General Paper

A Personalised Learning & Structured Guidance Approach

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         Importance of General Paper

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The A-Level General Paper is a broad subject that embraces a multitude of diverse topics such as politics, media, science & technology, values & ethics, crime & punishment, philosophy, family & society, culture, history, the arts etc. The aim of this subject is to encourage JC students to explore a range of key issues (which are of global and/or local significance), and give them a solid foundation to thrive in our ever-changing world.

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There are two components in the A-Level General Paper examination. Each paper requires a JC student to employ different skill sets and demonstrate their ability to think critically about issues.

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Paper 1: Essay (50% )

Students are required to choose one of the twelve essay topics provided. To do well in this component, students need to read widely and understand the key issues in society today. They also need to have good writing skills (e.g. be able to elaborate on points, develop paragraphs and express/substantiate their arguments coherently & persuasively/convincingly).

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Paper 2: Comprehension (50%)

Students will need to answer a series of short answer questions & an application question, and write a summary. The questions are related to the given exam material (which is generally two passages long). To excel in this paper, students will need to be able to synthesise and critically analyse information, and summarise key ideas using their own words. The application question part of the exam would require students to interpret the given passages and apply them in the local and/or relevant context.

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In view of its breadth and myriad of topical themes (some of which may be integrated. especially in the GP Comprehension paper), many JC students find this subject very tricky to study and to prepare for. 

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         Lesson Structure & Objectives

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Junior College students aspiring to excel in the A-Level General Paper need to be able to think analytically, reason critically, construct coherent arguments and to communicate their ideas using clear, accurate & effective language.

To help JC students tackle and understand the complex themes within GP, our lessons have been structured by thematic modules and have been specially curated to focus on the content, language and evaluation skills necessary for them to do well for both GP Paper 1 (Essay) and GP Paper 2 (Comprehension).

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Our lessons have been designed such that JC students will be able to maximise their score for the General Paper by: 

• effectively tackling all direct & inferential Questions, and writing good summaries;

• skilfully evaluating what they have read, and critique its applicability to a given (local) context;

• learning useful and important vocabulary & a host of argumentative writing techniques; and

• dissecting & learning from specially-written GP model essays
   

There are nine (9) Thematic-Based Modules in total and two (2) Skills / Model-Based Modules (please scroll below for more details).

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         Lesson Mode

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To accommodate the schedules of as many JC students as possible, our General Paper Modules will be conducted fully online and repeated at certain periods throughout the academic year. 

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