3 ‘Young people should be more considerate towards the elderly.’ What are your views?

Why:

 Elderly are more experienced than the young people

 Elderly may be physically weak but they should be treated with respect
 Age is not a disease

How:

 Be more considerate (eg. Giving up your seat in public spaces)

 Be more patient with them
 This creates a better society with better citizens ( chain effect: a good habit that will be
inculcated from young )
 Traditionally practised in the East and should be widely practised as it is a good upbringing

6 Globalisation has seen more people working abroad for short periods of time. What are some
advantages and disadvantages of working abroad?

Advantages:

 Opportunities of earning more due to currencies, more money to support family

 Learn about other cultures through cultural exchange
 Learn more about other people’s way of life/Learn from a different perspective of life
 Learn about the good things not seen in home country
 Form new bonds with people from different backgrounds and cultures

Disadvantages:

 Language barrier – unable to communicate well in countries with different languages

 Culture shock - the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are
suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes, unable to blend
in with a new culture
 Not used to different food cuisines
 Homesickness – missing home and family
 Negative influences in a different environment
 Unable to adapt to weather conditions

5 Young people are becoming more impatient these days. Do you agree?

Why:

 Parents cater to their needs too easily. Young people have been pampered by their parents
and are brought up too well -> making young people take things for granted, wishing to get
what they want instantly (they want it fast, they get it fast)
  They don’t want to waste much time as time is precious to them. They want things fast.
“They want to run before they learn how to walk”
“Good things come to those who wait” – Patience is a good quality to have
Some things are gained through experience and impatient young people may be too rushed
 They live in a modernised world today, with advanced technology at their fingertips (easily
accessible)

5 ‘The way we dress reveals who we are.’ What are your views?

Introduction:

 It is a normal human nature that most people tend to judge a book by its cover
 People’s mindset is such that people who dress well are educated and of a higher ‘class’ and
vice versa
 However, should we really judge someone by how they dress? In today’s world, people do
not see the need to please others by the way they dress
 By looking at the way someone dresses, one subconsciously forms an opinion of someone
 While there are some who feel the need to please others by their form of dressing, there are
many who do not.

Why would people be impressed by someone who dresses well:

 Someone who is smartly dressed makes a good first impression, therefore inspiring others to
do the same
 When people are impressed, they would want to be impress others so as to be accepted as
well
 Well-dressed people want to convey a message/reflect the idea that they are doing well in
life/because they take pride in their appearance

What happens when we do not dress well:

 Other people show little or no interest in a person

 Negative first impression, which hints that one may not be of a high socio-economic status
or that one has no respect for other people
 Such a person may lead others to thinking that they do not bother so they dress as they like
(eg. Not bothered to take some time to look neat and decent before leaving the house)
 Shows disrespect/Do not take pride in themselves

Should we judge someone by the way they dress today (in the current society):

 For example, some of the most successful people do not dress up just to show who they
truly are. They do not see the need to let others know that they come from a decent
background. They are humble and wealthy. They do not care about what others say about
their dressing.
 People such as inventors and musicians
 The way we dress does not reveal who we are
  On the contrary, there are also people who dress well but do not have great achievements.
They give off false impressions so that other people think highly of them, but they actually
have nothing to show ( they are not very successful )
 They are phoney
 The way we dress depends on our jobs or occasions/events. For instance, people have to
dress well to maintain a good job impression. An example of such an occasion is going to a
party wearing shorts would give others a feeling of embarrassment and disrespect
 Therefore, people should not judge one by the way they dress.

