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3) Describe an occasion when you did something which you later regretted.

Paragraph 1: Introduction: There's a quote that goes "Thinking before acting is wisdom, but acting before thinking is regret". It was only when I realised where dishonesty was going to lead me to that I understood what this quote meant.

Paragraph 2: I was left with 30 mins to the end of the paper when I realised that my script was almost blank. Everyone around me was furiously scribbling down their answers and there was me, staring in blank space, unsure of what to do.

Paragraph 3: I wished I had studied and revised sufficiently the few days before.I realised how unprepared I was and I was instantly filled with anxiety. Beads of perspiration were trickling from my forehead and I was preparing myself for the worst. I remembered how badly I got grounded the last time when I failed my test, and definitely didn't want to go through the same punishment again.I only had anxiety and worry filled within me at that point in time. It was at this moment that I realised a candidate sitting beside me checking through her answers. I was then struck by the idea of just scribbling down a few lines from her script, only to have my anxiety overcome my conscience. Without a second thought, I carefully peeked to my right to catch a glimpse of her workings, copying them onto my script, snickering.

Paragraph 4: I was so confident about my answers at the end of the paper, having copied most of them from one of the smartest students in the cohort. I imagined how I could potentially score with flying colours  regardless of the fact that I barely studied the night before, staying up playing video games.

Paragraph 5: The next day, I came to school with extreme excitement. Additional math was the first period and we were going to receive our results. I couldn't wait to know how well I did and how I could impress my parents with my results.

Paragraph 6: Additional math lesson just started, and for the first time, I got all my materials ready on my desk, anxious to receive my results. To my shock, everyone got called out to receive their scripts, except me.   “Index number 25, please come see me outside the class now”, called the teacher. I was puzzled. Why would I be called to personally see the teacher regarding my script? I knew Mrs Tan’s stern look meant the outcome was nothing positive. Then it dawned on me; could it be that I got caught for cheating? I was stunned, motionless for that moment. I stood up with my hands trembling, walking with heavy footsteps to Mrs Tan who was waiting for me outside the classroom, trudging with my heart beating furiously. “You made the exact same mistakes as Katheryne in question 5, and you made it ironically after having a missing set of workings on the first part. How are you going to prove to me that you didn't cheat off Katheryne’s script? Disbelief and shock overwhelmed me. What other reason could I give to deny Mrs Tan’s discovery? I felt so foolish that I wasn't careful enough in checking through my paper after I had copied the answers from Katheryne.

Paragraph 7: I had no other alternative and admitted my misdeed. Mrs Tan eventually gave me a zero for my paper and called my parents to inform them about the situation. I was suspended from school for 3 days and was grounded for a month. If I had only one feeling I experienced throughout this incident, it was regret. I apologized to Katheryne for copying off her answers and to my teacher who was extremely disappointed with my dishonesty.

Paragraph 8: Conclusion:  "Thinking before acting is wisdom, but acting before thinking is regret" I finally understood this quote after a regretful experience. I would do anything to go back in time to correct my mistake, but there is no point in dwelling about the past...

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1) What problems or challenges do young people like you face?

Paragraph 1: Introduction: Problems and challenges faced by young people today are uniquely different from adults. The main problems are having to face the increasing competitiveness in education, the demanding parental expectations and at the same time, the overwhelming peer pressure from our friends.

Paragraph 2: (Describe the first problem that I listed) Despite our government's recent efforts to reduce the stress of school examinations, youths like us still spend considerably long hours in school and face the pressure to excel in our studies in hope of securing a better job in the future.

Paragraph 3: (Describe the second problem that I listed) Parents nowadays expect their children to excel both academically and in a range of enrichment activities and never make mistakes along the way.

Paragraph 4:  (Describe the third problem that I listed) Apart from dealing with the massive physical and hormonal changes in our bodies, the constant scrutiny from our schoolmates and the need for us to feel accepted can be immense.

Paragraph 5: (Conclusion) These problems can cause great emotional intensity for us, but we can cope with them much better if we learn to be more resilient so we can learn from these situations and become stronger.

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2)what problems or challenges do young people like you face?

paragraph 1 : introduction:
Teens face problems and challenges on a daily basis. These include peer pressure , cyber addiction , inability to fulfil parents' expectations.

paragraph 2 : Peer pressure is one of the most common challenge teens face. they feel the need to fit in with their peers by doing trendy things, for example, drugs. If one stood out and try not to fit in they would face bullying.

para 3: with the advancement of technology, obsession with the usage of technology becomes an issue faced by many more teenagers. This will make teens less sociable as they rather use their devices than socialising with their peers.

para 4: parents nowadays expect their children to excel in everything they do ,especially academically.

conclusion : with healthy coping mechanism, teens will have a better way to cope with the stress caused by these problems and challenges.

