r/IGCSE
Resources
Individual Report Guide for
Cambridge IGCSE
Global Perspectives
(0457)
Authored by
Ayesha
1st edition, for examination until 2027
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
Contents
Component 2: The Individual Report
3
Creating a research question
4
Research techniques and skills
12
Writing your introduction
16
The issues, causes, consequences and perspectives
18
Courses of action
28
Analysis of sources
31
Bibliography and citation
33
Reviewing and refining
37
Practice exercises and sample reports
41
Disclaimer
Please be reminded that the Individual Report component is supposed to be ‘individual’. The
advice and samples shown here will not guarantee an A for the IR component; it is completely
based on your interpretation. The content of this guide is just for reference and practice, and is
based on the opinions of a small group of people.
Besides that, I hope you find this guide useful!
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Component 2: The Individual Report
IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) has three components: the written paper, the individual
report and the team project. All of these focus on different issues, perspectives and their
solutions.
In Component 2 (The Individual Report), you will carry out your own research based on an
issue of your choice, acquiring crucial research techniques and learning a new way of looking
at things from different perspectives.
This guide will help you to pick up these skills, practice them, and then apply them to craft
your very own Individual Report (which will be referred to as the IR). Following is the
information you need to know before starting your individual report.
Topics to choose from
Individual Report Marks
Total Marks
60 marks
Belief systems
AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation
40 marks
Biodiversity and ecosystem loss
AO2 Reflection
5 marks
Changing communities
AO3 Communication
15 marks
Digital world
Family
Other Information
Humans and other species
The report must be between 1500 and 2000 words.
Work submitted based on topics other than those
listed on the right will be awarded zero marks.
Sustainable living
Trade and aid
Notes:
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Creating a research question
Forming a research question for your IR is the most crucial step. This question will give you the
direction in which your research goes forward. It is the topic of your report, and will help you
focus on one aspect of the 8 topics. You must decide on a topic that is feasible, interesting
and can be addressed from different perspectives. This section will provide you with a
step-by-step process and help you to formulate the perfect research question for YOU!
Step 1: Choose a topic
Before you start thinking of a question, you must see which topic it fits in. For that, it’s best to
decide on a topic so you know where your research question stems from. Remember, work
submitted based on topics other than the 8 topics given in the syllabus will be awarded 0
marks.The following list explains each of the 8 topics in detail, helping you decide where YOUR
interest lies.
Belief systems
This topic refers to ideas about different beliefs, ideologies and religions and their impact,
causes, and perspectives. It is an interesting topic but students usually avoid it as it can be
difficult. The reason behind its unpopularity is most likely the examiner’s bias. You never know
what religion or belief the examiner might have, so there is a chance your report could be
considered controversial. However, there are many unbiased questions that can be formed
from this topic. If you are into controversial opinions, debates about beliefs, and you feel like
you can analyze without discrimination, then this topic is perfect for you!
Biodiversity and ecosystem loss
This topic is based on the variety and range of different organisms in their habitats as a whole,
or as a population. The destruction of their habitats and the reduction in this wide variety of
organisms is a serious issue, and this topic is all about addressing this issue. There is hardly
any chance of bias in this topic, but the main issue is up-to-date and scientific research which
has many different perspectives. If you have a love for nature and animals and would like to talk
about this issue, then go ahead!
Changing communities
The topic of changing communities is an engaging one. It builds upon the aspects of sociology
and explains how different communities develop, progress and decline. You can use prevailing
issues to define how communities change, such as urbanization or globalization. Explain their
impact on communities, populations and different people living together and apart. If you are
interested in knowing how societies change, and would like to build upon your sociological
knowledge, then this topic is yours to research on!
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Digital world
Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity are just a couple of the wide range of questions this
topic has to offer. The world is developing digitally day by day, and this topic is perfect for
studying this development. The best thing about this topic is that you can link any issue with
its digital version, for example economy with the digital economy and currency. You can link
fashion with online shopping. There will be a lot of scientific and up-to-date research required,
but if you have a passion for IT, computers, or just a general interest in digitalization, then you
should consider this topic.
Family
The topic of family has perhaps the widest scope out of all of these. This is because
psychological, scientific, sociological and all kinds of aspects can be incorporated into this
topic. Families play a crucial part in our personal and societal lives. From siblings, to mental
health, to parental issues, this topic offers a large range of questions which can be formulated
and molded to your preference. This topic is for you if you are interested in these aspects.
Humans and other species
The topic of humans and other species links the life of humans with the coexistence of other
species such as plants and animals. It also encompasses the idea of how other species impact
the life of humans and vice versa. If you’re interested in discovering and uncovering the
intricacies of this relation, and are also intrigued by other animals, then you should definitely
go for this topic.
Sustainable Living
The United Nations’ sustainable development goals complement this topic perfectly. From
sustainability in terms of the environment, or with regards to human needs, this topic covers
everything from renewable resources to overpopulation. Any issue and its sustainable solutions
can be used in this topic, making it a wide and interesting area of research. This topic also
addresses global challenges and how to solve them with a long-term approach. If you love the
idea of finding out-of-the-box courses of action for modern-day issues, then you must choose
this topic for maximum output.
Trade and aid
This topic is extremely global in nature. It talks about how different countries interact with one
another in terms of exporting, importing, and providing aid. It also uses economic research to
prove arguments. Again, like belief systems, this topic is usually avoided for fear of bias. But if
you can execute this topic with economic research, statistics and up-to-date knowledge of
countries’ relations, then there’s no topic better than trade and aid.
Step 2: Choose an aspect of your topic
Aspect refers to a sub-topic, or a small niche inside a large topic. You cannot just write a
report on ‘Family’. You must choose a smaller topic under this large category. And the way to
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formulate a research question is to identify the keyword of your question. This aspect will be
your keyword and will further refine your research and give it a focused direction. Following are
some aspects for each topic, but you are free to create your own aspect (remember, it must
fall under one of the 8 main topics)
Belief Systems
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Comparison of different
religions
Secularism and Atheism
Religion and Environmental
Ethics
Religious tolerance
Religious Fundamentalism
Religious Syncretism
Religion and culture
Interfaith Dialogue
Religious Pluralism in
Contemporary Society
Religious festivals
Religion and Politics
Religious Persecution
Impact of religion on daily
life
New Religious Movements
Religion and Technology
Write your own aspects:
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Loss
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Importance of Biodiversity
Habitat Destruction
Ecosystem Services and
Human Well-being
Basic Ecosystem Functions
Invasive Species and
Biodiversity
Extinction Crisis
Endangered Species
Climate Change and
Ecosystems
Genetic Diversity in
Biodiversity
Human Impact on
Ecosystems
Ecological Restoration
Connectivity in Ecosystems
Conservation Efforts
Biodiversity Hotspots
Emerging Biodiversity
Challenges (disease,
pollutants etc.)
Write your own aspects:
Changing Communities
Easy
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Medium
Difficult
6
Urbanization and Communities
Gentrification
Displacement and Forced
Migration and Change
Population Growth
Migration and
Community Dynamics
Social Inequality in Changing
Communities
Community Structures
Economic Changes
and communities
Globalization and Local
Communities
Cultural Changes in Communities
Community Resilience
Indigenous Communities
Social Media and Community
Interaction
Technological Impact
on Communities
Psychological Impact of
Community Transformation
Write your own aspects:
Digital World
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Online Privacy
Cybersecurity Threats
Ethical Dilemmas in Artificial
Intelligence
Cyberbullying
Digital Footprint and
Identity Theft
Digital Censorship and
Freedom of speech
Digital Divide
Misinformation and Fake
News
Digital Rights and Surveillance
Information Overload
E-waste and
Environmental Impact
Internet Governance and Net
Neutrality
Social Media Addiction
Access to Digital
Education
Freedom of Emerging
Technologies and Social Impact
Write your own aspects:
Family
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Family Structures
​
​
Divorce and its Impact
on Families
Cultural and Religious Influences on
Family Life
Parenting Styles
Intergenerational
Relationships
Family Violence and
Abuse
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Sibling Relationships
Dual-Career Families
Changing Roles of Men and Women in
Families
Family Traditions
Impact of Technology
on Family Dynamics
LGBTQ+ Families
Work-Life Balance
Balancing Individual
and Family Needs
Transnational Families and Migration
Write your own aspects:
Humans and Other Species
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Human-Animal
Relationships
Animal Intelligence and
Communication
Anthropogenic Effects on
Migration Patterns
Domestication of Animals
Zoonotic Diseases
Genetic Engineering and
its Impact on Species
Pets and Companionship
Animal Rights and Welfare
Human-Animal Conflict
Wildlife Conservation
Biodiversity Loss and Species
Extinction
Conservation Ethics and
Dilemmas
Impact of Human
Activities on Other
Species
Human-Induced Climate Change
and Its Effects on Wildlife
Indigenous Knowledge
and Biodiversity
Conservation
Write your own aspects:
Sustainable Living
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Recycling and Waste
Management
Sustainable Agriculture
​
Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)
Energy Conservation at
Home
Green Building Practices
Sustainable Urban Planning
Water Conservation
Circular Economy
Ecosystem-based
Approaches to Sustainability
Sustainable Transportation
Ethical Fashion and Sustainable Global Governance for
Clothing
Sustainable Development
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Eco-friendly Consumer
Choices
Community Engagement in
Sustainability
Indigenous Perspectives on
Sustainable Living
Write your own aspects:
Trade and Aid
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Economic Disparities in
Trade
Environmental
Consequences of Trade
TRIPs Issues in Global Trade
Aid Impact: Short vs.
Long-Term
Drawbacks of Aid
Dependency
Illicit Financial Flows and
Trade
Trade Barriers and Tariffs
Ethical Concerns in Fair
Trade
Aid Effectiveness in Conflict
Zones
Humanitarian Challenges in
Aid
Regional Disparities in Trade
Post-Colonial Trade Dynamics
Global Economic Policies'
Impact on Trade
Aid Conditionality and Policy
Power Shifts in Trade
Negotiations
Write your own aspects:
Step 3: Form a question that can be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’
After you have selected an aspect/sub-topic of your broad topic, you must create a question
which can be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Cambridge does not recommend open-ended questions
as they can not be debated on. You must create a question which can be argued upon using
different perspectives. You must also form a question which can FURTHER be divided into two
sub-issues (see step 4).
You should NOT start your question with the following phrases:
‘To what extent…?’
‘How can…?’
