Improving exam technique
WJEC Geography Spec B
Feedback from the June 2011 exam
Higher Paper
The key points emerging from the June 2011 Unit 1
and 2a exam are given in the Examiners Report. This
report can be downloaded from the WJEC website at:
Action points following the
2010 Unit 1 Examination
Success
Nearly all the candidates completed both
questions, with little evidence of time
management issues.
Most students completed the case studies
using the whole space provided for them
(nearly 2 pages!).
Higher tier served as a fair comparison of
candidates ability – Very clear that some
students had been entered for the wrong tier!
Ten Ways to Improve your
exam performance
Give Map Evidence.....
Map evidence includes:
•The specific name of a feature e.g. M1, High
Farm
•A grid reference (4 fig will do)
•Reference to another named feature on the
map e.g. South east of Whitby Abbey
a.i. Give one piece of map evidence which
suggests the area is popular with tourists. [1]
Upgang Beach, West Pier, Campsites e.g. Stoupe Cross Farm.
c. ii. Why is the Whitby area a desirable place to live? Give
two pieces of map evidence to support your answer. [4]
Map evidence
Why it makes Whitby a desirable place to live
Upgang Beach
Relaxing – fun for the family
Museum in square 9010 Educational/interesting for people who are interested in
history
Use map evidence to explain why this was a
good site to build:
•The Trafford Shopping Centre OR
•The Lowry/BBC
Get ordnance survey maps from previous exam papers or from
http://www.geointeractive.co.uk/
Students use ‘affect’ when they are trying
to explain, but it limits the marks they can
achieve.
• For example:
• Explain how the building of the supermarket may
affect the people of Whitby. [4]
• Candidate A: The supermarket will affect journey
times because of all the extra traffic. It will affect the
elderly because they will be able to get to the
supermarket easily.
The candidate thought that they had explained that the extra traffic will impact on
journey times but they haven’t said whether journey times will be longer or shorter. It
is not the job of the examiner to interpret meaning where it is implied.
The second point does not say how the elderly are affected.
• What the candidate should have written was:
• There will be extra traffic so journey times will be
longer. The elderly will find it easy to access the
supermarket because it is closer to their homes.
Don’t use ‘Affect’ in your answer!
All these
answers are
worth only 1
mark.
• Explain how the building of this
supermarket may affect the people of
Whitby. [4]
Candidate
A
• It will affect young people as
it will give them jobs. (1 mark)
Candidate
B
• The local businesses such as the local
fishermen will be affected since they
won’t be able to compete with the large
stores. (1 mark)
Candidate
C
• Local unemployed builders will be
affected as they would need
builders. (1 mark)
Worksheet
Change
these
sentences
to double
your
marks!
Don’t use ‘Affect’ in your answer!
• Explain how the building of this
supermarket may affect the people of
Whitby. [4]
Double your marks!
HOW are
they
affected?
Candidate
A
It will affect young
people as it will give
them jobs. (1 mark)
Young people will get jobs SO
more money. (2 marks)
Candidate
B
The local businesses
such as the local fish
shops will be affected
since they won’t be able
to compete with the
large stores.
(1 mark)
Local businesses such as fish
shops will lose money BECAUSE
they can’t compete with the large
stores. (2 marks)
Candidate
C
Local unemployed
Local builders will get jobs and
builders will be affected more money BECAUSE they need
as they would need
more builders. (2 marks)
builders.
(1 mark)
Don’t use ‘Affect’ in your answer!
• Explain why some people may be
against building affordable housing at
the proposed site near Ruswarp. [5]
• Remember this is a levelled question!
All these
answers are
worth only 1
mark.
Change
these
sentences
to double
your
marks!
Candidate
A
• It would affect people’s
health from dust created
under construction. (L1 =
simple explanation)
Candidate
B
• Locals will be affected
by traffic. (1) (L1 =
simple explanation)
Candidate
C
• There is a lot of woodland that
would have to be cleared
affecting the look of the
area.(L1 = simple explanation)
Don’t use ‘Affect’ in your answer!
