12 sundayherald 25 March 2007
Geography
T
HIS is an outline of what you can expect
from the Standard and Higher Grade
Geography exams. Use this guide to gain
confidence in what you already know, and
to find out what areas need brushing up. Find out
what you need to know by studying your course
notes, available text books and by asking your
teacher.
Make sure you know what the key concepts of
the syllabus mean and that you can give
appropriate examples in each case.
PREPARATION TECHNIQUES
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
EUAN Kirkpatrick
has been head of
Geography at
Blairgowrie High
School for 18 years,
and is a marker and
examiner at Higher
Grade for SQA.
n Preparation. Start revising early, well before
the exams. Plan out study time in your diary, or
school planner. You cannot leave all your revision
to the last few days.
n Advice. Consult your teacher if you are having
difficulty with some of the course. You are likely to
have completed NABs and a prelim. Make sure
you understand where you went wrong and
remember the advice you were given.
n Revision. Make notes from your worksheets,
textbooks and jotters. Use study books, and there
are many online sources for Higher and Standard
Grade such as the BBC Bitesize materials. Your
school and geography department may also have
a website with information that could be easily
accessed.
n Attempt some of the past papers that are
readily available. Most teachers will be willing to
mark your attempts and rectify any mistakes.
Learn by these mistakes. Past papers help improve
your answers and provide insights into the types
of questions and topics that will be in your final
exam. Answering a single question or part of a
question rather than a whole paper may be more
effective in gaining advice.
n Time. Some candidates run out of time in the
final exam. You must keep your answers relevant
and score a mark approximately every minute and
a half. At Foundation and General level at Standard Grade you have slightly less time per mark.
Try to practise with a stopwatch when
completing practise questions. Mapping
questions may take a little longer.
n Attend study groups after school and Easter
Schools, or listen to relevant podcasts.
Remember that geography is all around you. Use
your local environment by mentally comparing it
to some of the case studies you have covered in
your course.
n Watch quality TV; there is always geography in
the background – for example glacial features in
New Zealand from Lord Of The Rings. Read a
quality newspaper for up-to-date events such as
the effects of the weather, global warming, floods,
ELDC issues, ageing populations, migration issues
etc.
n Draw diagrams to illustrate some of the
information you need to know (eg Carboniferous
Limestone Features/Urban Models) and paste
them up around your room or house so that you
can become more familiar with their contents.
n Make a list of key words for each topic and
learn them.
EXAM TECHNIQUES
n Arrive early for the exam. Remain as calm as
possible. Don’t panic!
n Know which questions you are expected to
answer.
n RTQC (Read The Question Carefully). Not
doing so is a very common mistake to make in a
pressurised situation. ELDCs and EMDCs for
instance look very similar, but are very different
(likewise developed and developing). Look very
closely at words in bold. These are very important
words. Describe, outline, discuss, explain, account
for, either or, are some of the examples. You cannot expect marks for description if you are asked
to explain something. “Advantages and
disadvantages” might appear. Clearly both are
necessary to get a good mark. “Refer to a named
area” means that you must mention a case study
you have studied in detail.
n Try to re-read the question while you are still
answering it. If you have time read it over and
check your answer at the end.
n Never leave the exam hall early. You may be
able to add detail to your answers. You may even
discover a part of a question you have missed out.
n Diagrams. You may be answering a question in
which diagrams are demanded. Many questions
specifically ask for diagrams, for instance “With
the aid of an annotated diagram...” You will lose
marks if you do not include one. “You may wish
to use a diagram” is a strong hint that a diagram
is a very, very good idea.
n Use the diagrams that are given to assist you in
your answers. They are not there to make the
exam paper look pretty, or to fill in a space. They
are there to help you. Quote statistics from
graphs as well as examples and grid references
from OS maps to give detailed answers. Pay
special attention to the map key, as it shows what
is most important on the map.
n Some marks are given for relevant examples.
However, do not provide huge lists of, for
example, towns that have helped ease traffic
congestion by building inner-city bypasses. This
will waste time and be counterproductive.
n Try to use the case studies you have studied in
your course where applicable.
STANDARD GRADE
Geography Standard Grade has three levels –
Foundation, General and Credit. Know which
papers you are sitting. More than 19,600
candidates sat Standard Grade Geography last
year and 47.5% passed at Credit level. Candidates
usually sit two levels (Foundation and General or
General and Credit). Answer all the questions in
each paper.
Common faults of candidates last year included
a failure to be able to explain land uses and
weather patterns. Justification (the reason why
you selected a particular method of gathering
and processing information) continues to cause
problems. Brush up on these points.
You will be asked questions that test Knowledge
and Understanding (KU) and Enquiry Skills (ES)
These ES questions involve using information
from maps and diagrams, and identifying
methods of gathering and processing information).
