Examiner feedback 2014

What pupils did last year

My comments

Where questions required extended responses some candidates were able to achieve the depth and development needed to reach level 3. However, level 2 responses were more common and answers included ‘theoretical’/’generalised’ content.

Many candidates struggled to provide really clear and effective linkages between the content of their explanation and their response to ‘what extent,’ ‘how far,’ and ‘the impact of’.

Responses with little development of place specific detail limited access to level 3-examples

Generic	Place Specific
People living in the Andes	People living on the altiplano in the Andes
Indigenous mountain people	The Aymara Indians of the Andes region
Cities in the Andes	La Paz
desertification	Desertification in the Sahel region
Indigenous desert tribes	Bedouins, a nomadic tribe
Workers in TNCs	Workers for Nokia, Shenzhen China (specialist economic zone)

Many candidates did not write an evaluative statement in relation to ‘the extent to which’ aspect of the question. Comparisons were implied by many candidates rather than explicit

Lack of specific detail comes up time and time again – learn place names, learn facts, learn company names.

Most candidates didn’t know or understand the idea of ‘management’ and were unable to

assess it. Centres must consider this aspect of the specification.

Please make sure you remember the difference between global, national and local management strategies.

Management just means ways to lessen the impacts of something, to create and support sustainable development.

Ms Nelson’s Fracking PPt gives great examples of local management, mine focuses more on Global (Agenda 21, Kyoto agreement etc)

Most candidates are vague about environmental impacts such as pollution

This is such an easy fix, is it atmospheric, visual, noise? Can you use some of your science knowledge here?

Define accurately; just saying it is a “large city” or has “lots of services” is not suitable

Candidates tended to be either generic in their descriptions or write comprehensively about their location without drawing comparisons with Shanghai.

Green space and roads/transport were successful themes for candidates to name and write about. Those that did were awarded at level 3. Many candidates struggled with place specific examples of old streets and named buildings.

Again, that place specific point raises its head – I think it’s mindmap time for case study detail