Question 3

From the Global Politics Guide: The third question tests comparison and/or contrasting of the ideas/views expressed in two of the sources. Students should focus on comparing and/or contrasting points in the sources but may make use of their wider study of global politics to provide context, if relevant [note: it is rarely relevant]. Students should organize the material into a clear, logical and coherent response. For the highest marks, a detailed running comparison/contrast is expected.

The first three command terms for AO3: Synthesis and Evaluation are: "compare", "contrast" and "compare and contrast", question 3 tests one of these three. You may be asked to:

• contrast by identifying the differences between the two sources

• compare the similarities between two sources

• you may be asked to  “compare and contrast”

Marks:

• Students receive 2 marks for each point they make up to a maximum of 8 marks. See the markscheme note under "additional guidance to examiners. With each point being worth 2 marks, ensure your response is detailed enough to earn both points.

• If you’re asked to compare, only compare; if you are asked to contrast, only contrast. There are no points for contrasting when the question is asking you to compare. Remember: contrast = different; compare = similar

Length: 25 minutes

Structure:

• Four paragraphs, three to four sentences each. Each paragraph is worth two marks each for a total of eight marks

• Leave a line between each paragraph so that it is clear that you have distinct points.

• Using quotes in this question is important and like questions 1 and 2, they should be kept short, no more than the 4-5 words range, and seamlessly incorporated into your response. Remember, you are using these quotes as a means to answer the question, they don't stand on their own. In other words, you'll need to do some brief explanation of the quotes and how or what they are saying answers the question that is being asked.

Formula

• P- Purpose of the source  

• A- Actors (individuals, organizations, countries named)

• L- Levels of Analysis  (global, int’l, regional, national, local, community)

• E - Events

• T- Theme  (economic, political, social, cultural) 

• O- Origin of the source (where does it come from?)

• T- Tone (optimistic/pessimistic)

SAMPLE QUESTION 3:  Contrast what Source B and Source D reveal about international co-operation on global issues.

SOURCE B: Adapted from “Paris climate change agreement: the world’s greatest diplomatic success”, The Guardian, a UK daily newspaper, (2015).

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is one of the last remaining forums in the world where every country, however small, is represented. With all 196 nations having a say, the historic UN climate deal finalized in the Paris agreement has proven that compromise works. Developed and developing countries alike are required to limit their emissions to relatively safe levels. Finance will be provided to poor nations to help them cut emissions and cope with the effects of extreme weather. Countries affected by climate-related disasters will gain urgent aid.

The agreement concludes 23 years of international UN attempts to achieve collective action on this global problem, following disagreement and failure, the refusal of the biggest producers to take part, ineffective agreements, and ignored treaties. In Paris the presence of the biggest ever gathering of world leaders empowered their negotiators to move away from firmly established positions. Some of the smallest countries had difficulty in keeping up with the key meetings – many did not have the personnel to attend them all – so small island states, the EU, and many of the least developed countries formed a “coalition of high ambition”, negotiating together, with an agreed common interest. This was hailed as a key factor in the end agreement.

SOURCE D: Adapted from “Gridlock3: the growing breakdown of global cooperation”, by Thomas Hale, David Held and Kevin Young, summarising the argument in their book: Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation is Failing When we Need it Most (2013).

Global co-operation is gridlocked3 across a range of issues. The UN is paralyzed in the face of growing insecurities across the world, and international cooperation seems to be increasingly difficult at precisely the time when it is needed most. In areas such as financial market instability, global poverty and inequality, biodiversity losses, water deficits and climate change, multilateral and transnational cooperation is now increasingly ineffective or almost non-existent.

The number of states has increased significantly in the last 70 years, so that the most basic costs of global governance have grown. As power shifts from West to East and North to South, a broader range of participation is needed to deal effectively with nearly all global issues. The range of problems that require co-operation has also evolved. Problems are both now more extensive (affecting more countries and individuals within countries), and intensive (penetrating deeper into domestic politics and daily life).

It is hard to see how this situation can be solved given failures of current global leadership, the weaknesses of non-governmental organizations in converting popular campaigns into institutional change and reform, and the domestic political landscapes of the most powerful countries. The USA is sharply divided, Europe is preoccupied with the future of the Euro, and China is absorbed by the challenge of sustaining economic growth.

• Like question 1,  use BOTH the text of the source AND the text describing the sources (located immediately above the sources) to develop your response. Both components are understood to be part of the source and can be used.

• One of the things that is asked for in this question is "detailed running comparison/contrast", but what does that mean? Simply put, it means to compare the sources or contrast the sources immediately with one another. For example, source B says "X" while source D says "Y". As you'll note from the bottom of the markscheme what you don't want to do is list all of the things in one source and then in the next paragraph list of the things that are different from the other source. This would not be running commentary.

• If on the rare occasion you get a compare and contrast question, you should make an effort to provide as many comparisons as you do contrasts, otherwise you aren’t fulfilling the demands of the question. Also, with compare and contrast questions the examiner is looking for a running comparison and contrast like, “source B is similar to source D in that source B says, [insert short quote from source B here] and source D says that [insert short quote from source D here]. These sources are similar in that they both...[explain in your own words how they are similar]. On the other hand, the sources differ in that Source B argues that, [insert short quote from source B here] while Source D says that [insert short quote from source D here]. Finally, summarize in your own words the basic difference that the quotes have highlighted. In this example you can see how both the sources and the compare and contrast are seamlessly integrated with one another. This is an example of running commentary in a compare and contrast question.

• While it is somewhat repetitive, it is important to reiterate the importance of specifically addressing the question that is being asked. For example in a question like “contrast the views of Source B and Source D regarding international cooperation on global issues” you need to focus specifically on “international cooperation on global issues” nothing else is relevant. Even if there are really good contrasts between the two sources, if the contrasts aren't about international cooperation, then they aren't relevant.

• As with all four of the questions in this Paper, be sure to highlight or circle the specific topic/issue on the question sheet that the question is asking you to address so you ensure that you remain focused on mining the source for material only related to what the question is asking for.

• Read the question carefully in terms of 'OR' 'And'. Pay attention what has been asked. Whether compare 'or' contrast  or Compare 'and' contrast! 

While the second and third points were somewhat repetitive and I may have only given 7/8, this did receive 8/8. You can note four distinct points, though separating them by a line would have distinguish one point from another, particularly the first and second points. You can also see that most of the four points were linked explicitly to the issue of international cooperation and that in many cases specific aspects of the sources were referenced. Overall, this is a reasonably good example of what question 3 should look like. 

Most candidates dealt with this question well. They were able to comprehend the two sources and understand that while both sources felt there were inhibiting factors to development, they did not share the same opinion regarding these factors.

Also, most candidates were able to analyse the source and extract direct points within the sources which contrasted and then present these as a running contrast, with each contrast on a separate paragraph, i.e. C/D, C/D, C/D, C/D.

A sizeable minority of candidates continue to write about the sources in two separate paragraphs. Please note that this restricts their ability to achieve the higher marks as they are not showing the skills of analysis, comparison or contrast.

Candidates are also asked to take care to ensure they are analyzing the correct sources and referencing these correctly in their writing as these mistakes can lead to answers becoming confused and challenging to clarify.