Voter turnout a worry at Indonesia polls

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For those who recently did last yr's 'A' lvl compre on youth and politics, this article on voter turnout cites some of the same arguments as the passage...

-voting is not compulsory in Indonesia, hence the declining voter turnout over the years.

-protest against rigged elections during Suharto's New Order regime, urged citizens then to invalidate their votes

-"Dissatisfaction with Jokowi's performance led many of his former supporters, who voted against Mr Prabowo in the last election, to declare that they would rather golput than vote for either of the candidate pairs,

-Many in the Muslim-majority nation also abstain from voting for ideological reasons. This includes followers of hardline Islamic groups..... who refuse to take part in the democratic process because they see it as a Western concept.

-Election fatigue is also to blame, especially with the presidential and legislative polls coming just months after a major round of regional elections in June last year. That voters can only choose between the same two presidential candidates from the previous election is also a factor....do not offer any new hope, and so there is no need to vote."


Qn: To what extent do young people in your society take an interest in politics? (Cam. 2006)

Can the word 'sound' take the plural 's'?

For those who did the graded Editing Practice recently, recall that I said 'sound' as a noun rarely takes the plural 's': -- the sound of our own voices

But in specific situations, exceptions exist, as in these two titles I came upon in today's papers:

1) Click HERE : SoundS of Singapore: Musicians studying traditional music across cultures

2) Click HERE : Great soundS  from unusual unions

Here's a few more:

- there are strange soundS coming out of the toilet

-can hear the soundS of grief in the air after the battle

For reference, see HERE

Confusion over the term 'Youth'

There was some confusion over this sentence in recent editing practice:
                            Japanese youthS WERE unwilling to interact...
In the American use mentioned below, this will be correct; in the British use, 'Japanese youth were' is more appropriate.

The differing meanings of the noun 'YOUTH'
(1) state of being young
e.g. Youth only comeS to us once in a lifetime, so you better treasure it.

Used in this sense, 'youth' always takes a singular verb:  'youth' is/has/makes/destroys

(2) collective noun to refer to all the young people as a whole
e.g. He urges the youth of the country to defend the nation. However, the youth ARE indifferent to his words.
See also the title in this article HERE

The dictionary says that as a collective term, 'youth' can take both singular and plural, but I would recommend that you use a plural verb: 'youth' are/have/make/destroy

(3) a wayward young male; i.e. a young male who creates trouble (note the negative connotation)
e.g. The youth WAS captured by the police for peeping in the female toilet.

In the plural form:
The youthS WERE captured by the police for peeping in the female toilet.
See also the title in this article HERE


BUT in American English, and increasing in the global media today, the negative connotation of 'youth/youthS' in meaning [3] above does not seem to apply any more. When they say 'youth' as in meaning [3], it does NOT have the negative connonation, and it can refer to a female, i.e. just a young person. And the plural 'youthS' is just many young people.
Given this, instead of saying 'the youth of the nation ARE resilient' (meaning [2] collective term), you now also see 'the youthS of the nation ARE resilient'.

If all this is still very confusing, just use 'young people ARE' and all problems solved. Avoid the term 'youngsters' as it is slangish.

Crowded Kyoto plans detours for tourists

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Note Q2 below, Japan is not exactly a poor country, but most of the arguments mentioned in the article can still apply....

Some impt points to take away with are:
-overcrowding and strain on public infrastructure, resulting in inconvenience for locals
-friction btw locals and tourists due to differing habits (but this will be less of a concern if referring to domestic tourisim where the tourists are of the same country and culture)
In a culturally uniform country where everyone is attuned to "reading the air" - being sensitive to the unsaid needs of others - clueless tourists lumbering around and taking up excessive space on public transport with oversized luggage is causing social stress....Add to that tourists standing on the wrong side of the escalator, chatting loudly on trains, and mixing combustible rubbish with the non-combustible, and even the usually reticent Kyoto-ite finds it hard to repress a frown.

