Maximizing Your Potential: GCSE Geography Exam Strategies

1. GCSE Geography Achieving Your Full Potential: A Student Guide

2. CONTENT • Achieving your full potential: advice and guidance: • In the examination • In preparing for the examination

3. Achieving Your Full Potential In the Examination • Understanding the question • Achieving top band marks • Making the best use of resources • Using your case studies

4. Understanding the Question • What do we mean by understanding the question’? • When we talk about ‘understanding the question’ we mean that you need to read the question carefully so that you understand exactly what you have been asked to do. Remember: you need to answer the question exactly as it appears on the exam paper

5. Understanding The Question Here’s what the Chief Examiner has to say: • It is important that you understand what the command word means; e.g. you need to know what is meant by words such as ‘describe’ or ‘explain’ • You need to take the time to read the question carefully

6. How do you make sure that you ‘understand the question’? You can either: Highlight words and / or phrases on the exam paper or Underline key words or phrases on the exam paper or Add words around the question to help you plan your answer Understanding The Question

7. Understanding The Question Why spend time doing this? By making sure that you understand the question you will have: • correctly identified the command word • clearly identified the task required This gives you an opportunity to jot down facts that might help you to answer the question

8. Understanding The Question Let’s look at some examples • Just remember that you are doing this so that it will help you to answer the question, it doesn’t have to look neat and tidy like these examples!

9. Example 1 Command Word How many? What? Describe one positive effect which global warming could have on people. [3 marks] Focus of the question Important focus

10. Example 2 Command Word What? How many? State fully twoimpacts that a large youth dependent population may have on a country. [6 marks] Important focus Scale

11. Achieving Top Band Marks • OK, so you have read the question carefully but you still need to make sure that you achieve as many marks as you can for your answer • Where you see questions which are worth higher marks, e.g. 6 marks or in some cases 9 marks, your answer will be marked using three levels of marking

12. Achieving Top Band Marks • For these longer answers, examiners use three mark bands: • Level 1 – a general statement • Level 2 – statement with consequence • Level 3 – statement with consequence plus elaboration.

13. Achieving Top Band Marks Let’s look at an example from a recent GCSE Geography exam paper: Paper 1 Higher (summer 2006) Q. 3 (a) (iii) For a named local ecosystem you have studied, explain how climate affects vegetation. • Level 1(1-2 marks): A simple answer that recognises a link exists. The climate in the forest is suitable for trees

14. Achieving Top Band Marks • Level 2 (3 – 4 marks): A more detailed answer elaborating in the link. In Tollymore forest it is cold in the winter, so deciduous trees drop their leaves and stop photosynthesising

15. Achieving Top Band Marks • Level 3 (5 marks): A full explanation of the link between climate (rainfall or temperature) to vegetation with at least one place specific fact/figure. In Tollymore Forest, Co Down, the winter temperature often drops below freezing, the average January temperature is between 0-5°c. The length of daylight is also shortened, so many trees have adapted by adopting a dormant period during the winter, when they drop their leaves and stop photosynthesising.

16. Achieving Top Band Marks Here’s some advice from the Chief Examiner: • Follow the instructions given in the question • Carefully identify the command word – you need to do exactly what it says in the question • The question may ask you for ‘one advantage’, ‘one reason’, ‘one impact’ • to gain top marks you need to provide a detailed answer on one advantage, reason or impact

17. You are often given resources to help you answer the question; the resources may be: Maps Graphs Text sources Here’s some advice from the Chief Examiner: Resource based questions provided the opportunity for all candidates to gain some marks Making the Best Use of Resources

18. Making the Best Use of Resources • How do you make the best use of resources? • Quote actual figures by using the axes of the graph • Quote specific details from maps, e.g. by using the key of the map and referring to places • State what you see; i.e. look for patterns on a map or trends on a graph

19. Using Your Case Studies Geography is not just about theory, it also involves the study of real places and real events – case studies You might be asked to study: • An earthquake event • An ecosystem • A settlement • A river management scheme • A country

20. Example • Let’s look at some examples of questions • where you are asked to answer using a • case study: • Earthquakes have an impact on people. • Name one earthquake you have studied. [1mark] • (2) State fully one impact this earthquake had on people. [3 marks] Case study facts Command words What?

21. Example Command Word Case study Describe one traffic measure used in a city you have studied within the European Union (excluding the British Isles) and explain how it reduces traffic. [6 marks] Spatial context

22. Example Case study For one country within the European Union (excluding the British Isles), state fully how onephysical and oneeconomic factor affects its population distribution. [6 marks] Both required Command Word

23. Understanding Key Ideas • Each theme includes a list of key ideas which you need to know and understand • You are likely to be asked to give definitions for some of the key ideas in the exam Here’s what the Chief Examiner has to say about key ideas: Some candidates fail to gain top marks when precise definitions are requested.

24. Examples Let’s look at some examples. Paper 1 (Higher) summer 2006 Q. 1 (c) (iv) State the meaning of the term front. Paper 1 (Higher) summer 2006 Q. 2 (b) (i) State the meaning of the term discharge. Paper 1 (Foundation) summer 2006 Q. 1 (c) (i) State the meaning of the term population structure. Paper 1 (Foundation) summer 2006 Q. 3 (a) (iii) State the meaning of the term sustainable.

25. Prevailing wind Front Plate Discharge Slash and burn Ecotourism Global warming Ecosystem Multicultural Trade Settlement hierarchy Population structure Sustainable Resource depletion Overpopulation Globalisation Understanding Key Ideas Here is a list of some of the key ideas which were examined on recent GCSE Geography exam papers.

26. And finally …. • We hope that you have found this guide useful • You can download a copy of the specification from the website • Past papers are mark schemes are available to purchase from CCEA Distribution • Forming a study group with some of your friends from class can be useful when you are revising • The best source of information in relation to any queries is always your class teacher. • Good Luck