‘How does…?’
‘What are/is…?’
‘Who is…?’
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‘How much…?’
You SHOULD use the following phrases:
‘Does/do/can XYZ…?’
‘Is it possible…?’
‘Are/is ABC…?’
‘Have/has…?’
‘Should…?’
After selecting your aspect, try to link it with the issue you have in mind. See which starting
phrase fits. Try to figure out who the stakeholder is (who you think is affected by the issue) and
also check out the degree of impact (to what extent is the stakeholder affected). You may
include these two things in your research question to make it more focused, but you must
strike a balance between your topic being too niche and too broad. Below are some example
research question formations:
Topic: Trade and Aid
Aspect: Trade Barriers and Tariffs
Stakeholders: Developing countries
Degree of impact: Globally widespread
Question: Do trade barriers and tariffs affect developing countries?
Topic: Family
Aspect: LGBTQ+ Families
Stakeholders: Children
Degree of impact: Individual impact on a global scale
Question: Are LGBTQ+ children always accepted by their parents?
Topic: Sustainable Living
Aspect: Sustainable fashion and clothing
Stakeholders: Businesses/industries
Degree of impact: Local, national and global
Question: Should the fashion industry comply with laws regarding sustainability?
Step 4: Split your research question into two issues (optional but
recommended)
The two issues of your individual report will be researched on and addressed through their
causes, consequences and perspectives. Cambridge highly recommends candidates to focus
on separate issues for a more focused and crystal-clear report. Every issue has different
aspects to it, and it is best for your research question to be answered via these different
aspects. Instead of directly stating the causes and consequences, dividing your report into two
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issues will give it more content and structure. Below are some sample issues for the above
mentioned research questions.
Question: Do trade barriers and tariffs affect developing countries?
Possible issue 1: Economic downfall
Possible issue 2: Limited access to global markets
Question: Are LGBTQ+ children always accepted by their parents?
Possible issue 1: Generational differences
Possible issue 2: Cultural and religious implications
Question: Should the fashion industry comply with laws regarding sustainability?
Possible issue 1: Environmental impact
Possible issue 2: Economic impacts
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Research techniques and skills
Research! It is the foundation of your individual report. Everything else builds upon your
research. Once you have selected a topic and its issues, it’s time to start researching.
Remember, everything in your IR will be based on secondary research, which means that
everything will be taken from other sources (not your own). Mentioned below are the three R’s
of research, and how you can incorporate them into your report for maximum output.
RELEVANT: The first R stands for relevant. This means that you must include sources which
contribute to your argument and support it. Going off a tangent and drifting away from your
topic is always a risk, and you may get carried away by all the available sources. You must
remain focused and enter only those keywords in the search engine which are required by your
report. Do not add irrelevant facts, statistics and data as it gives a bad impression, ruins your
focus, and eats up your word count. Keep it relevant, focused and analyze deeply rather than
broadly.
RELIABLE: The second R refers to reliability. This shows that you must take your sources from
authentic and credible websites, articles, and books. Research without reliability is useless. The
very purpose of researching is to take information from sources which are proven and reliable.
Always check the reliability of a source by seeing if the authors’ names are mentioned, date is
mentioned, research method is explained and so on. The more details given, the easier it is to
verify a source. Also, make sure the source is not written in a biased way. Usually, organizations
have their own vested interests and will try to influence the reader. This is why journal articles
are your best friend, and not random websites! And certainly do not use WikiPedia as anyone
can edit information on there!
RECENT: The third R is for recency. In this rapidly changing and developing world, nothing
stays the same even for a day. A recent source will make your IR more up-to-date and improve
its credibility; it will also make your solutions more applicable to today’s world. Always give
yourself not more than a 5 year margin from the year you are in right now. If it’s 2024 right
now, don’t take any source which was published before 2019. This is crucial for a relevant and
reliable IR, as the three R’s go hand in hand. For a perfect source, always check recency as well
as relevance and reliability.
How to search for the perfect source
On the world wide web, there is a lot of content. There is an ocean of content, and it is easy to
simply drown or give up. How are you going to find a source which is relevant, reliable and
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recent? Researching takes work, and it takes time to get used to it. Below are some mentioned
techniques which you can apply to your research process and make it more effective and fun.
Using scholarly search engines
Journal articles are the most reliable source of information out there. Entering your keywords
into a scholarly search engine will give you access to thousands of special journal articles
written by researchers, academics and experts. Below are some links to the best search
engines and websites.
PubMed for Life Science, Health and Psychological Research
Google Scholar for Every Kind of Topic
Semantic Scholar for Scientific Research
BASE for all kinds of Articles
CORE with free access research papers
Pros and cons of all search engines
Entering the right keywords
Having a good search engine is one thing, but knowing WHAT to search is another skill which
you must acquire. First of all, you must be clear about the issue you’re researching about. Then
you must know WHAT information (cause, consequence or perspective) you are trying to find.
It is also best to enter the name of a country, continent or area to get sources from all kinds of
perspectives. Below is an example search for an issue:
Question: Are LGBTQ+ children always accepted by their parents?
Possible issue 1: Generational differences
Keywords to find general information for issue 1: ‘lgbtq’ + ‘children’ + ‘parents’ + ‘generation’ +
‘gap’
Keywords to find causes of issue 1: ‘why’ + ‘lgbtq’ + ‘children’ + ‘rejection’ + ‘generational’ +
‘gap’
Keywords to find consequences of issue 1: ‘generational’ + ‘gap’ + ‘effects’ + ‘on’ + ‘lgbtq’ +
‘children’ + ‘parents’
Keywords to find Russian perspectives of issue 1: ‘generational’ + ‘gap’ + ‘lgbtq’ + ‘children’ +
‘in’ + ‘russia’
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Types of data and which ones to use
Now that you’re found a source, you need to see which data you have to extract from it.
Sometimes you will use a statistic, sometimes you will use a fact. But everything comes under
research and selecting the right type of data according to the situation is another skill you
must acquire.
Statistics
These are facts, but with numbers. They may be percentages, ratios, or numbers. Statistics can
be used when you need solid proof or evidence to support your stance. They give depth to
your IR and help you compare different perspectives. Statistics are logical, and whenever you
require any strong evidence, go for a statistic!
Statements
These are just facts. They could be a definition, an expert opinion or the explanation of a
phenomenon. These are useful especially when you’re introducing an idea or a new issue, and
can even be used in the main introduction of your IR. They are not as deep as statistics but are
equally important as they give flow and structure to your report. Use them to support your
ideas; remember these count as research too!
Diagrams
A picture speaks louder than a 1000 words. You can add graphs, bar charts or diagrams to your
report, but it is recommended not to. They can create issues as their word count is also
counted in the total count. It is also thought that these diagrams are mostly irrelevant and give
an amateur appearance to the report. Still, if you find a diagram that truly complements and
supports your report, then there’s nothing better than adding that too!
Top tips for researching in Global Perspectives
1. Save every single link because you will have to add everything to your
bibliography/reference list at the end. Even if you don’t take any information from a
website and just read it, save it on a blank document.
2. There will be a lot of Google tabs open when you research. This might make your
computer slow. Always group your tabs according to the information type, or their
importance to your research and close unnecessary tabs after bookmarking or saving
the links.
3. Research may be time-taking. It may be hard to read article after article. Whenever you
open a new article, enter the keywords using Ctrl+F and go to the exact detail you need.
For journal articles, simply read the abstract (introduction), results, and conclusion.
4. Some information may be too long, some may be hard to read. Copy and paste the
difficult parts into ChatGPT and ask it to simplify it FOR YOU. DO NOT ADD THIS
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EXACT INFORMATION IN YOUR REPORT! YOUR REPORT WILL GET 0 MARKS IF YOU
GET CHATGPT OR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO WRITE IT FOR YOU.
5. If you use Wikipedia, click on the small reference number link next to the information
you want; this will take you to the footnote section. Click on the link of THIS research
and go to the original website. This will tell you if it's relevant, recent and reliable.
Learning how to incorporate information into your report
Once you have collected your sources, and have researched in depth, you must understand
that you cannot copy paste from the web. This is counted as plagiarism (see page x for more
information). Therefore, you must paraphrase and rephrase all this information and mold it to
your requirements. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to paraphrase your research using the
three S strategy:
SYNONYMS: If you can’t think of how to transform a sentence fully, the easiest thing to do is
replace some of the common words with synonyms. For example if the original source says,
‘We found out that 50% of women work from home.’ then you can simply put in a synonym.
Look at this, ‘We discovered that 50% of women work from home.’ This only changed one
word but will now decrease your chances of plagiarism, because technically this is your own
sentence now.
SHORTEN: Instead of writing whole research results and conclusions, you always have the
option of shortening them and merging sentences. This will help save your word count while
also giving your report clarity and conciseness. Look at the following example. Original
sentence says, ‘We found out that half of the men from Indonesia worked from home which
showed that the work-from-home policy in Indonesia for men is growing rapidly…,’ but you can
shorten this and paraphrase this into, ‘The rapid growth of Indonesia’s work-from-home policy
was proven by 50% of men working from home.’ This also flipped the sentence structure,
which is discussed in the next point.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE: If you don’t know how to shorten or add synonyms for words, then
simply flip the clauses around. If it says, ‘The research by Laurel et al. proves that same sex
families face discrimination in society,’ then you can add the discrimination part first and the
research part later in the sentence. Observing the change, ‘Societal discrimination against
same-sex families’ was proven by a research by Laurel et al.’
Now that you know how to research and paraphrase, it’s time to start writing the introduction.
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Writing your introduction
The introduction is the first actual writing which you do for your IR. It is the first thing the
examiner reads and must make maximum impact. This section will discuss the crucial
elements which you need to include in your introduction, and will also show you how to mold,
mix and match different elements to customize your introduction according to your tastes. The
ideal introduction should lie between 150 and 250 words.
The meaning/definition/nature of your topic
The first sentence you write will always leave an impression. It is ideal to start with the
definition of a keyword in your topic (if there’s a technical term) or just start by describing the
nature of your topic. What is it about? If you were to explain this topic to someone in one
sentence, what would you say? This is the gist of what you must write in your first sentence.
This element can be added later on in the introduction too.
Facts and statistics
Adding one fact and at least one statistic gives your introduction support and credibility. It
proves right off the bat that your issue is valid and that your purpose for writing this report is
valid. Include general and interesting statistics which make the examiner go, ‘Yes, this issue is
relevant and this report will make sense.’ You can start your report directly with a statistic, or
even a quote! This is completely up to you.