Enquiry Skills are worth 60% of the marks
awarded. You must be able to select appropriate
techniques to gather and process information.
Gathering techniques include mapwork, field
sketches, measuring, recording on maps,
observing and recording traffic and pedestrian
flows, and using questionnaires and interviews.
Processing methods include classifying,
drawing bar, line, pie and scatter graphs, crosssections, as well as the annotation of sketches,
maps and graphs.
You must know which of these methods to use
and be able to give reasons to justify your choice.
MAPPING
All three papers start with an OS map question.
Mapping skills are something you have been used
to since S1.
Drumlins such as these in Wisconsin, US, were formed
You must be able to locate sites using grid
references, recognise the height, shape and slope
of the land (contour patterns and spot heights),
identify land uses in rural and urban areas, and
identify physical features of mountain areas
(glaciation), rivers and their valleys.
You must be able to locate cross-sections and
photographs or diagrams.
You must be able to use the scale and North
Point to give accurate distance and directions.
All map extracts used will have a key, and
frequent practice will make you familiar with
some of the most common symbols and
abbreviations.
All three papers will also test your knowledge
and skills on Physical Environments, Human
Environments and International Issues. In all of
these questions, marks can be awarded for
detailed use of examples and case studies.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Apart from the physical geography we also need
to study the problems of land users in these areas
– steep slopes, extreme weather, flooding etc.
Increased demand for recreational use brings
25 March 2007 sundayherald 13
Revise
Practise
Rivers
What does the upper, middle and lower course
river model show?What is the role of erosion, transportation and deposition? Describe and explain the
formation of river and valley features such as
waterfalls, meanders, floodplains and ox bow lakes.
Climates and Natural Regions
Know the difference between weather and climate
and the distribution of the main climatic regions
in the world.
Identify rainforests, tundra, mediterranean and
hot desert climates from a world map and from
climate graphs. Understand the links between
the climate and the vegetation. Be aware of the
opportunities and problems that the climate
poses for people living in these areas.
Weather
What is weather? What are weather elements?
How can we record them? Which instruments and
observations do we need to use? How can experts
forecast the weather? What is the link between
HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
Rural Land Uses
Farming, forestry, quarrying, communications,
recreation, tourism and conservation areas.
Understand the main farming types – arable and
pastoral, the operation of farms as a system and
the variety of physical (weather, slope),
political and economic influences that affect the
decisions farmers make.
Understand that changes in the countryside
affect the environment (larger fields), and offer
new diversification opportunities.
Urban Land Uses
Settlement: what are the site, situation and
different sizes (urban hierarchy) of settlements?
Appreciate that the growth of settlement is
linked to local physical features (Floodplains) and
urban land use models.
Understand changes in land uses in different
parts of settlements over time, and from the
CBD to the outskirts of settlements.
Where are old and new industries found within
towns? What are functions of settlements, and what
is meant by the sphere of influence? Describe urban
problems such as decay in the inner city, traffic
problems, and pressure on the green belt etc. Also
look at what is being done to regenerate urban areas.
Turn to page 14
Succeed
Mountains
Why are they “empty” areas? Physical and social reasons. What is the effect of ice and explanation for
upland features such as corries, U-shaped
valleys, arêtes, and deposition moraines, drumlins
and eskers in the adjacent lowlands? eg Cairngorms.
pressure and forecasting? What is the role of
satellites, and computers?
What kinds of weather are associated with the
passage of depressions and anticyclones? What is
the link between fronts and rainfall?
Can you read a weather map? What are the
effects of severe weather events? Where can you
get accurate specialised weather forecasts?
www.leckieandleckie.co.uk
opportunities for employment, but can also lead
to land-use conflicts and threats to the
environment culminating in conservation
measures such as the setting up of National
Parks.
Photograph: Kevin Horan
Test
by glacial drifts many thousands of years ago
14 sundayherald 25 March 2007
GEOGRAPHY
From page 13
Industry
Know the differences between primar y,
secondary, tertiary and quaternary industries.
Understand location factors and the different
characteristics, landscapes, and fortunes of old
and new industries. Be aware of the physical,
social and economic impact of closure of old
industries. Explain the movement away from
traditional concentrations.
International Issues
Population in EMDC and ELDCs. Know why there
are crowded and empty lands. Appreciate the
problems with censuses, especially in ELDCs (eg
Peru, Nigeria).
Construction and analysis of population
pyramids. Population trends – EMDCs – ageing
populations and ELDC expanding population and
the problems that these cause.
Contrast EMDCs and an ELDCs using statistical
evidence. Know how to use indicators of wealth
and social development. Describe different types
of migration: internal and international, forced
and economic (voluntary), temporary and
permanent, rural to urban. (Turkey to Germany,
Poland to UK)
Trade and Aid
Importance of trade, EMDC and ELDCs trading
links, patterns of interdependence, and
dominance by EMDC multinationals.
