JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• The examination does not give candidates a choice
  of questions.
• The questions set are of an open style, designed
  to give candidates the opportunity to display
  their knowledge and understanding.
• The first section of each question has a skills
  focus that required the candidate to use
  resources as a central element of their answer.
• The assessment of geographical enquiry is
  integral to G1 and G2

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• G1 GENERAL ISSUES
• There were some excellent papers seen by
  examiners and the questions set seemed to
  differentiate the candidates well.
• There was little evidence of misinterpretation of
  questions, particularly in Questions 1 and 2.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• G1 GENERAL ISSUES
• Question analysis in some cases candidates did
  not respond to the command words and as a result
  their knowledge was not applied in a directed
  manner.
• Q2 (b) Explain the processes that cause two
  hazards
• associated with tectonic activity.
• The question has a focus on the cause of the
  hazard rather than the impact of the hazard.
  There will be a wide variety of hazards
  identified and explained which could be the
  result of earthquakes or volcanic activity, or a
  combination of both. Hazards may be primary or
  secondary.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• G1 GENERAL ISSUES
• The use of examples is highlighted on the front
  of the examination paper and constitutes one
  element of assessment within the mark scheme.
• Level 1 0-3marks
• Only one hazard addressed.
• Superficial understanding of processes that
  produce selected hazards
• Little use of examples.
• Level 2 4-7 marks
• Two hazards addressed but there may be an
  imbalance.
• Understanding of process has some depth and is
  well linked to the hazard produced.
• Examples are evident and enhance the explanation
• Level 3 8-10 marks
• Two hazards addressed in detail.
• Detailed understanding of process and integrated
  link to hazard produced.
• Good examples.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• G1 GENERAL ISSUES
• The new approach to the assessment of enquiry
  means that candidates need to have completed a
  study in all stages of a geographical study
• Time allocation was a problem with a number of
  candidates.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK
Candidates generally displayed good mastery of
the skills required
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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK
KAMCHATKA Why go? Banished at the far eastern tip
of Siberia, Kamchatka is a rough, tough, bearded
Cossack of a place. Two hundred volcanoes, 29 of
them active, one road for a peninsula the size of
the UK What is there to do? Get seismic.
Kamchatka is a geothermic hotspot sooner or
later, youll be climbing a volcano. The easiest
one to knock off is Avachinskaya (2,741 metres),
which looms above the regions capital. If its
sulphur youre after, nowhere is more
spectacularly bursting in the noxious stuff than
the Valley of the Geysers. It has the second
highest concentration of geysers on earth. Some
200 geysers gurgle and spew along the banks of
the Geysernaya River (85F even in winter).
Perhaps the most spectacular of Kamchatkas
volcanic clusters is the area around Mount
Mutnovskaya, which erupted in 1994 thermal
rivers run off its slopes, hot springs bubble at
its base and fumaroles are everywhere camping in
its ominous shadow is an eerie but magnificent
experience. Getting around helicopters and
vezdekhods (half tank, half personnel carrier)
not a rental car in sight. Tour operators Exodus
(www.exodus.co.uk) has 19 days in Kamchatka for
2,995pp, full-board, with 13 days of moderate
trekking in the Kronotsky Reserve, the Valley of
the Geysers and Uzon Valley. Pioneer tourist
rating 9/10 The identification and analysis of
different groups was an element where candidates
lost credit
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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Q1 (b) Explain how one environmental factor and
  one
• human factor may lead to climate
  change.
• Characteristics of good answers
• Balanced address both environmental and human.
• Direct response to the question explanation of
  the process with link to climate change.
• Examples specific event such as volcanic
  eruption or regional approach such as El Nino in
  the Pacific.
• Avoidance of impact description as a focus this
  what the Little Ice Age was like, this is the
  impact of global warming in the Arctic.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Q1 (c) Outline the impacts of climate change on
• one society you have studied.
• Characteristics of good answers
• Identification of the society selected could be
  a particular group of people such as Inuits or
  people who occupy a region such as Tuvalu,
  Bangladesh etc.
• Reference to the climate change sea level rise,
  extreme weather, shifting climate bands.
• The most frequently referred to impacts were
  identified on the economy, demographic changes
  and migration, disease and culture.
• Reference to flood events was carefully applied
  to extreme weather

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Q2 (b) Explain the processes that cause two
  hazards
• associated with tectonic activity.
• Characteristics of good answers
• Specific hazards identified lahars, tsunami,
  liquefaction etc. Those that took the earthquake
  and volcano route needed to be aware of the
  hazard element of the question.
• Focus on process rather than impacts.
• Use of examples.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Q2 (c) Outline the demographic and economic
  impacts
• of tectonic activity.
• Characteristics of good answers
• Direct reference to the required impacts
  question analysis evident
• Development of factual knowledge
• Popular reference was made to Kobe, the Indian
  Ocean tsunami, Mt St Helens, Unzen, Montserrat,
  Sichuan and Kashmir.
• Comparison of required impacts using examples of
  events in locations at different stages of
  development

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Question 3
• Not as successful
• - time management,
• - lack of preparation,
• - lack of understanding,
• - need to be flexible in thinking, especially
  for 3(b)
• - restricted understanding of the enquiry
• method

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Generally well answered

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Candidates should come to the examination
  appreciating
• that the whole process of conducting an enquiry
  is in
• stages
• the initial planning stage where the main
  question and / or hypothesis is created and
  thorough preparations are made to collect primary
  and / or secondary data
• the actual process of data collection
• data refinement and display
• description analysis and interpretation and
• conclusion and evaluation.
• 3 (b) and 3 (c) can address any part of this
  sequence

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Good answers made comment on ease by which
  patterns
• of extreme weather could be identified.
  Limitations were
• general more detailed and displayed a critical
  awareness
• of lack of actual figures on the amount of
  precipitation,
• inconsistent shading intervals and the shortness
  of the
• collection period.
• Not expected that candidates will cover a formal,
  critical
• analysis of every technique cited in the
  specification.
• Candidates should be prepared to think in (b)
  exposure
• to a variety of techniques during teaching is a
  help.
• Candidates could be asked to identify good and
  bad
• points of a graph, map questionnaire, sampling
  method
• etc during lessons.
• 3 (b) will be developed from the content of 3(a)

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Examiners reported that it was evident that
• candidates had either completed a
• geographical investigation or had not gained
• the knowledge, understanding and skills that
• resulted from such an exercise.
• 3 (c) will require candidates to report on, or
• evaluate, an enquiry they have completed. The
• five stages are really the basis of the questions
• set.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

• Successful studies had been carried out on
• infiltration rates across a slope,
• variations in discharge down a stream,
• the perception of flood hazards and
• methods used by individuals to combat climate
  change.
• There were also investigations that used
  secondary information to examine flooding and the
  factors that impacted on the amount of damage
  caused by earthquakes but these were less
  confident in an assessment of the methods of data
  collection.

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JANUARY EXAMINATION FEEDBACK

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