Your personal purpose for choosing this topic
The examiners love emotion, purpose and passion. It is highly recommended that you explain
your personal reason behind the selection of your topic. Below are some examples:
● A personal experience that you had and made you realize the importance of this topic.
● An interesting website, book or article you read that spiked your curiosity and interest in
this topic.
● A long-term interest which developed in this topic and why.
● Any justified emotional or cultural connection with the topic.
What issues, causes, consequences and perspectives you will explore in the
report
This is optional, but gives a nice transition from the introduction to the actual
issues/causes/consequences (whatever format you choose to follow). If you decide to split the
report into two issues, state the names of those issues clearly and mention that you will
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address those issues through multiple perspectives. This gives an amazing and professional
touch to your report and is present in top candidate responses.
Example introduction
Read the following introduction and see how the above points have been applied.
Example introduction
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
Psychotic disorders are dangerous mental illnesses that can distort a person’s perception of
reality. Schizophrenia alone, a type of psychosis, affects over 24 million people worldwide
regardless of gender or ethnicity. (WHO, 2022)
The patients may tap out of reality and experience delusions and hallucinations; this causes
distress to themselves and the people around them. A study by Harvard (2017) shows that
family members are the most significant caretakers of a psychotic patient, and are affected
psychologically and financially. Over 33% of caregivers reported extreme stress while coping
with their loved one's psychosis. (Caqueo-Urízar et al., 2017)
The book Introduction to Psychology by Lally & Valentine-French discusses the severity of
psychosis and how it affects family dynamics. When I read this book, my interest in the topic
arose because I wanted to know the challenges and responsibilities that these families had to
face. This report will look at the two main aspects these families have to deal with: the
financial burden, considering the cost of treatment, and their psychological well-being while
dealing with a psychotic patient.
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The issues, causes, consequences
and perspectives
Your report is an issue. Your report has an issue or even multiple issues (if you decided to split
it into two while choosing a topic). The reason behind writing this report is that issues exist.
They can be positive, negative, or anything which leaves an impact on something. You must
know what issues, causes, consequences and perspectives are before moving onto the main
part of your report. This knowledge is required for a clear structured IR. You can format your IR
however you want, but make sure to include these 4 things.
Issue: Anything which has a cause and a consequence. It can be positive or negative.
Cause: The reason behind anything. Something which triggers something else.
Consequence: The result of anything. Something which is triggered by something else.
Perspective: A way of looking at things, could be a cause or a consequence.
Notes:
Structuring your IR
There are many ways to structure your IR. It is your report and you are in charge. You can do it
issue-wise, or perspective-wise. Here are some options you can choose from to create a
focused, clear and engaging IR:
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The classic structure
1
Introduction
≈ 150 words
2
Causes of issue
≈ 450 words
3
Consequences of issue
≈ 450 words
4
Global Perspectives
≈ 300 words
5
National/local perspective
≈ 100 words
6
Course of action
≈ 250 words
7
Analysis of sources
≈ 200 words
8
Personal Perspective
≈ 50 words
9
Conclusion
≈ 50 words
The issue-based structure
1
Introduction
≈ 150-200 words
2
Issue 1 (cause + consequence + perspectives)
≈ 550-600 words
3
Course of action
≈ 200 words
4
Issue 2 (cause + consequence + perspectives)
≈ 550-600 words
5
Course of action
≈ 200 words
6
Analysis of sources
≈ 200 words
7
Personal Perspective
≈ 50 words
8
Conclusion
≈ 50 words
The comparative structure
1
Introduction
≈ 150 words
2
Issue 1 (causes + consequences + perspectives)
≈ 520 words
3
Issue 2 (causes + consequences + perspectives)
≈ 520 words
4
Comparison of both issues
≈ 200 words
5
Course of action
≈ 300 words
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6
Analysis of sources
≈ 200 words
7
Personal Perspective
≈ 50 words
8
Conclusion
≈ 50 words
The analytical structure
1
Introduction
≈ 150 words
2
Analysis of sources
≈ 200 words
3
Causes of issue
≈ 450 words
4
Consequences of issue
≈ 450 words
5
Causal relationship
≈ 100 words
6
Global Perspectives
≈ 270 words
7
National/Local perspective
≈ 150 words
8
Course of Action
≈ 300 words
9
Personal Perspective + Conclusion
≈ 100 words
Notes:
How to format an issue (only for the issue-based structure and the comparative
structure)
If you choose the issue-based structure or the comparative structure, you’ll be working on one
issue at a time. Each issue will include causes and consequences, all from different
perspectives. This will give a structured and balanced feel to your IR. Each issue will also
include a national perspective. If you go for these formats, try to make each issue around
500-600 words. Here’s how you can incorporate causes + consequences + perspectives, all
under one issue:
General introduction to issue
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Just like how you gave the main introduction at the start of your IR, a one-line introduction of
the sub-issue will ensure you transition from the main introduction to the first issue smoothly.
It can just be a definition, or a general broad statistic. Don’t use more than one line for this
purpose.
Addressing causes through global perspectives
After giving a mini introduction, dive straight into the causes. You are not going to write about
these causes by yourself. Choose one developed country, such as Russia or the UK or the USA,
and research about the causes of the issue in that specific country. This will count as a cause
and a perspective both. Find a study or a research based on this cause and analyze it in one
small paragraph. The analysis is done by paraphrasing the research findings and then simply
describing/explaining them (again, do not assume things; read the study carefully).
But that’s not all. This is global perspectives and you need to add, well, global perspectives.
Choose another country, this time developing or underdeveloped. Repeat the process in
another paragraph for this country. Now it’s time for the consequences.
Addressing consequences through global perspectives
After exploring the causes, you must write down the consequences of this issue in 2-3
paragraphs. Again, choose a developed country (different from the countries in the causes)
and research the possible consequences of your issue there. Do the same thing you did for the
cause. Repeat for another country, this time developing or underdeveloped. You can even
analyze the differences in these consequences briefly in another paragraph, but be sure to
consider the word limit.
Adding a national/local perspective in your issue
The last paragraph of your issue must be a national or local perspective. This is done by
searching your country’s standing or current position regarding the issue. It can be a cause,
consequence or a mixture of both. Repeat the process for either your own country or your own
city (local perspective).
Note: This is the process for only one issue. You must repeat all this for the other issue as
well. Read an example issue below.
What an issue looks like (comparative and issue-based structure)
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
Issue 1: Treatment of Psychosis: A Financial Burden on the Family
Any health condition requires treatment, and treatment needs money. Mental disorders are
not an exception, especially psychosis, which is much more severe than other disorders. A
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questionnaire (Isherwood et al., 2015) showed that 60% of schizophrenia caregivers agreed
that caring for the psychotic patient was important, but only 31.9% reported having enough
money for this purpose.
There are certain necessary treatments that cost more and most families can’t afford them.
To find out whether these treatments are actually important, consider a study (Breitborde et
al., 2021) which compared individuals with first-episode psychosis. They were divided into
groups while participating in a therapy program. Results proved that cognitive-enhancing
therapy improved the patients’ life and longevity more than no cognition-enhancing
treatment. However, the former was much more costly than the latter.
According to an article by McKenna (2021), the cost of psychotic therapy in the US in 2021
ranged between $65 to $200 per hour. The money required for chemical treatment through
drugs amounted to more than US$3079. The most used psychotic therapy, electroconvulsive
therapy, had an annual cost of US$10,000 but in 2021, the average United States family made
only US$74,738. (WorldData, 2021).
Thus the minimum percentage of income spent on psychotherapy was 17.5% of the annual
income. The average American family also spent 89.6% of their yearly income in 2021 on
basic requirements like food and water. (Shopify, 2021). Adding that to the minimum cost of
psychotherapy, an average family must earn at least 7% extra income to get the essential
treatment for a psychotic patient.
More money requires extra work on the family’s part, which results in overworking.
In 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), overworking has been
linked with stress and anxiety. The WHO and ILO performed 2324 cross-sectional surveys in
2016 on people who worked over 55 hours per week and found they were most likely to
develop, and even die, from ischemic heart disease and stroke due to stress.
The US has the 7th largest income among all countries in 2021, and yet American families
struggle to deal with the treatment of psychotic disorders. Families in countries like
Afghanistan and Ethiopia live on as low as US$2,087 a year (WorldData, 2021) and can hardly
afford proper treatment.
A study conducted by Norman (2014) found that a longer duration of untreated psychosis
causes increased severity and poorer response to treatment which served as a greater
burden on family members, and negatively affected family dynamics. Farooq et al. (2009)
studied this further in low-income countries where a prolonged duration of untreated
psychosis is also associated with impaired functioning and poor quality of life for families..
This also creates problems for families when they see their loved ones suffering.
According to Debra Fulghum Bruce, PhD, untreated psychosis may develop into psychotic
depression. A questionnaire (Skundberg-Kletthagen et al., 2016) asked relatives of
depressed patients to share the amount of stress and burden they experienced. A higher
burden was reported by relatives receiving less treatment from psychiatric care hospitals.
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A three-stage cluster sampling in China by Guo et al. (2019) also compared uninsured and
insured mental health patients and concluded that insured children experienced better
hospitalization and treatment than uninsured children. However, they found that even insured
mental health patients strained family budgets. Many families, especially low-income ones,
were pushed into poverty.
How to format a cause or a consequence (only for the classic structure and the
analytical structure)
You can choose not to work issue-wise. You can also go for the classic or analytical structure.
In this, you will focus on the main topic and write down all the possible causes first (the causes
paragraph) But again, use research and studies to support your words. Your words must build
up on studies, statistics and data. For each cause, you can use either a country or you can just
write general causes using studies. In the last paragraph of the causes, you should explain what
the most significant cause is and why (again note: studies and data). Repeat this for the
consequences. Ensure that the causes are around 500 words, and the consequences are also
around 500 words.
Read the following consequences below.
Sample consequences
Topic: Digital World
Digital revolution is one of the greatest transformations of our time. Has it reached an
extent where it is affecting the community?