• Explain why some people may be against
building affordable housing at the
proposed site near Ruswarp. [5]
Double your marks!
Candidate
A
Candidate
B
It would affect
people’s health from
dust created under
construction. (L1)
Locals will be
affected by traffic.
(L1)
How are
they
affected?
Candidate
C
There is a lot of
woodland that would
have to be cleared
affecting the look of
the area. (L1)
The dust from the building could
damage people’s health (e.g. Make
asthmas worse) (level 2 = simple
explanation)
There will be more traffic so locals
might have more traffic jams and
longer journeys (level 2 = simple
explanation)
There is a lot of woodland that
would have to be cleared and it
would ruin the natural look of the
landscape. (level 2 = simple
explanation)
Explain how Electronics City
provides a welcoming
business environment for
new IT industries. [4]
It has full
education
facilities
Max of 2
marks if no
explanation
•So.....
It provides
technical support
•So....
It has all
infrastructure
provided on site
•So....
It has over 120 IT
companies
•So....
Explain how Electronics City
provides a welcoming business
environment for new IT industries. [4]
It has full
education
facilities
• So workers will be
trained/skilled to do the
work.
• So businesses will not
It provides
struggle/it will succed
technical support
Max of 2
marks if no
explanation
It has all
• So saves money when
opening/setting up
infrastructure
provided on site
can share skills
It has over 120 IT • So
/machines/ideas/ research
companies
and development
Other Explain Questions on 2011
paper where significant marks were
lost:
Unit 1 Question 1
Marks
b.i) Explain why the company considers this a good
location for a new supermarket.
3 – max 1 if
no
explanation
b ii) Explain how the building of the supermarket
may affect the people of Whitby
4 marks –
max 2 if no
explanation
Unit 1 Question 2
c ii) Explain how flooding could affect the quality of
life in Manila.
3 marks –
max 1 if no
explanation
Unless the question specifically asks for more
than one example, the candidate could gain full
marks for one well developed answer.
Case Studies – a 3 part success
Name
and
Locate
Describe
To be
successful at
case studies
you must do
all 3!
Explain
i. Name and locate an area within a city where housing has been
improved.
ii. Describe how the local authority has improved the housing in
this area.
iii. Explain why the improvements were needed.
Name and
locate
Describe
improvements
Explain why
improvements
needed
• Does not need a lot of information –simple but VERY important. Don’t
need to do it at the start – as long as mention somewhere in the text
• No more than 2 marks if you don’t name a city or part of a city
• No more than 6 marks if you don’t name an area within a city e.g. Rochina in
Rio, Salford in Manchester
• Describe what improvements were made to the housing OR the
housing environment e.g. parks.
• No marks for referring to jobs/shops/services – all about the housing.
• Very good answers will be elaborated/explained e.g. They improved
the housing by putting in double glazing so health would be better.
• Very good answers will be elaborated
• e.g. They built new houses in this area because they wanted to stop
people leaving the area and wanted people to still be spending money in
the local shops.
• Can combine description and explanation
How your case study is
marked – the simple version
Level and
Mark
Criteria
Level 1
(1 or 2 marks)
Basic description AND/OR explanation.
Level 2
(3 or 4 marks)
Must have named a real case study.
Some description AND/OR explanation.
Level 3
(5 or 6 marks)
Must have included description AND
explanation.
Must have elaborated description and
explanation.
Level 4
(7 or 8 marks)
Excellent example with some detail.
Wholly accurate – no duff
information!
Well elaborated description and
explanation.
i. Name and locate an area within a city where housing has been
improved.
ii. Describe how the local authority has improved the housing in
this area.
iii. Explain why the improvements were needed.
