Edexcel Geography GCE Unit 4 Unit 4: Overall comments Most answers now in report style, pure essays lose marks in QWC. Recent material / examples / news

Edexcel Geography GCE Unit 4

Unit 4: Overall comments

• Most answers now in report style, pure essays lose marks in QWC.• Recent material / examples / news seen often, can be useful for some

questions e.g. food, health• Most have plan to work from – important to set aside thinking / planning

time• Methodology required for 11 + marks section R of mark scheme (most now

have this)• Diagrams common and usually used well• Models / theory common but needs more than name dropping / drawing• Majority include ongoing evaluation


The generic mark scheme and its importance

• Very different from the mark schemes used in Units 1, 2 and 3.• In these Units the totality of their work is considered and then a Level is

decided on – here specific sections of their Report are marked using Levels

• Can’t give an overall ‘impression’ mark


Thinking about the question, spotting opportunities:

Question interpretation very important, but can be a problem:

• The pre-release can make students pre-judge the focus of the question.

• Mock exams, homework questions etc can reinforce this if not carefully handled i.e. lots of possible questions are discussed.

• Students will tend to focus on one part / clause of the actual question at the expense of others.

Good students?

Danger of over-preparation.

Can’t see the wood for the trees

Reluctant to jettison lovingly researched case studies ‘just’

because they don’t fit the question.

Most likely to take advice, so if the teachers ‘guess’ is

wrong……


What to expect from the question? • Most questions are complex i.e. have more than one side /

perspective:

• ....many are controversial, but some are not and the degree of controversy varies.

• Most questions demand discussion of more than one view.....the reference to ‘players’ is a clear hint to discuss the views of

different players.• Many questions have no ‘answer’, but rather a spectrum

Key strategy

Somewhere between key

and not key!

Not a key strategy


• A good way to understand some questions is to simplify them, to show that the original question is actually more complex than some students think:

A simpler version is:• “Explain why some cultures and cultural landscapes are vulnerable and

threatened.”• If a candidate answered this question, they would only be answering part of

the original question. Many do this of course

A simpler version:• “Tectonic activity poses a challenge to the communities experiencing it.

Discuss.”• The answer to this question is really ‘yes, it does’, whereas the answer to

the actual question is much more of a spectrum from ‘no challenge’ to ‘very serious challenge’.


Common Issues: Pre-release dangers• Over –analysing it; getting ‘hung up’ on the meaning of one word.• Focusing on one aspect at the expense of others.• Negative interpretations e.g. impacts, challenges, effects, consequences.• Pre-judging the question

• Actual question: “Evaluate the importance of different factors which influence how successfully people and organisations cope with tectonic hazards.”

Effectiveness of responses – steer towards evaluation.

Different groups i.e. contrasts + ‘cope’ is crucial i.e. not ‘impacts’

Volcanic and seismic: important to avoid a narrow answer

Range and contrasting also important

Explore the factors which influence the effectiveness of responses used by different groups of people to cope with tectonic hazards.Research volcanic and seismic hazards to examine the range of responses applied in contrasting locations.


Developing criteria and making judgments• Reports based on case studies / case studies as sub-headings – tends to be a very

descriptive ‘product’ • Candidates need to develop more conceptual Report sub-sections.• On way to develop this is to develop some criteria during the pre-release phase• Can be applied to the question in the exam:

Costs and benefits?• Economic costs & benefits• Social costs & benefits• Environmental costs & benefitsExamples and case studies can then be applied to these costs and benefits, beginning

the process of selection of the relevant material.


Planning frames

• Option during teaching is to give students a planning frame to help them develop a clear idea of what their report should ‘look like’.

• An example is given here• Probably works best when

given to students on A3 paper

• They can scribble on it and flesh out a structure for their whole Report.


...the other approach..• The alternative approach is to organise by case study e.g.GM crops in ArgentinaThe GR in IndiaIrrigation in EgyptMagic Stones in Mali• This approach tends to be much more descriptive, • More hit and miss in terms of costs and benefits• Danger of repeating very similar costs 3 or 4 times.In the exam the costs and benefits from the pre-release become the

controversy i.e. degree of soc/ eco / env controversy.


Conclusions?

This more conceptual approach might lead to conclusions such as:• Most attempts to increase food production are environmentally

controversial e.g. GM, GR, Large scale irrigation – exception might be small-scale, local, intermediate schemes.

• Socially, many attempts increase production but not food security for local people i.e. focus on cash crops, exports and non-food crops.

• Small scale schemes more socially beneficial in terms of food security, but have a small footprint in relation to the scale of the problem.

• Economically, many attempts have high initial costs which exclude many, or have elements of dependency i.e. on TNCs, Governments or NGOs.


Introductions • There are 3 important elements in an introduction:

• Focus (direction, argument, criteria used to make judgements)• Definitions (from the title)• Framework (structure, parameters, scope)

• Many answers had incomplete coverage of these aspects• Better candidates referenced definitions, often giving quotes and incorporated

these into a clear focus using key words.• Often the use of a model / theory provides a framework – as long as it is referred

to again in the analysis / conclusion. • Justifying particular examples / case studies usually helps the Report flow more

successfully.


Methodologies

• Introduction often leads on naturally to a Methodology.• It should be specific to the pre-release/title set. • Many styles possible – paragraph or table most common• Issues with the following if used in an entirely uncritical way:• Wikipedia • Youtube • Blogs etc • Issues with:• ‘the one with the parrot’ or ‘ book with green cover


Analysis and Application

Select & Apply Descriptive ‘everything I know’

Case studies / examples illustrate different points

‘Different’ case studies are actually very similar.

Factually accurate Inaccurate

Clear explanations; complex ideas Simplistic, lacks understanding

Clear, logical argument No argument, just ‘stuff’

Balanced view Unbalanced; stereotypical

Linked; one example / idea leads to another Separate accounts, usually ‘the next case study is’

Ongoing evaluation provides cement to link sections

No ongoing evaluation

Diagrams chosen carefully & used Pictures make it look pretty


Conclusions: • Good test of a good conclusion is whether you can identify the title question from it

alone• What is needed?• Recall / summary of main content – what does is show / prove?• Group of examples/ CS rather than list them.• 3 or 4 general concluding statements need to be teased out, linked back to the

Report title• Identify possible anomalies• Refer back to the models / theory - essential• Identify complexity in the question / more than one viewpoint i.e. there is no single

‘answer’ .• Last few lines need to answer the Report title directly, using words from it


Diagram use:• Useful – especially if

adapted like this Park model; it is also linked in with the text but note the key is not fully clear.

• Sometimes they add very little and are rather pointless e.g. basic location maps:

Documents

Edexcel Geography GCE Unit 4 Unit 4: Overall comments Most answers now in report style, pure essays lose marks in QWC. Recent material / examples / news