Tech fis revision

1. Unit 3 Tech Fix revision
• 80 mins on section A, 70 on B
• Here is Section A part A – and B if you want a go?!
• Top tips to remember as well …

2. Unit 3 marks and grades?
• You need to be aiming for
about 66 / 90 for an A grade in
other words:
• For an E you will need about 46
/ 90:
• *Note the grade boundaries do
change from exam to exam
Section A Section A Section B
18/25 18/25 30/40
Section A Section A Section B
12/25 12/25 20/40
Things to think about:
1. Revise so you have a choice of questions in Section A – don’t just revise 2 topics
2. Don’t automatically do the first two questions (Energy & Water) – look at all of
them before deciding
3. Don’t spend long on the 10 mark part (a) compared to the 15 mark part (b)
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3. The most common Unit 3
problems?• Timing – not a huge problem, but don’t run out of time for Section B OR do
Section B first and get too ‘into it’.
• Ignoring the Figures –the Figure questions (the (a) parts) are data stimulus
question where most of your answer needs to focus on the Figure (not your
case studies)
• Not understanding the command words used in the question, especially
‘assess’ and ‘evaluate’ – this restricts the mark you can get.
• Some key words such as ‘impacts’ , ‘consequences’ and ‘global’ also cause
problems.
• Drifting into ‘my Three Gorges Dam’ or ‘The Aral Sea’ case study at every
opportunity – this leads to very descriptive answers that score low.
• Not being synoptic in Section B – not being synoptic places a ‘ceiling’ on the
mark you can get.
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4. Unit 3 Section A: Important!
• Read the ‘a’ and ‘b’ together first
• Don’t risk running out of steam when you get around to answering the ‘b’
15 mark question, because you did not read it before you answered part
‘a’!
• See each question as a 25 mark package – can you don both parts well?
This is a data stimulus question.
Never asks you to ‘describe’ –
usually explain.
This is an essay question.
Almost always uses the command word
assess, evaluate or discuss.
15
mins
25
mins
4

5. Command words
• A2 command words are
more demanding than at
AS
• Compared to AS, A2 Unit
3 is more about:
• Explaining geographical
features, data and
patterns
• Weighing-up issues and
choices
• Making, and explaining,
judgements
• The command words you
will encounter reflect this

Command word Definition
Compare Identify the similarities and differences between two or more
things.
Suggest reasons Give possible causes that could explain why something has
occurred.
Explain Provide reasons / causes that show an understanding of why
something has occurred.
Comment on Describe a geographical issue or situation, provide some
reasons for it: draw conclusions from your findings.
Examine Consider in detail, giving evidence for and against, and provide
an overall point of view or judgment.
Assess Use evidence to determine / gauge the significance of a
problems, issues or solutions and come to a comparative
judgment.
Evaluate Use evidence to measure the importance, value or worth of
something and come to a conclusion about its significance.
To what extent Make a judgment as to how far something is true, using
evidence and considering other factors.
Discuss Use evidence to consider in detail the strengths and
weaknesses of different sides / perspectives within an
argument : come to an overall judgment.
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6. • Command words frequently ‘assess’ or ‘evaluate’
in Section A essays and Section B
• Other options include ‘assess the extent’ or
‘evaluate the relative importance of’, possibly
‘discuss’.
• A glance at Level 3 or Level 4 of the mark scheme
shows how important addressing the command
word is.
• L3 / L4 means deciding on importance, weighing
up views, making a judgement / conclusion
• There is a certain set of words / writing style that
works for these commands:
• However
• On the other hand
• But
• Nevertheless
• In conclusion
• An alternative view
• On balance
• In contrast
• Yet
• Although
Evaluative language
6

7. Unit 3 Section A data stimulus skills
What do we mean by ‘data
stimulus skills’?
• You are asked to look at a Figure
• It shows some geographical
information / data
• You have to explain it – in terms
of either its:
Causes – why it is the way it is
Consequences – the impacts it
might have
• At A2 level you are never asked
to describe
• You should be explaining
• It’s why rather than what
• CAUSE Question: (a) Examine the factors
that may have influenced the global
pattern of internet use shown. (10)
• CONSEQUENCE Question (a) Explain the
possible impacts on UK energy security of
the trends shown. (10)
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8. Warning!
• Be very careful not to mix up cause and consequence
• If you do, you will answer the wrong question
• Here is an example:

Consequences
•Increasing reliance
on imported gas and
oil.
•Using less domestic
coal.
•Slightly improved
domestic renewable
situation.