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5)'Mobile phones are a blessing,not a bane.'Do you agree?

Paragraph 1:Introduction:Can you imagine living in a era without mobile phones?Is it even possible to survive without mobile phone in today high-tech technology world?In this time,most children or teenager develop a addiction toward using mobile phone constantly due to apps like game and social media.However ,mobile phone to adult and others have other purposes.For example,phone to them are just a tool for convience.Althought i think that mobile phone is a blessing,it still can bring disadvantages if used wrongly.

paragraph 2:(Describe the first problem mobile phone bring if used wrongly)Although mobile phone can caused relaxation and fun to the user,it can easily create a unbreakable bond between the users and the phone thus causing a addiction.

Paragraph 3:(Describe the second problem mobile phone bring if used wrongly)Due to constant use of mobile phone,it cause the user to drift away from the social world,thus hindering his current friendship.

Paragraph 4:(Describe the advantage mobile phone can bring if use correctly)Mobile phone have alot of advantage in term of faster communication and the ability to communicate with others around the world.

Conclusion:To sum it up,depending on how the user use mobile phone,it can severely impact the user.Through those impact is negative,thee is a few positive impacts if one uses it correctly.Hence,mobile phone's impacts is based on the user's actions.

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what problems or challenges do young people like you face?

paragraph 1 : introduction
Young people in this generation often face a series of problem and challenges that is uniquely different from the previous generations. Some of the main problems are aroused from social media due to the advancement in technology, demanding expectations from adults and at the same time, young people do not have much time to themselves.

paragraph 2 : body paragraph 1
In this era where technology is advanced, young people often face cyber bullying. Youths often try to meet up to how celebrities look like through social media and youths will often compare themselves to people and if they do not meet to the required expectations, others often judge and bring their comments online. Youths may result in having bad mental health often result with depression and anxiety.

paragraph 3 : body paragraph 2
Youths are often required to meet up to demanding expectations everywhere, be it in school, home or with friends and are not allowed to make the smallest mistakes. When one makes a mistake, people will look down on them and imprint a picture of them being a "failure". Some youths will face a lot of pressure and could crack under it but if one does well under pressure, they can bring astounding results. However, the pressure can also bring about mental health issues.

paragraph 4 : body paragraph 3
Parents often enrol their children for other activities such as swimming lessons or piano examples and more tuition classes. These problems cause youths to be very busy struggling to juggle academics, enrichment classes and also, time for themselves.

paragraph 5 : conclusion
In conclusion, these problems bring about much pressure on youths and can cause a great emotional intensity for us. However, some pressure can also bring about a positive side such as, motivation and resilience. These problems to us have now became an everyday routine and thus, we have learnt to adapt.

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8) 'Most young people today are obsessed with looking good'. What are your views?

Paragraph 1: Introduction:
With the rise of social media, many teens are getting more concerned with how they look t other people. And no, i'm not referring to the people who exercise to keep theselves in shape or keep to a diet to stay healthy. Those things are the basic activities you should be doing to stay healthy. What im referring to are the people who go to extreme lengths to change their looks, sometimes even spending tens of thousands of dollars just to look like an idol. Thats what i cal obsession

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3) Describe an occasion when you did something which you later regretted.

Paragraph 1: Introduction:
We have all made bad choices in our lives, some made us stronger and better people, but some leave us with regrets. I still remember vividly on one occasion where i did something that i regretted deeply.

Paragraph 2: I was in secondary 4 and my O levels were just round the corner. But regardless of my teachers nagging me to study and not underestimate it, i did not understand the importance and significance of O level and how it will change my future. As a result, I did not revise much for the exam and when i did revise, i was often distracted and could not focus.

Paragraph 3: When i arrived at school that day to take my English O levels, i only brought my pencil case with me and nothing else to revise. Whereas other students around me were holding thick stacks of notes and were frantically trying to cramp in as much information as they could. I suddenly had a bad feeling i would not do well for this exam, but me being me, i shrugged off this feeling and walked into the examination venue.

