to make lifestyle choices to secure comfortable lives for themselves. Economic opportunities and challenges in the context of this question boils down to mostly bread-and-butter issues. With Singapore facing economic headwinds that result from both the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which disrupt distribution challenges to add on to the pricing woes of essential food items, it is no wonder that young Singaporeans bemoan if they would earn enough to provide comfortably for their families and ultimately still save enough for their retirement when they no longer have a regular income. In the past, working hard meant that breadwinners would be rewarded amply enough to not only put food on the table, but also go on occasional overseas trips for leisure with their families. However, in the current context, even when the young work hard, it does not guarantee they could succeed in life. v To begin, when the young get married, it is not cheap, what with the wedding banquet and dowry to save for. v Then there is the cost of public housing, with some resale flats going for more than $1million, which could cause the young to be indebted for most of their adult lives. v This is followed by raising a child, which according to NUS economists in 2018, would easily cost between $280,000 and $560,000 per child, depending on the household income. While the above may challenge the notion that young Singaporeans would be able to save enough to raise their families and retire, truth be told that the lifestyle and standard of living are really personal choices, and economic opportunities do present themselves for young people to choose what they could afford and still be able to live comfortably in this economically uncertain time. If young Singaporeans are willing to live within their means, weddings need not be exorbitantly lavish and HDB flats are reasonably subsidised and priced less in non-mature estates, not to mention that a young couple could choose to live simply and not over indulge. Ø Flats in new estates, like Tengah, are cheaper compared to matured estates like Queenstown and Toa Payoh, plus there is a government subsidy of up to $80,000 for first-time flat buyers. Young couples could also have opportunity to choose to live near their parents to get the Proximity Housing Grant of another $30,000. With the balance being paid for using one’s CPF money, any flat is really quite affordable. Ø Similarly for raising a child, do Singaporean young couples really need expensive tuition for their children, branded clothing and constantly eating out? To begin with, there is the baby bonus to help alleviate the financial burden of raising children in Singapore where up to $10,000 baby b