Geography – Leaving Certificate Higher Level Why Geography? Third and Transition Year Students; have you ever wondered why you should choose Geography as a Leaving Certificate subject? Fifth and Sixth year Students; have you ever asked yourself how you are going to apply what you are learning in Geography outside of the classroom? Well, here is what Dr Niamh Moore-­‐Cherry, a lecturer and Senior Fellow in Teaching and Academic Development at UCD’s School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, has to say on the matter: As a bridge between the natural and social sciences and with its holistic focus, Geography as a discipline is ideally placed to develop flexible and informed global citizens for the workplaces and societies of tomorrow. At both second and third level, Geography has never been more popular with in excess of 5,000 students currently studying for Geography degrees across the Republic of Ireland. In today’s school, college or University, Geography is about so much more than map reading and memorising capital cities. Its popularity is due in large part to the relevance of the discipline to important global, national and local issues such as climate change, natural hazards, coastal management/protection, inequality, globalisation, demographic changes, migration, urbanisation and international relations. As my colleague at Limerick Institute of Technology, Dr Frank Houghton, recently wrote ‘global issues require a global understanding and Geography can contribute a unique and integrating perspective that can offer a holistic understanding of contemporary challenges worldwide’. By focusing on the contextual and ethical dimensions of environmental, socio-­‐
cultural and politico-­‐economic decisions and their interconnections, the geography graduate is well placed to excel in many and varied careers and effectively contribute to solving some of the most pressing problems of our time. This is exemplified by the track record of geography academics in recent years, who have been awarded for important international work such as Professor John Sweeney in NUI Maynooth, a member of the IPCC and joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and for challenging traditional understandings of the economic crisis. Research presented by geographers on the IrelandafterNama blog site, for example, has repeatedly highlighted the spatially uneven and unequal impacts of the crisis in Ireland, and called for more locally sensitive responses by government. Engaging in these types of public geographies and making sense of our highly complex world demands a sophisticated skills-­‐set focused on the ability to investigate, explore, analyse, critique and interpret, desired attributes of any Geography graduate. I believe one of the key strengths of Geography programmes in Ireland, even in the face of significant resource constraints, has been the continued focus on independent fieldwork and the development of graphical, numeracy and general information literacy skills among our students. Competency in Geographical Information Systems (GIS – computerised mapping systems as seen on many TV programmes) is in increasing demand across both the public and private sectors and the combination of spatial understanding/knowledge and technical skill of many geography graduates is making them highly attractive to prospective employers. At Leaving Certificate level, the foundations are laid for the development of this integrated understanding and attractive skills set through a new curriculum that was examined for the first time in 2006. Almost 50% of all students at senior cycle level study Geography perhaps owing to the diversity of subject matter covered from glaciation, river processes and geoecology to economic geography, global interdependence, and culture and identity. One of three core modules is a Geographical Investigation, providing an almost unique experience for second level students – the development of independent research and fieldwork skills through experiential learning. The closer alignment that now exists between the Leaving Certificate syllabus and University geography programmes develops strong foundations on which the graduate attributes of flexibility, integration, global understanding and self-­‐direction can begin to be constructed. Exam Structure, Marks and Timing The Geography Higher Level Paper is 2 hours and 50 minutes long, worth a total of 400 marks and is split into two parts: • Part I – Short Questions: 1. It is worth a total of 80 marks. 2. There are 12 questions, worth 8 marks each. You are required to answer any 10. However, it is worth your while answering all 12 as you will then be marked out of your best 10. 3. You should allocate 40 minutes to this part; 4 minutes per question. • Part II – Structured and Essay Questions: 1. This part is more commonly known to students as “Long Questions”. 1. It is subdivided into three sections; Section I – Patterns and Processes in the Physical Environment and Regional Geography, Section II – Electives and Section III – Options. 2. It is worth a total of 320 marks. 3. You have to answer four questions in all with each question worth 80 marks:  Section I – Patterns and Processes in the Physical Environment – You have to answer one question from questions 1, 2 and 3 based on Core Unit I (Physical Geography). Each question is split into three parts; A, B and C. A is worth 20 marks, B is worth 30 marks and C is worth 30 marks. You should allocate 8 minutes, 12 minutes and 12 minutes respectively to each part.  Section I – Regional Geography – You have to answer one question from questions 4, 5 and 6 based on Core Unit II (Regional Geography). Again, each question is split into three parts; A, B and C. A is worth 20 marks, B is worth 30 marks and C is worth 30 marks. You should allocate 8 minutes, 12 minutes and 12 minutes respectively to each part.  Section II – Electives – You have to answer one question from one elective only; that means you answer either question 7, 8 or 9 from Elective 4 – Patterns and Processes in Economic Activities or question 10, 11 or 12 from Elective 5 – Patterns and Processes in the Human 
Environment. In short, you only answer one question in total from 7 to 12 inclusive. As with Section I, each question is split into three parts; A, B and C. A is worth 20 marks, B is worth 30 marks and C is worth 30 marks. You should allocate 8 minutes, 12 minutes and 12 minutes respectively to each part. Section III – Options – You have to answer one question from one option only; that means you answer either question 13, 14 or 15 on Optional Unit 6 – Global Interdependence or question 16, 17 or 18 from Optional Unit 7 – Geoecology or question 19, 20 or 21 from Optional Unit 8 – Culture and Identity or question 22, 23 or 24 from Optional Unit 9 – The Ocean-­‐Atmosphere Environment. In short, you answer only one question in total from 13 to 24 inclusive. Unlike in Sections I and II, questions in Section III are not subdivided; this means that you have 32 minutes to write an essay worthy of 80 marks. Core Unit I – Patterns and Processes in the Physical Environment In this unit, you should focus on: •
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The internal structure of the earth; inner core, outer core, mantle (lithosphere and asthenosphere) and crust. •
The Mohorovicic Discontinuity/The Moho. •
All theories and ideas associated with plate tectonics; the theory of plate tectonics, the theory of continental drift, the theory of sea floor spreading, etc. •
Plate margins/boundaries; constructive/divergent, destructive/convergent and transform/passive/conservative/neutral. •
Volcanic landforms; intrusive and extrusive. •
Volcanoes and earthquakes (with appropriate case studies). •
The geotectonic settings necessary for the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. •
Rock dating; the law of superimposition and radiometric dating. •
Human interaction with the rock cycle e.g. gas exploration, mining, etc. •
Landforms associated with particular rock types e.g. the Burren, the Giant’s Causeway, etc. •
Folding and faulting (with an appropriate case study on folding e.g. Ireland’s Caledonian and Armorican fold mountains). •
Physical and chemical weathering; freeze-­‐thaw action/frost shattering, exfoliation/onion weathering, pressure release/unloading, salt crystallisation, biological/biotic, carbonation, oxidation, hydration and hydrolysis. •
Mass movement/mass wasting; soil creep, scree creep, earthflows, mudflows, landslides, rock slides, etc. •
Fluvial processes and landforms; stream ordering, drainage patterns, fluvial hydraulics, erosion processes, transportation processes, fluvial deposition, river profiles, upper course landforms, middle course landforms, lower course landforms, isostatic movement and eustatic movement. •
Coastal processes and landforms; coastlines and shores, waves, wave motion, wave elements, wave types, wave refraction, coastline types, erosion processes, transportation process, erosion landforms, deposition landforms, isostatic movement and eustatic movement. •
Human interaction with the coast. •
Glacial processes and landforms; ice ages, glacials, interglacials, the Milankovitch Theory, ice formation, glacial systems and budgets, glacial movement, erosion processes, upland erosion landforms, lowland erosion landforms, fluvio-­‐glacial erosion landform, transportation processes, deposition landforms and the dating of glacial deposits. Sample Answer Describe, with the aid of a labelled diagram(s), the formation of one Irish landform of erosion. One landform of erosion that I have studied is a waterfall. A waterfall is an interruption in the river profile where the water takes a significant vertical drop. Most waterfalls are formed in the upper course of a river’s profile. They form through differential erosion; this is the relatively greater rates of erosion in some areas as opposed to others due to differences in rock resistance. When a river encounters a band of soft rock, it begins to erode it, leaving behind the harder, more resistant rock. This leads to the undercutting of the hard rock through the processes hydraulic action and abrasion. The rock at the base of the waterfall is also quickly eroded due to the river’s increase in velocity because of the drop. This eventually gouges out a plunge pool at the bottom of the waterfall, with the overlying hard rock now becoming known as an overhang. As the plunge pool gets bigger, further undercutting the hard rock, the overhang becomes unstable due to its lack of support and collapses. The process then begins all over again, with the entire waterfall having retreated upstream in a process known as headward erosion. When the entire process is repeated again and again, a steep-­‐sided gorge is created. Waterfalls are only temporary features. An example of an Irish waterfall is Powerscourt. Core Unit II – Regional Geography In this unit, you should focus on: • Climatic regions. • Cultural regions. • Language regions. • Administrative regions. • Geomorphological regions. • Socio-­‐economic regions. • Nodal/city/urban regions. • Two contrasting Irish regions and their primary, secondary and tertiary activities e.g. Dublin (core) versus BMW (Border, Midlands and West) (periphery). • Two contrasting European regions and their secondary and tertiary activities e.g. the Paris Basin in France and the Mezzogiorno in Italy. • One continental/subcontinental region and its primary, secondary and tertiary activities e.g. South-­‐West America. • The complexity of regions; boundary changes, the interaction of economic, political and cultural activities, the role of the EU, etc. Core Unit III – Geographical Investigation and Skills In this unit, you should focus on: •
