Advanced Higher
Geography
Erica M Caldwell
Senior Examiner SQA
External Assessment at AH
Geography
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Two parts
The Folio: Geographical Issues Essay (60
marks) and Geographical Study (80
marks)
The examination (60 marks)
Total 200 divided by 2 = mark out of 100%
Means candidates earn all their own
marks
The Examination
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Why the change from 4 to 5 questions from
2009?
Apart from earning all their own marks, it boosts
the unseen part of the submission
2 map interpretation questions (choose one)
each worth 30 marks
2 statistical questions (choose one) each worth
20 marks
1 compulsory “scenario”type question related to
fieldwork techniques, worth 10 marks
Total mark for the examination:
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is 60
this is exactly the same as the mark for
the Geographical Issues Essay part of the
folio
do you and your pupils give it an equal
time allocation for preparation?
how many practice questions do they do
in class or as homework?
Do encourage pupils to:
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Read ALL the questions before they decide;
many candidates don’t seem to have any
practice in questions 2 and 4…evidence from
Prelim papers submitted where candidates have
no choice!
Read ALL parts of the question a) before they
make their final choice and b) again when they
actually tackle the question so that they answer
the vetted question and not their own version!!
Map Reading Questions
Question 1 - the “decision making question”
Most common style of question is being asked to decide
on a site for…occasionally a site may be given…
…but the skills required are more or less the same
Candidates have an atlas. They are expected to make use
of it, and show in their answer that they have done so!
The main thing they MUST do is use direct evidence from
the OS map extract provided
Candidates are asked for ONE site.
If they choose several, then pick one of them, they
will certainly not do themselves any favours! They
waste time, effort and marks
They MUST do map reading and interpretation
They are expected to write organised answers with
correct Grid References, make use of contour lines,
height, direction,aspect, specific examples &c.
Lists are not helpful. Answers need to be developed
and links sought out.
Some centres seem to be teaching a “catch-all”
method of answering the decision making question
but this very often means that the answer is
generic rather than specific to the question
asked and often makes little actual use of the
map. Candidates cannot earn many marks as a
result.
This means centres are then surprised by
candidate results or by the response to any
Appeals.
Prelim may be marked very leniently if this is not
taken on board and Appeals rejected.
Location of maps for Q 1 and 2
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2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Westbury
Ilkley
Alnwick
Rutland Water
Lyme Regis
Church Stretton
Witney
2008 Quantock Hills
2009 Hereford
2010 St Austell
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Leisure C: settlement/geology
Wind farm: woodland
Hotel/golf: rivers
Quarry: land uses
Landfill: tourism
Field centre: transect/geol/land
Paint ball: settlement
pres/future
Cycle routes: drainage
Nature reserve: flooding
Eco-centre and coasts
Question 2
This is a map reading and interpretation question
which is used in conjunction with the atlas.
Candidates must make very specific use of the map
extract provided.
The question must relate to basic map
reading e.g. physical features, settlement,
land uses, transport
Question 2
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Like Q1 it is designed …
to be accessible
to allow good candidates to demonstrate
their map reading and interpretation skills
to allow use of the atlas to provide
background knowledge to enhance the
answer
2005
Question 2
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Marking the map questions
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Although it is possible to identify some actual points you are
giving credit for, AH mapwork is generally a much more holistic
type of marking than at Higher
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Atlases are allowed, so we should expect them to be used
effectively e.g. to give an introduction or to provide evidence of
transport links/possibilities
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Lists just don’t mean anything unless accompanied by
development of ideas which are illustrated by the list…if not,
they’ll be largely ignored by markers
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Using GRs is important but we are not into over crediting that
skill!
Care…
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Take care not to double mark. If you accept something in
one part and it’s repeated elsewhere without real
development then ignore it. This is often the case where
annotations on the tracing overlay are then merely
repeated in the next part of the question without any
further development or examples
Stick to the actual requirements of the question e.g. if
physical reasons are asked for then human and
economic reasons have to be ignored
Map skills required at AH are beyond Standard
Grade and Higher…
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Flat land; easy to build on = S Grade
Space for development = ?