EU and other alliances. Importance of
OPEC and GATT.
Types of aid: bilateral, multilateral, long-term,
emergency, education and self-help schemes.
Ca s e s t u d i e s o f s u c h s c h e m e s : “m a g i c
stones”, barefoot doctors and shanty-town
improvements.
Worldwide Environmental Issues
Tropical deforestation, Global warming,
desertification, eg in the Sahel, use and misuse of
the oceans.
SAMPLE CREDIT QUESTION
Paper 2006 Question 3
Look at Reference Diagrams Q3a and Q3b. Explain
why the world’s rainforests continue to be
KU5
destroyed.
Reference Diagram Q3a: Destruction of Rainforest
Reference Diagram Q3b: Destruction of rainforest
per year in selected countries
Country
Brazil
Indonesia
Venezuela
Loss of rainforest per year
6%
10%
12%
Questions such as this need to be answered in
depth to obtain top marks. Use any diagrams you
are given to help you. In these questions a mark is
awarded for every valid point, but extra credit will
be awarded for extended answers. Note marks are
awarded only for explanation, not description.
Points that could be made include:
n Rising populations in ELDCs result in new settlements and cities being built in the rainforests;
forests are being burned to create agricultural
land for settlers (2.5m landless people in Brazil)
and ranchers, with most of the meat being
exported.
n Forests are cut down for their valuable hardwood timber such as mahogany and teak.
n Land is sold to multinational logging companies who export the timber to the USA and
Europe, helping finance developments in Brazil,
or helping pay off international debts.
n Access improved by building highways
through the forests attracts settlers often from the
poorest shanty towns; high rainfall totals have
encouraged the construction of HEP dams, flooding huge areas of forest.
n Mining destroys the landscape but valuable minerals (iron ore and bauxite) are exported,
and attempts have been made to reintroduce
rubber plantations.
HIGHER GRADE
More than 7000 candidates sat this exam in 2006,
and nearly 25% were awarded A passes.
The Geography Higher exam consists of two
papers. Both papers are out of 50 marks.
PAPER 1: PHYSICAL AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENTS
This exam lasts one hour and 30 minutes. All
candidates are expected to answer six questions,
four from the compulsory section, Section A,
one from Section B and one from section C.
Ordnance survey map questions are found in
this paper. They can be used to test physical-based
questions especially from the lithosphere and
hydrosphere, and/or human questions usually
from the urban and industrial geographies.
Section A
Q1 and 2 are worth eight, nine or 10 marks each
on Physical Environments (two questions from lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere or atmosphere)
Q3 and 4 are also worth eight, nine or 10 marks
each on Human Environments (two questions
from population, urban, rural, and industry).
Section B
Q5 and 6 – select one of these questions taken
from the two parts of the Physical Environments
not asked in Section A. This question is worth
seven marks.
Section C
Q7 and 8 – select one of these questions taken
from the two parts of the Human Environments
not asked in Section A. This question is also
worth seven marks.
The total for Paper 1 is 50 marks. An outline of
each study area is given below.
A man looks on at the destruction wrought by Hurricane
Atmosphere
Be familiar with the global effects of solar
radiation, the influence of latitude, and the spread
of energy via global wind patterns (three-cell
model) and ocean currents. Global change and
warming, and an appreciation of the effect of
the ITCZ and the associated air masses, on the
climate of West Africa. Be able to interpret
and construct climate graphs, and use climatic
maps.
Hydrosphere
Understand the hydrological cycle and the movement of water within it. Identify features of rivers
in upper middle and lower stages from OS maps.
Know the formation of river features. Describe the
drainage of an area from an OS map. Construct
and analyse hydrographs, and interpret river flow
data.
Lithosphere
Three landscapes are studied – glaciated upland,
carboniferous limestone, and coasts. Describe
the features of these landscapes and explain in
detail the processes that have formed them.
Identify examples from OS maps. Describe mass
movement, eg slumping, and the effects of
weathering. Use and complete the annotation of
sketches, and cross-sections.
Biosphere
Soils – know the formation and characteristics of
gleys, podsols, and brown earths. Describe and
explain the distribution and succession of plants
on sand dune coasts and the factors limiting plant
growth. Understand the terms plant succession
and climatic climax vegetation. Analyse and draw
soil profiles and vegetation transects.
Population Geography
Give reasons for population change, contrasts
between EMDCs and ELDCs, and implications for
the population trends. Use and interpret population pyramids, demographic graphs and migration flow diagrams. Know how fertility, mortality
and migration affect population.
25 March 2007 sundayherald 15
towns and other methods to manage urban
change.