Qns: 

1.     To what extent does the immigration of people have a positive effect? (Cam. 2008)

2.     Should poorer countries develop their tourist industry when the basic needs of their own people are not being met? (Cam. 2007)

Why people need to be frightened

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Note the use of recent events to open with a BANG! The recent infamous ones are the arctic vortext in Chicago, casuing temp to plunge to -48 degrees celsius, while the opposite occurred in Australia where the mercury spiked to 49 degree celsius! Note also the use of rhetorical qn in the closing BANG!

note the idea of how fear is necessary to jolt us from complacency and denial into action...recall the lesson from the parable of the boiled frog -- being cold-blooded, it didnt even realise the water's temperature (which it is being immersed in to cook it) is rising rapidly until it is too late!

Note the limitations of the individual in saving Mother Nature, but how collectively, individuals can make a difference (potential rebuttal pair):

but the effects of individual lifestyle choices are ultimately trivial compared with what politics can achieve....Buying an electric car is a drop in the bucket compared with raising fuel-efficiency standards sharply. Conscientiously flying less is a lot easier if there's more high-speed rail around. And if I eat fewer hamburgers a year, so what? But if cattle farmers were required to feed their cattle seaweed, which might reduce methane emissions by nearly 60 per cent according to one study, that would make an enormous difference.....That is what is meant when politics is called a "moral multiplier". That is the purpose of politics: That we can be and do better together than we might manage as individuals.

Qns:
1. Consider the value of fear.
2. What we need to do is to get the common man on board, otherwise the environment is doomed. Do you agree? (TPJC Prelim 2011)

Reflecting on past to chart way forward

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Qn:  'The past is not dead; it is not even past.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2017)

More help to boost skills and switch jobs

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Note the govt scheme Career Support Programme:
You dont need too many details about the scheme, but it's useful to note that for mid-career workers who want to make career switches, the govt does not just subsidise ur skills training, but u will receive a salary even whilst u r undergoing ur training so that u are not too affected by the income loss during the period of training. See example HERE on career switch to pre-school sector via the Professional Conversion Programme.
Also, the govt's help here can swing both ways for the qn below: it can asist you to broaden and deepen ur skill sets so that u can continue to remain in the same job (and by extension, career) [u can also go into a new job with another company but in the same career field], or it can equip you with entirely new skill sets so that you can make the transition to a new career.

The scheme subsidises the wages when a Singaporean who is mature and retrenched or unemployed for the long term is hired for a professional, manager, executive or technician job.

The Budget has set aside $3.6 billion over the next three years for the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Education to help workers amid industry and technological disruptions.

Qn:  In an age of rapid technological advancement, is a single career for life realistic? (Cam. 2018)

Singapore Budget 2019: $6.1b for Merdeka Generation package includes Medisave top-ups, higher Chas subsidies

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Note the S$6b Merdeka Generation package....think also of the S$8b Pioneer Generation Package....Good examples of govts policies towards the growing elderly....
For those whom we have discussed the 2018 'A' level AQ, relate to how the govt nelgects the young by focussing on the old....

Qn: Longer life expectancy creates more problems than benefits. Discuss. (Cam. 2016)

Footballer Ben Davis fails to report for NS

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Not quite sure whether there's any point here in this example, but it definitely makes for a good opening BANG in ur intro to lead to the issue below....

Qn: To what extent is sporting achievement given adequate recognition in your society? (Cam. 2018)

Women's quest for justice and equality - a short history

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Some Christian denominations bar women from the priesthood or leadership positions. In Islam, women face restrictions on leading public prayers. According to some Buddhist texts, women can attain Buddhahood only by first being reborn as men. In Hindu literature, women are sometimes depicted as being weak, sinful and irresponsible....Confucius taught that a daughter should obey her father, a wife her husband and a widow her son....Confucianism has had a pernicious influence on the status of women in Asia as it continues to influence the behaviour of men towards women in North-east and South-east Asia.

In 1961, the Singapore Government enacted the Women's Charter. It was nothing less than the Magna Carta for women in Singapore.

Our women have achieved parity with men in education at all levels. Women's participation in our workforce is at about 60 per cent but there is still a wage gap between men and women...Most glass ceilings impeding the rise of women in Singapore have been broken. We have a woman as our President. We have several very capable woman ministers, permanent secretaries, judges of the Supreme Court, CEOs of statutory boards and leading corporations...The only two areas which need improvement are the number of women in Parliament and the under-representation of women on corporate boards and in senior decision-making positions.

