How to write essays in geography:
1st Brainstorm: In the exam you will get time and spare pages to
brainstorm. Use them!!
Crops
Levees
Wind
Effects on
natural
landscape
Flooding
Storm surge
Coral
deposition
Now you have brainstormed your main points you will focus on write down
as many statistics and or place name you can come up with. Without
specific information the top grade you can get in NA
80% of the foliage in Niue was torn off by wind.
Once you have done this you can begin your essay:
Introduction: Your introduction states what your essay is going to be
about i.e. Tropical Cyclones affect the natural landscape in a number of
ways.
In this introduction you also explain how you will explain the information
in your essay i.e. In this essay I will explain how they affect the natural
by discussing the impacts caused by two cyclones: Cyclone Heta which
struck countries in the Pacific and Hurricane Katrina which caused
extensive damage in the USA.
Body of the Essay: For the body we can use the SEX structure…
Statement: Cyclone Heta caused extensive damage to Niue.
Explanation: Strong winds, storm surges and heavy rainfall all combined to
devastate the landscape
Example: 7m storm surges ripped coral from 70m below the surface of
the ocean and deposited onto coastal areas.
Of course your paragraphs will have more body than these bullet points.
What we focus on:
Statistics and actual information about whatever the essay is about.
What we don’t focus on:
As this is an informative essay based on facts do not write I think
statements. The examiner doesn’t care about what you think they want to
hear what you know!!!
Sometimes you may be asked to give your opinion if that’s the case give
it!! It all comes down to reading the question properly.
Below is an example of an essay that is written to excellence level:
Tropical cyclones and Hurricanes can greatly effect the natural environment in a number of ways. The winds,
storm surges, torrential rain and floods which can be caused by this extreme natural event all can provide
potentially hazardous. In this essay I am going to use the case studies of Hurricane Katrina which struck the Gulf
Coast of the United States of America and Cyclone Heta which damaged islands in the south-west pacific in
particular Niue.
Hurricane Katrina which struck the USA Gulf Coast August 28th 2005 was a category 5 hurricane which
bought about strong winds which gusted over 300 km/h. These winds were damaging to Gulf Coast region which
includes the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Florida the worst. The winds whipped up the
seas on the coastline and demolished tree’s ripping foliage off many plants. It also provided salt spray off the
ocean which poisoned foliage stinting plant growth.
2500mm of rainfall fell over New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina this added to the substantial
flooding that occurred in the region as it raised the river levels of the Mississippi river which New Orleans borders.
Flooding was one of the biggest causes of damage during Hurricane Katrina.
The storm surge that was created by the low pressure system of hurricane Katrina caused the most
damage. On its way into the path of the Gulf Coast the 8.5 metre storm surge crossed paths with the Chandeleur
island which are just off the coast. These island were home to a number of plant and animal species however they
were completely demolished by the massive surge of water. Out of all the states which were affected by Katrina
New Orleans was the worst hit.
New Orleans had 560km2 of Marshland on its coastal border which once again had a number of animal and plants
living within it. This marshland was completely transformed into water by the storm surge and is still underwater.
Much of New Orleans has been built below sea-level with Lake Ponchartrian and the Mississippi river bordering
the city. Natural Levee’s in the form of stop banks have previously stopped the city from being flood by a deluge
of rain however to bolster the city up additional levee’s were built. These levee’s were said to be able to stand up
to the affects of a hurricane however the failed terribly in the face of hurricane Katrina. The Levee’s were breached
in 53 places which caused 80% of the city to become flooded. This flooding killed substantial animal and plant life
and spread into freshwater ways causing salinisation and contamination of the fresh water ways of New Orleans.
Cyclone Heta which hit the small island nation of Niue on the 6th of January 2006 also had substantial effects on
Niue’s natural environment. Niue is a small Coral Atoll of only 256 square kilometres and it is located at around
19 degrees latitude in the south pacific ocean. Niue is not only very small but it is also very flat with its highest
point being only 68 metres above sea level. This makes Niue extremely prone to flooding and when Heta struck
that is exactly what happened the mass of rainfall and the 4-7 metre storm surge with waves up to 10 metres high
which were travelling it 100 km/h washed inland. They bought with them coral which had been removed from
reefs some of which were located 200 metres below sea level. The coral deposition on the beach front was
extensive as was the salinisation of the fresh water supply which occurred due to the storm surge washing inland.
The storm surge demolished vegetation along the coastline and eroded banks on the North western side of Niue.
Wind also played a large part in damaging the small atoll. Winds lashed the low island stripping off 80%
of the foliage Coconut trees and other fruit trees were wiped from part of the island. The wind also contained a salt
which burnt those tree’s which survived the 300km/h gusts of wind which eventually killed all the foliage of the
most affected tree’s anyway. This presented Niue with a large fire risk as there was a large drought after the
cyclone struck. This affected Niue’s economy as it was largely dependant on the export of fruits and fishing.
Cyclones and Hurricanes can have large effects on the natural landscape. The Gulf Coast of America is
now a different environment than it was prior to Katrina striking and Niue is only gradually recovering with the
remainence of Heta still visible. They can strip tree’s , flood land, erode banks and change the shape of the land
within hours providing a very dangerous natural hazard.