What causes a significant world issue and who does it affect?
The nature, causes and effects of a significant world issue such as conflict, terrorism, poverty or disease, and the impact it has on individuals, countries and the wider world.
An SQA Higher Modern Studies answer on a significant world issue, covering how to define the issue, its causes, its effects on individuals and countries, and the wider impact it has on the world, using conflict, terrorism, poverty or disease as examples.
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What this dot point is asking
The SQA wants you to describe a significant world issue, explain its causes, and analyse its effects on individuals, countries and the wider world. You study one chosen issue in depth, such as a conflict, terrorism, global poverty or a disease such as malaria or HIV. This supports -mark "analyse the causes" and -mark "analyse the effects" essays.
The answer
Defining the issue
Causes of the issue
The strongest answers show how causes interact rather than listing them. For underdevelopment, the conflict trap (war causing poverty, which fuels further war) and the resource curse (natural wealth captured by elites) are useful analytical ideas to name.
Effects on individuals
Effects on countries and the wider world
Examples in context
A candidate studying global poverty might define it using the World Bank extreme-poverty line and note that the burden is concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and in fragile, conflict-affected states. The causes interact: conflict destroys infrastructure and drives displacement, which deepens poverty, which in turn fuels further instability (the conflict trap). The effects scale from individuals (lost livelihoods, hunger, children out of school) to whole countries (stalled economies) to the wider world (large refugee flows and pressure on food prices). Using one named issue with this multi-level structure is exactly what the markers reward.
Try this
Q1. Describe two causes of a significant world issue you have studied. [4 marks]
- Cue. For a conflict: competition for resources or power, ethnic or religious tension, weak government, or historical grievance.
Q2. Analyse the effects of a significant world issue on individuals and the wider world. [12 marks]
- Cue. Individual effects (death, displacement, lost livelihoods) plus national and international effects (refugees, prices, instability, security).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher 201920 marksAnalyse the causes of a significant world issue you have studied.Show worked answer →
A -mark essay: up to marks for knowledge and understanding and up to for analysis, evaluation and a sustained conclusion. You must write about one named issue you have studied (for example a specific conflict or global poverty).
KU marks come from accurate, specific knowledge of the chosen issue and its causes. Analysis marks come from explaining how the causes interact, for example showing how competition for resources, ethnic or religious tension and weak governance reinforce one another.
A top answer reaches a judgement on which causes are most significant and why, rather than listing them. Vague or generic causes with no named issue cap the mark in the lower bands.
SQA Higher 202212 marksAnalyse the effects of a significant world issue on individuals and the wider world.Show worked answer →
A -mark analysis question, roughly half KU and half analysis. Markers reward developed explanation of effects at different levels, supported by evidence about a named issue.
KU should cover individual effects (death, injury, displacement, lost livelihoods, disrupted education, trauma), national effects (damaged economy, refugees, instability) and international effects (refugee flows, higher food or energy prices, threats to security).
Analysis marks come from explaining the links, for example how displacement of individuals scales up into international refugee flows that strain neighbouring states. A judgement on the most serious effects is the discriminator.
Related dot points
- The responses of individual countries and international organisations to a significant world issue, including the UN, NATO, the EU and NGOs, and an evaluation of how effective these responses are.
An SQA Higher Modern Studies answer on international responses to a world issue, covering the responses of individual countries and international organisations such as the UN, NATO, the EU and NGOs, and an evaluation of how effective these responses are.
- The USA as a world power, including its political, economic, military and cultural influence, its place in international organisations, and its relationships with other countries.
An SQA Higher Modern Studies answer on the USA as a world power, covering its economic, military, political and cultural influence, its role in international organisations such as the UN and NATO, and its relationships with allies and rivals around the world.
- The political system of the USA, including the separation of powers between the President, Congress and the Supreme Court, federalism, checks and balances, and how citizens participate.
An SQA Higher Modern Studies answer on the political system of the USA, covering the separation of powers between the President, Congress and the Supreme Court, the system of checks and balances, federalism, and how citizens participate in US politics.
- The social and economic issues facing the USA, including inequality and poverty, differences between ethnic groups, health and education, and government responses to these issues.
An SQA Higher Modern Studies answer on social and economic issues in the USA, covering income and wealth inequality, poverty, differences between ethnic groups in health, education and employment, and the government responses that try to tackle them.
Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher Modern Studies Course Specification — SQA (2018)