Conclusion:

 Generally speaking, in a social circle, we are looked upon by how we dress

 In this day and age, it is not quite right to judge a person by how he/she dresses up because
not everyone focuses on that
 The views of older people differ from those of young people when it comes to what is the
right way of dressing up

3. Social media is a waste of time. Do you agree?

Introduction:

 Social media is not a waste of time if it is used effectively

 Social media brings the world together; brings people from different walks of life together

Why is social media not a waste of time :

 It creates awareness on issues such as animal abuse

 People get together and there is strength in numbers, which can solve the issue
 It spreads the spirit of friendship and breaks down the barriers of race and religion
 Learn more about other cultures without having to travel
 Old people get to keep up to date with technology and how it works in the 21 st century
 Helps companies to improve their customer service, cheap to advertise companies (social
media marketing is relatively cheap as compared to others) -> helps small entrepreneurs
with their businesses
 Crowdfunding

Counter-argument:

 While there are certainly people who use social media effectively, there are also some who
do not
 It can be a waste of time if it is not used constructively
 It should be taken with a pinch of salt because certain parts of social media can be frivolous
 Social media can be a waste of time
 People may spread fake news
Conclusion:

 In conclusion, the benefits/rewards still outweigh the downsides of social media

 It should be taken with a pinch of salt because certain parts of social media can be frivolous
 People can share what they want as long as they don’t reveal personal information

1. Environmental damage is a worthwhile outcome of economic development. What are your views?

Introduction:

 How economic development leads to environmental damage

 Greater use of plastics, non-biodegradable
 For something to grow, there must be a trade-off. We can always do something to minimise
the harmful impacts on the environment
 Global warming, Climate change

Air Pollution & Climate change:

 Burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil

 Solution: use renewable sources of energy (solar energy, hydropower stations, wind
turbines)

Global warming:

 Deforestation: trees in forested areas are cleared/removed to provide more space for
buildings and industries (to make way for farming and plantations)
 Eg. In Indonesia, close to 1 million trees are cleared in 2018 to produce palm oil. This
resulted in haze in the country, which gradually spread to neighbouring countries such as
Malaysia and Singapore

5 Some people like to stand out from the crowd; others just want to be part of it. Which do you
prefer and why?

Why some people prefer to stand out from the crowd:

 Confident in themselves, wanting to seek recognition (be it good or bad)

 They feel that they have a lot to contribute about (eg. Many creative ideas, etc.) valid
reasons
 They are brave and they like to venture out of their comfort zones
 They are brave to speak about what they believe in
 They would like to inspire others
 They want to take the road that is ‘less travelled’
 To stand up for what is right, and people notice them for what they do/care about
  Eg. Nick Vujicic who stands up and gives motivational speeches. He speaks up for people
with disabilities
 Eg. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist who speaks up for women who deserve to go to
school
 Activists such as vegans and vegetarians are able to persuade others and convert people to
be a vegan/vegetarian
 Such people are able to influence others in a positive way and to
 Infamous people

Why others just want to be part of it:

 On the contrary, other people prefer to blend in with the crowd due to their lack of
confidence
 They don’t wish to be the centre of attraction, they don’t like to seek attention/to be noticed
 Most of them are shy and introverted
 Some may not like publicity and hence prefer to contribute as just a team member

My preference – to be part of a crowd (appears to be rather negative)

 I would rather blend in

 Others’ opinions of me would personally affect me -> I am unable to accept and tolerate it
personally
 There will always be ‘haters’
 I work better as a team member rather than a leader who takes the lead. I would instead
contribute as an ordinary person
 I am uncomfortable when I know that people may talk behind my back about how different I
am
 I am more of an introvert who is not really suitable to be a leader
 Taking up leadership is temporary and I see no need to do that
 I prefer not to experience publicity
 It is stressful/pressurising to stand out as I have to maintain a good/public reputation.
Everyone has their eyes fixated on one who stands out. For example, idols/celebrities have
high levels of stress when it comes to maintaining good reputation and pleasing others

3 Some people think that schools should focus less on sports and more on academic subjects. What
are your views?

Why schools should focus more on academic subjects:

 Help students to focus better
 Students who like sports can join the sports club
 Not everyone is geared toward sports
 Eg. Syllabus is not completed due to being too focused on sports -> affects academics (chain
effect) Students do not complete their work
 Better future - Schools should understand that students who do well academically can
become successful in life, but sports is a subjective field where not many are athletic
Why schools should focus more on sports as well:
 Having said that, it is essential for students to participate in sports activities as well
 It is the best time for students to actively participate in sports activities because they may
not be able to find time to do so in the future when they enter the working world
 While academics are important, keeping fit is also as significant
 Not too immersed in books
 Sports helps to relieve one’s stress
 Physical activities help to foster bonds among students/schoolmates/classmates
 School life is not just about studying, but also sports activities

4 The teenage years are filled with much anxiety. What are some of the things that make you
anxious? How do you manage these anxieties?

