Many essay titles contain a direct reference to Mauritius or ‘your country’ or ‘your culture’. If this is the case, you will have no difficulty in interpreting the title. But some topics are not so clear.

Take, for example, this one from the 2002 paper: “‘Young women can look forward to a better quality of life than ever before.’ Do you agree?” In such a question, you are free to choose whether to approach the topic on a general level or on a “local” level. But what is sure is that the average Mauritian teenager is much better informed about the local situation so would do better to take this approach.

If you do so, it is really important to make it clear at the start of the essay that you are going to write about Mauritius so that the person correcting it knows exactly what to expect. (This was actually the advice of the chief examiner for GP who visited from Cambridge some years ago.)

A serious mistake that many students make is to start with comments on Mauritius and then suddenly switch to other societies without any warning so that the reader gets completely lost… not the way to get a good GP grade!

In a GP essay you have, above all else, to be clear. Basically, it is a matter of clear thinking – if you take the time to get the idea clear in your mind, you have a better chance of expressing it clearly on paper.

Looking at the way a question is phrased is also important. If it is a direct question demanding a “yes or no” answer, make sure you give one! If the question asks you to “discuss” a topic you must give the arguments for and against, in order of their importance.

More about this next week…