Basic
Description –
some
knowledge
shown
Basic
explanation
3 marks
• Bute Town in Cardiff Bay
• The local authority knocked down the old houses and built
new modern high rise flats. High rise flats take up less
space so you can build more to cope with the increasing
population. They are also cheaper to build. They also
developed services. They made a regular bus root built
shops added leisure activities like the red dragon centre
they builit up the surrounding area. These improvements
were needed because the old houses were un-safe falling
apart they did not have modern amenities like central
heating etc. they were not of a good enough standard
anymore there also wasn’t a good access to services.
There wasn’t a regular bus root ore many activities to do
in your leisure time the whole area needed modernising.
To attract new business to the area and have to make
people want to move there.
i. Name and locate an area within an LEDC from which
people have migrated.
ii. Describe the effects on the area from which people have
migrated.
iii.Explain why they migrated.
Name and
locate
Describe effects
on area moved
from
Explain why
people migrated
• Does not need a lot of information –simple but VERY important.
• No more than 2 marks if you don’t give a named example
• No more than 4 marks if you don’t give an example of an LEDC
• Describe what happened to the area where people moved FROM.
• What happened to the people left behind/ housing and services/ jobs/ the
environment?
• Very good answers will be elaborated/explained/detailed.
• Very good answers will be elaborated – e.g. people moved
because they would have a greater choice of jobs and there
would be more jobs so they could earn a higher income.
• A balance of push factors and pull factors would be good
i. Name and locate an area within an LEDC from which
people have migrated.
ii. Describe the effects on the area from which people have
migrated.
iii.Explain why they migrated.
An area which people have migrated from is in the LEDC of South Africa. It is called
Limpopo. It has a population of around 90,000 people - 90% of which live in the rural
areas. Many people from Limpopo migrated to another province in South Africa, it’s
neighbour Guateng.
The migration has had many effects on the area and it’s people. Firstly, it has lost its
most skilled, brightest and youngest workers which means elderly, women and children
who struggle to grow food so there is malnutrition. Also, families have been left
separated and in many cases children have been left to raise themselves.
However, often the migrants are economic migrants looking for better jobs and
opportunities in the cities. These people may send remittances home for their families or
money to invest in rural community projects to develop their home area. Also the migrants
may bring back new ideas, experiences and farming techniques. However, if they are
circular migrants (return to Limpopo in the best farming season) they could bring back
illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases that will spread round the community quickly.
There are many reasons why people migrate from rural to urban areas. The rural areas
lack sanitation, schooling opportunities or healthcare centres that many would want to
experience and have the privilege of having in the urban area. These are called push
factors. There are also pull factors to Guateng, for example, the higher wages, the faster
paced lifestyle it offers.
8 marks
Different Groups of people
• This is one way we use to differentiate between
foundation and higher tier students, and then
within higher tier, between level 2 and level 3/4
candidates.
• If candidates do not refer to any groups of people
they cannot access any higher than level 1.
• If candidates only refer to one group of people
they cannot access higher than level 2.
Candidates should avoid referring to ‘local people’ because this is very vague. If
they refer to local tribespeople or to local people in a named village this is better.
It is not worth the risk that an examiner will not credit this as a group of people.
Examples of good groups include families, children, women, environmentalists,
government, charities, people who have been made homeless, farmers, business
owners etc.
For a region or a country where water supply is unreliable:
i. Name and locate the region or country
ii. Describe its main sources of water supply
iii. Explain how the unreliability of supply affects different groups
of people.
Name and
locate
Describe main
sources of water
supply
Explain effect on
groups
• Does not need a lot of information –simple but VERY important.
• No more than 2 marks if you don’t give a named example
• No more than 2 marks if you name a continent
• Could be natural e.g. Rivers, lakes, rainfall or built water supply e.g.
Reservoir, pipes which are unreliable
• Where do people in the area get their water from?
• How often is it unreliable?
•
•
•
•
•
Max Level 1 (2 marks) if no groups given
Max Level 2 (4 marks) if only one group
How were farmers affected?
How were children affected?
How was the government affected?
For a region or a country where water supply is unreliable:
i. Name and locate the region or country
ii. Describe its main sources of water supply
iii. Explain how the unreliability of supply affects different groups
of people.