Cybercrime essentially denotes the use of computer technology to commit or to
facilitate the commission of unlawful acts, or “crimes'' (Brenner, 2004). Hackers can
easily access private information and can easily track a person. This had led to many
cases of fraud, identity theft and blackmail. This can have large implications on the lives
of individuals and their families. Cyber victims have reported various emotional and
behavioral symptoms, along with school-related problems (Suzuki, 2011). This can lead to
depression, fear and anxiety. In extreme cases, thiscan lead to suicide and self-harm. This
can leave its mark on children’s brain and cause hindrances in their road to healthy
growth and development.
On a larger level, cybercrimes can have disastrous effects on firms and financial
institutions as well. Cyber-crimes have affected many countries around the world. All
businesses need to understand the cyber threats they may face, and take the appropriate
steps to safeguard against them. The ONS estimates that around 4.5 million cyber crimes
were committed in England and Wales during a twelve month period alone (Henshaw,
2019). Furthermore, over 300,000 people in the U.S. last year fell victim to such crimes,
according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center annual report, and losses topped
$1.2 billion (Leonhardt, 2018). China has the largest number of internet users, however
this trend has also expedited an exponential development of new crime in cyberspace
(Wang, 2009).These are huge numbers and come with an opportunity cost- spending on
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welfare programs. Individuals and businesses can also suffer significant financial losses
because of cybercrime. Another company, Talk-Talk lost almost a third of their share
value because of their data security breach in 2015. The total cost to TalkTalk of the
breach is estimated to be £77 million, including a record £400,000 fine from the
Information Commissioner’s Office for security failings that allowed the hack to happen
(Lyons, 2018).
How to develop a causal relationship (for the analytical structure)
A causal relationship is the relationship between the causes and the consequences, which in
other words is your issue. It also explains the most important cause and why it is the most
significant. A causal relationship section is optional, but if you go for the analytical structure
then you have to make a report based on analysis. To format this, you only need one
paragraph. Write down the causes in one sentence (just state them). Do the same for the
consequences. Write down (without any study or statistics) how these are related. For
example, the causes of lung cancer are smoking and a poor diet. The consequences are
difficulty in breathing and chest pain. The most important consequence would be difficulty in
breathing BECAUSE smoking is directly linked to it and smoking is the leading cause of lung
cancer (you would have already established and proven this fact in your ‘causes of the issue’
section. This is just a brief analysis).
Read the following example of a causal relationship:
A causal relationship explained
Topic: Digital World
Is Internet-Addiction negatively affecting the lives of students globally?
Cyberbullying, involving the use of digital technology for insults and threats, is primarily
fueled by the anonymity and freedom of expression the internet provides. The concealment
of identity enables individuals to share content without accountability, leading to the unique
and severe consequences associated with cyberbullying. This cause-and-effect relationship
is evident in the emotional distress experienced by victims, including anxiety, depression,
and paranoia. These psychological impacts, in turn, give rise to further negative outcomes
such as reduced school attendance, strained relationships, intense humiliation, school
transfers, substance use, and, tragically, suicide. The primary cause, rooted in the anonymity
of online platforms, initiates a chain of detrimental consequences, emphasizing the urgent
need for comprehensive interventions to address and prevent cyberbullying.
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How to format global perspectives (only for the classic structure and the
analytical structure)
After the causes and consequences in the classic or analytical structure, you need a separate
section for global and national perspectives. The global perspectives are based on two things:
the general global perspective and the country-wise perspective. You should start your global
perspective with one general global study/statistic. This will set the stage for you to add
different countries. Choose a developed country, and one underdeveloped or developing
country. State their situation on your research question; you should do this with studies and
data. Then you should compare their stance/perspective in a small paragraph; this will
conclude your global perspective section. If you use the issue-based or comparative structure,
then there is no need for this section as the perspectives will come under the sub-issues.
Note the following global perspectives:
Global Perspectives sample
Topic: Changing Communities
Do poverty and lack of education cause children to suffer physically and socially,
worldwide?
Perspective of Myanmar: Child-labor in Myanmar, Southeast-Asia is common, 1.13
million-children, ages 5-17 work as laborers here (ILO, 2019). Myanmar, being a rural-area,
sees dropouts from school due to parents not being able to afford education. Some schools
offer free education, but because they do not have standard education and proficient
teachers, the quality of education is such that children learn nothing. Moreover, there are
only 2 schools in the entire area, and there is no public-transport to facilitate children. In the
Kayin State of Myanmar, young children start working in restaurants, factories, small farms,
and shops selling tea. Those children that can find a suitable job, move to Thailand with their
families in search of better opportunities to earn money. Thus, both lack of education and
poverty compels children into child-labor.
Perspective of Europe: Nearly 5.5-million-children exploited for low wages live in Europe.
29% are involved in child-labor in Georgia and one million in Russia. These numbers are
surprising considering these are developed-countries, and sadly the issue is unaddressed. In
Bulgaria, children work for 10-12 hours in industries like the tobacco-factories. These
dangerous working conditions affect a child’s natural development process and trigger the
cycle of poverty (Llyod, 2020). Moreover, Cabitza (2012) found that the children who were
involved in child-labor in Peru lived below the poverty line.
How to format national and local perspectives (only for the classic structure and
the analytical structure)
After analyzing the global situation of your topic, you must see what the situation of your own
country or locality is. This is done in the same way as the global perspectives, except this time
it’s your own country only. After evaluating 1-2 studies/statistics about your country/locality,
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you can also compare this part with the global perspectives. This is optional, but it rounds off
the report very professionally and smoothly.
Read the following national perspective.
Sample national perspective
Topic: Digital World
Digital revolution is one of the greatest transformations of our time. Has it reached an
extent where it is affecting the community?
Pakistan has experienced cases of cyberbullying as well. According to the Digital Rights
Foundation (DRF), based on the statistics collected via their Cyber Harassment Helpline,
Punjab accounts for the bulk of the cases concerning cyber-bullying in Pakistan (Zarar,
2017). To tackle this issue, the Pakistani Government has launched a cyber-crime reporting
platform, NR3C. National Response Centre for Cyber Crime is a law enforcement agency
that helps citizens fight cybercrime (FIA, 2019). The agency has received large numbers of
reports of cybercrime, which shows how bad it was needed in Pakistan. Most of the people
who are behind such acts get away because no proper forums have been provided to the
victims to voice their views. Steps like these are bold ones taken by the Government and it
makes me really happy to see that issues as such are being taken seriously by those in
charge. This can be a good step towards the eradication of this evil from our society.
How to add a personal perspective
Adding a personal perspective is a great way to express your own thoughts and ideas during
the whole report writing process, and at the end of it. This does not require any statistics or
data because it is purely your own view. You can connect this with your reason for choosing
the topic (which you discussed in your introduction) or you can explain what you learnt from
this research. You could also explain your own ideas on how to counter the issue. This should
ideally be only about 50-60 words.
Read the following example personal perspective
Sample personal perspective
Topic: Digital World
Is Internet-Addiction negatively affecting the lives of students globally?
After all the research I have conducted, my personal perspective is that technology has
helped us in many ways, but the unlimited use of social media has negatively affected many
lives. My research and study on the topic changed my perspective. Social media and
internet-addiction is very harmful, in terms of mental health and cyberbullying effects. It is
very important to limit its use, and use it for relaxation and entertainment after studying.
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Notes:
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Courses of action
Every issue is an issue, and mostly it is not addressed properly. There is a solution to every
problem and you must describe that after talking. The purpose of an argument (the argument
of your IR, is to identify the problem and find the cure. Here are some ways in which you can
write a good course of action or solution.
Identifying the fact that any issue can be resolved by using its root cause
When you start your courses of actions paragraph, you must state this line for credibility. If
you’re using the comparative or issue-based structure, then you need 2 courses of action, one
for each issue. The first step is to identify and state 2-3 causes in one line. For example, say
that lung cancer is caused by a bad diet and smoking. This is similar to a causal-consequence
relationship, except here you are dealing with description. Then you must identify the most
important cause by using a global statistic. This will also be one line only. Then give at least 2
studies on how these causes have been overcome and contributed to a nation’s development.
It is also good to compare the most important cause with its consequence. This whole thing
will be the introduction of your courses of action
Finding solutions through perspectives
Every solution is not applicable everywhere, and the same course of action cannot be found
useful for all the different countries. This is why it’s important that you support your solutions
with different countries or continents. You should find out about how they made their solutions
for global perspectives. Do not give your own personal solution; you need tried and tested
sources. Write about 2 countries, 1 developed and 1 developed/underdeveloped. You should
add one study/research for each country, The developed country can serve as evidence for a
successful course of actions. Now talk about how a developing country is implementing its
courses of action, and what improvements have been made. You can also choose an
underdeveloped country instead of a developing one. In this case, you will write about the
severity of the issue in the undeveloped country, and how you can link it to a suitable course of
action. Again, you must base your solutions completely on research and evidence from
secondary sources.
Discussing the national/local perspectives for the course of action
After writing about 2 countries, you must come to your own country or locality and talk about
that. If you are from Pakistan, explain WHAT pakistan is doing and what ELSE can it do. This will
count as another national perspective. You can also choose a specific area within your country
for a local perspective.
Read the following course of action for an issue-based structure of the IR
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Example Course of action for issue 1
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
Issue 1: Treatment of psychosis: A financial burden on the family
In light of the above evidence, the most effective way to reduce the financial burden on
families is clearly to provide sufficient insurance to affected individuals. For example,
Australia provides mental health insurance to its citizens through the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (ABS, 2022).
However, a study undertaken by Biswal et al. 's (2017) shows that mental health practitioners
in the Indian subcontinent are not even skilled in the biomedical treatment of psychosis, and
patients are usually not insured. The government should consider adding mental health
insurance to physical health and training its psychiatrists.
As Guo et al. (2019) proved in their study, insured families are likely to get better and
on-time treatment than uninsured families. They also found that insured families could
demand more drugs and therapies as insurance covered the cost of treatment.
The questionnaire by Skundberg-Kletthagen et al. (2016) also showed that houses receiving
more care from psychiatric hospitals were less likely to be stressed by the cost of treatment.
Example course of action for issue 2
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
Issue 2: The Psychological Well-Being of Family Members
As seen by the above sources, most of the psychological problems faced by families result
from a lack of awareness in society and a lack of coping skills within the family itself.
Waqas et al.’s study in 2014 showed that mental health awareness is lower in Pakistan as
compared to awareness of physical health. If the government uses proper campaigning and
explains the importance of mental health in society, families may face lower stigma and
receive more emotional support. This can reduce the problems in their family functioning
and allow them to deal more effectively with the psychosis itself.
Gupta et al. 's questionnaire (2015) proved that psychosis requires much more patience on
the part of the family members compared to other disorders. Family counseling and group
therapies can reduce stress and allow family members to share their problems and come up
with relevant solutions. The government should consider providing mental health facilities for
the family members as well as for the psychotic patient itself.
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Notes:
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Analysis of sources
This small paragraph plays a crucial role for your research. It is the whole summary of WHY to
research, WHAT you research and how you collected information. You should include the
following things
A generic statement
The first line of your courses of action paragraph should ideally be a generic statement. This
means that you will write down a general statement. Let me give some examples of a generic
statement, or more accurately, a topic sentence.
Read the following speech boxes carefully
I tried my best to add recent, relevant and reliable sources…
Everything throughout the report was clear and supported by
reasonable arguments
‘
In the following issue, relevant and reliable sources such as XYZ will
be used (for analytical structure because analysis comes first)
A strong source and how to analyze it
Every strong source comes with its own criteria. The format for the analysis part is the generic
statement, analysis of a strong source and stress about the weak source
To match the criteria of the analysis of sources with the whole report is very important. Choose
a strong source from your report and analyze it by stating its features + the reason plan for
these topics, anything. If a source is recent, reliable and relevant, it counts as a strong source.
After choosing the strong source, explain briefly why it's relevant to YOUR topic.
A weak source and its evaluation
These are sources which are not fully reliable, or perhaps because we don’t know much about
them. It is important to quote the weakness in your report too. DO NOT choose the same
sentence as the strong source one. You should not run down the good sources. In fact, you
should run up the delegations so they actually enjoy her and feel encouraged. You only need
1-2 small weak sources in like 4 lines. And do not include a bad source in your report just so
you can analyze it. .
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Please look at the following analysis of sources.
Example analysis of sources,
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
I did my best to extract information from the latest and most relevant sources. Factual details
(annual income and cost of treatment) were taken from experts, like PhDs and MDs, along
with statistics and figures. General information, like the definition of psychosis and the
effects of stress, is used from trusted sources such as Cambridge, Harvard and the World
Health Organisation.
While discussing the financial burden on families and the cost of treatment, proper research
was done on whether psychosis requires expensive treatment or not. The therapy program
by Breitborde et al. (2021) is recent and explained in detail. However, it mostly considers
European people, so it may not be completely generalisable.
The cost of treatment is discussed along with the annual income of different countries and
also how insured and uninsured families are affected. The cross-sectional study by WHO
shows the dangers of overworking, which families do to afford the treatment.
While discussing the psychological impact of psychosis on family members and its related
aspects, the questionnaire by Gupta et al. (2015) compared psychosis to other mental
disorders. The information is based on scientific reasoning and helps to understand how
families go through turbulent times specifically in psychosis than in other mental illnesses.
Additionally, the Harvard study by Rus-Calafell et al. (2017) supports Gupta et al.'s findings.
The report also provides research of low-income countries like India, Pakistan, Ethiopia and
Afghanistan, as well as high-income countries such as Germany, Italy, and the US. This is
because psychosis .affects families regardless of nationality, and its awareness and
treatment depend on the economic condition and awareness of the place the family lives in
Notes:
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Bibliography and citation
The citations make up a reference list known as a bibliography. This includes all the links and
names of the article and/or websites you wrote/created. It gives evidence of your research,
keeps track of your research and most importantly helps you learn research skills by my own
techniques : D. And a very crucial point that most students forget to do: IN-TEXT CITATION.
In-text citations
In-text citation is part and would be used in the 2000 word draft that would be your Individual
Report. It is separate from the reference list that would come at the end. Articles/sources cited
in the Individual Report would be cited in the reference list as well. Author(s) last name is used
in in-text citation.
APA FORMAT (easy and recommended)
According to Caqueo-Urízar et al. from Harvard (2017), family members are the primary
caretakers of a psychotic patient, despite the assistance provided by professional therapists
and psychiatric hospitals. Even if family members can afford proper treatment, the psychosis
also burdens their mental health. Family dynamics can be affected by the initial diagnosis,
caregiving responsibilities, and the stigma of society. (Harvard, 2017)
A questionnaire by Gupta et al. (2015) compared the mental health status of schizophrenia
caregivers compared to that of caregivers of other mental disorders. Caregivers of
schizophrenia from 5 European countries had the highest mental health problems compared
to caregivers of cancer, stroke, and Alzheimer's. 42.7% of the caretakers of schizophrenic
patients reported experiencing sleep difficulties, while the percentage was 28.5% for other
disorders. 32.4% vs. 18.5% of caregivers experienced insomnia, and a staggering 37.9% vs.
23.6% suffered from anxiety.
Rus-Calafell et al. (2017) from Harvard proved that families are also stressed during the
professional help-seeking process. Family members reported feeling left out of the process
and believed the therapist was not providing them with sufficient information. This problem
usually arose during the initial diagnosis, as it was a new problem for the family members.
Iseselo et al. (2016) also proved this through group discussions and in-depth interviews with
family members of psychotic patients in Tanzania. The families reported disruption of family
functioning and stress due to the patient’s unpredictable and abnormal behavior.
Families also have to deal with external stigma and backlash. Waqas et al. (2014) studied the
stigma associated with mental illnesses in Pakistan through a cross-sectional study,
surveying 1470 adults from Karachi. The adults were divided into three groups: medical
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professionals, medical students, and the general public. All groups reported a significantly
higher stigma towards mental illness than physical illnesses.
MLA FORMAT (almost the same as the APA,, it's up to you)
In light of the above evidence, the most effective way to reduce the financial burden on
families is clearly to provide sufficient insurance to affected individuals. For example,
Australia provides mental health insurance to its citizens through the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (ABS 42).
However, a study undertaken by Biswal et al. indicates that mental health practitioners in the
Indian subcontinent are not even skilled in the biomedical treatment of psychosis, and
patients are usually not insured (87). The government should consider adding mental health
insurance to physical health and training its psychiatrist (Biswal et al. 87).
As Guo et al. proved in their study, insured families are likely to get better and on-time
treatment than uninsured families. They also found that insured families could demand more
drugs and therapies as insurance covered the cost of treatment (115) (Guo et al. 115)
The questionnaire by Skundberg-Klett Hagen et al. also showed that houses receiving more
care from psychiatric hospitals were less likely to be stressed by the cost of treatment
(71).(Skundberg-Klett Hagen et al., 2016, p. 71)
Aspect
APA
MLA
In-text Citation
Author-Date Format (Smith,
2019)
Author-Page Number Format
(Smith 45)
Author Named
in Text
According to Smith (2019), the
impact...
According to Smith, the impact...
No Author
("Title of the Article", 2020)
("Title of the Article" 22)
Multiple
Authors
(Johnson & Smith, 2018)
(Johnson and Smith 56)
Paper
Formatting
Running head, title page, and
references page
Header with author's last name and
page number, Works Cited page
for references
Title Page
Required with title, author's
name, and institutional
affiliation centered at the top
Typically not required; title,
author's name, course information,
and date on the first page
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Reference List
Called References, alphabetical
listing by author's last name
with a hanging indent
Called Works Cited, full
bibliographic information listed
alphabetically
Notes:
Using a citation generator
Every citation is derived from somewhere, and you need to know the link or DOI of the article.
Put this into MyBib here. Generate a reference, and generate an in-text citation. This will make
your life much easier. You can also use the DOI of a journal article and paste it for quicker
searches.
How to make a reference list
After you are done with your in text citations, we’re gonna start with the reference list right
now. Because the sooner you learn this, the better. You need the links and DOI of all the
articles and websites you collected, then paste each one of them into MyBib (see above). The
MyBib website will provide you with a blank document, a pen and a briefing about the whole
topic. You can make a reference list either in MLA or APA but stick to one form throughout the
report. Consistency matters.
Frequently asked questions
How many sources do you need to add?
As many as you want, just remember to paraphrase them and explain in detail. Also, ensure
that the sources are in alphabetical or descending date order, for a logical structure. I would
recommend at least 30 for the IR. Anything you only read online also comes on here. Or it gets
distracting and all. But yes, 30 sources are fine.
My teacher doesn’t like the format
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Hello, this is the summary of all the GP teachers in Pakistan, India etc. The thing is, teachers
don't realize this is an INDIVIDUAL report. Cambridge themselves said that you should do it all
yourself and that you can choose whatever format you want. Do what you like, don’t listen to
them!
Can I make my own format?
Yes!! as long as it complies with the mark scheme and everything is included. See page 22
(scroll up),
Notes:
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Reviewing + refining
By the end of this exam process, the first draft of the report is technically done. That’s good.
We put a lot of effort into this event; it must not be canceled. But before you submit your draft
to a teacher, look at the following tips and tricks to make your IR stand out.
Reviewing your IR: see below
PRE-assessment checklist for the Individual Report
No # Criteria
1
Is the report on one of the eight IR topics:
Belief Systems, Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Loss, Changing Communities,
Digital World, Family, Humans and Other
Species, Sustainable Living, or Trade and
Aid?
2
Is the research question focused enough
to be answered in a 2000 word report?
3
Is the research question about an issue
that is global in scope?
4
Is the research question answerable from
different perspectives and viewpoints?
5
Does the introduction explain the issue
and the research question?
6
Is at least one global perspective on the
issue included? Is it actually a perspective
– e.g. what a global community thinks, not
just information about the global
situation? Is the view clearly represented,
(e.g. by a quote from a relevant person or
organization) and relevant information to
explain it?
7
Is at least one national perspective on the
issue represented? Is it actually a
perspective – i.e. what the nation thinks,
not just information about the national
situation? Is the view clearly represented,
(e.g. by a quote from a relevant person or
organization) and relevant information to
explain it,
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8
Does the report contain a balanced range
of different, well-supported perspectives?
9
Does the report analyze the causes of the
issue? Are causes compared in a way that
establishes the most important ones to
help formulate courses of action?
10
Does the report analyze consequences of
the issue? Are consequences compared in
a way that establishes the most important
ones to help formulate courses of action?
11
Are all factual claims supported with
evidence and in-text attribution to cite
their sources?
12
In addition to in-text attribution, is there
also a complete list of full references to
sources cited? Is it in a separate
document as required? Is the format of
citations and references suitable and
consistent?
13
If the student has included any primary
research, is this suitably referenced?
14
Are the key sources of information
evaluated? Are at least three developed
evaluative points made?
15
Is a range of sources of information used?
Are they of a suitable quality?
Is a range of types of information used?
16
Are section headings used to organize the
report?
17
Are any charts or diagrams properly
labeled, integrated into the discussion,
and words within them added to the total
word count?
18
Does every paragraph stay relevant to the
research question?
19
Does the report reach a conclusion which
is a clear answer to the research
question? Is the conclusion fully
supported?
20
Does the report include reflection on how
the investigation has developed the
writer’s personal perspective?
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38
21
Is at least one course of action proposed
to help solve the issue? Does the writer
explain who should take the action, how,
and what the impact will be.
22
Does the course of action follow from
what has been learned from the
information and analysis in the report?
(E.g. aimed at the most important cause
and/or most important effect)
23
Is the report between 1500 and 2000
words long (including quotes, the title,
subheadings, titles and words within
charts/diagrams, but excluding the list of
works cited)? Is a word count given?
24
Is the report written concisely to make
efficient use of the 2000 words allowed?
25
Is the report edited carefully to avoid
obvious errors?
26
Is the report written clearly to avoid
confusing the reader? Is it written
cohesively to make it effective and
persuasive?
Refining the IR
This includes cutting down a lot of words. It also helps when you want to learn new words
because the descriptions I've read here have very interesting views and stances.
Here are some way in which you can refine your IR:
● Get a quick grammar check from Grammarly. It may not be the most reliable but it’s
much better than other paid software and apps
● Read it like an examiner or ask a friend to do it for you. ask yourself if YOU understand
and your friend should also understand.
● Only add diagrams when required, they eat up the word count.
● Write numbers in digits, not words. LIKE IF ITS 62,then write 62 and don't write
sixty-two
● Try merging sentences together (if they fit). This is a unique style and will also protect
your hair from damage
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39
Final touches
The small minute details in any event make a big difference. Be it an interesting category, a
sweet director or a colorful environment, all these small (if not huge) things matter. Here are
some tips for final touches before submitting your work to the teacher. Look at the table below.
hold on lemme draw one
Final touches ideas
Conclusion for 50 words, you can choose how to write it on your own.
Proofreading and grammatical errors (grammarly may sometimes not work properly).
Checking of citations (either MLA or APA).
Conclusion for 50 words (usually combined with personal perspective).
Correct formatting of font and size (12 Times New Roman as normal text and 14 Times New
Roman as headings/topics of the IR.
Tick the checklist given on page 41
Notes:
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40
Practice questions + sample reports
Practice exercises and see how many different types of orange are there. So you can see,
once you know someone is motivated and determined to work, they can do it under any
condition! Find below some practice exercises for development of the IR skills and also take
some time to observe what's happening in the sample reports below.
A* Individual report sample
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
Psychotic disorders are dangerous mental illnesses that can distort a person’s perception of
reality. Schizophrenia alone, a type of psychosis, affects over 24 million people worldwide
regardless of gender or ethnicity. (WHO, 2022)
The patients may tap out of reality and experience delusions and hallucinations; this causes
distress to themselves and the people around them. A study by Harvard (2017) shows that
family members are the most significant caretakers of a psychotic patient, and are affected
psychologically and financially. Over 33% of caregivers reported extreme stress while
coping with their loved one's psychosis. (Caqueo-Urízar et al., 2017)
The book Introduction to Psychology by Lally & Valentine-French discusses the severity of
psychosis and how it affects family dynamics. When I read this book, my interest in the
topic arose because I wanted to know the challenges and responsibilities that these families
had to face. This report will look at the two main aspects these families have to deal with:
the financial burden, considering the cost of treatment, and their psychological well-being
while dealing with a psychotic patient.
Treatment of Psychosis: A Financial Burden on the Family
Any health condition requires treatment, and treatment needs money. Mental disorders are
not an exception, especially psychosis, which is much more severe than other disorders. A
questionnaire (Isherwood et al., 2015) showed that 60% of schizophrenia caregivers agreed
that caring for the psychotic patient was important, but only 31.9% reported having enough
money for this purpose.
There are certain necessary treatments that cost more and most families can’t afford them.
To find out whether these treatments are actually important, consider a study (Breitborde et
al., 2021) which compared individuals with first-episode psychosis. They were divided into
groups while participating in a therapy program. Results proved that cognitive-enhancing
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
41
therapy improved the patients’ life and longevity more than no cognition-enhancing
treatment. However, the former was much more costly than the latter.
According to an article by McKenna (2021), the cost of psychotic therapy in the US in 2021
ranged between $65 to $200 per hour. The money required for chemical treatment through
drugs amounted to more than US$3079. The most used psychotic therapy,
electroconvulsive therapy, had an annual cost of US$10,000 but in 2021, the average United
States family made only US$74,738. (WorldData, 2021).
Thus the minimum percentage of income spent on psychotherapy was 17.5% of the annual
income. The average American family also spent 89.6% of their yearly income in 2021 on
basic requirements like food and water. (Shopify, 2021). Adding that to the minimum cost of
psychotherapy, an average family must earn at least 7% extra income to get the essential
treatment for a psychotic patient.
More money requires extra work on the family’s part, which results in overworking.
In 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), overworking has been
linked with stress and anxiety. The WHO and ILO performed 2324 cross-sectional surveys in
2016 on people who worked over 55 hours per week and found they were most likely to
develop, and even die, from ischemic heart disease and stroke due to stress.
The US has the 7th largest income among all countries in 2021, and yet American families
struggle to deal with the treatment of psychotic disorders. Families in countries like
Afghanistan and Ethiopia live on as low as US$2,087 a year (WorldData, 2021) and can
hardly afford proper treatment.
A study conducted by Norman (2014) found that a longer duration of untreated psychosis
causes increased severity and poorer response to treatment which served as a greater
burden on family members, and negatively affected family dynamics. Farooq et al. (2009)
studied this further in low-income countries where a prolonged duration of untreated
psychosis is also associated with impaired functioning and poor quality of life for families..
This also creates problems for families when they see their loved ones suffering.
According to Debra Fulghum Bruce, PhD, untreated psychosis may develop into psychotic
depression. A questionnaire (Skundberg-Kletthagen et al., 2016) asked relatives of
depressed patients to share the amount of stress and burden they experienced. A higher
burden was reported by relatives receiving less treatment from psychiatric care hospitals.
A three-stage cluster sampling in China by Guo et al. (2019) also compared uninsured and
insured mental health patients and concluded that insured children experienced better
hospitalization and treatment than uninsured children. However, they found that even
insured mental health patients strained family budgets. Many families, especially
low-income ones, were pushed into poverty.
Solutions
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
42
In light of the above evidence, the most effective way to reduce the financial burden on
families is clearly to provide sufficient insurance to affected individuals. For example,
Australia provides mental health insurance to its citizens through the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (ABS, 2022).
However, a study undertaken by Biswal et al. 's (2017) shows that mental health
practitioners in the Indian subcontinent are not even skilled in the biomedical treatment of
psychosis, and patients are usually not insured. The government should consider adding
mental health insurance to physical health and training its psychiatrists.
As Guo et al. (2019) proved in their study, insured families are likely to get better and
on-time treatment than uninsured families. They also found that insured families could
demand more drugs and therapies as insurance covered the cost of treatment.
The questionnaire by Skundberg-Kletthagen et al. (2016) also showed that houses receiving
more care from psychiatric hospitals were less likely to be stressed by the cost of treatment.
The Psychological Well-Being of Family Members
Dealing with a mentally unstable person requires patience as well as finances. This issue
addresses the psychological well-being of people when dealing with psychotic family
members.
According to Caqueo-Urízar et al. from Harvard (2017), family members are the primary
caretakers of a psychotic patient, despite the assistance provided by professional therapists
and psychiatric hospitals. Even if family members can afford proper treatment, the
psychosis also burdens their mental health. Family dynamics can be affected by the initial
diagnosis, caregiving responsibilities, and the stigma of society. (Harvard, 2017)
A questionnaire by Gupta et al. (2015) compared the mental health status of schizophrenia
caregivers compared to that of caregivers of other mental disorders. Caregivers of
schizophrenia from 5 European countries had the highest mental health problems
compared to caregivers of cancer, stroke, and Alzheimer's. 42.7% of the caretakers of
schizophrenic patients reported experiencing sleep difficulties, while the percentage was
28.5% for other disorders. 32.4% vs. 18.5% of caregivers experienced insomnia, and a
staggering 37.9% vs. 23.6% suffered from anxiety.
Rus-Calafell et al. (2017) from Harvard proved that families are also stressed during the
professional help-seeking process. Family members reported feeling left out of the process
and believed the therapist was not providing them with sufficient information. This problem
usually arose during the initial diagnosis, as it was a new problem for the family members.
Iseselo et al. (2016) also proved this through group discussions and in-depth interviews
with family members of psychotic patients in Tanzania. The families reported disruption of
family functioning and stress due to the patient’s unpredictable and abnormal behaviour.
Families also have to deal with external stigma and backlash. Waqas et al. (2014) studied
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43
the stigma associated with mental illnesses in Pakistan through a cross-sectional study,
surveying 1470 adults from Karachi. The adults were divided into three groups: medical
professionals, medical students, and the general public. All groups reported a significantly
higher stigma towards mental illness than physical illnesses.
A quantitative house-to-house survey in Ethiopia by Girma et al. (2014) sought to study the
effect of mental illness stigma on family members. They concluded that families were often
blamed for being the cause of the patient's psychosis; the families experienced shame and
guilt. They were also likely to delay treatment due to the external stigma. Rural areas
reported higher discrimination than urban areas, possibly due to a lack of awareness and
education.
Solution
As seen by the above sources, most of the psychological problems faced by families result
from a lack of awareness in society and a lack of coping skills within the family itself.
Waqas et al.’s study in 2014 showed that mental health awareness is lower in Pakistan as
compared to awareness of physical health. If the government uses proper campaigning and
explains the importance of mental health in society, families may face lower stigma and
receive more emotional support. This can reduce the problems in their family functioning
and allow them to deal more effectively with the psychosis itself.
Gupta et al. 's questionnaire (2015) proved that psychosis requires much more patience on
the part of the family members compared to other disorders. Family counseling and group
therapies can reduce stress and allow family members to share their problems and come up
with relevant solutions. The government should consider providing mental health facilities
for the family members as well as for the psychotic patient itself.
