Always answer the question!!

Comments

In answering any SEQ or SBQ, give the examiner what he wants - an answer that addresses the question. One simple way of doing this is NOT to spit out your notes but to USE key words from the question in your answer to show that you are addressing the question and then in YOUR PLAN adjust the knowledge you have penned down into your draft before forming paragraphs.


For example:
Membership in regional organisations is one of the best ways for Singapore to conduct diplomacy. EYA.

Ans:
One of the best ways to conduct diplomacy for Singapore is membership in regional organisations. One such exmaple would be Singapore's membership in ASEAN.......


See? I am using the words from the question in my answer and showing that I understand the question and am addressing it.

Diplomacy notes

Social Studies Sec 3 Chapter 6

Revised notes in Diplomacy.

Typical question: Bilateral relations are more important than international relations for Singapore’s success and survival. How far would you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

Comments The essays tend to ask about the best way for Singapore to conduct diplomacy. The point is that every factor you offer must discuss HOW and WHY Singapore being a small state can benefit from using any of the 3 approaches – Bilateral, regional and International.

You should also approach the answer using Elaboration and Examples.

Main Point 1: Bilateral diplomacy/Relations is achieved when Singapore develops close diplomatic ties with another country.
Sub-point 1 Good bilateral relations with immediate neighbours like Malaysia and Indonesia à More cultural, social and business exchanges à People and governments of Singapore and these nations get to know one another better and development understanding à Peace and stability will be the outcome à This means lower chance of conflict between Singapore and these neighbouring states à better environment to promote trade and business à Singapore will have a stable environment to grow its economy à Singapore needs a stable environment to trade and make revenue for its companies à Economic growth is assured for Singapore	Sub-point 2 Good bilateral relations also raise the amount of bilateral trade between Singapore and this nation à For example Singapore and South Korea have strong bilateral ties and they have signed a Singapore-Korea Free Trade agreement à This allows Singapore companies to sell its products duty-free in Korea and this makes Singaporean products more attractively priced to Koreans à Koreans will buy more Singapore exports and this will boost the economy of Singapore since Singapore companies will earn more à Singaporeans will have a better standard of living.	Sub-point 3 Transfer of advanced technology can occur when Singapore has strong bilateral ties with another country which is more technologically advanced à This transfer of technology will have Singapore develop faster à For Example: Japan, US and Germany with whom Singapore has good bilateral ties with transferred sophisticated knowledge and technology to Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s and this helped Singapore develop and Singapore industry to improve faster à Singapore companies raised their level of productivity and efficiency thanks to such technology transfer à Singaporean products and services could be offered at a lower cost but at a better quality à raising the profit margins for Singaporean companies à increased prosperity for Singapore.
Sub-point 4 Good bilateral relations give Singapore a chance to help our immediate neighbours in need à Example after the 2004 Asian Tsunami, Singapore sent help to Thailand and Indonesia, immediate neighbours who had been most affected by the Tsunami. This offer of help showed that Singapore was willing to assist its neighbours with whom Singapore has bilateral ties à Such help further strengthens the ties and earns the goodwill of these nations which are less likely to be aggressive towards Singapore and more likely to side with Singapore in any event of Singapore facing a problem. Hence Singapore will be safer with more friendly nations which Singapore has established good bilateral ties with à This will ensure Singapore’s survival during periods when Singapore may face threats.
Main point 2: Regional relations/diplomacy is achieved when Singapore works with countries in the region as a grouping such as ASEAN.
Sub-point 1 Allows Singapore to be in a better position to negotiate and make gains from negotiations with larger states like China, India or Russia à Larger states are more willing to negotiate with a large regional grouping like ASEAN than with a small state like Singapore à Larger groupings like ASEAN have more political and diplomatic influence and clout than a single small state like Singapore à Negotiated terms may be more favourable for Singapore since the larger countries may be more willing to offer better concessions with a larger regional grouping like ASEAN à These better terms will be enjoyed by Singapore since it is part of the regional grouping à These terms may be better than what Singapore would have attained if it had negotiated with these large nations on its own.	Sub-point 2 Allows for any difference between Singapore and a member state to be settled amicably/peacefully à the regional grouping like ASEAN serves as a platform for peaceful discussion on differences/problems that Singapore may have with other nations in the region à ensures peace in the region and a stable environment à prevents conflict à Allows for trade and business be uninterrupted à foreign investors have confidence to invest in Singapore since there is less likelihood of conflict in the between Singapore and states in the region as Singapore is a member of ASEAN à Singapore will prosper as more foreign businesses set up in Singapore + trade increases + tourists will want to come to Singapore à hence by having regional diplomacy through membership in a regional grouping like ASEAN, Singapore benefits from a more stable regional environment since member states will have dialogue rather than war when differences arise à good environment for Singapore to prosper à For example, ASEAN served as a platform for Singapore and Indonesia to discuss how both countries would jointly manage the haze from forest fires in Indonesia instead of quarrelling over who should take responsibility for the fires.	Sub-point 3 More trade can be attained by Singapore with the members of the regional grouping as a member of the regional grouping là For example, Singapore as a member of ASEAN is working with the other member states to develop the ASEAN Free-Trade Area ( AFTA) which will have a potential market of 600 million people by 2015 à a tax-free trade environment will mean that Singapore companies will be able to sell more of its products to the people of ASEAN without the taxes à hence, Singapore exports will be more competitive as they will be cheaper à Singapore companies will make more money à better profits à better economic growth for Singapore àmore jobs for Singaporeans.
Main Point 3: International relations/diplomacy à Singapore joins a large international organization like the United Nations (UN) and plays an active role in the organizations activities and programs and develops ties with multiple nations concurrently.
Sub-point 1 By being part of a large international grouping like the United Nations ( UN), Singapore can benefit from the expertise offered by the UN à This was especially important when Singapore first became independent à it did not have many experts and needed external help to build up its industries and economy à Dr Albert Winsemius was an economist sent by the UN to help Singapore’s early industrialization à Singapore benefitted from his advice and was able to build the foundation of its strong economy.	Sub-point 2 Earn the goodwill of many nations at the same time  à Singapore can contribute via International Peacekeeping efforts à This will allow Singapore to be a good member of the international community à earning their respect and recognition à Singapore is a small nation and unless it contributes at the International level it may not get any recognition à By earning this recognition more nations know of Singapore à Singapore can build bilateral ties with them and develop friendship for business/trade, cultural or even military exchange which can benefit Singapore.	Sub-point 3 Building international relations via membership in international organizations give Singapore the chance to raise its profile when it can play a useful role à For example Singapore chaired the Law of the Sea Conference that decided how states would be given ownership over sea lanes and territorial waters à Singapore also has participated actively in peacekeeping operations by the UN such as in Afghanistan and East Timor à such contributions show Singapore to be a good member of the international community à helps Singapore become better known in the world à good for Singapore’s reputation à more nations may want to do business and trade with Singapore.
Weighing Good bilateral relations are the foundation stone of all other relations. If Singapore has poor bilateral relations with many nations à unlikely to be welcomed in regional and international groupings à unlikely for Singapore to be able to be accepted or to gain any benefits from such diplomatic arrangements since Singapore poor bilateral relations will prevent any cooperation with Singapore at the regional or international level. Hence, unless Singapore develops strong bilateral relations with many nations and gets along on a country-country basis, it is unlikely for Singapore to be able to gain any benefits from regional or international diplomacy or be welcomed by such groupings.