Development and Health
Be aware of ways in which development differs
and can be measured (indicators). Using selected
countries, contrast and explain the differences
within and between countries. Describe the
factors influencing the spread of a case study
disease chosen from either malaria, cholera or
bilharzia/schistosomiasis. Describe the impact
the disease has and the attempts to eradicate it.
You should be able to evaluate how successful
eradication measures have been. Know several
examples of primary health care strategies.
Revise
European Regional Inequalities
Using the examples of the UK and one other
European country, realise there are measurable
poorer (periphery) and wealthier (core) parts of
the EU, caused by physical, political and
economic factors. Understand the impact of
national and European policies on development,
especially in periphery areas within your chosen
countries.
Sample Question
Higher Paper 2006, Question 2a, Lithosphere
The landscape shown in reference diagram Q2
contains features of coastal erosion.
Explain the formation of this coastal landscape,
referring in detail to the processes involved.
Annotated diagrams may be used. (6)
Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005
Photograph: Michael Appleton
Rural Land Resources
Within the context of the lithosphere landscapes,
be able to explain the formation of the physical
environments and appreciate their impact on the
social and economic opportunities of each area.
Be aware of the implications and causes of land
use conflicts, the threat to the local environments,
and methods of protecting threatened areas and
resolving conflicts using specific case studies.
Urban Geography
Appreciate the influence of site and function, and
its impact on urban development. Recognise land
use zones (CBD, Inner City, etc) from OS maps, as
well as their characteristics and problems. Be able
to describe urban problems, and urban change,
post-1950. Interpret land use maps, and field work
data, such as traffic flows and pedestrian counts.
Rural Land Degradation
Understand the impact of variable climates and
the impact of soil erosion and desertification on
the environment and the people in North America
and either Africa north of the Equator or the Amazon basin. Realise that there are human causes of
the problems and be able to describe and evaluate
the success of some of the solutions offered by
conservation and land management strategies.
PAPER 2: ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS
This exam last one hour and 15 minutes. All
candidates must answer two questions, one from
Section A and one from Section B. Each question
is worth 25 marks.
Section A
n Q1 Rural Land Resources
n Q2 Rural Land Degradation
n Q3 River Basin Management
Section B
n Q4 Urban Change and Management
n Q5 European Regional Inequalities
n Q6 Development and Health
The total for Paper 2 is 50 marks.
River Basin Management
Using a case study approach, be aware of the
distribution and characteristics of river basin
schemes, the need for them and the benefits and
adverse consequences that they bring. Understand their main location factors and evaluate
how successful they are.
Urban Change and its Management
Using a case study approach, compare cities in
EMDCs and ELDCs, their location, development
and industries, as well as their problems of
poverty, traffic, sprawl and deprivation. Understand the improvement attempts in shanty
Answer
It is necessary to refer to and explain the processes
of hydraulic action, attrition, solution and
abrasion – and how they attack the headland.
Other points that will pick up marks include
references to hard and soft rocks, weak points
(joints or faults), wave-cut notches at the base of
cliffs, cave and blowhole formation, arch collapse,
stack, stump, and wave cut platform progression.
Some credit given to an example – Old Man of Hoy
or Old Harry.
A sequence of fully annotated diagrams could
score full marks.
GEOGRAPHY EXAM
TIMETABLE
Level/Paper
Time
Tuesday May 8
Foundation
9am-10.05am
General
10.25am-11.50am
Credit
1pm-3pm
Monday May 28
Intermediate 1
9am-10.15am
Intermediate 2
9am-11am
Higher (Paper 1)
9am-10.30am
Higher (Paper 2)
10.50am-12.05pm
Advanced Higher
9am-11am
Succeed
Industrial Geography
Understand the development of old and new
industrial landscapes, industrial systems and
changes in industry.
Using a case study approach, understand the
factors affecting growth and decline of your case
study area. Understand the initiatives for regeneration of the area and the effects on the local
physical, social and economic environment.
Note the importance of the words “erosion”,
“explain”, “in detail”, “processes” and “annotated
diagrams may be used”.
Test
It is very unusual for candidates to study all of
the interactions shown above. The most
commonly answered are Rural Land Resources
and Development and Health. European Regional
Inequalities is the least popular. It would be very
unwise of any candidate to attempt a question
from a section they have not studied in class.
However, every year somebody does!
If you are unsure, ask your teacher/lecturer well
before the exam.
An outline of each study area is given below.
www.leckieandleckie.co.uk
Rural Geography
Know the characteristics, distributions, landscapes and agricultural processes of intensive
peasant farming, shifting cultivation and
commercial farming. Appreciate the changes
in farming practices since 1950. Understand
the reasons for these changes – EU policy,
the Green Revolution and tropical forest
clearances. Annotate field sketches of farming
land uses, interpret land use data and crop yield
diagrams.
Practise
Reference Diagram Q2:
Coastal erosion at The Foreland, Dorset