2024 QSS 4E5N SS Prelim AK

1 QUEENSWAY SECONDARY SCHOOL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2024 SECONDARY 4 EXPRESS / 5 NORMAL (ACADEMIC) Humanities 2260/01, 2261/01 2272/01, 2273/01 Paper 1 Social Studies 21 August 2024 1 hour 45 minutes Additional Materials: Writing Paper Levels of Response Marking Scheme (LORMS) MAXIMUM MARK: 50 This document consists of 14 printed pages. Setter: Ms Quek Yu Pin & Mr Chow Jing Kang [Turn Over

2 SECTION A Target Skill: Message 1 Study Source A. What is the message of this source? Explain your answer using details of the source. [5] L1 Describes the source without answering the question OR provides a stand without evidence e.g. Source A shows an employer asking his employee to bring him a cup of coffee. [1] L2 Misinterpretation of cartoon e.g. Women are overqualified for the jobs that they applied for. / There is a shortage of job opportunities, causing women to take up low-skilled positions. / Companies only hire women who have more qualifications than men. / The source shows gender equality as the female employee has been hired. [2] L3 Sub-message / Inference e.g. The message of Source A is that women are very well -educated / Employers are overbearing and unreasonable towards their employees. [3] L4 Valid message, with support from details of cartoon. Award 5m for more developed answers (i.e. valid intent of the cartoonist) The message of source A is to criticise employers who are dismissive of the educational achievements of women/ who discriminate against women, causing women to be underemployed / assigned with low skilled tasks at work. This is found in the cartoon, where the female employee said, “I have an executive secretariat and a conference reporter certificates, … a PhD in Japanese,” only to receive a reply from her employer saying, “Great! Go get me a coffee!” This suggests that employers are disrespectful towards w omen, expecting them to take on domestic roles such as serving bosses with coffee, despite being highly qualified for a proper position in the workplace. [5m] [4- 5]

3 Target Skill: Comparison 2 Study Sources B and C. How far would Source B agree with Source C? Explain your answer. [6] L1 Similarity/Difference based on unexplained provenance/superficial comparison e.g. Source B is an article published on a news website while Source C is a speech from a minister, hence, they would disagree. e.g. Source B would agree with Source C as both shows the multiple priorities of women in the workplace. [1] L2 Similarity and/or Difference based on false matching e.g. Source B would agree with Source C because source B mentioned the difficulties faced by a pregnant employee while source C did not. [2] L3 Similarity OR Difference based on content i.e. the employer’s role or the treatment of woman in the workplace Award 3m for valid basis of comparison, unsupported Award 4m for valid basis of comparison, supported e.g. Source B would agree with Source C about the employer’s need to support female employees with children rather than fire them . This is found in source B, “employers should spell out the job requirements clearly at the hiring stage, especially when the nature of the job may be unsuitable for expectant mothers. Otherwise, the employer is responsible for deploying them to other tasks, rather than to terminate them.” Similarly, in source C, “ She raised it to her managers, who were empathetic and encouraging. They gave her the assurance to be able to take a sabbatical* and recommended her for a new role within DBS when she was ready to return” This suggests that employers have a duty to provide alternative working arrangements for their female employees if they have family commitments. OR e.g. Source B would disagree with Source C about whether female employees are being discriminated against in the workplace . Source B thinks that women are unfairly treated, while source C thinks that women are well supported. This is evident in source B, “When the 34-year-old let her employer know that she was pregnant with her third child, her probation was extended. A month later, she was told that she could either resign or be terminated.” This suggests that employers are prejudiced against pregnant women, unfairly dismissing them without a valid reason . However, in source C, employers are understanding and supportive of their female employees. This is found in, “In 2018, Jacqueline wanted to have more time with her two young boys and mother, who suffered a stroke some years back. She raised it to her managers, who were empathic and encouraging. They gave her the assurance to be able to take a sabbatical* and recommended her for a new role within DBS when she was ready to return.” This suggests that employers are compassionate and willing to provide women with alternative work options to attend to their personal family commitments. [3- 4]

4 L4 Similarity AND Difference based on content Award 5m for similarity and difference, supported [5] L5 Similarity based on author’s perspective / purpose i.e. the importance of employers in creating a gender equal workplace Award 6m for perspective on employer’s attitude and/or responsibility in protecting women’s interest at work. e.g. Source B would agree with Source C that employers should be responsible for providing alternative career options for female employees with additional family responsibilities. This is found in, “ Even so, employers should spell out the job requirements clearly at the hiring stage, especially when the nature of the job may be unsuitable for expectant mothers. Otherwise, the employer is responsible for deploying them to other tasks, rather than to terminate t hem.” Similarly, in source C, “ In 2018, Jacqueline wanted to have more time with her two young boys and mother, who suffered a stroke some years back. She raised it to her managers, who were empathetic and encouraging. They gave her the assurance to be able to take a sabbatical* and recommended her for a new role within DBS when she was ready to return.” This suggests that companies must keep their employee’s best interest at heart and not penalise them for prioritising their family over work. e.g. Source B would agree with source C because they have similar purpose. The author in source B wishes to convince Singaporeans that employers should be responsible for safeguarding the rights of women in the workplace so that more companies would review their workplace practices to make it fairer. Similarly, in source C, Minister Indranee Rajah aims to convince other companies to treat their female employees fairly by highlighting the good workplace practices of DBS as a positive example for others to follow. [6]

5 Target Skill: Comparison + Surprise 3 Study Sources D and E. Having read Source D, are you surprised by Source E? Explain your answer. [7] L1 Answers using source content but failing to address element of surprise. e.g. Both sources disagree on whether women should raise their concerns to their superiors. [1] L2 Decides element of surprise entirely from Source E e.g. I am not surprised that the author of Source E wants to encourage other companies to implement measures to support women because she is an executive coach who wants to empower women to take on leadership positions. Surprised based on misinterpreted disagreement of content e.g. I am surprised by Source E after reading Source D as they disagree on whether women should speak up at work. Decides element of surprised based on context in which the sources were published e.g. I am surprised by Source E that gender equality is still an issue in 2022 because it has been in the discussion since 2018 as shown in Source D. e.g. I am not