Causes
•Rising population and
growing economy.
•Low cost of gas /
dash for gas
•Gas helps meet
pollution reduction
targets
8
See example
answer at the end
of your notes

9. Brush up your interpretation skills
• World map: the danger here is only
referring to one part e.g. ‘Africa’, or
seeing a ‘north south divide’ as the
only pattern
• Graph: axes need to be studied. What
does the graph show? Are there any
trends? Don’t refer to only 1 part of the
graph, try to mention all of it.
• Data table: often only a few parts of
the table are referred to; try to give an
overview as well as some detail.
• Diagram: these often contain text; read
it carefully and use it. Try to make
reference to most parts of the diagram. •Need to refer to all 4 parts of the key.
•Refer to areas where the is no water
scarcity, as well as where there is!
•There is no north-south divide here!
•Note this is only for the developing world.
•Refer to all 3 lines.
•The trends are different for each.
Look for patterns e.g. marine usually lower.
Spot anomalies e.g. South America very high
considering development level.
Refer to columns and rows and several regions.
•Read the text carefully – look for key words.
•Refer to all parts i.e. all 3 scenarios.
•Use it, but don’t copy it!
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10. What make a good data stimulus
answer?• Firstly, you need to interpret the question correctly
• Take this example:
• Many candidates actually answered this question:
“Describe the changes to global electricity consumption.”
• Or this one:
“Explain the changes to global electricity consumption.”
• Both of these are simpler tasks than the actual question
• To answer the actual question you must focus on
explaining environmental consequences (impacts) of the
changes
• This is a much narrower, more detailed task than the two
‘wrong’ versions of the question
10

11. • Secondly, you should focus on using
most of the Figure in your answer
• Try to see any ‘hidden’ structure or
pattern in the Figure.
• In this example the 9 energy sources
can actually be grouped into 3 broad
types:
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas)
Nuclear
Renewables (other, wind, solar, biomass, HEP
• Spotting this makes the trends easier
to see, and could be used to structure
your answer.
• Thirdly, don’t just use the Figure
• You need to use examples (not big
case studies) to back up your points
• This gives your answer depth
Refer to most
of the energy
types (not just
1 or 2)
Refer to the trends i.e.
different time periods
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12. Unit 3 Section A essay writing
skills
• For the 15 mark ‘essay’ questions you need to remember
not to discuss the Figure (it’s only relevant to the 10 mark
part)
• A structure is important:
5-6 line intro defining key words + stating the range of
material to be discussed
3 or 4 paragraphs of different aspects of the question
5-6 line conclusion that makes an overall judgement
• The ideal length is about 2 sides, perhaps 2 ½.
• Before you start, read the question carefully as they tend to
be quite demanding.
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13. Think about the questions:
This is important for depth /
detail i.e. evidence to
support a case. BUT they
need to be carefully chosen.
• These questions are demanding
• They need to be picked apart
• Diving straight in with the Aral
Sea, Three Gorges and Hoover
Dam may not lead to a successful
outcome.
The question is not ‘state the
adv / disdav....’ – the ‘assess’
demands some sort of
weighing up / judgment
Balance needed
The ‘contrast’ needs to be
considered; 3 dams are not a
contrast. Example choice
important here.
Note the wording
‘contrasting technologies’
not ‘contrasting schemes’ –
the technology needs to be
front and centre in the
answer Adv / Disadv in relation
to securing water supply,
not any old adv / disadv.
Please read right
to the end of the
question!
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14. There is more than one approach
• The question above can be answered in several different ways:
Example (CS) structure Technology structure Adv / Disadv structure
•Three Gorges Dam
•Pumpkin Tanks
•South-North Water Transfer
•Lifestraw
•Large scale civil engineering
•Intermediate technology
(using examples of each)
•Economic costs of securing
water supply
•Social adv / disadv
•Environmental adv / disadv
(embedding examples)
Tends to be descriptive, and
the contrast may not be
clearly stated; the
conclusion may not be very
obvious.
The contrast is more up
front; the conclusion is a
judgment between the 2
technologies.
This could be very good, as
it is sophisticated – but it
could be very long; the
conclusion might get a bit
lost
14
See example
answer at the end
of your notes

15. Get smart with examples and case
studies:
• Mix of case studies ( 1
paragraph max.) and
examples (few lines).
• Selected on the basis of the
question, not just used
‘whatever’.
• Further selection of
relevant information is
needed, and rejection of
the irrelevant
• Then applied to the
question.
• Examples / case studies can
have many uses in different
question contexts.
Three
Gorges Dam
Water control
structure; water
supply.
Threat to aquatic
biodiversity
Renewable energy
project
Engineering
demonstrates
emerging
superpower status
Example of Top
Down development
and its
consequences
Example of a
large scale, hi-
tech,
technological fix.
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16. Practice Q – U3 - 2013

25. Other questions

26. June 2014

30. June 2015

32. • MS June 2015