Learning Objectives
Judge which cause, consequence or factor is most significant and support the opinion with credible reasoning, relevant evidence and clear criteria.
The Judgement Task In Question 1
A developed Question 1 part may ask which cause, consequence, factor or aspect is most significant. This is not a request to list everything in the sources. You must choose one option, explain the criterion used and justify why it matters more than alternatives.
The word significant means important in relation to the issue. Importance can be judged in different ways, so make your criterion clear.
Possible Criteria For Significance
- Scale: how many people or places are affected.
- Severity: how serious the harm or benefit is.
- Duration: whether the effect is temporary or long lasting.
- Reach: whether the effect is local, national or global.
- Urgency: how quickly action is needed.
- Influence: whether the factor causes or worsens several other problems.
- Difficulty: whether it is especially hard to solve.
- Equity: whether vulnerable groups are affected disproportionately.
- Ethical importance: whether rights, dignity or fairness are involved.
You do not need to mention every criterion. Select the ones that create the strongest justification for the chosen factor.
Opinion Versus Justified Opinion
Asserted Opinion
“Unemployment is the most significant cause because I think it is the worst.” This simply repeats the judgement.
Justified Opinion
“Unemployment is the most significant cause because it removes a household’s regular income and can therefore affect food, housing, healthcare and education at the same time. Its effects can also continue for months, making it more damaging than a short interruption in supply.”
A Useful Paragraph Structure
C-R-E-L Structure
- Choice: clearly identify the factor judged most significant.
- Reason: state the criterion for significance.
- Evidence or example: use relevant source material or a credible explanation.
- Link: explain why this makes the factor especially important.
Repeat the reasoning with a second distinct criterion if the mark value requires development.
Comparison Strengthens Judgement
A response can be fully justified without discussing every alternative, but a brief comparison often makes the judgement more convincing. Explain why the selected factor has a wider, more severe or more lasting effect than at least one other possibility.
Comparative Sentence
“Although a temporary transport strike can delay supplies, long-term poverty is more significant because it prevents access even when food is available.”
Use Source Material Intelligently
Source evidence should be interpreted rather than copied. A statistic can show scale; testimony may show experience; a list of consequences can demonstrate severity. After including the detail, explain what it proves about significance.
Do Not Invent A Statistic
If the source does not provide a number, do not create one. Use qualitative reasoning such as widespread impact, repeated effects or harm to several areas of life.
Credibility Of Your Explanation
A credible explanation is plausible, relevant and logically connected to the issue. Avoid extreme claims such as “this factor affects everyone forever” unless the sources genuinely support them. Qualification can improve reasoning: use words such as may, often, especially and in many cases when certainty is not justified.
Choosing Between Causes
When judging causes, consider whether one factor is a root cause that produces other causes. For example, poverty may increase exposure to poor housing, limited healthcare and weak educational access. This gives it wider causal influence.
However, do not automatically choose a root cause. In another issue, an immediate cause may be more urgent or deadly. The best answer depends on the sources and the criterion used.
Choosing Between Consequences
When judging consequences, consider scale, severity, duration and reversibility. A consequence affecting fewer people may still be most significant if it creates irreversible harm. A widespread inconvenience may be less significant than a smaller but life-threatening effect.
Choosing Between Perspectives Or Priorities
If asked which consideration is most important, explain why that priority should guide decisions. For example, you might argue that protecting vulnerable people is more important than reducing short-term cost because the harm is severe and unequal.
Global Perspectives rewards a reasoned judgement, not one officially correct opinion. Different choices can receive high marks when they are clearly explained and supported.
Model Response Framework
Eight-Mark Framework
- State the chosen factor and one clear criterion.
- Develop the first reason with source support.
- Explain a second reason using another criterion.
- Compare briefly with an alternative.
- Finish by confirming why the chosen factor remains most significant.
This is a framework, not a rigid number of paragraphs. The response should remain focused on the exact wording of the question.
Original Practice Task
Practice Sources
Source A states that urban flooding is worsened by intense rainfall, blocked drains, loss of green space and construction on floodplains. Source B explains that low-income communities often live in the most exposed areas and recover more slowly after floods.
Which cause of urban flood damage is most significant? Explain why.
Possible Direction
A student could select construction on floodplains because it places homes directly in high-risk areas and can create repeated long-term exposure. Another defensible answer could select blocked drains if local evidence shows it is widespread, preventable and responsible for frequent flooding. The mark depends on justification, not the selected cause alone.
Common Mistakes
- Listing several factors without choosing one.
- Using “most significant” as a synonym for “bad” without a criterion.
- Giving personal feelings instead of reasons.
- Copying source points without explaining their importance.
- Changing the chosen factor halfway through the answer.
- Making an exaggerated or impossible causal claim.
- Writing a balanced discussion but never reaching a judgement.
Exam Checklist
- I clearly state my selected factor.
- I use at least one explicit criterion for significance.
- I explain why the source detail matters.
- I include more than one developed reason where appropriate.
- My final judgement is consistent with my reasoning.
Lesson Summary
- A judgement must select one factor and explain why it is most significant.
- Significance can be judged through scale, severity, duration, urgency, influence, equity or ethical importance.
- Source material must be interpreted to show why it supports the judgement.
- Brief comparison with an alternative can strengthen the response.
- Different conclusions can earn high marks when they are credible and well supported.