It’s steep?
There is a clear indication that the rivers are flowing
downstream
The chance to spot a great bear in the woods is very
appealing especially to tourists from countries that do not
have great bears
The visitor centre will attract walkers, hill walkers and
naturists
Question 3
This normally has a calculation to be done or to be completed…with
the relevant formula provided
Note the change in *weighting of parts of questions as centres
have gained confidence over time
Main part will always require Geographical explanation. This can be
for 10/11 marks so candidates must be prepared to answer this half or
more of the question too!
Atlases provide a great deal of useful information…but
candidates need to be taught to find it.
*Use more recent Q3s in Prelims to more accurately
reflect current standards.
Questions 3
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2001 NNI German Cities
2002 ‘open’ fieldwork
2003 Spear’Lat Am
health
2004 ‘open’ t-test/chi2
2005 Spear % urban
GDP
2006 NNI N Ital Plain
2007 Pearson river
2008 Stand Dev Mumbai
2009 Spear Malta water
2010 Chi2 IMR and GNI
and
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4
Scattergraph
Chi-squared parks
Interquartile land uses
Wind speed/direction
Dot & choropleth Australia
% farms in Canada
Sampling: rock types
Christchurch Bay
sediment
Questionnaire
USA choropleth +
“The problems with
drought (in Malta) is
because they can’t
grow any more
desalination plants”.
Question 4
Many candidates don’t even seem to look at
this question.
They are very accessible questions.
They can allow good candidates to excel.
SQA wants all GMTs to be examinable so this
includes the descriptive and graphical
techniques which generally form the basis of Q4
Question 5
Hi! I’m the
new
kid on the
block!
‘Scenario’ type question
Like questions 3 and 4 there is an emerging
pattern which candidates and schools can
prepare for:
State a working hypothesis or research question
How do you do the collecting?
How might you process/present or interpret
something which has been processed and
presented as in 2009?
Workshop 1
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In your workshop groups you have half and hour to
mark samples of the most popular map and
statistics questions + the compulsory Q5
Q1
Q3
Q5 from the 2010 paper
Question papers, Marking Instructions and
candidate responses are provided
Return here at 11.15 to give your feedback
The Folio
The Geographical Issues
Essay
The Rules of the Game: Essay
Maximum length of 12 sides of A4 paper
or their equivalent. Larger sheets can be
folded to A4 size. An A3 sheet will count as
two A4 sides and that each overlay, whether
a whole or part sheets, will count as a sheet
in its own right.
The Penalty
For both the Geographical Study and the Geographical
Issues essay, a flat penalty of 10% of the marks available
for the piece of work in question will be deducted once the
stated page limit has been exceeded i.e. 8 marks for the
study and 6 marks for the essay.
The page limits apply to ALL PAGES THAT ARE
SUBMITTED, regardless of their content, and will
therefore include any covers, title pages, contents page,
maps, diagram, tables and appendices.
The Exception
The only exception to the rule on page limits applies
to the bibliography which is excluded from the page
count for both the study and the Geographical Issues
Essay.
Although the word count has
been removed, there is no
intention that the essay should
be much longer than about
2,000 words nor the study much
longer than 3,000.
The font size must be no less
than 12.
How good candidates can do less well
than they should
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Write overlong essays
This shows no selection of materials
Or…summarise so much that the final product
is bland
Fail to look for suitable illustrations
Waste time “overproducing” i.e. using fancy
publishing styles which make it difficult to
read
Many essays of 5-6,000 words did worse than
those which remained within the “spirit” of
the “old” prescriptive word count: candidates
talked themselves out of better marks!
Choice of topic
 Although topic choice is not separately marked, it is
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vital to choose a topic with enough “meat” and
controversy to allow a quality essay to be written.
Contextualisation: can only come through if
candidates have done a lot of background reading
and this is made obvious in the final essay and they
use their background reading to prove/ disprove/
challenge/ corroborate/ back up the viewpoints
or sources they are discussing.
This is where real quality critical evaluation of the
sources or viewpoints comes from, not from rants
about words or phrases being biased
“Good” viewpoints or sources
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Are the people credible? A properly organised group of
protesters with access to good statistics will have more
weight than one eccentric protestor!
Value of newspapers? Quality? Credibility of reporter,
his/her sources? Have the “right”* people been questioned?
What do *their own websites say?
Who are the people whose viewpoints are chosen? Name,
position &c
Why are they qualified to pontificate?
Who else agrees (or disagrees) with them?
{Contextualisation}
Is there real research/stats to back up the viewpoint? {“}
Enough controversy to make it interesting?
Range of sources i.e. not all from a local weekly
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The article in the Guardian is the most balanced ……..
unfortunately I was unable to complete this article
but I’m sure the rest is more of the same.
Views have very little sustenance
Researchers are ignorant (they were, in fact
eminent professors)
Marking the Essay - 60 marks
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15 marks for each of the headings
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Presentation
Research, content and relevance
Structure and logical development
Critical evaluation
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Presentation
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Text is very well written; quality/high
standard of grammar; well finished;shows
attention to detail
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Graphics/illustrations; appropriate use;
relevant and referred to in text;
acknowledged; enhance the essay
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Bibliography is extensive; effective
background reading; shows contextualisation
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Abbreviations are explained!!
Research, content and
relevance
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Standard of research reflected in
quality of materials consulted;
intellectual substance
Choice of content; appropriateness;
range of viewpoints; contextualisation
Relevance; clear understanding of the
topic; provide a distinctive perspective
Structure and logical
development
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Introduction
Clear description of the sources to give
a basis for evaluation and critical
commentary
Clear specific arguments which show
understanding and insight
Organisation; written as an essay
(although many will follow the NAB idea
and work quite well)
Critical commentary
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Is explicit and effectively incorporated
Has commentary on the sources and
viewpoints and is not a continuous rant
about individual words
Shows balance and is supported by
other reading i.e. contexualisation
Well argued conclusion which is not just
a repetition of points already
made;provides focus
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The Folio
The Geographical
Study
THE GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY
Report: maximum length of 25
sides of A4 paper or their
equivalent.
Larger sheets e.g. A3, may be folded to
A4 size.
A3 sheets count as two A4 sides.
All overlays whether whole or part
of sheets count as separate or extra
sheets/pages.
The penalty of 10% of the marks will be
deducted once the stated page limit has
been exceeded i.e. 8 marks for the study.
The cover, title page, contents page, maps,
diagram, tables and appendices ALL count
as pages.
Page 1 is the cover.
The bibliography is the only exception to the
page count… but it if it is in excess of the 25
pages it must only be bibliography and have
no other materials on it.
Choice of topic for the Study
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difficulty and challenge of the chosen topic
its viability
of realistically being able to collect the amount
of necessary data for an AH study
credit for demanding topics
be aware of your own experience and
expectations
Marking the Study
Total marks 80
Four x 20 marks
Presentation
Data and Content
Techniques
Relationships
The Marking Instructions
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Use the introductory statements and the key
word descriptors
Don’t feel you have to make use of every part
of the descriptor e.g. in 11 under data and
content…
Use key words to provide the range in those
with several marks e.g. 14 - 12…
The intro e.g. for 9 marks has some very
helpful words for use in your comments
Presentation
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Written text; quality, accuracy,
attention to detail
Maps, diagrams, graphs: range/types:
suitable size for their relevance
Scale, key, acknowledgements are
clear: examiner shouldn't need to “find”
information
Overall finish; design, layout
Properly laid out bibliography
• In the lower course ….there is very little
eruption or transportation
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I have already established that three (river
sites) may be a problem with the docks area
as the water is very deep
This creates devotional features such as river
beaches
Data and Content
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Quality of data collected; is it well beyond
Standard Grade??
Are there both primary and secondary
sources of data?
Quantity; is there enough to make this an AH
study?
Appropriateness; data related to specific aims
or research questions?
Data…sound and suitable?