Planning and preparing for a fieldtrip. •
Data collection and methodology. •
The use of both primary and secondary sources. •
Map reading and interpretation. •
Report writing and precision. •
Analysis, interpretation and presentation of results. •
Conclusions and evaluations. •
GIS (Geographical Information Systems) where applicable. Elective Unit IV – Patterns and Processes in Economic Activities In this unit, you should focus on: •
GNP (Gross National Product) and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) as relatively precise measures of economic development. •
The HDI (Human Development Index) as a broad measure of economic development. •
A developed economy dominated by tertiary activities e.g. service industries, footloose industries, financial services, tourism, industrial decline, etc. •
A developing economy impacted by colonialism and struggling to adjust to the global economy. •
One MNC (Multinational Corporation); its sourcing of raw materials, processing components, location of markets, infrastructural requirements, etc. •
World trade patterns and the global framework which evolved around the three key global economic areas; Europe, America and the Pacific Rim. •
The impacts of globalisation on trade. •
EU trading patterns; the single market and external markets. •
Sustainability; the use of renewable/infinite and non-­‐renewable/finite resources, the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels, environmental pollution, sustainable economic development, etc. Elective Unit V – Patterns and Processes in the Human Environment In this unit, you should focus on: •
Population; growth, fluctuation, patterns, density, distribution, structure, fertility rates, mortality rates, demographic transition model, etc. •
The impact of development on resources and income levels and vice versa. •
Migration patterns and policies. •
Ethnic, racial, cultural and religious issues associated with migration. •
The impacts of rural/urban migration on development, including push and pull factors. •
Settlement patterns; pre-­‐historic, historic, rural, urban, linear, ribbon, clustered, dispersed, etc. •
Urban functions. •
Urban zoning and landuse patterns; residential, commercial and industrial. •
Planning issues. •
And values. •
Urban sprawl, the expansion of cities and associated problems. •
Urban problems; traffic congestion, environmental pollution/problems, heritage issues, etc. •
The future of urbanism. Optional Unit VI – Global Interdependence In this unit, you should focus on: •
Critically examining and critiquing all views and models of development. •
First World/Developed versus Third World/Developing World. •
Eurocentric thinking. •
The global environmental issues of global warming, desertification and deforestation. •
One MNC (Multinational Corporation) and its impact on both its producer and consumer countries. •
The impact of social and political decisions e.g. on refugees, immigrants, human rights, minority groups, etc. •
National debt and the cycle of poverty. •
The role of NGOs (Non-­‐Governmental Organisations). •
Gender roles. •
Sustainability. •
Fair trade and its impact on development. •
Self-­‐reliance and self-­‐help. Optional Unit VII – Geoecology In this unit, you should focus on: •
The general composition of all soil types; horizons, humus/organic matter, mineral matter, air, water, etc. •
Soil characteristics. •
The global distribution of soils. •
Soil processes; weathering, soil erosion, leaching, humification, podzolisation, laterisation, calcification, irrigation, etc. •
Human interaction with soils; over-­‐grazing, over-­‐cropping, over-­‐cultivation, desertification, etc. •
One major biome, its climatic and soil characteristics and related animal and vegetation distributions. •
The impacts of deforestation, intensive agricultural practices and development. Optional Unit VIII – Culture and Identity In this unit, you should focus on: •
Races and their distribution; global patterns, multi-­‐racial societies, racial mixing, racial conflict and racial abuse. •
The impact of colonialism and migration on racial patterns. •
Majority and minority languages and associated conflicts. •
Majority and minority religions and associated conflicts. •
Physical and political boundaries. •
Cultural groups. •
A case study of a European region highlighting issues of race, nationality and culture. Optional Unit IX – The Ocean-­‐Atmosphere Environment In this unit, you should focus on: •
The composition and structure of the world’s atmosphere and oceans. •
The measurements of ocean-­‐atmosphere phenomena; temperature, humidity, wind and pressure. •
Energy flows. •
The heat budget. •
The hydrological/water cycle; precipitation types and patterns, evaporation, cooling and condensation and cloud identification and classification. •
The general circulation model; movement of air, depressions/cyclones and anticyclones, etc, prevailing winds, etc. •
One distinctive global climate. •
Evidence of climate change. •
The influence of precipitation on agricultural activities and productivity and domestic water supplies. •
Drought and desertification.