Navigate Issue #3 - EJC GP 2018-2019

NAVIGATE Issue #3     Eunoia Junior College   English Department   General Paper   2018 JC1   2019 JC2

Navigate Issue #3   Contents     Message from the 2018 JC1 GP Team 3 Essays: 2018 Timed Practice 2 4 2 ‘Unlike the Arts, such as writing or music, Mathematics lacks the capacity for creativity.’ How far do you agree with this statement? 5 10 Why should we be concerned with current affairs when most of them will soon be forgotten? 7 11 ‘Education should only be concerned with what is useful in life.’ Discuss. 10 11 ‘Education should only be concerned with what is useful in life.’ Discuss. 12 12 How far, in your society, should unpopular views be open to discussion? 13 12 How far, in your society, should unpopular views be open to discussion? 15 Essays: 2018 JC1 Promotional Examinations 16 2 How far can religious beliefs and scientific knowledge be reconciled? 17 2 How far can religious beliefs and scientific knowledge be reconciled? 19 3 Does truth still matter in today’s world? 21 3 Does truth still matter in today’s world? 23 3 Does truth still matter in today’s world? 25 4 ‘Social media have given people the voice they need.’ Do you agree? 28 5 Discuss the importance of food in your society. 31 5 Discuss the importance of food in your society. 34 5 Discuss the importance of food in your society. 36 5 Discuss the importance of food in your society. 38 5 Discuss the importance of food in your society. 41 6 ‘There is no better time than the present to be alive.’ Discuss. 43 7 ‘Developed countries have the responsibility to accept refugees.’ Do you agree? 45 8 ‘History is only written by the victors.’ How far do you agree with this statement? 48 9 ‘Nature should always give way to the forces of urbanisation.’ How true is this of your society? 50 9 ‘Nature should always give way to the forces of urbanisation.’ How true is this of your society? 53 10 ‘The study of literature serves little purpose in society.’ Discuss. 56 10 ‘The study of literature serves little purpose in society.’ Discuss. 58 11 ‘Some professions are more highly regarded than others.’ Discuss this claim with reference to your society. 61 11 ‘Some professions are more highly regarded than others.’ Discuss this claim with reference to your society. 63 12 ‘The best test of a civilised society is the way in which it treats its animals.’ Discuss. 65 Eunoia English Department 1

Navigate Issue #3   Application Question: 2018 JC1 Promotional Examinations 68 In response to Eunoia Junior College 2018 JC1 Promotional Examination 68 Response 1 68 Response 2 69 Response 3 70 Response 4 72 Response 5 73 Response 6 75 Response 7 76 Response 8 77 Response 9 78 Response 10 79 Response 11 81 Response 12 82     Eunoia English Department 2

Navigate Issue #3   Message from the 2018 JC1 GP Team Dear Eunoians, “Classic writing, with its assumption of equality between writer and reader, makes the reader feel like a genius. Bad writing makes the reader feel like a dunce.” ― Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century Writing, like the English language with all its eccentricities, may seem like a mystery waiting to be unraveled. Yet, learning to write well must first begin with a few assumptions: That good writing is hard to begin with. There is no short cut. That good writing is a journey of experimentation. It emerges from trials of alternating success and failure. That good writing is meant not only for yourself but also your reader and thus the equality between writer and reader. That good writing, unlike a Mathematical solution, is not replicable, for every new piece of writing differs from the preceding one and has tremendous potential to be better as well. And we are glad that this collection of essays from the Promotional Examination 2018 has honoured the assumptions aforementioned. Yes, some of you struggled with clarity at your first attempts to write a GP essay but your lucidity is clearly coming through. Some of you while indubitably logical, were accused of not having a voice in your writing. Some of you were guilty of gratuitous writing which has now been replaced by a sense of purpose and conviction. We knew all along that slowly but surely, your growth would become apparent and it has been nothing short of inspirational. As we present you the final issue of Navigate for 2018, we also look forward to ushering in a new year’s worth of good writing. In the year ahead, like the click of a refresh button, we would like to see the names of new contributors and not just a select few. And finally, we hope that the Navigate issues continue to provide you with good leverage to become better articulators of thought through writing. All the best, Your GP Teachers ❤ Eunoia English Department 3

Navigate Issue #3   Essays: 2018 Timed Practice 2   In response to GCE A Level 2013 Paper 1 1 ‘The world would be a better place if more political leaders were women.’ What is your view? ● Not represented 2 ‘Unlike the Arts, such as writing or music, Mathematics lacks the capacity for creativity.’ How far do you agree with this statement? ● Jared Chong (18-U4), full essay 3 Is there any point in trying to predict future trends? ● Not represented 4 To what extent is it possible ‘to make the punishment fit the crime’? ● Not represented 5 Discuss the claim that in the modern world people should care more about international than national issues. ● Not represented 6 How important is it to save plant and animal species which are in danger of extinction? ● Not represented 7 ‘Scientific research into health and diet is unreliable as it so often contradicts itself.’ Is this a fair comment? ● Not represented 8 How far is increased prosperity for all a realistic goal in your society? ● Not represented 9 Consider the view that spoken language is more important than the written form. ● Not represented 10 Why should we be concerned with current affairs when most of them will soon be forgotten? ● Christabelle Kam (18-I2), full essay 11 ‘Education should only be concerned with what is useful in life.’ Discuss. ● Cheryl Yong (18-A4), full essay ● Lim Mingzhe (18-U4), 1 paragraph 12 How far, in your society, should unpopular views be open to discussion? ● Tang Shih Ern (18-A4), full essay ● Koh Rui Yi (18-A4), 1 paragraph Eunoia English Department 4

Navigate Issue #3   2 ‘Unlike the Arts, such as writing or music, Mathematics lacks the capacity for creativity.’ How far do you agree with this statement? This essay’s strength lies in the student’s vast knowledge of not just one of the topics at hand, but both Mathematics and the Arts. This allowed the use of a wide range of applicable examples and valid explanations regarding those examples. The level of insight achieved through the essay could be improved by a stronger attempt to unpack the purposes of ‘the Arts’ and ‘Mathematics’ and by pointing out the false dichotomy between Mathematics and the Arts (i.e. why they are not mutually exclusive) and considering how they could possibly work hand-in-hand. The whole reason for the existence of the Arts is for freedom of expression to create whatever an individual may desire. From the dark and tragic poems of Sylvia Plath to the emotion[-]filled tension of Brahm’s music, it is not an understatement