Maximum
level 1
because they
named a
continent
Africa’s water supply is poor there isn’t much and what
they do have is dirty and carries a lot of disease. They
have to get there water from rivers or wells that charities
have put in place but these wells are few and far between
over the years the water supply has increased but is still a
major issue. The unreliability of the water effects everyone
especially the poorest parts of Africa many drink dirty unsterilised water which makes them ill gives them diahorea
and chloera it kills them. There water supply is
dangerously un reliable and they need help.
2 marks
For a coastal area that has been managed sustainably:
i. Name and locate the coastal area
ii. Describe the natural features of the area.
iii. Explain how the area is being managed sustainably
Name and locate
• Does not need a lot of information –simple but VERY important.
• Because many coastlines have both headlands and bays it is important
not to confuse hard and soft rock features.
Describe natural
features
•
•
•
•
Explain how area
is being managed
sustainably
Describe rock type – even hard/soft would be better than ‘there are cliffs’
Is the beach sandy or rocky?
Name any landform features e.g. Flamborough Head or Spurn Point spit
Excellent answers would include height of cliffs and vegetation type
• Could be environmental management e.g. Bins/footpaths, fencing to
reduce impact of tourism. Or planting of marram grass to reduce sand
dune erosion.
• Could be economic management e.g. Building of sea wall to protect
tourism business or housing, building of groynes to build up beach and
reduce erosion.
For a coastal area that has been managed sustainably:
i. Name and describe the coastal area
ii. Describe the natural features of the area.
iii. Explain how the area is being managed sustainably
Level 1 –
VERY basic
description
with some
explanation
Dawlish Warren’s coastline is located in devon
south west england, 20km away from exeter the
main natural features would be the sand dunes
and the sea this area is been managed
sustainably by having groynes on the beach
going into the sea to preven long shore drift, also
they dont let dog walkers past a certain groyne
so some of the beech is untouched, they also
made part of Dawlsh warren Coastline in to a
amusment area they did this because by
destroying one are you protect others from being
trampled and ruined,
2 marks
For an area or country that has received aid:
i. Name and locate the area or country
ii. Describe the aid given
iii. Explain how the aid affected the lives of different groups of
people
Name and
locate
• Does not need a lot of information –simple but VERY important.
• Max level 1 if refer to continent
•
•
•
Describe aid •
given
•
Could be short-term/emergency aid
Could be long-term/development aid
Say where the aid came from
Give examples of the type of aid
Very good answers to refer to both and then reflect on the impact
•
•
Explain effect •
•
on groups
•
No groups = max level 1
Only refer to one group = max level 2
How were farmers affected?
How were children affected?
How was the government affected?
For an area or country that has received aid:
i. Name and locate the area or country
ii. Describe the aid given
iii. Explain how the aid affected the lives of different groups of
people
Level 2
Description
and
examples of
aid and
sources of
aid
4 marks –
only 1 group
so max level
2
Hatai – North of the Carribean
Hatai received emergency aid (short term aid) which was
given to them because they had suffered from an
earthquake which reached a massive 7.0 on the Ritcher
scale. As a result food and water were given to the 1.8
million who were homeless to try and improve there
standard of living. Non goverment organastions such as
oxfam and unicef offered (freely) to re-build people’s homes
and offer people help in their time of natural diaster. Multilateral Aid was given to Hatai from countries from the EU to
try and improve the standard of living in Hatai. The aid ment
that people’s life were not totally destroyed which boosted
there morale despite the fact that 360,000 died (and many
may have been close friends and families). The younger
people in the country were put into camps to try and improve
there health conditions.
4 marks
For an economic activity that has damaged the environment:
i. Name and locate the economic activity
ii. Describe the effects of the activity on the environment
iii. Explain how this activity leads to conflict between different
groups of people.
• Does not need a lot of information –simple but VERY important.