Comments on Essays - Areas for improvement

Comments on essay: Rise of Venice

Question: Here are 3 factors that contributed to the rise of Venice from the 9^th Century

v      Strategic Location

v      Sound political system

v      Venetian Adventurous spirit

Which do you think was the most important? Explain your answer.

Strategic location – The issue of ships safety for both foreign trade ships and Venetian trade ships should be stated due to sheltered lagoons and deep waters with no strong currents. The deep waters ensured that large ships could anchor at Venice without running aground while the absence of strong currents meant that the ships would be damaged as they anchored there. This allowed for trade ships to unload their cargoes safely.

Salt marshes – The salt marshes were valuable to Venice in the early years but since the question covers the period after the 9^th Century, the salt marshes were less of a reason for Venice’s rise.

Here a decent paragraph would be:

Venice’s strategic location à Sheltered lagoons, no strong currents à trade ships both foreign and Venetian could anchor safely at Venice and conduct their business uninterrupted and without concern that they would be affected by poor water conditions à ships and cargo would be safe.

Deep waters around Venice allowed for large Venetian galleys to sail in and out without running aground à ships laden with cargo could also come into Venetian waters à this allowed for trade to take place in large volumes since many ships could dock at Venice at any one time. The deep waters also supported the ship building industry that needed deep waters in its dockyards in order to build and repair the Venetian galleys.