Analysis of Sources
I did my best to extract information from the latest and most relevant sources. Factual
details (annual income and cost of treatment) were taken from experts, like PhDs and MDs,
along with statistics and figures. General information, like the definition of psychosis and the
effects of stress, is used from trusted sources such as Cambridge, Harvard and the World
Health Organisation.
While discussing the financial burden on families and the cost of treatment, proper
research was done on whether psychosis requires expensive treatment or not. The therapy
program by Breitborde et al. (2021) is recent and explained in detail. However, it mostly
considers European people, so it may not be completely generalisable.
The cost of treatment is discussed along with the annual income of different countries and
also how insured and uninsured families are affected. The cross-sectional study by WHO
shows the dangers of overworking, which families do to afford the treatment.
While discussing the psychological impact of psychosis on family members and its related
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
44
aspects, the questionnaire by Gupta et al. (2015) compared psychosis to other mental
disorders. The information is based on scientific reasoning and helps to understand how
families go through turbulent times specifically in psychosis than in other mental illnesses.
Additionally, the Harvard study by Rus-Calafell et al. (2017) supports Gupta et al.'s findings.
The report also provides research of low-income countries like India, Pakistan, Ethiopia and
Afghanistan, as well as high-income countries such as Germany, Italy, and the US. This is
because psychosis affects families regardless of nationality, and its awareness and
treatment depend on the economic condition and awareness of the place the family lives in.
Conclusion
Psychosis remains a serious issue in society, and family members are, as we saw, the
crucial people in a psychotic patient’s life. If the government implements the solutions
stated, hope will prevail for the patients and their relatives. The disorder itself cannot be
finished but efforts can be made to make the lives of the patient’s loved ones easier.
Practice Exercises
Q1: Read the individual report carefully. Observe the introduction.
Topic: Family
Do psychotic patients have an impact on their family members?
Psychotic disorders are dangerous mental illnesses that can distort a person’s perception of
reality. Schizophrenia alone, a type of psychosis, affects over 24 million people worldwide
regardless of gender or ethnicity. (WHO, 2022)
The patients may tap out of reality and experience delusions and hallucinations; this causes
distress to themselves and the people around them. A study by Harvard (2017) shows that
family members are the most significant caretakers of a psychotic patient, and are affected
psychologically and financially. Over 33% of caregivers reported extreme stress while coping
with their loved one's psychosis. (Caqueo-Urízar et al., 2017)
The book Introduction to Psychology by Lally & Valentine-French discusses the severity of
psychosis and how it affects family dynamics. When I read this book, my interest in the topic
arose because I wanted to know the challenges and responsibilities that these families had to
face. This report will look at the two main aspects these families have to deal with: the
financial burden, considering the cost of treatment, and their psychological well-being while
dealing with a psychotic patient.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
45
Q1: How well do you think the author introduced the topic? Support your answer with 3
developed pieces of evidence. (6 marks)
Q2: Read the second paragraph and its solutions.
Treatment of Psychosis: A Financial Burden on the Family
Any health condition requires treatment, and treatment needs money. Mental disorders are
not an exception, especially psychosis, which is much more severe than other disorders. A
questionnaire (Isherwood et al., 2015) showed that 60% of schizophrenia caregivers agreed
that caring for the psychotic patient was important, but only 31.9% reported having enough
money for this purpose.
There are certain necessary treatments that cost more and most families can’t afford them.
To find out whether these treatments are actually important, consider a study (Breitborde et
al., 2021) which compared individuals with first-episode psychosis. They were divided into
groups while participating in a therapy program. Results proved that cognitive-enhancing
therapy improved the patients’ life and longevity more than no cognition-enhancing
treatment. However, the former was much more costly than the latter.
According to an article by McKenna (2021), the cost of psychotic therapy in the US in 2021
ranged between $65 to $200 per hour. The money required for chemical treatment through
drugs amounted to more than US$3079. The most used psychotic therapy, electroconvulsive
therapy, had an annual cost of US$10,000 but in 2021, the average United States family made
only US$74,738. (WorldData, 2021).
Thus the minimum percentage of income spent on psychotherapy was 17.5% of the annual
income. The average American family also spent 89.6% of their yearly income in 2021 on
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
46
basic requirements like food and water. (Shopify, 2021). Adding that to the minimum cost of
psychotherapy, an average family must earn at least 7% extra income to get the essential
treatment for a psychotic patient.
More money requires extra work on the family’s part, which results in overworking.
In 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), overworking has been
linked with stress and anxiety. The WHO and ILO performed 2324 cross-sectional surveys in
2016 on people who worked over 55 hours per week and found they were most likely to
develop, and even die, from ischemic heart disease and stroke due to stress.
The US has the 7th largest income among all countries in 2021, and yet American families
struggle to deal with the treatment of psychotic disorders. Families in countries like
Afghanistan and Ethiopia live on as low as US$2,087 a year (WorldData, 2021) and can hardly
afford proper treatment.
A study conducted by Norman (2014) found that a longer duration of untreated psychosis
causes increased severity and poorer response to treatment which served as a greater
burden on family members, and negatively affected family dynamics. Farooq et al. (2009)
studied this further in low-income countries where a prolonged duration of untreated
psychosis is also associated with impaired functioning and poor quality of life for families..
This also creates problems for families when they see their loved ones suffering.
According to Debra Fulghum Bruce, PhD, untreated psychosis may develop into psychotic
depression. A questionnaire (Skundberg-Kletthagen et al., 2016) asked relatives of depressed
patients to share the amount of stress and burden they experienced. A higher burden was
reported by relatives receiving less treatment from psychiatric care hospitals.
A three-stage cluster sampling in China by Guo et al. (2019) also compared uninsured and
insured mental health patients and concluded that insured children experienced better
hospitalization and treatment than uninsured children. However, they found that even insured
mental health patients strained family budgets. Many families, especially low-income ones,
were pushed into poverty.
Solutions
In light of the above evidence, the most effective way to reduce the financial burden on
families is clearly to provide sufficient insurance to affected individuals. For example,
Australia provides mental health insurance to its citizens through the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (ABS, 2022).
However, a study undertaken by Biswal et al. 's (2017) shows that mental health practitioners
in the Indian subcontinent are not even skilled in the biomedical treatment of psychosis, and
patients are usually not insured. The government should consider adding mental health
insurance to physical health and training its psychiatrists.
As Guo et al. (2019) proved in their study, insured families are likely to get better and
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
47
on-time treatment than uninsured families. They also found that insured families could
demand more drugs and therapies as insurance covered the cost of treatment.
The questionnaire by Skundberg-Kletthagen et al. (2016) also showed that houses receiving
more care from psychiatric hospitals were less likely to be stressed by the cost of treatment.
a) Has the author created a relationship between the issue and the solutions? Give 2
developed reasons. (4 marks)
b) Why do you think the author used so many countries to discuss the causes and
consequences? (4 marks)
c) What is the difference between the perspective of the Indian subcontinent and the
perspective of china? Compare and contrast and use material from the extract. (6 marks)
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
48
Another A* report sample
Topic: Digital World
Is Internet-Addiction negatively affecting the lives of students globally?
The 21st century is regarded as a digital era or new media age; in this era people across the
globe are connected by technology. Ranging from the toy string phone to the
technology-integrated smart-phones, technology has undoubtedly changed the outlook of
the world. Technology has helped to stay connected to the world, on the other hand it is
destroying one’s psychological, social, emotional and mental health. One in three young
people in 30 countries said they were victims of online harassment. Moreover, one in five
reported skipping school due to cyberbullying (Poll by UNICEF, 2019)
With 91% of young people using the internet for social networking and being addicted, levels
of depression and anxiety in young people having increased by more than 70 percent in the
past 25 years (RSPH, 2017)
This report will look at the main consequences of internet-addiction which are mental health
illness and cyber bullying. My interest in this topic arose due to many people in my country
suffering from social-media addiction, including many of my friends.
Mental Health Problems:
Depression and anxiety have become common in the past decade. People used to spend
more time with their families, and less on the phone. Technology has made the world a
global village. People engage in most of the activities through social media apps like
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. However, over-dependence can have detrimental effects.
Looking at people’s idealized pictures can make one envious and jealous. Moreover, not
getting many likes on their own can cause stress. A study in USA suggests that increased
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49
use of social media causes anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances (Primack & Viera,
2017)
One report by Royal Society for Public Health (2017) in the UK surveyed 1500 young people,
aged between 14-24, to investigate the effects of social media usage on anxiety, depression,
self-esteem and body issues. They found out that YouTube had the most positive impact,
while Instagram and snapchat had negative impacts on mental health. (Cramer, 2017).
When teenagers look at their friend’s status and posts on Instagram, they feel that they are
missing out something in their mundane lives, which causes comparison and despair. (Miller,
2017). In the USA a research was conducted from 2007 till 2018, in which more than 787,000
college students between 18-22 years participated. The researchers found that with the
passing of years mental health illness like depression and anxiety increased, and some
students also held suicidal thoughts. It was hypothesized that mental health problems were
now common due to the growing use of social-media and mobile phones. (Mathew, 2019)
According to Arab News (2014), Saudi’s are “wasting” eight hours every day on the internet.
Taha et al., (2019) conducted a cross-sectional study and looked at the impact of
internet-usage on the health of medical students in Saudi Arabia. They used a questionnaire
design and assessed 209 students. They found that 63% students’ academic results were
affected and 72% experienced insomnia due to late-night usage. Nearly 60% admitted being
depressed or nervous when offline. They also reported headaches, backache, neck-pain,
weight-gain etc. Thus strengthening the idea that social media is negatively affecting
people.
Gholamian et al., (2017) conducted a cross-sectional study on 417 high-school students in
Iran, to assess whether internet-addiction has an impact on stress, anxiety and depression.
The results showed that the scores of the mental health problems were higher for those who
were addicted to the internet. The reason being, that young people tend to use the internet
and social-media for communication with friends and outsiders. These connections make
youngsters vulnerable to mental health problems.
Lai et al., (2015) conducted a cross-cultural study and investigated the effects of social
media on social-anxiety and depression in six-Asian countries; China, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Korea, Japan and the Philippines. The highest risk of internet-addiction and anxiety was
found in the Philippines and Japan, while the highest depression was found in Malaysia and
Hong Kong. The findings suggested that overall, the results of mental-health problems are
more in Asian countries as they lack proper interventions and programs to combat the
problem.