Paragraph 4: When i flipped open the exam paper, i did not know how to do most of the questions. I suddenly felt a surge of panic rush through me and my hands turned cold and clammy.  As i looked around, everyone around me were focused, nervous and concentrated in the paper and were confidently writing down their answers. This made me feel even more despair. I decided to just fill in the blanks with random answers hoping to get it correct.

Paragraph 5: Fast forward to when i completed my O levels and was going to get my results. When I saw my results, i turned pale with shock, i could not believe my eyes. I had managed to fail the most important english examination of my life so far. Not only that, because english was a major subject and i failed it, my grades were pulled down drastically and i did not get into the polytechnic i want. Because i did not study well, i ended up ruining my future, hence i deeply regret my actions to this day.

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What problems or challenges do young people face?

Essay adapted from:
INTRODUCTION: https://www.theknowledgeloft.com/gp-essays/gp-esyoung-people-today-have-never-had-it-so-good-is-this-true-of-your-country/
BODY PARAGRAPHS: https://www.roundmidnight.org.uk/understanding-the-challenges-young-people-face-in-2021-and-beyond/

Paragraph 1 (INTRODUCTION):

"Generation Z" , "Strawberry Generation" and "Alpha Generation", these are but some of the labels that the current generation of young people in Singapore have been tagged with. These expressions represent some people's belief that Singapore's youth grow up in safe, pleasant environments with high living standards — a far cry from the struggles and hardships that previous generations faced. While this viewpoint is not unreasonable, we must also consider the fact that today's youth face obstacles in an increasingly uncertain environment. Education, peer pressure and the uncertainty are just a few of the problems and concerns young people faced in this modern day and age.

Paragraph 2 (EDUCATION):

Research conducted by YMCA found that 44% of young people have concerns about their studies and exam pressures. Moreover, education has become an area of a young person’s life rife with the pressures of competition. Academic standards are higher than ever as more people each year are expected to enter further education. Although efforts have been made by the government to reduce pressures and stress, such as reducing the amount of syllabus for the upcoming GCE-O Levels in Singapore, youths are still facing pressure to do well in their examinations so as to be able to get accepted in the workforce in the future.

Paragraph 3 (PEER PRESSURE):

Socialising with and having the respect of your peers is important to young people. ‘Peer pressure’ relates to the role that others can have in influencing how an individual acts. Many children may think that they are missing out or not fitting in if they don’t go along with the crowd, or the strongest voice in that crowd. This desire to seek approval may encourage them to reinforce positive habits. However, it may also encourage them to partake in risk taking behaviour such as drinking alcohol, taking drugs, or being exposed to crime, and even being insecure about how they physically appearance, which may lead to the development of atelophobia.

Paragraph 4 (UNCERTAINTY):

We are living in uncertain times: the global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everybody’s lives differently, but the take away here is that it has impacted everybody. Uncertainty over the future is a major concern for many young people. The pandemic has highlighted and accentuated social inequalities, people are expressing deep financial concerns as we head further into a recession, and of course many young people are concerned about climate change. All of these issues are ones that they are understandably concerned with; and yet may also feel unprepared to deal with in their current, youthful, state. They may wish to turn to adults in order to learn how to put their best foot forward in such unprecedented times, but if those adults are all on social media, who is to say what real life help they are getting.

Paragraph 5 (CONCLUSION):

Although some of these problems might seem extreme for youths nowaday, with the right determination and resilience, youths will be able to cope with these situations and become stronger.

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The Knowledge Loft - Free notes for General Paper (GP) tuition

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Strawberry generation', 'Generation Me', 'I generation' - these are but some of the labels that the current generation of young people in Singapore have been tagged with. These terms reflect a view held by some that Singapore's youth grow up in sheltered, comfortable environments and enjoy high standards of living - a far cry from the struggles and hardship that the older generations had to overcome. While this view is not an unreasonable one, we must also consider the fact that youths today also face challenges in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain. The prevailing set of challenges in the political, economic and social domains may be radically different from those in the past, but they are no less daunting and pernicious. As such, I do not fully agree that young people in Singapore lead easier lives than ever before.