Sound political system. Terms like this need to be defined in a way that helps you answer the question. If you wish to discuss the inclusiveness of the reformed Venetian government system and the check and balance or the specialization of duties being characteristics of sound political system, then a definition of what a sound political system is will be required.

A sound political system is a government system that improves itself to meet the needs of the country, is designed to be flexible enough to adapt to meet a country’s needs and remain relevant and to be effective.

Hence, we can write the paragraph as such:

A sound political system was one of the reasons for Venice’s rise as Venice’s political system was well-designed enough to adapt to meet the citizens and country’s needs to remain effective. One way was through the specialization of duties. This allowed for government officials to become very good at what they were doing. For example, the senate was created to specialize in areas of foreign relations and the operation of Venetian fleets. Hence, in doing so, these officials became experts at what they were doing and thus efficient and effective. By becoming experts the quality of work produced and the quality of decisions made also improved and this all benefited Venice and led to its rise.

Adventurous spirit

In discussing the adventurous spirit of the Venetians, do note that unnecessary information not regarding the Venetian risk-taking ability is not needed. You should stick information about Venetians being risk-takers and venturing beyond their region to look for new trading opportunities and use Marco Polo as your example. Do not discuss ship building or their Maritime technology because that is NOT part of the answer!! 

Q7. To what extent is membership in a regional organization the best diplomatic strategy for Singapore to follow? Explain.

Comments:

The key to doing well in this question is in addressing the question and show how and why Singapore benefits because of the different methods of diplomacy used. The degree of benefit makes each approach a good strategy.

Key areas for improvement

Instead of discussing Singapore’s membership in a regional organization, students jumped in to discuss regional relations instead of tweaking the facts to answer the question.

It is good to use ASEAN as an example and discuss how membership in a regional grouping gives Singapore the platform to settle differences it may have with states in the region peacefully and WHY this is beneficial for Singapore.

Key point is that by having membership in a regional grouping have several benefits:

e.g. Singapore is able to negotiate as part of the regional grouping from a position of strength with larger states à larger states more willing to listen to the regional grouping like ASEAN and offer better terms in the negotiations to the regional grouping than to Singapore alone à regional grouping has more diplomatic influence/clout à Singapore as part of the regional grouping enjoys these better terms which may not have attained by Singapore if it had negotiated on its own with states like India, China and Russia. 

For international relations, it must also be clear HOW Singapore benefits from such a form of diplomacy.

e.g. Building international relations via membership in international organizations give Singapore the chance to raise its profile when it can play a useful role à For example Singapore chaired the Law of the Sea Conference that decided how states would be given ownership over sea lanes and territorial waters à Singapore also has participated actively in peacekeeping operations by the UN such as in Afghanistan and East Timor à such contributions show Singapore to be a good member of the international community à helps Singapore become better known in the world à good for Singapore’s reputation à more nations may want to do business and trade with Singapore.   