An online survey was done in Australia, using 153 students, to assess the student’s attitudes
towards social networking usage. The results showed that those who used the social media
apps in excess were likely to show behavioral, emotional and mental health problems (Issa,
2016).
Contrasting results were found by Heffer et al., (2019), when they surveyed class 6, 7 and
8-graders in Ontario, Canada, over a time of 6-years. They found that the use of
social-media did not lead to depressive-symptoms when these children become
adolescents. Heffer suggested that “Instead, adolescents who are feeling down may turn to
social media to try and make themselves feel better.” They concluded that people use
social-media for different reasons, some for comparison, which makes them feel depressed;
and some for keeping in touch with friends which makes them happy.
In Pakistan depression is tremendously increasing due to excessive use of the internet but
sadly it is not taken seriously and many people are left without being treated. In 2017, a cross
sectional survey was conducted using 2899 respondents in 10 towns of Lahore, Pakistan. The
survey was used to assess the effects of smartphone usage on the psychological wellbeing
of school going children. Children who used mobile phones for less than two hours were
termed short-term-users, while those who used them for more than two hours were
long-term-users. Long term users were found to be linked with more behavioral and
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50
physiological problems. (Kashif et al., 2019) Another cross-sectional survey was done in Azad
Kashmir, Pakistan on 210 undergraduate medical students in Poonch Medical college, to find
out the link between internet-addiction and depression It was found that internet-addiction
was linked with many psychiatric diseases. It is also predicted that these mental health
problems would increase due to the availability of internet in the Northern areas as well
(Javed et al., 2019)
Cyberbullying
Cyber bullying means using digital technology with the aim of insulting, humiliating,
threatening, harassing or abusing someone. Cyber bullying is different from traditional abuse
because of the privacy that the internet provides. People can share anything they want, be
who they want, and hide their identity. This can have a devastating effect on many students
and people around the world. The cyber-bullying experience, long or short-term, can also
lead to anxiety, depression, and paranoia that could lead to reduced school attendance,
strained relationships with friends, intense humiliation, school transfer, substance use, and
even suicide.
A survey of Pew research Centre (2018) states that 59% of US teens have personally
experienced abusive-online behavior which may include offensive name-calling, spreading
rumors, receiving false pictures, physical threats, and having photos shared without consent.
A study in 8-European countries (Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Italy, Poland,
and Spain) investigated the prevalence of cyberbullying on 4847 students. The results
showed that cyberbullying was prominent in Hungary and Bulgaria, while least prevalent in
Spain. Further investigation revealed that students in Hungary reported using the internet in
excess, as well as having the greatest number of social-network profiles. While students in
Spain knew 89% of the contacts they had added, leading to less cyber-bullying cases
(Sorrentino et al., 2019)
According to a global survey South Africa has the fourth highest rate of cyberbullying in the
world. The survey found that one in five South African teenagers witnessed first-hand cyber
bullying, and 84% met someone who was a victim of cyberbullying. (YouGov, 2015)
Wright et al. (2015) collected data from 1,637 Indian, Chinese and Japanese students, to
provide comparison on cyberbullying and cybervictimization. The results showed that Indian
students had more incidences of cyberbullying compared to Chinese and Japanese
students. The cyber-bullying prevalence was high in India due to cultural differences, more
time spent on internet devices, having strangers on social-media apps etc.
Pakistan is included in the list of fastest-growing countries using the Internet, which is why
cybercrime is on the rise. A study was conducted in Pakistan on 329 students in which it was
found that chances of becoming a victim of cyber bullying decreased with increasing age.
The results demonstrated that the aggressors had used different linguistic tools to victimize
the students. Nevertheless, the main reasons for cyber bullying were being sophomoric users
of social media sites, and having on and off offline disputes. (Rafi, 2019).
Analysis of sources:
This report makes use of reliable sources that include facts and statistical evidence from
different sources that are highly credible and recognized globally. UNICEF is a professional
organization of the United Nation and it is highly authentic. Pew research center is a
nonpartisan American think-tank that provides information on social issues.
There are many studies from journal articles that are authentic and quoted in other articles.
However, some studies have their limitations. The results of Taha et al., study cannot be
© r/IGCSE Resources 2024
51
generalized across Saudi or other Asian countries, as they belong to students from one
college in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it was not distinguished whether internet-usage was
due to addiction or for work-related purposes.
The Gholamian study was cross-sectional in design, thus a cause-and-effect relationship
between the factors and Internet-addiction was not developed. Overall, the sources and
references used in writing the report are authentic and have reliable results that have been
published and quoted by other studies as well.
Solutions:
Parents should control and limit the use of social-media apps, and keep an eye on their
children’s messages from a young age. Excessive use of the internet is leading to mental
health problems like depression and anxiety. Parental controls and alarm-set on screen time
can limit the use. Children should be involved in more healthy physical activities so that they
stay away from gadgets as much as possible
Schools should provide their staff with instructions on cyberbullying and they should prevent
education programs and host seminars to raise awareness to parents and children on
cyberbullying. (Nathan, 2015) Governments should be very particular in their laws and
punish the person caught cyberbullying.
Pakistan’s harassment helpline received more than 700 calls, emails and Facebook
messages in six months-time (Haider, 2017) However, Saudi Arabia has less cyber bullying
rates, as they implement laws strictly. Public morality has a place in every Saudi legislation
and there is no exception in the Anti-Cyber Crime Act. This proposes sentences of up to five
years in prison or a fine of up to $799,353,000 for anyone accused of using the Internet to
violate personal standards and traditional morals and ethics. (Sharif, 2018)
Personal perspective:
After all the research I have conducted, my personal perspective is that technology has
helped us in many ways, but the unlimited use of social media has negatively affected many
lives. My research and study on the topic changed my perspective. Social media and
internet-addiction is very harmful, in terms of mental health and cyberbullying effects. It is
very important to limit its use, and use it for relaxation and entertainment after studying. I will
limit my use and try not to revolve my life around the likes I get on my
social-media-posted-pictures. I will spend more time reading books and use the internet to
relax when free from study time.
Conclusion:
Internet-addiction is affecting students’ lives in a negative way. Suitable interventions are
needed to protect their mental and physical health worldwide.
Q1. Read the following paragraph about issue 2 carefully.
Cyberbullying
Cyber bullying means using digital technology with the aim of insulting, humiliating,
threatening, harassing or abusing someone. Cyber bullying is different from traditional abuse
because of the privacy that the internet provides. People can share anything they want, be
who they want, and hide their identity. This can have a devastating effect on many students
and people around the world. The cyber-bullying experience, long or short-term, can also
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lead to anxiety, depression, and paranoia that could lead to reduced school attendance,
strained relationships with friends, intense humiliation, school transfer, substance use, and
even suicide.
A survey of Pew research Centre (2018) states that 59% of US teens have personally
experienced abusive-online behavior which may include offensive name-calling, spreading
rumors, receiving false pictures, physical threats, and having photos shared without consent.
A study in 8-European countries (Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Italy, Poland,
and Spain) investigated the prevalence of cyberbullying on 4847 students. The result
showed that cyberbullying was prominent in Hungary and Bulgaria, while least prevalent
inSpain. Further investigation revealed that students in Hungary reported using the internet
in excess, as well as having the greatest number of social-network profiles. While students in
Spain knew 89% of the contacts they had added, leading to less cyber-bullying cases
(Sorrentino et al., 2019)
According to a global survey South Africa has the fourth highest rate of cyberbullying in the
world. The survey found that one in five South African teenagers witnessed first-hand cyber
bullying, and 84% met someone who was a victim of cyberbullying. (YouGov, 2015)
Wright et al. (2015) collected data from 1,637 Indian, Chinese and Japanese students, to
provide comparison on cyberbullying and cybervictimization. The results showed that Indian
students had more incidences of cyberbullying compared to Chinese and Japanese
students. The cyber-bullying prevalence was high in India due to cultural differences, more
time spent on internet devices, having strangers on social-media apps etc.
Pakistan is included in the list of fastest-growing countries using the Internet, which is why
cybercrime is on the rise. A study was conducted in Pakistan on 329 students in which it was
found that chances of becoming a victim of cyber bullying decreased with increasing age.
The results demonstrated that the aggressors had used different linguistic tools to victimize
the students. Nevertheless, the main reasons for cyber bullying were being sophomoric users
of social media sites, and having on and off offline disputes. (Rafi, 2019). Spain. Further
investigation revealed that students in Hungary reported using the internet in excess, as well
as having the greatest number of social-network profiles. While students in Spain knew 89%
of the contacts they had added, leading to less cyber-bullying cases (Sorrentino et al., 2019)
According to a global survey South Africa has the fourth highest rate of cyberbullying in the
world. The survey found that one in five South African teenagers witnessed first-hand cyber
bullying, and 84% met someone who was a victim of cyberbullying. (YouGov, 2015)
Wright et al. (2015) collected data from 1,637 Indian, Chinese and Japanese students, to
provide comparison on cyberbullying and cybervictimization. The results showed that Indian
students had more incidences of cyberbullying compared to Chinese and Japanese
students. The cyber-bullying prevalence was high in India due to cultural differences, more
time spent on internet devices, having strangers on social-media apps etc.
Pakistan is included in the list of fastest-growing countries using the Internet, which is why
cybercrime is on the rise. A study was conducted in Pakistan on 329 students in which it was
found that chances of becoming a victim of cyber bullying decreased with increasing age.
The results demonstrated that the aggressors had used different linguistic tools to victimize
the students. Nevertheless, the main reasons for cyber bullying were being sophomoric users
of social media sites, and having on and off offline disputes. (Rafi, 2019).
a) How many perspectives can you identify? What is the difference between them? (6 marks)
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b) Discuss three types of information the author used in their writing to make it credible. Why
did the author use the specific source and how? (8 marks)
Q2. Read the author’s personal perspective. What do you think the author learnt through
research and writing? Give reasons for your answer. (5 marks)
Personal perspective:
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After all the research I have conducted, my personal perspective is that technology has
helped us in many ways, but the unlimited use of social media has negatively affected many
lives. My research and study on the topic changed my perspective. Social media and
internet-addiction is very harmful, in terms of mental health and cyberbullying effects. It is
very important to limit its use, and use it for relaxation and entertainment after studying. I will
limit my use and try not to revolve my life around the likes I get on my
social-media-posted-pictures. I will spend more time reading books and use the internet to
relax when free from study time.
Notes:
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© r/IGCSE Resources 2024, authored by Ayesha
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