The H1 General Paper examination was over not too long ago. To satisfy your curiosity, here is the list of GCE A-Level 2023 Essay Questions:

1. How realistic is it for countries to implement a national minimum wage for all their workers?
2. ‘Fossil fuels should no longer have a part in the production of energy.’ Discuss.
3. Consider the view that spending money on space travel cannot be justified in today’s world.
4. Consider the argument that there should be no censorship of the arts in modern society.
5. ’People who undertake voluntary work do so more for their own benefit than for the benefit of others.’ Discuss.
6. Assess the extent to which all people in your society have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
7. ‘The quality of human interaction is diminished by modern communication devices.’ How far do you agree?
8. To what extent are festivals and national holidays effective in promoting unity in your society?
9. ‘Regret for past actions is vital for progress.’ What is your view?
10. Evaluate the claim that sports personalities make good role models for young people.
11. Assess the view that accurate translation between languages is always necessary.
12. ‘Young people want to change the world because they do not know it is impossible.’ How far do you agree?

Here are some general observations:

1. Essay questions appear to touch on sub-topics that students often don't specially prepare for (e.g. space travel under the theme of travel and technology).

• This means that students can no longer just study the benefits and demerits of a general theme but also be aware that there are certain sub-topics that essay questions may focus on.
  • In recent years, we have seen our fair share of topics such as Artificial Intelligence (GCE 2019: To what extent is artificial intelligence replacing the role of humans?) and now space travel (GCE 2023) and they are all under the general theme of technology.
• While knowing the benefits and demerits of a general theme will provide us with a solid foundational knowledge regarding the theme, GP now requires students to dive a little deeper into them.
• Some of us might engage in the occasional hobby of “spotting” essay questions - I myself have done so with a fair amount of success (*see images below to back up my not-so-humble bragging rights for Question 3) - it is still unwise to solely rely on this way of studying GP. I would highly recommend students pick a few themes (5 broad themes) and dive into them throughout their two to three years in JC.

2. Youth-related questions either link to specific themes or are broad-based question types.

• It is not unexpected to see youth-related questions since students who are completing this paper are mainly youth so it makes sense for the examination to test on youth’s perception of how they perceive themselves and their roles in society. 
  • Question 10 focuses on the theme of sport but regarding youth’s perception of sport personalities.
  • Question 12 is a broad-based question but it is tied to youth issues.
    • This question requires students to examine what it means by ‘impossible’ and ‘possible’ and the scope of arguments would have to be tied to a handful of domains (e.g. social issues, environment and politics) to demonstrate a wide scope of arguments and examples.

3. There appears to be more questions related to national issues or the way society operates.

• As much as many students do not like questions related to politics, be it international or national, the political mechanisms of the country that we live in have undeniably affected us in our daily lives. As a result, the following questions exist to test students’ understanding of policies, governance and national issues.
  • Question 1 tests on the economic and social implications regarding a policy decision. It also touches on the issue of income equality (*see image below of resources that I have shared with students regarding income equality prior to the GP exam).
  • Question 6, though considered broad-based in terms of what it means by ‘potential’, key arguments will have to include a country’s ability to bring out the best in current and future generations, be it innovation or socio-economic standing, and this will inevitably cover policymaking.
  • Question 8 is about festivals and national holidays which would necessitate arguments that bring out the government's decision and motivation for declaring them as official special occasions celebrated by a country; therefore, it overlaps with politics and governance.

4. Traps for questions with familiar themes.

• Question 2 centres on the theme of Environment which is a widely popular theme among students. The trap is that it focuses on energy sources and its alternatives. While there is a need to bring in the demerits of burning fossil fuels (e.g. pollution), students should be mindful of turning their essay into the benefits and demerits of different energy sources. Instead, they should focus on whether the demerits of relying on fossil fuels can be offset by other energy sources.

Final comments:

Overall, GCE 2023 Paper 1 essay questions, like the previous year, are difficult but the topics are not entirely unexpected. Regardless, it is worthy to note that the ultimate aim of the GP exams is to test students’ ability to apply their content knowledge to answer the question focus and provide compelling arguments. Examples, while crucial, are only meant to supplement and not drive one’s argument.