are required to offer either of the subjects. General Paper aims to develop in students the ability to think critically, to construct cogent arguments and to communicate their ideas using clear, accurate and effective language. In addition, General Paper encourages students to explore a range of key issues of global and local significance and provides students with a good foundation to thrive in a fast-changing world. The General Paper comprises two papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2, which carry 50 marks each and have equal weightage. Paper 1 comprises twelve questions that cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: history, society, culture, economy, politics, philosophy, sciences, mathematics, geography, literature and language, as well as topics of local interest and global concern. Candidates are to answer any one question out of the twelve given within a time span of 90 minutes. Candidates are to write an essay of length between 500 and 800 words. Marks are also allocated for the candidate's use of language throughout this paper; the maximum which may be awarded is twenty. Paper 2 comprises one or two passages of continuous prose. Candidates are required to demonstrate their ability to comprehend, explain, infer, evaluate and summarise within a time-span of 90 minutes. The sections tested include short answer questions, summary and an application question. Short answer questions require students to explain sections of the text. Most of the time, candidates will be required to use their own words in their answers, and will not be credited if they copy words directly from the passage. This ensures the candidate actually understands what the passage is talking about (and is not blindly copying without understanding it), and is also a test of their English language skills and vocabulary. The summary requires candidates to briefly outline points mentioned by the author about a specified topic in a few specified paragraphs of the passage, in their own words and with no more than 120 words. The application question requires the candidate to evaluate the author's arguments and apply the author's suggestions to their own country. Marks are also allocated for the candidate's use of language throughout this paper; the maximum which may be awarded is fifteen. In 2012, the Singapore General Paper syllabus was modified. The old syllabus which had the subject code 8806 was replaced by a new syllabus with a different examination format and a new