Exam Survival Guide
Geography Topic
Tier
The Coastal Zone
Higher
Name: ______________________________FFT: _____________
Tutor group:
____________________ Room: ___________
Geography Teacher: ________________________________________
Expectations:
 You will be given specific tasks at different times, not necessarily in the
order shown.
 You will be expected to bring your revision booklet to every lesson as you
will be using it in class time.
 You must keep your booklet neat and tidy as this is your survival guide to
getting through the exams.
 You must work independently to complete tasks set.
Activity
Revision Tasks
1
Complete glossary of key words linked to the topic –
complete definitions for each of the key words listed.
2
Practise exam questions – work your way steadily
through the exam questions to develop your exam
technique.
3
Complete overviews of each case study for this topic
in the templates provided.
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Tick
Specification at a glance.
Content
Weathering processes: Mechanical,
chemical, biological. Erosion
processes: Hydraulic power,
abrasion, attrition and solution
Mass movement: slumping and sliding
Constructive and destructive waves –
characteristics
Longshore drift, traction, saltation,
suspension and solution; deposition
and reasons for it
Characteristics and formation of
headlands and bays
Formation of wave cut platforms
Formation of caves, arches and
stacks
Characteristics and formation of
beaches, spits and bars
Reasons for sea level rise: Case study
of the economic, social and
environmental impacts of coastal
flooding
Holderness coast: reasons for cliff
collapse, rate of erosion, how people
worsen the area, the impact on people
and the environment
Case Studies
(p64 revision guide)
Beachy Head (Eastbourne,
Sussex) (p64 revision guide)
Where?
Causes?
Impacts? (Short and long Term –
Social, Economic and
Environmental)
Management and responses.
(p66 revision guide)
(p65 revision guide)
(p65 revision guide)
(p65 revision guide)
Hurst Castle (Holderness UK)
Spurn Head (Yorkshire)
(p67 revision guide)
East Anglia (UK), Holderness
(East coast UK)
Maldives (Indian ocean)
Thames Estuary
(p69/70 revision guide)
Holderness, UK
(p71 revision guide)
Hard engineering: Sea walls, groynes
and rock armour (Link to case study)
Holderness, UK
(p72/73 revision guide)
Soft engineering: beach nourishment,
dune regeneration & marsh creation
(link to case study)
Salt marshes: formation,
characteristics and management
Holderness, UK
(p72/73 revision guide)
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Red
Keyhaven Marshes (Hampshire)
Clear Sequence of Formation
including diagrams
Human Uses and their impacts
Management
Location
Causes (Human and Physical)
Impacts (Social, Political,
economic and Environmental)
Management and Responses
Location
Causes (Human and physical)
Impacts (Social, Economic and
Environmental)
Management and responses
What did the strategy include?
Success and problems of the
strategies.
What did the strategy include?
Success and problems of the
strategies.
Location
Sequence with diagrams of
formation
How is it used (Social, Economic
and environmental)
Problems of use
Management and responses
Command Words:
What is the question asking you? Look for key words and do exactly what has been asked. e.g.:
Annotate: - add notes or labels to a map or diagram to explain what it shows.
Compare: - Look at 2 (or more) things and state the similarities and differences. Make direct
comparisons and use appropriate link words such as more than, less than, larger, whereas, unlike,
as opposed to, as well as opposites such as, rural/urban, high/low, etc.
Complete: - add to a map or graph to finish it off.
Contrast: - look for the differences between features or places. Often the question will ask you
to compare and contrast.
Define: - explain what something means e.g. hydraulic action.
Describe: - State what it is like; its characteristics and appearance.
Draw: - a sketch map or diagram with labels to explain something.
Explain or Account for: - Make clear, give details why it is like that.
Identify: - name, locate, recognise or select a particular feature or features, usually from a
map, photo or diagram.
Mark: - put onto a map or diagram.
Name, state, list: - give accurate details or features.
Study: - look carefully at a map, photo, table, diagram etc. and say what it shows.
With reference to /refer to examples you have studied: - give specific details (dates,
specific names, facts & figures) about your case studies.
With the help of/using the information provided: - make sure you include examples from the
information, including grid references if it is a map.
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Top Hints!
1. Read all the questions
2.
Understand the questions. Reading them and understanding them is not always the same.
Make sure that you carefully read the question and discover what is being asked of you. Look
for words like how, why, where, what and when. Check also for details like features and
locations. If you're asked for a UK case study, you will lose marks if you write about a
French one. Likewise, if the theme of the question is coasts, resist the temptation to write
about rivers. Look for command words such as describe, contrast, compare and explain,
then make sure that your answer does what has been asked.
3. Think, then write.
4. Write clearly and Logically. Don't waffle and try to fill space for the sake of it. Write clear
sentences in a well-structured answer. Follow a logical sequence of events, but don't panic!
Use your connectives, key words, and use PEE
5. Talk the talk. The examiner will be looking for geographical words in your answers. There
are marks available for using the right words. Using good geographical terminology shows
that you know what you are talking about, that you understand what the specialist terms
mean, and will impress the examiners. In short, it will help you to get more marks.
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Activity 1 – Complete the key word glossary below.
Fetch
Beach
Crest
Swash
Backwash
Constructive Wave
Destructive Wave
Rockfall
Hydraulic Power
Corrasion
Attrition
Longshore Drift
Headland
Bay
Wave-cut Platform
Wave-cut Notch
Cave
Arch
Stack
Spit
Salt Marsh
Hard Engineering
Soft Engineering
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Activity 2 –
June 2010
1. Mass movement is a process affecting the coastal zone. Describe this process.
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(3 marks)
Points
Mark
2. On Figure 21, mark with an arrow and label three landforms shown on this coast. (3 marks)
Points
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
3. Explain why sea level is expected to rise.
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(3 marks)
Points
Mark
4. Use a case study to describe economic effects of coastal flooding.
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(4 marks)
L1
L2
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
5. Study Figure 22 which shows hard and soft engineering strategies used to protect the
coast at Lyme Regis, a town in Dorset.
