The right approach to absolute questions.

You know it when you see one. Absolute-type questions contain words like

  • Always
  • Never
  • Ever
  • No

Such questions are commonplace. Some examples of these questions include:

  • Is competition always desirable? (GCE 2016)
  • ‘Science never provides solutions – it only poses more questions.’ Is this a fair comment? (GCE 2000)
  • Is violence ever justified? (GCE 2012)
  • ‘There is no such thing as bad publicity.’ To what extent is this true? (GCE 2015)
  • Do technological innovations always address human needs?
  • ‘The media can never be trusted.’ Do you agree?
  • Can women ever achieve the same rights as men?
  • ‘There is no such thing as privacy today.’ Discuss.

How to tackle these questions

It is evident that these questions present an extreme stand that would be rather difficult to agree to. However, students must still address the extreme view and explain why some people may feel that way. Take the following question for example.

  • ‘The media can never be trusted.’ Do you agree?

Firstly, candidates need to consider the point of view of those who harbour great distrust towards the media. In the first body paragraph, we could say

“Those cynical towards the media may argue that given the media’s increasingly hyper-partisan nature, news has also become more biased and less trustworthy. I concede to such a view because…”

One thing to note thought. We should remove the absolute element before conceding to the view. This step is crucial to avoid contradicting yourself later. This is one way you can remove the absolute.

Before (Contains absolute)

“Critics argue that the media can never be trusted because… I concede to their view.”

After (Absolute removed)

“Critics argue that the media cannot be trusted because… I concede to their view.”

 

Once we have addressed our opponents’ points, we can move on to argue why this is sometimes NOT the case. Schematically, your overall essay structure appears like this

Introduction

 

Opposing View 1 + Concession Critics argue that the media cannot be trusted because… <OV1> I concede to their view

 

Opposing View 2 + Concession Critics also argue that the media cannot be trusted because… <OV2> I concede to their view

 

Your View However, to argue that the media can never be trusted is taking rather extreme a view. There are salient reasons why the media can and should be trusted in some instances. Firstly… <SV1>

 

Your View Secondly… <SV2>

 

Your View Thirdly… <SV3>

 

Conclusion

 

Note:

OV denotes opposing view – the reason given by opponents of your stand.

SV denotes supporting view – the reason supporting your own stand.

Conclusion

Absolute questions are some of the most basic variation of paper questions you will see. Therefore, it is essential to master them.

Granted, there are some other forms of absolute questions which require different answering approaches.

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