Written Paper

Definitions

● Types of information
○ Fact - Pieces of information that are true, and are verifiable by observation
and prior knowledge to prove their truth.
○ Opinion - Beliefs, views or judgements. It is not verifiable by observation,
but can be agreed/disagreed with.
○ Predictions - Attempt to foresee or say what will happen in the future. It is
not verifiable by observation until the event occurs.
○ Value Judgements - Particular kinds of opinions which attempt to
differentiate good from bad or right from wrong.
● An issue is a topic or problem that can be debated or discussed.
● Cause: something which produces a result; a person or thing which is
responsible for a situation, action or event.
● Consequence: an effect which follows logically from a cause; something which
happens because of another situation, action or event.
● Types of perspectives
○ Personal perspectives: this is a perspective that an individual has about
an issue. It is influenced by local and national perspectives, but also by
the reflective thinking that each individual does.
○ Local perspectives can be related to a small part of a country, especially
when there are differences within a country. Local perspectives can also
relate to a region which is much bigger than a country and which can
share a common perspective on some issues.
○ National perspectives are related to a particular country as a whole.
National perspectives include:
■ Issues relating to government policy
■ What is best for the country
■ The way in which the people of that country see things.
○ Global perspectives are related to the world as a whole.
Reasons for doing a specific action

Justify your choice using the following reasons:

● possible positive/negative consequences or effects on

individuals/groups/countries/globally
● degree of impact on quality of life
● degree of impact on human rights
● how many people/groups/countries are affected/benefit
● increasing cycle of benefit
● how widespread the benefit is
● how easy to help people/improve quality of life
● effects on society generally
● other reasonable response

Evaluating an issue

● the consequences/impact
● the benefits for individuals, countries and the world
● human rights issues affect everyone
● issues of value and beliefs about rights and responsibilities
● morality – issues of right and wrong from different cultures
● vulnerable individuals/groups
● other reasonable responses

Strengths and weaknesses of arguments

Strengths

● factual evidence
● whether several different types of fact are used
● is the factual evidence is generally relevant?
 ● is the evidence is related clearly and explicitly to the argument?
● is the evidence is used forcefully in a strongly worded argument?
● is research evidence is cited?
● is personal experience used?
● other reasonable response

Weaknesses

● research evidence is partially cited – the source and authorship are not clear
● level of expertise of the author is not clear – may have poor knowledge claims
● method of research is alleged/unclear
● there is only a little clear, specific statistical/numerical evidence
● the evidence is not easy to verify/check from the information provided
● too much reliance on opinion and personal anecdote
● evidence may be out of date
● personal testimony/anecdote/values may not apply to other places/countries etc.
● other reasonable responses

Testing claims

Possible Types of Information

● compare statistics/information for individuals, countries and globally

● interview or questionnaire data
● expert testimony
● material from international NGOs and pressure groups
● other relevant response

Possible Sources of Information

● national and local governments and their departments

● international organisations e.g. United Nations; UNESCO
● research reports
● pressure groups, charities and non government organisations
● media and worldwide web
 ● other relevant response

Possible Methods

● review of secondary sources/literature/research/documents

● interviews
● interview relevant experts
● internet search
● questionnaires
● surveys
● other relevant response

Questioning Knowledge Claims

While evaluating reasoning in source materials, consider:

● quality of the argument

● clarity
● tone – emotive; exaggerated; precise
● language
● balance
● quality of the evidence
● relevance
● sufficiency – sample
● source – media; radio
● date – how recent
● factual, opinion, value, anecdote
● testimony – from experience and expert
● knowledge claims
● ability to see
● sources of bias
● gender
● political
● personal values
● experience
● likelihood of solutions working and consequences of their ideas
 ● acceptability of their values to others
● how likely other people are to agree with their perspective/view

Assessing courses of action

● reference to scale of impact on individual/group/governmental behaviour/actions

● how long it takes to make a difference
● the effects of cultural differences and beliefs
● barriers to change
● the power of collective action