In 2016, the UN Human Development Report ranked Singapore No. 11 out of 159 countries on its Gender Inequality Index. In 2017, the US News and World Report published a list of the 23 best countries in the world for a woman to live in. Singapore was ranked No. 22.

Qns:  

1. Evaluate the claim that equality of opportunity for females is a desirable, but unrealistic goal. (Cam. 2016)

2. In your society, how far is equality for all a reality? (Cam. 2012)

3. How important is it for people in your society to retain a sense of tradition? (Cam. 2010)

Staycations with my 'kong kong' and the lessons he taught me

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This article is a good example of a recount essay. 'Describe someone' does not mean just describe his/her physical appearance; it can be about describing your interactions with him/her, the things he/she does, esp for you.....

If u study the structure carefully, it appears to be in bundles of describing what Kong Kong did, followed by the impact on the writer. Bundles of these two components are repeated throughout the writing.

Opening BANG:

-powerful start to intro by announcing the death of the person; a useful tool for triggering the past of the person, i.e. the footprints he left behind. Note that this is a personal qn, requiring personal experience and examples

Be careful of informal language elements like "You see" (para 5), "Well" (para 22). They are speech markers indicative of informal language, You want to go easy on these during exams, given that you are expected to write in a formal -- albeit personal -- style, unless of course, it's within direct speech.

Qn: Describe someone who means a great deat to you. What impact does he or she have on you?

National School Games changes: Trophy for coming in 8th?

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Note catchy title using qn....

Those whom we discuss the Millennials AQ recently, note this attribute of millennials:

Google the phrase "participation trophy", which has in recent years been used to criticise millennials (and their alleged sense of entitlement)

interesting anecdote for ur BANGs!

retired basketball star Kobe Bryant told his daughters when they finished fourth at a basketball tournament. They did not want to accept their trophies for placing fourth, and the five-time NBA champion told them: "Get the fourth-place trophy, go home. You take the fourth-place trophy, you put it up right where you can see it, and when you wake up in the morning, you look at the trophy and you remind yourself of what you'll never win again."

On losing, however, the 17-time Grand Slam champion has this to say: "Losing is not my enemy… Fear of losing is my enemy."

Criterion-based recognition will also be introduced for some sports, such as timings for track and field and the number of pinfalls in bowling. This is to "promote self-improvement, mastery and the importance of striving for goals based on objective targets", MOE said.

Everyone can participate in sport, but if everyone is a winner, then no one learns from losing.....But there is so much that even a child who places ninth can gain from competition, such as developing resilience and building strength of character.

Qns:

1. How far is failure an essential part of success? (Cam. 2018)

2. To what extent is sporting achievement given adequate recognition in your society? (Cam. 2018)

Parliament: Spike in online talk critical of Singapore during spat with KL

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dangers posed by the internet are oftne linked to online scams, online Romeos, credit card scams, online blackmail (think naked videos), theft of confidential data (think the recent SingHealth data breach and of the course the latest HIV data leakage)......But we have here in this article something of a political nature...instead of taking something away that is on the internet, you can also put something into it (think viruses like WannaCry), and here we are talking about deliberately using misinformation and/or disinformation to manipulate the mindset of the people's political leanings/sentiments.....

A third of earth's insect species facing extinction

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useful stats for BANGS! note also how the title strives to be catchy by using shocking stats...

This article is related to the pre-test compo and compre that some of u did recently....note the role of S&T in the extinction of species here....esp agricultural S&T

Qn: Can we rely on science and technology to solve our environmental problems?

Singapore's Government has not gone slack

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For those whom we are doing speech now, this is an example of formal speech...it's a bit unlike the semi-formal speech that is more prevalent in ur syllabus. Notice it has few or no informal language features at all. But if the Qn wants you to write ur speech in a "lively and engaging" manner, you should introduce some informal features as it will be a semi-formal speech....

