overview of gp in thirty minutes

Overview of GP in

Thirty Minutes

For GCE A Level students

By:Prem GaireFounder of General Paper Guidewww.general-paper.com

http://www.general-paper.com/



Copyright © Prem Gaire. For more info: www.general-paper.com

A former General Paper student of CIE with „B‟ grade in GP

Studied A Levels from Trinity International College, Kathmandu (2008-2010)

Founder of:

www.general-paper.com

www.facebook.com/generalpaper

A blogger, hobbyist writer, artist, and student of BBA

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Prem Gaire - Introduction







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Multidisciplinary subject whose curriculum spans over all the other disciplines like science, philosophy, history, arts, economics, sociology, etc

Philosophical and based upon reasoning and analysis

It is mostly about the maturity of thoughts, means no childish logic in writing

It is about tailoring your knowledge in different contexts to prove your argument

It is mostly about proficiency in formal written English

- Adapted from GP syllabus

What is General Paper?

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International Syllabus

◦ Two variants: 8001 & 8004

◦ Global scope, i.e., for students worldwide

Localised Syllabus

◦ 8009 (for Mauritius only)

◦ 8806/8807 H1 General Paper (for Singapore only)

Different GP Syllabuses

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8001 8004

Types of Questions Essay and Comprehension passages

Essays only

Question Patterns 12 Essay Questions3 ComprehensionPassages

15 Essay Questions categorised into 3 sections

Students need to answer

1 Essay Question1 ComprehensionPassage

2 Essay Questions from two different sections

Total Exam Time 2 hour 45 minutes 2 hour only

International Syllabus

Comparison between 8001 & 8004 syllabi

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Essays questions

Need answer in either 500 – 600 words

Or 500 – 800 words

Each question carries 50 marks

Comprehension Passage &/or Data Response Questions

Each question carries 50 marks

One question consists of multiple sub-questions totalling 35 marks with additional 15 marks allocated for the use of English

Question Structure

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Essay Question

30 marks for content

20 marks for use of English

Total Marks = 50

Comprehension & Data Response Passages

Sub-questions totalling 35 marks based upon the given passage

15 additional marks available for the use of English

Total Marks = 50

Marking Patterns

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GP is easy OR GP is difficult

GP tests our general knowledge

GP is not useful to other subjects

GP doesn‟t have syllabus

If you do GP you don‟t need to do TOEFL and/or IELTS

Some Myths

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◦ No textbook or at least no book endorsed by Cambridge

◦ Too broad syllabus

◦ A lot of myths

◦ What to study

◦ A lot of confusions

Studying GP is undoubtedly challenging!

How to study?

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◦ Syllabus This will let you know the topics from which the questions are

likely to be asked

◦ Mark Schemes These are the documents which inform you on how your

answers are evaluated

◦ Examiner Reports Contains detailed report about students‟ performance

including their mistakes and valuable suggestions

◦ Internet research This is particularly necessary to have wealth of knowledge

and information (i.e., content)

Study Materials for GP

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It means:

Facts

Examples

Statistics

Ideas and their flow

Logic

Reasoning

Analysis

Evaluation

◦ In short, it is the knowledge and/or information you have at your disposal

Content

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It means:

Expression, ability to express or not

Fluency or smoothness in writing

Grammatical accuracy

Use of appropriate vocabulary

Vocabulary = knowledge of words of a particular language, & ability to make appropriate choice of words when necessary

Language

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It is the set of guidelines for marking the student‟s answer sheet

It has a reference about

the specific criteria of marking and

the basis on which the answers are evaluated by the examiners

What kind of discussion is expected in the particular GP essay question, along with the points or possible areas for discussion (This may not be available in all the mark schemes)

Mark Schemes

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It is the report published after all the answers are checked

It contains detailed information about

Mistakes made by students

What was found in answers vs what was expected

More specific guidelines on “Dos and Don‟ts” of GP

This is the document which can clear all the confusion and myths surrounding General Paper

Examiner Report

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These are the actual question papers attempted by students in the former examination sessions!

They are specifically useful to get:

Ideas about the type and nature of questions asked in GP exams

Idea about the “instructions” you are supposed to followduring the exams

Questions for practice in order to prepare for exams

Past Papers

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No need to study specifically for contents if you are sincere!

The knowledge you acquire from

Daily activities,

Studying Other subjects,

Newspaper and Media,

Hearsay,

Personal research on the web

Personal experience

can be useful for your content section.

How to study for content?

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For language usage hard work is required to:

Gain grammatical knowledge and Accuracy in writing

Develop a writing style

Achieve fluency in written English

Learn the appropriate use of vocabulary and idioms, whenever you use them

Learn how to make uses of different types of contents like facts, statistics, examples, and so on.

Develop good writing skills through persistent practice

Note: PRACTICE is the key to improve language skills

Note II: Improving language skills usually takes a lot of time -so be PATIENT!

How to study for language?

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Mythical meaning:

use of jargons,

use of difficult words,

use of words with unusually long spellings, etc

Realistic Meaning:

correct choice of words,

use of simple words as accurately as possible,

achieve preciseness in the use of words

having the right words at our disposal when we need to use them, i.e, good knowledge of wide range of words

Vocabulary

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Note the difference:

They make noise in the class.

They always make noise in the class.

They often make noise in the class.

They hardly make noise in the class.

If you are crystal clear

◦ about the different meanings

of these three sentences,

then

you have a good vocabulary.

Vocabulary (cont‟d...)

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Mostly,

argumentative forms of essays, in which,

you form your opinions (also known as arguments) based upon your knowledge on the given topic or question

you then prove your point with examples, facts, reasoning, etc

Sometimes,

discursive,

exploratory,

expository and so on.

What is GP essay?

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Introduction Introduce the topic, set scope, give main Thesis

Body◦ 3-4 arguments each on a separate paragraph to prove your

thesis One idea fully explored in one paragraph, using details, examples,

facts, statistics, whichever is appropriate or possible

◦ 1-2 balance arguments each on a separate paragraph

Conclusion Reinforce the thesis Sum up the essay Give your opinion

Composition of GP Essay

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The first paragraph = the first impression

Introduces the essay

Sets the scope of the essay

Gives the thesis through thesis statement

Arouses the interest of the audience

Very important paragraph

Introduction Paragraph

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The last paragraph = final impression and judgment

Sums up the essay

Reinforces the thesis statement

Gives the opinion of the author

Ends with a satisfactory conclusion on the issue

Quite important paragraph

Conclusion Paragraph

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Has mainly three sub-sections:

◦ Introductory sentence◦ Details and explanations,◦ Concluding sentence

These subsections need not be in any specific order

Introductory and concluding sentence can be implicit or hidden

But they should somehow be deductible

Composition of Paragraph

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Sample essays which scored A grade in GP

http://www.general-paper.com/2012/01/discuss-arguments-for-and-against.html

http://www.general-paper.com/2012/01/what-are-consequences-of-break-up-of.html

http://www.general-paper.com/2012/01/would-it-be-advantageous-if-all-people.html

http://www.general-paper.com/2012/01/should-society-punish-criminals-more.html

http://www.general-paper.com/2012/01/what-are-advantages-and-disadvantages.html

Links to Sample A Graded Essays

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For more resources on General Paper, please visit our site:

www.general-paper.com

Thank you!

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overview of gp in thirty minutes

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