Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Arts in society — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions use the topic Arts in society from the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025): the topic list in section 3 and the Written Exam, Individual Report and Team Project in section 4. Topic knowledge is not assessed; the questions practise research, analysis and evaluation, and report and project planning. All sources, places, people and figures are invented.

Revise first with the Arts in society study guide and the Arts in society revision notes. Course links: IGCSE Global Perspectives hub and IGCSE Global Perspectives checklist.

Questions

Kelmouth is a fictional town; its currency is the fictional crown.

1. Read Source A.

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. Statement from Kelmouth Council (fictional). From next April, the council’s grant to the Kelmouth Arts Hub will fall from 400,000 crowns to 250,000 crowns. The 150,000 crowns saved will pay for a new one-day Kelmouth Summer Arts Festival. Our own survey shows that only just over a third of young people took part in any arts activity last year. Clearly, young people are not interested in weekly classes. A big festival is what this town really wants, and it will put Kelmouth on the map.

Identify one fact and one opinion in Source A. [2]

2. Using Source A:

(a) Identify one generalisation. [1] (b) Identify one prediction. [1] (c) Explain why the generalisation you identified is weak reasoning. [2]

3. Study Source B.

Source B – original data written for Marlbridge. Kelmouth Youth Arts Survey (fictional). An online form shared on the Arts Hub’s social media page for one week. Kelmouth has about 9,000 residents aged 11–25.

Age group	Respondents	Took part in an arts activity in the last 12 months (%)	Would take part if activities were free (%)
11–14	150	48	71
15–18	120	35	66
19–25	90	22	58
All	360	37	66

(a) Identify the age group with the largest gap between taking part and being willing to take part if free. [1] (b) Describe what Source B suggests about cost as a barrier. [2] (c) Explain two reasons why Source B is weak evidence for the council’s claims in Source A. [4]

4. Read Source C.

Source C – original text written for Marlbridge. Letter from Mira Hallam, a muralist in Kelmouth (fictional). I run free mural classes at the Arts Hub every Saturday. Last year a 15-year-old who had stopped attending school helped us paint the bus-station wall. He now wants to study design. Weekly classes change lives in ways a single festival cannot. If the grant is cut, the Saturday classes will close and this town will lose its young artists.

(a) Identify one value expressed in Source C. [1] (b) Explain how the writer’s position might shape her perspective. [2] (c) Explain one strength and one weakness of Source C as evidence that weekly classes benefit young people. [4]

5. Read Source D.

Source D – original text written for Marlbridge. Blog post by SoundStart, an online music lesson company (fictional). At Brightwater School, the 40 students who took our violin lessons last year scored 12% higher in their maths tests than the 200 students who did not. Music makes children smarter. Every school should sign up.

(a) Evaluate the research described in Source D. [8] (b) Suggest how the claim that learning an instrument improves maths results could be tested more reliably. [6]

6. Explain the difference between a local perspective and a global perspective on public funding for the arts. Use one example of each. [4]

7. Read Source E.

Source E – original text written for Marlbridge. Two views on 60 carved masks held by the Castellan National Museum in Veloria (a fictional country). The masks came from the Amari Islands (fictional) in 1894.

Museum director: “Our galleries are seen by 1.2 million visitors a year. Our climate-controlled rooms keep the masks safe. They were acquired legally under the laws of the time. If we return them, every country will demand everything back and museums will be empty.”

Amari cultural council spokesperson: “The masks were taken during colonial rule, when our people could not refuse. They belong in ceremonies that our young people have never seen performed with the originals. We have built a cultural centre with secure, climate-controlled storage. We are not asking for everything in Veloria, only these 60 masks.”

