Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives: Component 2 – Individual Report — Practice Questions

These are original practice questions written in the style of Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) assessment objectives. They are not taken from any past paper and are not endorsed by Cambridge International.

Use these questions alongside the Component 2 – Individual Report study guide and revision notes.

Section A

1. State the word count range for the Individual Report, and whether the bibliography is included in this count. [2]

2. State what percentage of the qualification Component 2 carries, and whether it is internally or externally marked. [2]

3. Name the five skills assessed throughout Global Perspectives. [5]

Section B

4. A candidate proposes the topic title “Deforestation” as their Individual Report title.

(a) Explain why this title, on its own, does not provide enough structure for the report. [2] (b) Rewrite it as a research question that builds in a specific place, a specific issue, and room for more than one perspective. [2]

5. A candidate writes their report as a persuasive essay arguing strongly for one side of an issue, in a structure of their own choosing, rather than following the order the marking criteria expect.

(a) Explain why this approach is likely to score lower than a report following the expected structure, even if the writing itself is strong. [2] (b) State the four-part order the report should follow. [2]

6. A candidate cites ten sources in their bibliography but does not discuss anywhere in the report whether any of them are reliable or credible.

(a) Explain which part of the marking criteria this affects. [2] (b) State the two things an evaluation of a source should include. [2]

7. A candidate investigating a shared river’s water supply compares an upstream government’s perspective with a downstream government’s perspective, but only states that the two governments “disagree,” without explaining why.

(a) Explain why this is incomplete. [2] (b) Suggest what the candidate should add to strengthen this comparison. [2]

8. A candidate leaves their reference list until the final day of writing, intending to reconstruct it from memory.

(a) Explain why this is risky. [2] (b) Suggest a better approach to referencing throughout the research process. [1]

9. Explain why reading exemplar reports on topics entirely unrelated to a candidate’s own chosen issue can still be useful preparation for this component. [2]

10. A candidate’s teacher reviews an early draft and suggests the research question is too broad to answer well in 1500-2000 words. Explain what role the teacher is permitted to play here, and why the final report must still be the candidate’s own independent work. [3]

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Answers

1. 1500–2000 words [1]; the bibliography or reference list is excluded from this word count [1].

2. Component 2 carries 30% of the qualification [1]; it is internally set by the candidate’s teacher but externally marked by Cambridge International [1].

3. Research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, and communication [5].

4. (a) “Deforestation” is a broad topic title with no built-in place, specific issue, or perspectives, so it gives no structure for organising 1500–2000 words of research and analysis [2]. (b) For example: “Should governments in tropical countries prioritise economic development over rainforest conservation when the two goals conflict?” [2, allow any research question that builds in a specific issue and at least two perspectives].

5. (a) Because the report is marked against a specific expected structure (explain the issue and perspectives, analyse causes and consequences, evaluate courses of action, reflect and conclude), an essay covering similar ground in a different order does not demonstrate the criteria in the sequence examiners are marking against, regardless of how well-argued or well-written it is [2]. (b) Explain the issue and its different perspectives; analyse causes and consequences; evaluate possible courses of action and propose one; reflect and conclude, directly answering the research question [2].

6. (a) This affects the evaluation criterion, since evaluating sources — not just citing them — is part of what is specifically assessed [2]. (b) An evaluation should state the source’s value to the research, and whether it is reliable and credible [2].

7. (a) This is incomplete because simply stating that two groups disagree does not demonstrate understanding of why their perspectives differ, which is what the perspectives criterion specifically requires [2]. (b) The candidate should explain the different pressures or priorities driving each government’s view — for example, the upstream government prioritising its own agricultural water use, against the downstream government facing water shortages as a result [2].

8. (a) Reconstructing a reference list from memory risks inaccurate or incomplete citations, and incomplete or inconsistent referencing is one of the most common reasons reports lose marks on the evaluation criterion [2]. (b) Keep a running reference list from the first source read, updating it as each new source is used throughout the research process [1].

9. Because Global Perspectives assesses the same five skills — research, analysis, evaluation, reflection and communication — regardless of the specific topic chosen, seeing what a strong analysis or a well-evaluated source looks like in an exemplar report transfers directly to a candidate’s own report, even when the subject matter is completely different [2].

10. The teacher may guide the candidate toward a feasible, manageable topic, help formulate a genuinely researchable question, and support research, referencing skills and time management [1–2]. The final report must still be the candidate’s own independent work because it is marked externally by Cambridge International rather than by the candidate’s own teacher, so teacher feedback during drafting should be treated as guidance on structure and scope, not as pre-approval of content [1].

A note on exam technique for this topic

Because the Individual Report is assessed on transferable skills rather than subject content, the highest-value preparation is practising the research question itself before any other work begins: a question that names a specific place, a specific issue, and builds in room for at least two genuinely contrasting perspectives will make every later stage of the report easier to structure. Build the report in the exact order the marking criteria expect — issue and perspectives, then causes and consequences, then evaluated courses of action, then reflection and conclusion — since examiners are marking against that structure specifically, not simply rewarding a well-written argument that covers similar ground differently.