Name and
locate
Describe effects
on environment
Explain effect on
groups
• Describe effects on the environment
• Best answers will include specific examples of damage e.g. Named
species or type of pollutant
• No groups = max level 1
• Only refer to one group = max level 2
• What was the conflict? Who disagreed with whom and WHY?
Level 2
description of
damage to
environment
but not
elaborated and
no specific
detail.
Conflict
between
different
groups is not
elaborated.
For an economic activity that has damaged the environment:
i. Name and locate the economic activity
ii. Describe the effects of the activity on the environment
iii. Explain how this activity leads to conflict between different groups
of people.
Glensanda Superquarry is located in South west Scotland. The superquarry
is only accesible via boat and has accommodation for workers on site.
The superquarry extracts 6000 tonnes of stone an hour and so as to not
damage the environment further the ‘glory hole’ method is used where a
tunnel is dug which connects the quarry to the distribution plant, so overland
transport is not used.
However, Glensanda Superquarry itself is already damaging the
environments in its location dramatically. The quarry itself has destroyed
habitats in ‘pristine’ environments and forced many animals out of the area
altogether through noise and pollution (e.g. Dust/rubble). Not only has the
quarrying forced animals out of their habitats but also introduced new
organisms into the area which are severly damaging the indigenous species
their.
This activity has aroused many environmentalists to protest against such a
huge amount of industry in one place, but without it the UK would not be in
the world rock market and the Channel Tunnel would not have been built.
Also the quarry has stopped or reduced smaller, unnecessary quarrying
elsewhere.
Therefore, overall, Glensanda has damaged the environment it is on yet
saved many other environments from similar destruction. Yet it is
necessary due to the money Britain receives from quarrying the stone and
other global construction projects.
4 marks
Using sketch maps
• Sketch maps can be incredibly helpful because they
are a quick and easy way to show information.
• A candidate can gain 8 marks from a well annotated
sketch map.
• They do not need to be used to simply locate a case
study e.g. I have studied the Amazon in Brazil – here is
a sketch map of Brazil showing the location of the
Amazon.
• But if that candidate is able to annotate the map to
show where the economic activity is taking place and
what the impact on the environment is, then this would
gain them marks.
Using sketch maps
•
A good example of where a sketch map might be a good idea is for the
following question:
•
•
i. Name and locate a city where you have studied service provision.
ii. Describe the distribution of services in that city. You may want to
draw a sketch map.
iii. Explain how access to this service provision affects different groups
of people.
•
•
•
•
•
•
I have studied the distribution of large parks in Sheffield.
The Parks in Sheffield are spread evenly across the city. There are
about 5 large parks including Hillsborough which is in the north-east of
Sheffield about 2 miles from the CBD, Graves Park which is in the South
East of the City about 3 miles from the CBD, Endcliffe Park which is in
the South West of the City about 2 miles from the CBD and Millhouses
Park which is in the South of the City about 3 miles from the CBD.
There is also Norfolk Park in the East of the City about half a mile from
the CBD.
(As you can see it might be easier to draw a map than list all this
information!)
Answering Levelled Questions
• The penultimate levelled question is the
one before the case study.
• The case study is also levelled not tick
marked.
• On Foundation Tier it is worth 4 marks.
• On Higher Tier it is worth 5 marks.
Level 1 (1 mark)
Simple description
2 (2 or
3 marks)
Simple
Explanation
• Level
There
are
3 levels
on higher
tier:
Level 3 (4 or 5 marks)
Detailed Explanation with
information specific to question
Levelled Questions
• The following answers are to give you
information on how we marked the exam
papers in the summer of 2011.
Level 1
(1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2
(2 or 3
marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3
(4 or 5
marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
• In our marking of the paper we have
realised that in the goal of trying to
differentiate our questions we have
sometimes created hurdles for students that
was not the intention.
• Therefore, we have learnt from this
experience and will provide some
examples of how we might word and mark
these question in future.