Evaluate the two arguments in Source E. Which is better supported? [12]

8. Using Sources A to C, evaluate the courses of action Kelmouth Council could take to increase young people’s participation in the arts. [16]

9. A student plans an Individual Report on Arts in society.

(a) Explain why “Street art” is not a suitable title. [2] (b) Suggest a global research question on Arts in society and explain why it is suitable. [4] (c) Identify one local or national perspective and one global perspective the student could research for your question. [2]

10. A team in Kelmouth chooses the local issue of low participation in the arts by 15–18-year-olds for its Team Project.

(a) Suggest a suitable action for the team. [2] (b) Explain how the team could measure the success of the action. [3] (c) Identify one item that would count as Evidence of Action and one that would not. [2]

Answers

Questions 5(a), 7 and 8 are extended responses. The real exam marks these with levels of response, not point by point; the points below show content that earns credit.

1. Fact: the grant “will fall from 400,000 crowns to 250,000 crowns”, which can be checked against the council’s budget [1]. Opinion: “A big festival is what this town really wants” [1]. Examiner insight: Quote the exact words; a paraphrase can blur the line between a fact and a claim.

2. (a) “Young people are not interested in weekly classes” [1]. (b) “It will put Kelmouth on the map” [1]. (c) It is drawn from one figure about any arts activity, which says nothing about weekly classes in particular [1]. Low participation may be caused by cost or access rather than lack of interest; Source B shows far more young people would take part if activities were free [1]. Examiner insight: “Explain why it is weak” needs the gap in the reasoning, not just the label “generalisation”.

3. (a) 19–25, with a gap of 36 percentage points [1]. (b) In every age group more people say they would take part if activities were free than actually took part [1]. Overall the figure rises from 37% to 66%, and the gap widens with age, from 23 points for 11–14 to 36 points for 19–25 [1]. (c) The form was shared on the Arts Hub’s own page, so respondents are likely to be people already linked to the arts [1]; young people who never engage, whose views matter most here, are probably missing [1]. The 360 responses are about 4% of the 9,000 residents aged 11–25 [1], so they may not represent the age group, and “would take part” is an intention, not behaviour [1]. Examiner insight: Each reason needs a consequence for the claim; “the sample is small” alone earns little.

4. (a) That young people deserve second chances, or that personal development matters more than a single event (accept either) [1]. (b) She runs the Saturday classes, so she has a stake in keeping them open [1]. Her view also comes from first-hand experience, so it may be well informed though one-sided [1]. (c) Strength: it is first-hand testimony [1] with a specific example the writer saw directly [1]. Weakness: it is a single case [1], so it cannot show the typical effect, and the student may have changed for other reasons [1]. Examiner insight: A vested interest does not make a source worthless; say what it might make the writer leave out.

5. (a) The source is written by a company that sells lessons, so it has a vested interest [1], and “Every school should sign up” shows its aim is to persuade [1]. It covers one school, so it cannot be generalised [1]. The lesson group is small, 40 of 240 students [1]. Students chose lessons, so they may already differ, for example in family support [1]. No earlier scores are given, so the gap may have existed before [1]. “12% higher” is unclear: percent or percentage points? [1]. A correlation is not causation, and “makes children smarter” goes far beyond a maths test [1]. (b) Use several schools in different areas [1]. Randomly divide students who want lessons into a lesson group and a comparison group [1], so the groups are similar at the start [1]. Use the same maths test before and after [1]. Use an independent researcher with no link to a lesson company [1]. Add a group doing another activity, such as drama, to see whether any extra activity has the same effect [1]. Examiner insight: A suggested test earns most when each step fixes a named weakness in the original research.

6. A local perspective is about how the issue affects a particular community [1], for example a parent worried that the town arts centre will raise its prices [1]. A global perspective is about the issue across countries [1], for example the view that taking part in cultural life is an internationally recognised right that all governments should support [1]. Examiner insight: Define both levels and attach an example to each; examples alone do not show the difference.