What makes me anxious:

 Acceptance from friends – getting talked about behind others’ backs
 High expectations from people around me
 Academics – balancing school and CCA
 About the future – working world, reputation, meeting new people

How do I manage these anxieties:

 Talk about it with people I trust, people whom I am close to
 Take things one at a time
 Some issues may be rather minor and I shouldn’t place much significance on it

Conclusion:
 Teenagers should learn not to take some things seriously
 Move on with their lives and don’t worry too much
 Learn that it is okay when they are unable to achieve something
 They should learn how to manage their anxieties well
 Teenage years are the time where teenagers should spend the best out of it and enjoy
it before they grow into adults

2 Do you agree that we can learn from the mistakes of others or do we need to learn from our
own experiences?

Disagree (learning from our own experiences):

 We ourselves know what we do best
 We understand the pain of failure in our experiences
 We go through the experience, learn from it and think of how to do better
 More emotional engagement, eg. Feeling disappointed to know that I did not do well in
an exam - Conversely, such a feeling of disappointment would not exist if my learning
was a result of someone else’s mistake. 
 Learning from our own mistake also encourages a sense of ownership for our own
actions
 Part of the learning can only happen if we first acknowledge that we have made a
mistake and from them, being humbled enough to learn to do better. If I stole
something from a shop, in order to learn from my mistake, it would require me to first
acknowledge the mistake and then work towards not stealing again. Often the
 acknowledgement of the mistake is the hardest part. Such a step is absent when we
observe the mistake of others.  (accepting the mistakes we make)

Agree (learning from others’ mistakes):

 We learn to take note of certain mistakes that we may make in the future
 Heeding advice given by grandparents and seniors ( Grandparents and parents who are
more experienced may tell us not to do certain things that they have done in the past. )
 Eg. Study harder to gain better job opportunities in the future
 Our lives are better in a way that we can expect what obstacles may come along the
way
 Minimise unfavourable scenarios/undesired outcomes  
 These scenarios involve the consequences of the mistake made to the individual. We
can read about the mistakes that people make from investing all their money in a
particular stock, for example, and we learn not to do that and diversify our
investments. In such a scenario, we would show wisdom by learning from the mistake
of others and not being foolish enough to make the mistakes for ourselves.

Why both are equally important:

 Regardless of how we learn, we need to keep an open mind towards the possibility
of learning and self-betterment.

That which we obtain easily, we do not cherish. We only value things we struggle for. What are
your views?

Introduction:

 Things that can be obtained easily are rarely given a second thought as the act of
retrieving it is so simplistic, no hard thinking is required
 It is apparent that the struggle makes it appear to be more important
 Hard work to achieve something is rewarding
 We give unnecessary struggle to simple things to give the task more value

Body Paragraph 1:

 Depends on different people. Some people may find easy tasks to be daunting and
vice versa
 It is human nature that tells people ‘the harder the better”. Simple tasks usually get
pushed aside or perceived as low-priority

Body Paragraph 2:

 People take granted for what they have

 Humans pull out all the stops to get what they wish to have/what they want
 Instead of taking the easy way out, they prefer to struggle more than they needed to
 They get so dug into it that they can’t stop till they reach their goal

Body Paragraph 3:

 Some people like to struggle as it gives them a greater sense of accomplishment

afterwards
 Completing complicated tasks gives them pride though a simple task can give them the
same amount of pride as well
 The harder it is to solve, the more they will try