Explain why some people may be against
building affordable housing at the proposed
site near Ruswarp. [5]
• We wanted:
– Well explained points
– Some reference to Ruswarp to get to level
3
– Some reference specifically to being
against affordable housing to get 5 marks.
– Despite the question including ‘some
people’ it was not necessary to include
different viewpoints.
We have to have an agreed mark scheme at
the meeting of team leaders to ensure a
consistent approach to marking papers.
Answering Levelled Questions
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2 or 3
marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4 or 5
marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
Explain why some people may be against
building affordable housing at the proposed
site near Ruswarp. [5]
Candidate A:
People may be against this because it brings
in more tourists buying second homes which
are destructive to the community. There
would be more traffic and overcrowding.
And also added pollution to the area as they
are building on a greenfield site.
Examiner Comments:
1 mark
•Affordable homes are not eligible as second homes.
• Pollution not qualified (should say air/noise) or
explained.
•Simple description
Answering Levelled Questions
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2 or 3
marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4 or 5
marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
Even if the
candidate had
said
‘woodland’
instead of
habitats it
would have
been able to
get into level 3.
Explain why some people may be against
building affordable housing at the proposed
site near Ruswarp. [5]
Candidate B: There will be more traffic so
more air pollution and more accidents. Local
services like doctors will be under more
pressure because there will be more people
using them so longer waiting times for
patients. Habitats will be destroyed to build
the houses so animals will die or move away.
Examiner Comments:
•Well explained answers.
•No specific reference to Ruswarp.
•No reference to affordable homes.
•Max level 2
3 marks
Answering Levelled Questions
Explain why some people might be against building
affordable housing at the proposed site near Ruswarp
1
Not only is this
a detailed
explanation
But it also
refers to
AFFORDABLE
housing – a
specific part
of the
question.
2
3
• The affordable homes will be
cheaply built ....
• ...so they might not fit in with the
local housing...
• ...and local people will be annoyed
because their house value will
reduce.
3 part answer makes you a star
Answering Levelled Questions
Description
Level 1 (1 mark)
Simple description
Level 2 (2 or 3 marks)
Simple Explanation
Level 3 (4 or 5 marks)
Detailed Explanation with
information specific to question
1
Explanation
2
Even Better If (detail)
It will destroy the natural
landscape e.g. The
woodland near the Post
Office (specific)
It will destroy the habitats and
food supply
Animals will be
displaced and might die
There is a hotel
(specific)
Might lose business during
building
Because of the
noise/dust created
during construction.
3
Teaching future candidates....
• On reflection we felt that we had created
too many hurdles in this question.
• A similar question which differentiates
effectively without the hurdles and the
same mark scheme would be:
• Explain how building new housing in
Ruswarp might affect the area. [5]
– Elaborated answers
– Must use os map to refer to Ruswarp
(specific detail)
Answering Levelled Questions
River Flooding is a major problem throughout the world.
Describe and explain methods that could be used to
prevent river flooding. Refer to rivers you have studied.
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2
or 3 marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4
or 5 marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
Candidate A:
Use dams to control the flow of the water.
Build levees to increase the amount of water
held in the river like on the Mississippi River.
Plant trees to increase interception.
3 marks
Examiner Comments:
•3 explained ideas with an example of a
River but only simple explanation.
•Max Level 2.
Answering Levelled Questions
River Flooding is a major problem throughout the world.
Describe and explain methods that could be used to
prevent river flooding. Refer to rivers you have studied.
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2
or 3 marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4
or 5 marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
Candidate B: You could build a dam like the
Aswan Dam on the River Nile which was built
to control the flow of water during peak
rainfall times which reduced flooding. You
could also build a reservoir to store the water
behind the dam which would hold the water
back from flooding.
3 marks
Examiner Comments:
•A detailed explanation with an example but
it is only one method – dam and reservoir
are the same idea.
•Max level 2.
Answering Levelled Questions
Level 1 (1 mark)
Simple description
Level 2 (2 or 3 marks)
Simple Explanation
Level 3 (4 or 5 marks)
Detailed Explanation with
information specific to question
River Flooding is a major problem throughout the world.