Unwed mums by choice: More single women in Singapore going abroad for IVF

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Qn: Should people be allowed to have children by artificial means? (Cam. 2012)

NUS dons' green pitch in Davos

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The example on water-based air-conditioners is worth noting.....

the first hybrid membrane water-based air-conditioner, labelled NUScool, which is capable of cooling any desired space without producing heat as a byproduct. In addition, this disruptive air-conditioner is able to harvest water from humid air for tropical countries experiencing a water shortage.

Qn: Can we rely on science and technology to solve our environmental problems?

Building a green Singapore

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The science of architecture, and the employment of technology in the design of buildings today can help mitigate envmtal problems...

Qn: Can we rely on science and technology to solve environmental problems?

Mistakes can be helpful for Singapore

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The qn below has the assumtion that failure will lead to success, given that it is an essential component....but this article made me think of how certain failures today are so greatly magnified/amplified in the media that the shame of it all, the tarnishment of ur reputation, the blow to ur self-esteem, are such that one may never be able to bounce back from one's failure to have a second chance/stab at what one is pursuing....think dramatic movie flops or loss at elections...and if that failure is a cumulative one or one in a series of failure, the term 'the last straw that broke the camel's back' comes to mind. Sometimes, certain failures are not tolerated and they can break you totally such that you cannot bounce back again -- social media is one such culprit.

mistakes and failures tend to become public almost instantaneously today and, at times, they are amplified, compared with in the 60s or 70s....Social media today allows everyone to jump into the debate with impunity, and people are able to voice unhappiness, whims and fancies quickly, and to a large audience.

Qn: How far is failure an essential part of success? (Cam. 2018)

Plans in place for athletes post-sport

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This article is useful for addressing the point that athletes in the sporting fraternity have a short shelf-life, making it difficult for budding talents to go full time into sports....

Ms Fu gave the assurance that the Government has put in place plans to support athletes beyond their sporting careers, and corporates have also played their part, but more can be done.

She said: "The spexBusiness Network currently comprises 60 companies across more than 25 industries to provide a wide array of career opportunities to our Team Singapore athletes.

Ms Fu also urged national sports associations (NSAs) to follow the example of the Singapore Table Tennis Association "which has bursaries and arrangements with institutes of higher learning to support their athletes to transition to a post-sport career".

Qn: To what extent is sporting achievement given adequate recognition in your society? (Cam. 2018)

Lucy the giraffe dies while giving birth at Singapore Zoo

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For those who did the SW recently on cousin visiting the Singapore zoo...this article triggered this idea in me about a possible Mary-Harry pair:

Mary: breeding programmes at the zoo; experiential learning experience (i.e. learn by interacting with the real thing and going through the actual experience instead of just reading from books or watching the animals passively from a distance)

Harry: As a volunteer (not tourist at the zoo), may even have the opportunity to help endangered animals to give birth! and perhaps feed the tiger cubs from milk bottles....As a tourist, can only see how these are done by the staff and volunteers (i.e. not experiential learning).....

Chinese appetite for durians blamed for fresh deforestation

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If we do not change our lifestyle habits, which include our eating choices (think less meat diet to combat global warming), no amount of Science and technology can help save mother nature; if anything, the science and tech we invented may even be used to inflict more harm on mother nature in order to satisfy the kind of food we want to eat -- think the use of sonar detector to locate huge fishing grounds as well as large drift nets to catch hordes of fish. resulting in over-fishing and depletion of fish stocks in the oceans....

Lifestyle habits is not just about food, it's also about comfort and convenience such as not driving cars, use of plastic containers, aircon, buying ivory.....

Qn: Can we rely on science and technology to solve our environmental problems?

Everyone loses if trust in Govt is lost

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Some good examples of incidents (to add on to the Oxley House saga) that have eroded the people's trust in the govt:
Just too many things have been going wrong lately - the Singapore Armed Forces, Health Ministry and Singapore Post incidents.

Do note that trust in the govt has long been a major characteristic feature of Singapore, which has allowed the govt to push through hostile -- albeit necessary -- policies that have contributed to our success....This trust was built through the glowing report card of the PAP, which has the reputation of getting things done right -- so far.....