Proponents of the view that young people have never had it so good until today point to the abundant education opportunities made available to youths today. It is undoubtedly true that compared to past generations, youth enjoy far greater access to learning in today's day and age. In Singapore's context, the government has gradually introduced a greater number of education bursaries and scholarships offered to students from less-privileged backgrounds to ensure that the education system remains a meritocratic one that rewards those who work hard, while not denying access to those who may not afford education. This is a vast improvement from the past where it was not uncommon for young people to skip school because of the need to stay at home to look after their siblings or to work in order to contribute to the monthly household income. Even if they could go to school, the education system in the early years of Singapore's independent years was largely focused on providing public education to the masses and conformity and uniformity were the norm. Moreover, different learning needs and speeds were often neglected, and crucial skills like critical thinking were deemed as unimportant. Today, however, in order to cater to a variety of talents and learning abilities, the government has created diverse education routes and pathways in recent years. The musically or artistically inclined can now choose to pursue their secondary education in the School of the Arts (SOTA), while budding athletes can opt to enrol in the Singapore Sports School. A plethora of skills-based courses are also available at various polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education to equip students with knowledge and skills that will set them in good stead in the workplace. In this sense, today's education landscape in Singapore has made life for young people much more accessible and empowering.

Apart from better education opportunities, young people in Singapore today enjoy higher standards of living compared to the generations that came before them. Rapid urbanisation and modernisation in the last few decades have witnessed attap-roof houses and family farms being replaced with high-rise flats, high-technology buildings and manicured streets lined with trees that are regularly pruned to prevent overgrowth. While communal public toilets, non-air-conditioned buses and potholes on muddy roads form a bulk of the memories of many older generations in Singapore, many Singaporean youth today cannot imagine sleeping without air-conditioning or deprived of the many creature comforts they have now. Many, as such, view the young people today as a mollycoddled bunch who are unable to survive physical hardship and discomfort. In addition to increased standards of living, the increase in spending on luxury and branded items amongst the young in Singapore today lead many to regard this as evidence that youth today have a much easier life as compared to before. Once considered luxury goods only affordable to the rich, expensive smartphones valued at $1,000, high-end electronic gadgets and even branded sneakers valued at $300 are now the norm amongst Singapore youth, thus giving weight to the notion that young people in Singapore today never had it so good.

However, when one takes into account the circumstances and the new set of challenges that our young people have to face, the perspective that young people never had it so good before appears one-dimensional. In the economic sphere, the vicissitudes of what has been termed the 'roller-coaster global economy' has led to much fear and anxiety over jobs, inflation and economic uncertainty. The oldest millennials born in 1981 would have entered the workforce at a time when the global economy was suffering from an unprecedented collapse of the financial sector, and research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis go as far as to suggest that these millennials might be unable to accumulate sufficient wealth for retirement. Younger millennials born in the 1990s and 2000s have to contend with economic uncertainties like the US-China trade war, the implications of climate change on supply chains, and rapid unprecedented rates of technological disruption to traditional industries. This is a vast contrast to the situation in Singapore's early days of economic development in the 1960s and 1970s which saw the creation of large numbers of jobs in the rapidly growing manufacturing industry, and strong and sustained economic growth rates. Furthermore, with the winds of globalization blowing strong today, competition between economies has intensified, making it imperative for local employees to constantly upgrade themselves to ensure that they can continue to value-add to their companies in order to remain employed. Young people in Singapore today thus face greater pressure to remain competitive and employable, contrary to the perception that they lead smooth-sailing lives with their whole lives charted out for them.

Additionally, while young people today are generally more educated than past generations, the overall increase in education standards means that there are greater expectations to do well academically and it is even more difficult for one to stand out amongst a sea of university students, especially when 4 in 10 Singaporean youth will eventually be degree holders. Moreover, the influx of foreign talents in recent years has raised the bar for many graduates, making it more competitive in getting jobs. As a result, young people, despite being given more education opportunities, now face greater difficulty in getting their desired jobs, and often have to make do with jobs that do not match their qualifications or aspirations. A recent research study conducted by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute suggest a pernicious, worrying underbelly of underemployed millennial graduates, some of whom are earning less than $2,000 a month from their full-time jobs despite their education qualifications. This suggests that young people in Singapore may not necessarily be better off compared to past generations when we take into consideration the increasingly competitive and uncertain job landscape in which they have to survive and thrive in today.

