General Paper is a very useful examination and covers many interesting issues, themes, and topics, but preparing for the examination often makes students think of long guidebooks and worksheets and class discussions with sometimes, but of course not always, boring classmates. Even more pertinent is the fact that the GP essay is one very important essay, which needs to be prepared for.
How can one prepare for success in the GP essay?
This post suggests a clear-cut yet comprehensive and useful approach to preparing for General Paper that you can do by yourself.
As this approach is an outline, different subsequent posts will elaborate and explicate with examples how you can use these key ideas to prepare for success in GP.
Choose a few themes or topics to specialise in
First, choose a few themes or topics to specialise in, and concentrate your energies into mastering a few related topics.
For example, I am more of a humanities and social sciences person, so I chose a history and current affairs related topic, which was on whether history is only about wars. For students from a more science background, choosing a topic about science and technology, or on environmentalism might make a great deal more sense to them. However, choosing only one topic for the GP essay is rather dangerous, so choose more than one area of specialisation. I chose humanities, social sciences, arts and culture, and literature – no surprise, since I was a Humanities Scholar and love the arts in general.
Read widely around your themes or topics and take notes
Once you have chosen your area of specialisation, read a lot around the subject and take notes. For me, for example, I love to read about European history, especially the events and developments from the French Revolution in 1789 all the way to Europe today, including the excitement around Greece, the possible Grexit, the recession in Europe, and the pro-EU camp against the Euro-sceptics. In addition to “what happened”, I also focused on the “so what?” to learn about the impact, significance, and meaning of the various events.
Also, in a related vein, for Economics, another love of mine, I love to learn about the history of the discipline, which in a sense is about the intellectual history of economics as a subject. What did Adam Smith say? What did Keynes actually say? How did the subject become a social science, and what is the difference between positive statements and normative arguments? What were the historical events behind the various economic ideas, or how have economic ideas been implemented in real historical situations and periods?
Collectively, you have to read really widely around your chosen themes.
Beyond reading widely around your themes, you have to be disciplined and collate and write up notes on what you have read, taking care to be clear, concise, yet accurate about what you have read. Some students are not very accurate about what they have read, and this makes for sloppy and unclear thinking and writing.
If you can think about an issue carefully, you can write about it carefully.
When you learn a lot about a certain theme, and start to build some solid foundation on a theme or two, you can start to do some theme-weaving, which means to make sense of your notes and consolidate them into a coherent whole. Make your notes flow and draw linkages between what you have read. What has the intellectual history of economics, for instance, have to do with the history of Europe? Is economics as a discipline really Eurocentric in nature? Perhaps the industrial revolution had a lot to do with the history of the world and might have led to colonialism and trade, or other such thoughts and ideas such as the White Man’s Burden.
Read sample GP essays
Next, you should read good essays so that you have a firm idea of what makes a good GP essay. Reading sample or model GP essays might be useful here in providing you with an idea or a sense of what makes for good GP essays, or what can be expected under examination conditions. But I would say, just think of these as baseline or foundational – and hold yourself to higher standards where you can and will eventually write even better, and craft even better GP essays.
Highlight key phrases and arguments made. Notice the various possible turns of phrases, or even quotations that you can use (be sure to check them up to make sure that they are accurate quotations from real and famous personalities). Note how the examples are given to highlight and portray certain points or to emphasise some arguments or some points made.
But I would say once again, just to emphasise and to make it loud and clear – you should just think of these excellent essays or good essays you find as baseline or foundational for your purposes – and hold yourself to even higher standards where you believe you can and will eventually write even better, and craft even better GP essays than what you have read. Make progress, and have bigger and better improvements.
I have faith in you - and you should believe in yourself.
Prepare essay outlines
Look through past year GP essay questions and perhaps take a look at various samples adapted from actual A level essay questions here on this site.
Start preparing your essay outlines, being careful to link to your readings and conducting additional research where necessary. Also remember to answer the questions posed rather than answering essay questions that you think have been asked.
As you start to prepare essay outlines, you can find out if you really understand your topic or if you have been merely skimming through difficult and challenging arguments.
Prepare clusters of arguments
Sometimes, these outlines can just be for and against point form arguments. Cluster arguments together, by collating various pieces of evidence and quotations and points into different sheets of paper. These clusters of arguments can be learnt and memorised, so that you can summon up evidence and information rapidly during an examination context.
Practise writing within a time limit
Finally, practise real writing within a time limit. I often do this for all my writing and essay-based subjects, not just GP. Set aside some 10 to 15 minutes to plan (15 minutes should be the maximum) and then start writing for real, to get down your arguments and evaluative comments on paper, in neat, legible, and plain writing.
In conclusion, the simple yet effective system that would help students prepare successfully to craft an excellent essay for General Paper is -
First, choose a few related themes or topics
Second, read widely around the themes and take notes
Third, read sample GP essays
Fourth, prepare essay outlines
Fifth, prepare clusters of arguments
Sixth, practise writing within a time limit
Thanks for reading and cheers!
JC General Paper Essays – how to prepare for GP