Writing essays in A2 GG4 - Kay's Geography

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Essay writing in exams

GG4

Tricky words and phrases for essay writing (human and social geography)

Are you sitting comfortably? General exam tips

Got a suggestion to make?

Command words in exams - a glossary

email geography@btinternet.com

Writing essays - the essentials

Taking the question apart GG4a -Tips for choosing

Many thanks to David F Horsfall who contributed suggestions on using past papers which have been incorporated in this page. I am grateful to David for his interest and comments. Alas, any errors are my own.

Writing essays in exams - the same but different

During your studies you will have written essays. However, many of these will have been research essays. You will have had time to reflect on the title, read around the topic, take notes and organise your material. You will have made a plan and refined it as you have worked on your essay. Hopefully, you made a rough draft, which you then edited checking clarity, spelling and punctuation. You may even have written your introduction after you had completed the main body of writing and the conclusion!

In exams you don't have time to do all of that, but your approach should be much the same. Under timed conditions everything gets speeded up and is more concentrated. It will be hard work, so sleep well the night before and make sure you've been eating properly. Dehydration affects concentration, so do drink water and avoid caffeine-loaded drinks.

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Writing essays - the essentials

Draw up a time management plan before you get into the exam room. Include a few minutes to choose the question. Allocate time to plan the answer. Work out how much time is left for actual writing. Be familiar with the rubric (instructions) before you get into the exam room.
Choose the question carefully. A question which has a more complex structure (more parts) might appear more difficult, but actually give you more guidance about what to write about. A seemingly 'simple' title may allow you room to stray away from the topic (ie invites you to waffle and put in too much padding).
Break down the question into key parts. Practise on past paper questions, as shown below.
Do draw up a plan. About 5 minutes allows you to get the main ideas down as some sort of topic map diagram or simply as a list. Leave room around it so you can add ideas which come to you as you are writing. Try to list one or two case studies you can use in the answer. Draw a line through it at the end of the exam (detailed scoring out is not necessary).
Consult your plan from time to time as you are writing.
Re-read the essay title from time to time as you are writing, especially just before you write the conclusion.
Include a short introduction before the main body of your essay and a conclusion at the end of it.
As usual in exam answers, avoid lists and do not use bullet points. Common faults are using symbols or abbreviations instead of words (eg three dots for therefore) and sticking 'etc' in at the end of senteces (meaning there is someting else but I can't remember what it is).

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Taking the question apart (4a Landforms: Process and Management)

This is something you can practise using past papers (coloured highlighters are useful). Each question is made up of parts. Key words and phrases appear in the specification, which is why you should be familiar with what they mean. (See tricky words and phrases for WJEC human and social geography essay titles.) The titles used here are from GG4a Landforms papers.

In each GG4a question you need to look for:

Command words - the most commonly used are discuss, describe and explain. See the glossary for a detailed list.
The selected relevant processes (eg erosional and depositional).
A place element (eg 'named geomorpic environment' which will be a case study from glacial, arid or coastal environments).

Command word

processes

named place (case study or studies).

Using three colours, you can pick out these three parts - these are questions from the Specimen.

1. Discuss

the role of depositional processes in the production of landforms

in a named geomorphological environment.

2. Describe

how a high-energy event has been important in changing a landform.

Discuss

the success of management strategies in dealing with this type of change.

kkk

Again, for the January 2002 paper:

1. Discuss

the relative importance of high-energy events in the development of landforms

within a named geomorphological environment.

2. Describe

how either landforms or geomorphic processes may have an impact on human activity

and evaluate

the strategies used to manage this impact.

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You can try this for yourself with these questions from the June 2002 paper:

1. Discuss the relative importance of erosional and depositional processes in the production of landforms in a named geomorphic environment.

2. With reference to your chosen geomorphic environment, describe how human activities impact upon the natural environment.

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Tips for choosing - 4a Landforms: Process and Management

The two essay questions from each of the past papers differ. When revising for the paper and choosing between the questions in the exam, bear the following in mind.

Question 1

In general, the Qu1 essay titles given here test your knowledge of processes. Be sure you can discuss the processes asked for (erosional and/or depositional; high energy events or 'problem processes'). Be sure you can use a specific part of the earth's surface to show how these processes operate.

Question 2

The Qu 2 essay titles above test your understanding of why it is useful to know about processes. These concentrate on impacts and related changes and/or management issues ('people and problems'). Again, it is important to have relevant case studies to use in your answers.

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Lastly, remember that while past questions can be a guide to future papers, there is no substitute for thorough revision. Use the specification as a guide.

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