Besides, the steadily rising costs of living in Singapore is another reason that Singaporeans today may not enjoy an easier life compared to previous generations. Soaring Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for the purchase of motor vehicles and sky-rocketing property prices are but a few of the indicators of inflation. Singapore's headline inflation has gradually been on an upward trend, and the cost of purchasing a home or a car in Singapore far exceeds that in other countries. Increasingly, Singaporeans are finding themselves having to tighten their belts to cope with this. Although it is undeniably true that all Singaporeans, both young and old, are affected by the high living costs, young people are more likely to bear the brunt as costs continue to climb, which means they may have to work even harder and longer hours than their parents and grandparents. Today, young people in Singapore take on part-time jobs and freelance gigs such as driving for Grab or Gojek in order to supplement the income from their full-time job, and this presumably complements the observation that millennials in Singapore work 49 hours a week, with 1 out of 4 working two jobs at a time. As a consequence, health issues such as stress, fatigue and even depression could well ensue. In this sense, the higher standards of living that young Singaporeans enjoy today must be viewed in the light of the heavier financial burden imposed by rising living costs.

In our world which is increasingly fraught with fear, insecurity and uncertainty, the young are living in a Singapore that is beset with novel challenges that previous generations did not have to grapple with. As the famous historian R G Collingwood once said, "every new generation must rewrite history in its own way". In this light, when assessing this or any generation, both the positive and the challenging aspects must be taken into account. Therefore, notwithstanding the better education or job opportunities available to this generation, it would be inaccurate to say that the young in Singapore never had it good if we understand also the myriad issues surrounding today's generation.

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GP ESSAY 8: "Young people today have never had it so good." Is this true of your country? - The Knowledge Loft - Free notes for General Paper (GP) tuition

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Strawberry generation', 'Generation Me', 'I generation' - these are but some of the labels that the current generation of young people in Singapore have been tagged with. These terms reflect a view held by some that Singapore's youth grow up in sheltered, comfortable environments and enjoy high standards of living - a far cry from the struggles and hardship that the older generations had to overcome.

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'Most young people today are obsessed with looking good 'What are your views ?

Paragraph 1 : Introduction :
Obsession. What is obsession? The word obsession is defined in the dictionary as an idea or thought that continuously preoccupies or intrudes a person on a persons mind to a troubling state of mind. Some people are too obsessed with beauty till they take extreme measures like plastic surgery , going on extreme diets to make themselves look skinnier and even spending large amounts of money on beauty and skincare products . In this essay, I will be sharing my views on being obsessed with looking good.

body paragraph 2 :
Some young people are so extremely obsessed with looking good till they turn to the measures of going through lots of pain for plastic surgery.  Plastic surgery can help a person reach their desired appearance . Young people these days are so obsessed with how much they want to change how they look , from how big or small their eyes are or to how sharp are their jawlines . due to these thoughts, people will turn to plastic surgery to fix their "imperfections" .  In my opinion, getting plastic surgery is a waste of money, there is no need to change the way they look. Everyone is perfect in their own ways.

body paragraph 3 :
Another method young people adopt to make themselves look skinnier is diets. For young adults that do not have the resources and money for plastic surgery to look to methods like dieting . There are many different kinds of diets to help one loose weight .Some examples are the Keto diet which is an eating regimen that is high in healthy fats, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates,The vegan diet which restricts all animal products for ethical, environmental, or health reasons an many more . In my opinion , although  dieting is one of the much healthier and organic ways to loose some weight and reach an ideal body figure compared to plastic surgery  , it limits the amount of food you eat that you usually need in an healthy balanced diet and might affect your health in the long run when you grow older .

body paragraph 4 :
Many young people love to splurge their money on cosmetics and skincare products these days . With so many different kinds of beauty and skincare outlets its not difficult for young people to go shopping for the suitable product for their personal needs . In a survey conducted by research firm TABS Analytics , it was found that millennial women in the United States are by far the heaviest buyers, with 32% of women aged 18 to 24 and 26% of women aged 25 to 34 purchasing 10 or more types of colour cosmetics per year, compared with 20% of women overall.   In my opinion , cosmetics can help a person in many different ways , it could help you show people how you see yourself , help you cover up somethings on your face you do not want the world looking at like for example , acne or scars , and of course helps someone look presentable and good . But even with these benefits , sometimes there are just much easier ways for looking good , having good skin and not having to splurge so much on these pricey products like just keeping a healthy diet and consuming lots of water for good skin and going online to buy cosmetics because online cosmetics are generally cheaper than buying products in-store .

Paragraph 5 :
Having an obsession with looking good is definitely not good for you in the long run . Some  young people might be so desperate to look good they might retort to plastic surgery , dieting or even splurging their savings on beauty and skincare products when in reality there really is no need for that . There are always much easier and organic ways to look good like keeping a healthier diets, or even exercising .Young people these days need to learn to accept and love themselves for who they are , because everyone is perfect and beautiful in their own special and unique way .