2. What do I have to do?
• One question from a choice of
4 – you should spend 30-35
minutes on this
• Each question is worth 25
marks
• The 25 marks is split into a 10
mark part ‘a’ and 15 mark part
‘b’
• There is a stimulus resource for
the 10 mark part
3. Choice of
Question
• Questions will
be based
around 4 key
themes
• you can expect
to have a
genuine choice
• Very
importantly
you should
read all 4
questions
Hazards
Climate
change
Globalisation
Migration /
Cities /
population
5. The Resource question, part ‘a’
• Notice that this question uses the command
‘suggest reasons’ which is really another way
of saying ‘explain’.
• Even in these 10 mark data stimulus questions
do not expect to see ‘describe’ questions.
• Just describing the data in Figure 7 will get
you very few marks.
• Do spend some time analysing the Figure
before you answer. For Figure 7 it would have
been useful to spot:
Manila and Los Angeles : both compulsory case
study hazard hotspots
megacities are in the developed and developing
world
Most showing significant forecast increases in
population, especially in the developing world
Earthquake risk is High in 5 megacities, tropical
storm risk High in 3 and Medium in 4; all cities
are at some risk from flooding.
7. The ‘open’ question, part ‘b’
• 15 mark question which will be quite open.
• There is no Figure to look at -you are ‘on your own’.
• good idea to do a very quick plan just to organise your
thoughts and help structure your answer.
• The plan should take less than 1 minute
8. Mark schemes
• For the 15 mark
question they use
4 levels.
• Like a flight of
sets which you
are trying to
climb.
• To go up a step,
you need to add
something new
into your answer.
9. Ticking the mark scheme boxes
• can be a real challenge, but there are various tricks you can use to
help write an impressive answer.
• This question is from January 2010 (Question 7b):
• Note that in this question you have to explain two things:
• How global warming may lead to increasing natural hazards
• How El Nino may lead to increasing natural hazards
• Importantly, if you only cover 1 of these you will restrict the mark you
can achieve, no matter how good your answer to that one part is.
10. Top Tips for extended writing
Structure Organisation; logical order and sequencing
Consider a summative statement / very brief conclusion.
Depth Issues, problems, factors, explanations etc. need to be examined and
discussed in some depth
Examples Need to be used as a matter of course, don’t wait to be asked!
Case Studies If the question refers to a compulsory case study then considerable detail
is expected
Up-to-date Contemporary knowledge always shines more brightly than the tired and
dated
Range Narrow answers, around one factor or explanation will rarely attain the
top level of the mark scheme
Facts Factual data support – numbers, facts and figures, always impress.
Terminology Use of the correct geographical terminology increases your answers
currency
Evaluative style Some recognition that geographical issues are now always black and
white, combined with some evaluative language.
Balance Especially in human geography, a recognition of costs and benefits,
positives and negatives etc.
11. Getting Section B, part b summary
• A 4-5 line introduction (definitions) and a 4-5 line
conclusion are a good idea (structure + evaluative
style).
• Most write around 2 sides, perhaps a little more.
• Use of examples, some detail, support etc. is required
for L3 and L4.
• A focus on one big case study, especially in the hazard
question usually does not work.
• Unbalanced answers are an issue especially in Q9 and
Q10, and sometimes Q8 (global warming) often
resulting from only seeing the negative in impacts,
consequences, effects etc