Describe and explain methods that could be used to
prevent river flooding. Refer to rivers you have studied.
Description
1
Explanation
2
Even Better If
3
Specific Example
Build a dam
To control the water
flow
In times of heavy
rainfall
Aswan Dam
Build levees
By increasing the
height of the river
banks e.g. With
concrete or soil
To increase the
channel capacity
On the Mississippi
River
Teaching future candidates....
• On reflection we felt that we had created
too many hurdles in this question.
• A similar question which differentiates
effectively without the hurdles and the
same mark scheme would be:
• Explain how people can prevent river
flooding. [5]
– Elaborated answers
– Must refer to specific examples of river
flood management e.g. Levees, but do not
need to locate.
Answering Levelled Questions
Electronics City is planned to grow considerably over the
next twenty years. Explain how this is likely to affect the
quality of life of people living in the Bengalaru area.
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2
or 3 marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4
or 5 marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
Candidate A: There will be more jobs so higher
incomes and better standard of living.
More people might move in and have to live
in Shanty Towns and so it will be overcrowded
and there might be more crime.
4 marks
Examiner Comments:
•A detailed explanation but no specific reference to
quality of life so max 4 marks.
•Just saying ‘it will improve quality of life or standard of
living will be better’ is not enough
Answering Levelled Questions
Electronics City is planned to grow considerably over the
next twenty years. Explain how this is likely to affect the
quality of life of people living in the Bengalaru area.
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2
or 3 marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4
or 5 marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
L1
Candidate B: It will create more jobs so there
L2
will be a positive multiplier effect. The council
L1
will have more money to spend on services.
More children will L1
get educated. There will be
L1
better housing
and quality of life will improve.
L1
There will be less disease.
2 marks
Examiner Comments:
There is some attempt at explanation but it isn’t clear. If the
candidate had said ‘more jobs means higher incomes so more taxes
for the council to spend on services like schools so more children
will get educated’ this question would have been reaching level 3.
The examiner should not be putting the ideas together for the
candidate.
The idea about positive multiplier effect is not explained or
exemplified.
Quality of life is not specific enough.
Answering Levelled Questions
Electronics City is planned to grow considerably over the
next twenty years. Explain how this is likely to affect the
quality of life of people living in the Bengalaru area.
Level 1 (1
mark)
Simple
description
Level 2 (2
or 3 marks)
Simple
Explanation
Level 3 (4
or 5 marks)
Detailed
Explanation
with
information
specific to
question
Description
Explanation
1
Even Better If
2
3
There will be more So people will have
jobs
higher incomes
Which they can
afford to spend on
food to improve
their health
More people will
move to
Bengaluru to find
work
So the area
becomes
overcrowded and
disease spreads
easily and more
people are ill
So people have to live
in Shanty Towns
What is the difference between Quality of Life
and Standard of Living with regard to the mark
scheme?
• Quality of Life and Standard of Living are not the same.
However, there are strong links between the two.
• We want to credit candidates for good Geography and
good understanding so candidates should aim where
possible to refer to quality of life i.e. the impact on a
person’s life
• E.g. Q: How can flooding affect the quality of life of
different people?
• A: Farmer’s crops die and they lose income.
• Strictly speaking, income is standard of living so an
examiner might not credit this answer.
• A better answer would be ‘farmer’s crops die and they
lose income which is stressful’.
Examples of the style of levelled questions
we may use in future
• Explain how people are attempting to reduce the
effects of coastal erosion. [5] (specific detail would
be the examples of coastal management schemes
– don’t need to be located)
• Explain why tourism might not be considered a
good way of improving development in Kenya. [5]
(Imagining that the previous questions had focused
on Kenya - specific detail would be information
provided in the exam question e.g. resources, maps
etc.)
• Explain how flooding may affect different groups of
people. [5]
• (specific detail would be the groups of people –
must be more than 1!)