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Paper 1

 

Paper 1 is a stimulus/source based exam that is 75 minutes long. Regardless of whether you are taking Global Politics at HL or SL you sit this paper. The paper will be based on one of the four core topics of Power, Sovereignty and International Relations; Human Rights; Development; and Peace and Conflict. The paper consists of four different sources (which may be a combination of written extracts, images, diagrams or graphs) and four different questions. You must answer all four questions.
Before you even begin to read the sources, remember to ...

 

READ THE QUESTION

 

.. because then, when you read the sources you already know exactly what you are looking for.
OK, so far simple. Let's take a look at exactly how to tackle each of the different questions. The important thing to remember here is that each question is testing a different assessment objective e.g. knowledge and understanding (AO1) or synthesis and evaluation (AO3).

 

Question 1

 

The assessment objective for this question is AO1 (Knowledge and Understanding). This means you need to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key political concepts and contemporary issues in global politics

  • Demonstrate understanding of relevant source material


The command terms to look out for in this question are:

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  • Describe - give a detailed account

  • Define - Give the precise meaning of word, concept, phrase or physical quantity

  • Identify - Provide an answer from a number of possibilities

  • Outline - Give a brief account or summary


 

This question will ask you to extract information from one of the sources. This information will probably be in the form of text (but may be an image or statistics so be prepared). You will need to put the information into your own words to show that you have understood it. You should probably write about 5 lines for this section.

5 minutes max.

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Question 2

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The assessment objective for this question is AO2 (Application and Analysis). This means you need to:
 

  • Apply knowledge of key political concepts to analyse contemporary political issues in a variety of contexts

  • Identify and analyse relevant material and supporting examples

  • Use political concepts and examples to formulate, present and sustain an argument


The command terms to look out for in this question are:

 

  • Analyse - break down in order to bring out the essential elements or structure

  • Distinguish - make clear the differences between two or more concepts or items

  • Explain - give a detailed account including reasons or causes

  • Suggest - Propose a solution, hypothesis or other possible answer


This question is going to ask you to explain a concept. In order to do this, you will need to use information in the sources as well as your own knowledge. You must support what you say with examples. For this section you should be looking to write around 200-250 words.

10 minutes max.

 

Question 3

 

Ok, this is where things start to get a little bit more difficult but don't let it stress you out. 

The assessment objectives for this question are AO3 (Synthesis and Evaluation) and AO4 (Use and Application of Appropriate Skills) This means you need to:
 

  • Compare, contrast, synthesise and evaluate evidence from sources and background knowledge (AO3)

  • Compare, contrast, synthesise and evaluate a variety of perspectives and approaches to global politics, and evaluate political beliefs, biases and prejudices, and their origins. (AO3)

  • Produce well-structured written material that uses appropriate terminology (AO4)

  • Organise material into a clear, logical, coherent and relevant response (AO4)


The command terms to look out for in this question are:
 

  • Compare and contrast - give an account of similarities and differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout

  • Contrast - give an account of the differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout

  • Compare - give an account of the similarities between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout


There are eight marks available for this question. In order to pick up the full eight marks, you should be aiming to make at least four points (similarities/differences depending on the command term). It is important that you consider both sources equally...so, do not simply refer to 'source B says...' without using terms like 'which contrasts with Source C because....'. It is also a very good idea to consider what type of sources you are comparing/contrasting. For example, one may be a newspaper article and the other might be a UN report. How might this affect the relevance of each source. 

You should be looking to write a minimum of 300 words in order to answer this question effectively. 

25 minutes max.

 

Question 4

 

Ok, so now we finally make it to question 4. This question requires more of an extended answer than the other questions. But first....

The assessment objectives for this question are AO3 (Synthesis and Evaluation) and AO4 (Use and Application of Appropriate Skills) This means you need to:
 

  • Compare, contrast, synthesise and evaluate evidence from sources and background knowledge (AO3)

  • Compare, contrast, synthesise and evaluate a variety of perspectives and approaches to global politics, and evaluate political beliefs, biases and prejudices, and their origins. (AO3)

  • Produce well-structured written material that uses appropriate terminology (AO4)

  • Organise material into a clear, logical, coherent and relevant response (AO4)


The command terms you can expect to see in this question are:
 

  • Discuss - offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors of hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

  • Evaluate - Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations

  • Examine - Consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue


The best way to face this question is to think of it as a paper 2 essay but with some sources to help you answer it. Obviously, your answer will be slightly shorter than for a typical paper 2 essay. 
 

  • The first thing to remember is to use the sources - not only will they help you but you are being tested specifically on your ability to use sources as well as your own knowledge (AO3).

  • Like with everything else in Global Politics, you should be ready to support anything you say with examples. These examples should come from the source material and your own knowledge

  • Define any key terms - e.g. sovereignty, globalisation, power

  • Time is precious and you don't have any to waste on 'padding' that doesn't help you to answer the question. Keep your introduction and conclusion short and focused.

  • Make sure that for every claim you include you also include a counter-claim (the opposite point of view). This will help to maintain balance in your essay as well as demonstrate good evaluation skills. Remember, you can evaluate a claim by using a counter-claim.


You want to be looking to produce at least 600 words in this section of the paper. 

30 mins max.

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