How to get an "A" on General Paper by A graded student.

What is General Paper? And how to get good grades on it?

I gave my General Paper examination on Oct/Nov 2016 series and received a grade of “a” and that is the maximum grade one can get. Since, it is one of the versatile subjects and the whole checking mechanisms depend upon the professors, it is of no certain that one receives the good grade, however, one can boost their essays in potpourri of ways. In this blog, I will be telling you the tips and formulas that I applied in my examination and received a successful grade. Those awaiting candidates can use these techniques to ace the examination.

General Paper (GP) is an academic subject as a part of A Levels course offered by University of Cambridge. It is divided into two sections GP (8001) and GP (8004) where a student need to choose any one.  It encourages learners to develop a maturity of critical thought and argument, and a mastery of expression in the English language. Students will be subjected to different areas of study that not only broadens their skills but also acquaint them to the global community.

                                The full marks for General Paper is 100.

           GP (8001) consists of one essay and one comprehension.

1.       Paper 1- Essay (10 questions from where you need to choose 1)- 1hr 15 mins

2.       Paper 2- Comprehension(3 set of questions from where you need to choose 1)- 1hr 30 mins 

 Students who are opting to give GP (8001) can also read this blog since it might help for your essay section too.

Those students who give GP (8001) do essay on one day and the comprehension on the other day (as per the date coined by Cambridge). Similarly, students giving GP (8004) do both essays on the same day.

I am only going to talk about GP (8004), as this is most popular among the CIE candidates and I also gave the same.

-The exam paper is divided into three sections, each section comprising four questions.

-Candidates must choose two questions, each from a different section.

- Each essay should be about 500 to 600 words in length.

- Per question, up to 30 marks are awarded for content and up to 20 marks for English. Each question is weighted at 50% of the final mark.

         Before my examination, I was also at the same stage as that of yours. Basically, my hometown is located in sub-rural area and still there is no access to advanced and sophisticated English. Truly speaking, I was also not good at English during my freshmen and sophomore year of high school. What I did was only learning the formulas of grammar and applying them without any intention why it was used that way. After my sophomore year, I came to city and it was very difficult for me at first to understand the new English environment. I was utterly confused with the words and some days I was like hoping for God to improve my English. Our teacher used to give tons of homework and I rarely did them. I was in complete oblivion what was happening. My terminal grades were D, C and rarely B. For me “A” was only in dreams. However, through my patience and dedication with some logic, I did it.

So, here are the tips and techniques to apply in your GP examination which are hereby within:-

   Those who plan to give 8001 may give it (no problem), unless you are confident about your comprehensive capability. Comprehensive questions can drastically increase the marks as well as decrease. I urge you to give 8004 since it consists of two essays and they are comparatively easy to do. Mixing some futile things can also give a decent essay, but one needs to be selective while giving comprehension. Most of the students feel difficulty in comprehension, so 8004 is better for them. It’s up to you to choose and that’s the first part you need to decide.

2.       Talking about 8004, always give the answers from two different sections. As already stipulated, there are three sections. Giving both the essays from the same sections can cost heavy for you. Your grades will go down to D or E and sometimes can get U since you full marks will go down to just 50.

3.        Prior to examination, look the syllabus of General Paper 8004 which you can simply search in “Google”. Look for the topics that are needed to study. Don’t study the whole part. Study that part where you can excel much. Similarly, study as much as about the argumentative essays. Most of the questions come from that part. Prepare for the both part (positive and negative) for the essay.

4.       First of all choose the essay that you are more aware of, that you can provide more and more illustrations, not the essay that looks good for the professors. Find the thesis statement (the statement that gives the answer of question in one sentence.) Underline the keywords in the question so that you won’t lose the track while going in flow with the essay and which helps your essay to be concise. Your first paragraph determines the rest of your essay. So give about 15 minutes for the first paragraph. You should also write a line from the layman’s perspective whether you are “To the topic, or against the topic”. All in all, your introductory paragraph can give an insight on what grade you will get.

5.      Allocate some time (around 2-3 minutes) to write the short describing points somewhere besides the examination paper. The introductory part of the essay needs the hook (something which will drain you throughout the essay. Reading the sample essays can give you an idea on how to fabricate a hook. You can start by any quotation or the definition or anything you like.

6.    gp.premgaire.com/

  https://theessayblog.wordpress.com/read-my-essays/

These are some sites that will provide you with sample essays.

7.       The body needs to have three or more paragraphs depending upon your knowledge and the ability to bisect the paragraphs without loss of any details. Your body paragraphs must have bunch of examples (for the topic and against the topic when writing the argumentative type of essay). It is good to allocate two paragraphs for “to” and two paragraphs for “against”. The important formula for building the body paragraphs is to use illustrations (examples) as much as possible. I did the same.

8.       Your essay needs vocabulary and connective words or phrases. They are the “cherry” part of your essay. These are some of the connectives to use for your essay.

   

                                     For vocabulary, it is simple. Just memorize some 20-25 vocabulary that you will be using in your essay and insert them thoroughly. You don’t need to be a vocabulary master to make your essay outstanding. Just remember your essay should provide as much clear and spike examples that are genuine. There are more marks for the examples.

9.       Your final paragraph should have general idea about your essay. You go for the topic, against the topic in your body paragraph and in this paragraph, you choose one and end your paragraph with the sentence from “specific to general”, accepting both the conditions (to and against) and having your own opinion quoted properly.

10.   Most importantly, don’t panic throughout your examination. Chances are that for the first few minutes you might get panic looking the essays (which to do, which not to do), but once you get a hook, nothing can stop you.

   If you follow these tips, you will have a great chance of showing the professors that your essay is worth a good grade. Best of luck for your examination.

-Subarna Lamsal