Transnational Terrorism - Impact of

Social Studies Chapter 1 Sec 4/5

A) Impact of transnational terrorism

Q. The loss of privacy is the most serious impact of terrorism. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

Factors	Notes
Political Impact  - Lost of personal privacy - the security agencies will need to be more thorough in its checks on citizens at the different entry points and exit points of the country e.g. immigration check-points - the citizens may feel inconvenienced -  they feel that their human rights have been violated - security checks may extend to the government checking on citizens’ personal data without their knowledge and tapping into their private conversations - this is to monitor the communications and personal transactions and movement of suspected citizens who may have terrorism links - however, this means that in determining who may be terrorist threats - many innocent citizens’ personal data and private communicates would have to be monitored - this means that the personal privacy of citizens will be violated - human rights of citizens may be further affected if citizens are arrested when they are suspected to be terrorists but are not - e.g. in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, then US government implemented the US Patriot Act that allowed for the wire-tapping of the telephone conversations of citizens without their prior approval or knowledge - this is an example of how citizen’s rights are violated in the name of managing terrorism and this is thus the political impact of transnational terrorism.
Social Impact --> a sense of distrust is created between the different races and religions in a nation as a direct result of a terrorist attack - a sense of insecurity of the members of the race/religion to which the terrorists belong to is generated --> members of this community are shunned by people of other races/religions and hence feel disliked and discrminated against. For example, with the threat from the Jema Islamiyah(JI), Singaporeans from other non-Malay and non-Muslim communities may feel uncomfortable in the presence of Malays/Muslims since the JI members who were arrested were Malay Muslims. Hence, there could be a breakdown in the relationship between the Malay Muslims and the other races and religions--> this would harm the existing harmony in the nation with the different races/religions growing suspicious of one another's motives--> the race/religion being accused may feel discriminated against since they are are viewed with suspicion by their fellow countrymen --> this leads to disunity amongst Singaporeans à At the same time, members from the other communities may feel uncomfortable being in the presence of innocent members of the community to which the transnational terrorists belong to, as they may think that everyone in that community is a terrorist --> hence racial and religious tension increases --> disharmony --> danger of civil war or racial riots.	NB: Although, social impact is the most serious, Singapore has tried to reduce its negative impact by creating the Community Engagement Program to help strengten the relationship between the different ethnic and religious groups (page 38 of Sec 4 TB)
Economic Impact - terrorist attack - tourists will avoid coming to your country - dangerous and fatal - fewer tourists - less revenue generated by sectors like hospitality and food and beverage - fewer jobs created - more unemployment e.g. In the aftermath of the Bali attacks, many tourists avoided the island and its economy suffered. Also - if terrorist attack - businesses stay away - lost of jobs since fewer companies operating - lower standard of living as people become jobless - lesser taxes collected - the nation has less money for public facilities and to improve public works--> quality of life falls in the nation--> hence economic impact is serious. Also --> Increased government spending to protect key installations and citizens --> more money spent on preparing citizens through emergency services - increased police and military presence - less resources available for other national needs - hence fall in quality of public services --> fewer resources available for healthcare & education. Examples Exercise Northstar- MRT train services were disrupted --> some impact on the economy of Singapore since national infrastructure is used for such drills. Singapore govt also spent more on security forces and recruiting more police and military personnel and buying more security equipment like CCTVs - all this caused the amount spend on security to go up - less funds available for other national needs. Weighing The most serious/devastating impact of Transnational Terrorism would be the social impact because the once a rift is created between the ethnic and religious groups in a country and racial and religious disharmony has been created, it is very difficult to erase it permenantly as race and religion is a sensitive matter. If the different ethnic and religious communities feel uncomfortable amongst one another or think negatively about one another as a result of a transnational terrorist act, there is potential for such emotive feelings to escalate and erupt into open violence and conflict such as in the form of racial and religious riots or even civil war. In other words, inter-racial/religious hate causes "wounds" that are hard to heal and the social impact of transnational terrorism lasts longer/more permenant. On the other hand, the economic impact of terrorism while devastating can be temporary. This is because a nation;s economic that is badly affected by the effects of a terrorist attack will eventually recover as long as such attacks are not sustained. This reduces the economic impact of transnational terrorism. Finally, the political impact causes mere inconvenience and though personal rights are vilolated, the effects are not permenant unless one is unlucky enough to be arrested on suspicions of being a terrorists. Hence, the number of people affected by the political impact are fewer than the social or the economic and the social impact has far more permenant ramifications/consequences than the economic or the political.	Examples Impact of Sep 11 on US and world economy - stock market plunged - people feared flying and airlines went out of business - tourism suffered - economies of many countries saw a fall in business Impact on Bali in 2002 - tourists stayed away from Bali - Balinese businesses collapsed as it depended on tourists for survival - many balinese became unemployed

Taking the right medicine - an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses in SS

Dear Students,

I have just gotten your mid-year papers back and am sitting down to analyse your answers. From this analysis I will be able to determine what are the exact skills and sub-skills in SBQ and SEQ which you are weak in.

In a spreadsheet, an analysis of why you did as poorly or well will be created for each of you. It is with this that we will start Term 3.

Just like when you see a doctor and after a thorough investigation of what plagues you, you will be given the appropriate treatment and medication.

The "treatment" will be targetted and should get you to improve performance in Social Studies sooner.

So that is how it will pan out.

Mr Daniel Lim

Good to be back

Dear Students,

I am back. I look forward to working with all of you as you prepare for the coming O Levels.

See you soon.

Mr Daniel Lim

How well did the 4NA do in their Humanities in 2010 for the GCE N Level?

For those in 4E2 reading this. Here are the details:

1. The 2010 batch of 4NA pupils from 4N1 to 4N3 did better than the 2009 pupils in combined Humanities in terms of both pass rate and distinction rate.

2. We achieved more than 96% pass rate in 2010 and 30.3% of our pupils achieved distinction grades or 1 out of every 3 pupils scored a distinction.

3. Mr Lim taught 4N1 and 4N2 Social Studies.

4. There is no substitute for hard work.