7. Museum director: the figure of 1.2 million visitors supports the access point [1], but no source is given for it [1]. Safe conservation is a relevant point [1], but it is weakened because the spokesperson says a secure, climate-controlled centre now exists [1]. “Acquired legally under the laws of the time” is an unsupported claim and avoids the question of consent [1]. “Museums will be empty” is a prediction with no evidence, a slippery-slope argument [1], and the spokesperson directly limits the request to 60 masks [1]. The director has a vested interest in keeping the collection [1]. Spokesperson: the claim that the masks were taken during colonial rule could be checked against records [1], but no evidence is given in the source [1]. The ceremonial meaning is a value that is relevant to what the masks are for [1]. A reasonable judgement: the spokesperson’s argument is better reasoned, as it answers the director’s points on safety and scale while the director relies on unsupported predictions, though both lack cited evidence [1]. The opposite judgement also earns credit if justified from the source. Examiner insight: The judgement is about the quality of the reasoning in the source, not about which side you agree with.

8. Festival: visible and could draw visitors [1], but Source A gives no evidence it will “put Kelmouth on the map” [1]. One day does not build habits, and Source C suggests the benefit comes from weekly contact [1]. It is funded by cutting weekly classes, so participation might fall overall [1]. Keeping the full grant: protects the Saturday classes in Source C [1], but that evidence is one case [1], and budget pressure may make it unaffordable [1]. A youth pass: Source B suggests cost is a barrier, 66% willing if free against 37% who took part [1]. The largest gap is for 19–25-year-olds, so a pass could target them [1]. But “would take part” is an intention from a self-selected sample [1], so take-up is uncertain; targeting low-income families could control cost [1]. Workshops in schools: they reach young people who do not follow the Hub online, the group the survey missed [1], but depend on school time and several years of funding [1]. Perspectives: taxpayers, young people and artists value cost, access and regular teaching differently [1]. Judgement: for example, keep weekly classes on a smaller grant and add a targeted youth pass, tackling both cost and regular contact [1]. Measure success by attendance over a year and a new survey that includes non-attenders [1]. Examiner insight: Weigh each action against source evidence and end with a justified choice, not a list of pros and cons.

9. (a) It is a topic, not a question [1], so it states no issue that divides opinion and gives no scope for perspectives or a conclusion [1]. (b) For example: “Should countries ban the export of cultural heritage objects for sale abroad?” [1]. It is global because heritage objects are bought and sold across borders [1]. It divides opinion, as collectors, museums and communities of origin disagree [1]. It allows causes, consequences and courses of action to be researched [1]. (c) Local or national: a national heritage body wanting to keep objects in the country [1]. Global: international buyers or museums wanting a legal market for objects [1]. Examiner insight: A good question names the disagreement; if no one would argue with it, it will not support a report.

10. (a) For example, a series of after-school mural workshops for 15–18-year-olds at the Arts Hub [1], which targets the age group and is small enough for a team to run [1]. (b) Record how many 15–18-year-olds take part in arts activities before the action [1]; record attendance at each workshop and repeat the measure afterwards [1]; compare the two against a target set in advance [1]. (c) Counts: photographs of a workshop taking place, or a poster made during the action [1]. Does not count: notes from the team’s first planning meeting or research [1]. Examiner insight: Measurement needs a “before” figure; without one the team cannot show change.

Where marks are usually lost

• Saying a source is biased without showing where the bias appears in the words or omissions.
• Treating stated intentions in a survey (“would take part”) as actual behaviour.
• Accepting that a correlation, such as lessons and test scores, proves cause.
• Judging an argument by whether you agree with its side rather than by its evidence and reasoning.
• Listing courses of action without weighing them against evidence and reaching a choice.
• Giving a topic word instead of a question for an Individual Report title.
• Including research or planning meetings as Evidence of Action.

Next steps

Review weak areas in the Arts in society study guide, then try the general Global Perspectives practice set, the Individual Report practice and the Team Project practice. Find your gaps with our diagnostics, or Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). The topic list is in section 3; the components and command words are in section 4.