How to write your Geography
coursework analysis
Practice
analysing data
Learning Objective:
Know what an analysis is
To understand what makes an
good analysis
Peer
assessment
What is an
analysis?
Describe
Explain
Mock analysis
Task question: to delimit the area of your chosen urban
area’s CBD.
• Land use - there will be more shops, services and offices in
the CBD compared with the outer areas where there will be
mostly residential areas.
• Traffic count – there will be more traffic in the CBD as
people will want to get there.
• Pedestrian count – there will be more pedestrians in the
CBD than the outer areas this is because people want to
come here to use the shops and public facilities.
• Building height – there will be taller buildings in the CBD as
the land is very expensive here.
Describe
Explain
Combining data….
• On its own its harder to explain why things are
the way they are so we need to look at other
pieces of information to help our explanation.
What could we say about these 3 bits
of information together?
Language for analysis
Therefore…..
This shows that…..
This may be explained by…..
This indicates that…..
Because…..
This was expected…
However……
This suggests that….
In comparison to…..
Peer assessment of an analysis
Task question: to delimit the area of your chosen urban
area’s CBD.
• Land use - there will be more shops, services and offices in
the CBD compared with the outer areas where there will be
mostly residential areas.
• Traffic count – there will be more traffic in the CBD as
people will want to get there.
• Pedestrian count – there will be more pedestrians in the
CBD than the outer areas this is because people want to
come here to use the shops and public facilities.
• Building height – there will be taller buildings in the CBD as
the land is very expensive here.
What did you give them and why?
• What grade I have given
the work and why…..
• What I think they have
done to improve this
analysis ….
• What I have learnt from
this for my own
analysis…
What Edexcel said….
The data is described in some detail and there are a
number of analytical as well as descriptive comments.
There are several attempts to draw together the main
findings and to delimit the CBD of the chosen
settlement. The conclusions drawn return to the task
question and the student makes a number of valid
suggestions to help substantiate the conclusions.
However, the lack of analytical comments in some
sections of the analysis prevents this work from
reaching the top of Level 3.
8 marks
Example analysis: How Did the
Building Height Vary Along the
Transect?
Building Height
(No. Of floors and according to key)
Building Height
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Building 1
Building 2
Building 3
Building 4
McKinney
Leeland
Gray
Elgin
Wheeler
Intersection Along the Transect
Herman
•
•
•
•
•
•
How Did the Building Height Vary Along the Transect?
As we travelled along the transect from McKinney into the outskirts of the area, the building height
seems to decrease as shown by figure 12. For instance, at McKinney, the average building height is
shown to be around 7.25, and at Leeland, it was 7. However, at Gray, this average decreases to 3.5,
and then to 2.5 at Elgin, and at Hermann the average building height at the intersection was about
1.25 floors per building. However, there seemed to be 1 anomaly in this general trend along the
transect: Wheeler, which had an average building height of only 1. The numbers 1.25, and 1 are
quite similar, and it has to be taken into account that this data was only collected based on four
buildings along the entire street, which may have resulted in accurate or misrepresentative results.
Why Did Building Height Vary Along the Transect in this Way?
The general trend in a decreasing building height along the transect can be explained by the
increase in land prices from the outskirts into the CBD. This can be explained by the Bid Rent theory
in figure 1, which shows that demand for land in the CBD is greatest, and so the prices are also
greatest. This means that rather than building outwards, businesses try to buy the minimal amount
of land possible, and so they grow upwards. This suggests that the way land is used along the
transect (i.e. how sparingly) varies primarily due to the variation in land prices along the transect.
What further Primary Data can Be Used to Support This?
The variation in building height along the transect can be explained by the pedestrian count shown
in figure 13, which shows that pedestrian count is greatest in the CBD. Because pedestrian count is
greatest here, the demand for the land would also be greatest, because the retail shops in this area
rely on pedestrians to maintain their business. It is this demand that in creases land prices,
therefore limiting the amount of land companies are willing to buy, and so too the number of floors
they will need to provide in order to properly deliver all of their merchandise. This theory is further
proved by the primary data collected on Urban Density in figure 26. The urban density is most
effectively shown by the pictures on the graph, which show that as we go further from the CBD, the
open space also increases. This shows that smaller businesses (i.e. local museums etc. which we
saw between Wheeler and Hermann), are able to invest in spare land to upkeep the environmental
quality, and can afford to grow outwards (taking up more land), rather than up, resulting in a
greater number of floors.
Now write your own using this data…..
How does the pedestrian count vary along the
transect?
Practice analysis
Sub question
How does environmental
quality vary along the
transect?
• Describe what the data
shows (use figures from the
graph)
• Explain why it may show
this (what other data my
you have to back this up)
• Does this link to theory
• Make sure you refer to
figure numbers
Use a combination of data to answer
each sub question…..
•
•
•
•
•
How did Environmental Quality Vary Along the Transect?
According to figure 28, and 29, the General Environmental Quality was greatest at Hermann, then
at McKinney. It was least at Wheeler. Traffic was worst at Leeland, and the open spaces were in the
most quantity at Hermann, which contributes to the environmental quality of the area. In my
opinion, the environmental quality dipped at Wheeler and went up again at Hermann, according
the field sketches shown by figures 19-25, and the digital photographs in figure 26. Aside from
these trends there seems to be little correlation, or general trend in environmental quality along
the CBD.
Why Did Environmental Quality vary Along the Transect in this Way?
The environmental quality is likely to be greatest at McKinney because of the types of businesses
that have invested in land in this Area, typically it would be the very wealthy retail shops that are
able to afford this land. Because they are wealthy, they would be able to invest more money in the
surroundings, than the smaller business in the outskirts, which must occupy cheaper land.
Moreover, because these businesses rely on Customer appeal, they try to attract pedestrians into
the area. By providing a good environmental quality, more pedestrians will be drawn to the shop.
Also, the reason that places such as Hermann may have had to such a high environmental quality, is
primarily because Hermann is the main museum district of Houston, so like the retail shops, they
rely on the environmental quality of the nature around them to attract customers. It is also one of
the few parks provided to those who live in Houston to attract customers to their park, the
environmental quality must be of a higher standard than, for instance that at wheeler, which is
occupied mostly by fast-food restaurants.
Lastly, the reason why there may not have been any other prominent trends in the environmental
quality along the transect, is due to the nature of the data. Environmental quality is very subjective,
and is not based on any numerical data, but rather the opinions of the two people that recorded
data. This may not accurately represent the environmental quality of each site.
Your checklist for analysis
Analysis and conclusions
I have described what the data shows
I have explained why the data shows this
I have linked my explanations to geographical theory
I have linked my results to the sub questions
I have made links between the various results
I have referred to the figure numbers when describing
the data
I have described anomalies in the data
I have given an overall conclusion to the study and
answered the initial questions
Done?
Practice analysing this data
What have I learn today to get my
analysis as…..
Our analysis…
• What background information may we
consider?
Why does environmental quality vary along the
transect?