You can use of notion of trust in the govt in arguably both directions in the AQ from last years compre on youth's interest in issues.
NO TRUST:
1)If there is diminishing trust in the govt, youth may not turn out to vote as they do not want to be complicit in voting in an incompetent govt, nor do they want to vote in a weak opposition. Given that both choices are 'rotten', the youth simply turn apathetic.
2)BUT diminishing trust in the govt can also mean that the youth will be rouse to action to vote for the opposition as they want to give the opposition a stronger voice to act as a stronger check and balance on the incompetent decisions that the ruling party may otherwise adopt.

HAVE TRUST:
1)If this trust in the govt is tremendous, it may cause the youth to throw their back behind the govt to give it more mandate to implement the policies needed by the country, esp if the govt policies are showing results that benefit the people
2)BUT too must trust also mean that the youth may 'switch off' altogether, complacent and safe in the thought that Big Daddy can be trusted to take good care of it all.....It's just like our trust in our parents' ability to care for us may mean that we totally wash our hands off matters and issues concerning the family, feeling safe to leave them to deal with the stress if it all.....

Qn: How far are the youth in your country interested in politics?

Ex-SMRT CEO Desmond Kuek to join UBS

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Desmond Kwek can be a good example of how it's possible to move from one career into another seamlessly, esp into a field that is totally different. He was first an Army Chief, then CEO of SMRT and now going into the banking sector. Those at the top usually do not need in-depth knowledge of the particular field u r going into, as ur subordinates will provide u with that. At the upper echelons where decision-making is key, it is familar territory whichever field u go into, as the focus is on managing people, people skills and your networking contacts.
Having multiple careers in ur wake can also enhance ur employability as u r able to see how the different fields work with each other....there are also overlapping areas among different fields, e.g. cyber defence in the army is not that different from online security issues of internet banking, and security issues concerning terrorists trying to hack into the SMRT system to cripple it....the prevalence of high tech in major fields today heightens this overlapping areas, which makes a person equipped with such skills highly mobile across different career sectors....

For the qn below, the link to the context 'in an age of rapid tech advancement' should preferably be forged for each point in each para....

"He is tenacious, always calm under pressure and not afraid to take on the toughest challenges with commitment and perseverance.

"His rich and diverse range of experiences driving complex businesses through innovation and transformation will serve UBS well into its next chapter,"

UBS said Mr Kuek's wealth of experience as an executive, government official and board member "will be of great value in strengthening our relationships with existing clients, forging new ones and growing our business across the Asia-Pacific".

Qn: In an age of rapid technological advancement, is a single career for life realistic? (Cam. 2018)

How environmentally effective the growing push to forgo plastic bags and straws is

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Spurred by appalling images of the harm plastics inflict on marine life, some Singaporeans' resolutions may involve a greater effort at recycling and reducing their reliance on single-use plastics.

A major problem with plastics is the harm they do when they enter water bodies and end up maiming or killing sea animals, such as turtles and whales who ingest them or get tangled up in the debris, or when they block out sunlight that sustains marine plant life, which in turn sustains the creatures that feed on them.

IMPORTANT FOR SINGAPORE CONTEXT: (It shows that in the Singapore context, using plastics will not lead to harm on marine life. Possible rebuttal is if u throw the plastics into the sea or river directly instead of into the bin)
Here, all household rubbish - plastics, paper and food - is incinerated after collection and then disposed of in the Pulau Semakau landfill. Furthermore, care is taken to minimise potential hazards posed by the landfill. For example, it is lined with a membrane to prevent leakage of harmful substances. A wastewater plant treats the water displaced by the ash, so that it can be discharged safely into the sea. Given how we manage waste disposal in Singapore, reducing the use of plastic bags, drinking straws and the like will have limited impact on marine life as the detritus is not likely to end up discharged in its original state into the sea.

That said, there is value in reducing plastic waste as overall waste reduction would extend the lifespan of the Pulau Semakau landfill.

Recyclers incur costs while processing waste material for sale as recycled products. Plastic is a poor candidate for recycling as it has a high recycling cost and low resale value.
Apart from the economics, plastic recycling also creates pollution problems. It is in response to both the poor economics and the environmental cost that the Chinese government banned the import of plastics for recycling last year.

For plastics, the focus should be on reducing its use.