Explain why coastal areas such as Lyme Regis use both hard and soft engineering strategies.
Command word:
Key words:
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
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(8 Marks)
L1
L2
L3
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
June 2011
1. Draw a labelled diagram to show the process of longshore drift.
(3 marks)
Points
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
2. Explain why deposition occurs at certain places along the coast.
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(3 Marks)
Points
Mark
3. Explain the formation of headlands and bays.
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(4 Marks)
L1
L2
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
4. Study Figure 15. Explain the predicted changes to the coastline.
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(4 Marks)
L1
L2
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
5. Using a case study, discuss the effects of cliff collapse on people’s lives and the
environment.
Command word:
Key words:
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(8 Marks)
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L1
L2
L3
Mark
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Activity 3 – Produce case study overviews in the templates below, using this example.
Sea Level Rise – The Maldives
Map
Fact File
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Population 300,000
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1190 Islands – 199 inhabited
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1.5m above sea level
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80% of land is below 1m above sea
level.
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The islands will be completely
submerged within 50 to 100 years
What is causing Sea Level Rise?
1.
Global Warming is rising sea levels by 2mm per year
2. Melting of Ice – This causes stored water in ice to return to the oceans. This increases the volume
of water in the oceans
3. Heating Oceans – increased global temperatures causes the oceans to become warmer and expand.
This increases the volume of water, causing sea levels to rise.
Social Impacts
Economic Impacts
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Loss of Tourism – means less
money into the islands and loss
of jobs.
Closure of Islands airport
means it will become cut off
from rest of the world
Disrution to fishing industry –
as flooding damages processes
plants, reducing the country’s
biggest export = loss of money
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Environmental Impacts
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Houses damaged and
Loss of Beaches – rapid
destroyed = homelessness
erosion due to floods.
Less freshwater available –
Destroying habitats
if polluted with salty water
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Loss of Soil – Soil is mostly
the islands have to rely on
shallow (20cm) meaning
rainwater or build expensive
flooding washes this away
desalination plants.
rapidly and most plants will
not be able to grow
Political Impacts
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Changes to environmental policies and the need to borrow money
to help manage the issues
Management and Responses
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The government have borrowed $60 million from Japan to build a 3m high sea wall to
protect the capital city
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The Maldives have pledged to become Carbon neutral so it doesn’t contribute to global
warming and is encouraging other countries to do the same.
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Changing long term plans – The government is thinking of buying land in countries like
India and Australia and moving Maldivians there before they become uninhabitable.
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Title:
Map
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Fact File
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Fact File
Generic Exam Mark Scheme
GRADE
A*
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DESCRIPTOR
Conclusions are made and justified using evidence
Summarise knowledge and understanding and provide evidence for the complex relationships that exists
between people and the environment
Analyse and evaluate an effective range of skills and techniques
Justify and provide a range of evidence for geographical patterns and processes
Evaluate your own knowledge and understanding of places, environments and concepts using extensive use of
case studies at a range of scales
Use and justify terminology accurately and appropriately
Compare and contrast issues and problems and evaluate why they occur
Conclusions are made using evidence
Explain and compare relationships between people and the environment using detailed case studies
Select and analyse an effective range of skills and techniques
Analyse patterns and processes through the use of detailed case studies on a range of scales
You justify you knowledge and understanding of places, environments and concepts using examples
Use of key terminology is accurate and appropriate
Explain issues and problems, beginning to evaluate reasons as to why they occur
Valid conclusions are made with some evidence
Describe and explain the relationship between people and the environment
Select and use effectively a range of skills and techniques
Describe and explain patterns and processes and refer to case studies at various locations
Describe and explain your knowledge and understanding of places, environments and concepts using examples
Use key terminology appropriately
Describe issues and problems and give explanations as to why they occur
Valid conclusions are made
Describe relationships between people and environments using at least one case study
Select and use a variety of skills and appropriate techniques
Describe and begin to explain patterns and processes with reference to examples
Describe and explain your understanding of places, environments and concepts
Use terminology appropriately
Basic conclusions are made
Outline relationships between people and the environment
Some skills and techniques are used appropriately
Identify and begin to describe patterns and process
Describe your understanding of places, environments and concepts
You outline key terminology to communicate your ideas
Identify problems and give basic reasons
Limited conclusions are made
Recognise relationships between people and the environment
You show basic skills and techniques
Identify patterns and processes
Understanding of places, environments and concepts is basic
Communicate your ideas in a basic manner
Identify problems and issues
Identify relationships between people and environments
Skills and techniques are limited
Name patterns and processes
List your knowledge and understanding about places, the environment and concepts
Communicate ideas using simple everyday language
List problems and issues
Skills and techniques used are limited
State simple patterns and processes
Understanding about places, environments and processes are limited
Communication of ideas are limited
List problems and issues
GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet
Feedback
Activity:
Teacher Feedback:
__________________________
Mark/Grade:
________________________
_______________________________________________________
Activity:
Teacher Feedback:
__________________________
Mark/Grade:
________________________
_______________________________________________________
Activity:
Self/Peer Feedback:
__________________________
Mark/Grade:
________________________
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GCSE Coastal Zone Revision Booklet