Effort; is there evidence of serious work being
done? E.g. revisiting sites for comparison.
The Excuses!
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I didn’t have time
The rain came on
The car wasn’t available…
We couldn’t drive slowly enough to do the land
use!!!
“ another problem that made carrying out my fieldwork difficult
was that my ankle was in a cast for nine weeks making it
impossible for me to go to any sites and conduct my fieldwork..”
(modify research questions to use secondary data??)
Positive ??? “I was able to study the land use from a friend’s
light aircraft”
“unfortunately there were no shoppers at the time the
questionnaire was taken”
 “it was planned to use an auger to measure the depth of
soil but an auger could not be obtained”
 “ there are no values for soil temperature because the
soil thermometer broke..”
I did a traffic count for 10 minuets
This is baked up with a questionnaire
At which I collected our information…leads on to…
Sharing data is fine provided it is acknowledged and each
candidate uses it in a different way. E.g. 3 candidates using river
data but each using it in a different way to link with their
research on physical features or land uses or settlement and
transport
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Techniques
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Range and variety; the GMT section means
there should be plenty of analytical and
graphical techniques; good candidates search
out more
Effectiveness; are they suitable for the data
or results being presented?
Do they effectively bring out relationships for
commentary in the text?
Are they understood? Using difficult
techniques is fine so long as they are correct
and the results understood
Focus; do they relate directly to the study
questions????
What were the research or study questions?
Relationships
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Need to be sought out at all stages from
development of study questions onwards
Their quality related to research questions
Explanation or analysis of relationships and
conclusion; lucid, mature…not a repetition of
results
Appreciation of complexity of relationships
Theoretical background to analysis; flair in
use of theory and background reading
It is often very obvious that more work could and should
have been done but the candidate hasn’t done it e.g. has
not gone back to do a second or third reading for
comparison.
This is /would be an excellent way of deriving
relationships!
Or use some theory?
Urban Studies: many are very simple, hardly beyond
Standard Grade…
Interesting material is often stuck in an appendix when it
would have had more impact as an integrated part of the
whole
“Them”…these awful markers???
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Remember we see the finished product…
We cannot give credit for potential
We cannot reward effort unless it is obvious and
contributes to a very well written piece of work
We shouldn’t have to look for key, scale, page
numbers, try to work out abbreviations &c
Candidates must not assume that markers know
their area. They need to introduce it and provide
proper maps.
S6 pupils need to learn to meet your deadlines and
allow the time you agree with them for the final
writing up, drawing daigrams &c so that they don’t
end up in a rush stuffing in bits of their fieldwork
notebooks!
Some interesting findings!
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(Re not having bulls any more)…many farmers buy in
seamen…
Most of what I have found from both farmers has
been sprinkled throughout my analysis
The river is starting to brake through the
meander
I got my data sheets wet…they froze
The valley is most defiantly U-shaped
Second homes are a boast to the local economy
Charts 1, 2 clearly show that in November the
pebbles were rounder than in March
The thin covering of soil …. would be infertile and
acidic due to higher levels of perspiration on the
exposed hillside
…and there’s more
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Get a weakly shop at ASDA
Re S’s Rank analysis…there is a relation because
cars are noisy and cars produce most noise so
there is a relation
Re NNI…on a coalfield sight, mining villages
tended to coalesce
The field was 100% soil
The U-shaped valley of Glen …….is referred to as
U-shaped in glacial terms because it clearly takes
the form of a U-shape
Earthworms are a very profound species
In a Scottish coniferous forest?? … mites such as gamasids,
springtails and armadillos
…and finally
Re rainfall recordings
…a frog was found in the
meter…care had to be taken
when trying to remove frog so
that no water was lost
Workshop 2
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In your groups mark one Study and one
Geographical Issues essay
Candidate responses are provided along with the
finalised MIs for 2010
To help further… grids
Each group is asked to mark presentation for both
study and essay but to focus time marking the
relevant section allocated on the marking sheet.
Obviously if you have time, mark all parts
Return here to share your results and I’d value any
feedback re how helpful or otherwise the grids were