SECTION A
Essay
125 marks
A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what a ship is for.
WRITE IN
90 min
1,000–1,200 words
Reading the topic
The topic uses a ship's purpose to argue that people, institutions and nations are made for venturing out, and that safety pursued for its own sake wastes potential. The deeper reading weighs courage and risk-taking against prudence, recognising that the harbour has a role but is not the destination.
ThesisA life or a nation that never leaves the safety of the familiar fails its purpose, so the real task is to take calculated risks while building the resilience to survive storms.
Dimensions to cover
- 1Individual: fear of failure keeps many talented people in secure but unfulfilling paths, a harbour that slowly rusts the ship
- 2History: maritime powers that ventured across seas, from the Cholas to European traders, shaped trade and culture
- 3Economy: entrepreneurship and innovation require accepting failure, which a risk-averse banking and social culture discourages
- 4Governance: bold reforms carry political risk, but bureaucracies that only avoid blame produce stagnation
- 5Science: space and deep-sea missions are expensive and risky, yet they extend knowledge and national capability
- 6Balance: a ship also needs a harbour for repair, so safety nets for failure are what make risk-taking possible
Counter-view
- The counter-view is that caution saves lives and resources, and reckless ventures can sink. The essay should accept that the ship must be seaworthy, and argue for calculated risk supported by preparation, rather than either reckless adventure or permanent harbour
Open and close
- Open: Open with a newly built ship moored for years in a quiet port, its hull gathering barnacles and rust, until it is judged unseaworthy without ever having sailed
- Close: Conclude that the purpose of a safe harbour is to make the voyage possible, and that societies should build harbours that encourage sailing rather than replace it
Where marks usually go
- Writing literally about shipping, ports and the blue economy instead of the metaphor
- Glorifying reckless risk-taking and ignoring the role of preparation and safety nets
- Giving only personal-motivation examples and missing institutional and national dimensions
Examples that fit
- HistoryRajendra Chola I sent a naval expedition to Srivijaya in Southeast Asia around 1025 CE, extending Chola influence across the Bay of Bengal through bold seafaring.A History of South India, K.A. Nilakanta Sastri
- StoryArunima Sinha, who lost a leg after being pushed from a train, became the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest in 2013.Born Again on the Mountain, Arunima Sinha (2014)
- CaseISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission entered Mars orbit in September 2014 on its first attempt, a high-risk, low-cost venture that paid off.Indian Space Research Organisation, Mars Orbiter Mission page
- CaseStartup India, launched in 2016, sought to ease the cost of failure for founders through measures such as simpler compliance and faster exits.Startup India, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade