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Questions are written so that they can be understood, so that you know what examiners want you to tell them. Examiners do this in two ways:
Mark allocation ‘A question is divided into parts.’ You will notice that questions are set so that the marks allocated are split between the sections (except in A2 essay questions, of course). The way they are allocated is important. All of the questions in Geography: An Integrated Approach are marked out of 25. This is because we are trying to give you a chance to write in detail about a topic and so become familiar with the information you will need for the examinations. Most A2 questions from the book should take about 40 to 45 minutes to answer – but remember this is writing time. If you need to look up material or do some other research your answer will take longer to put together. You must not fail to complete the number of questions needed during the examination, so you should try to practice answering a question in the examination time allocation. (Your teachers will lead you up to this stage as you approach the examination.) Breakdown of questions The main split of the GAIA questions is into parts (a), (b) etc.; sometimes this is the only split. This means that in these questions there is a ‘barrier’ between one section and another. The examiner has a mark scheme (look at the mark schemes for the GAIA questions) which must be used to mark your answer. If you write material in one part of a question that should be in another part of the question, you cannot be given any marks for it. (It’s like giving an answer to ‘What is 3 + 3?’ when a question asks ‘What is 3*3?’. Your answer may be ‘6’ (i.e. correct for 3 + 3) but it doesn’t answer the question asked by the examiner so you get no marks.) This is probably the commonest reason why examination candidates are disappointed in their results. They think they did well because they spent all the time writing and felt they knew the topic, but if they put their answers in the wrong place all the examiner can do is mark it as irrelevant. Sometimes the question has other numbers as well (such as (i) (ii) etc.). This is usually done where there is a greater link between the parts of the answer. One bit may follow on logically from another or one may ask for a description and the next for an explanation of the thing described. If there are marks for each part you should treat them as you would (a), (b) etc. Sometimes there are two or more parts (i, ii etc.) with a common mark allocation. This is where the examiner has tried to help you to answer the question by splitting it into bits but also thinks that it is possible to link the parts of the answer – so the rule of not giving marks outside of that part of the answer would be unfair. Where this has been done you may answer as the question is set out (a i) then (a ii) or combine your answer so that the links are more obvious. If you break it into parts you should assume that (approximately) the same number of marks is allocated to each part. How examiners tell you what to do An examination question is an instruction. Remember that all examination questions have been studied by the examining team, by a question paper setting committee, by a reviser and by an assessor appointed by the examination board. They do not happen quickly or by accident! Every word and every punctuation mark has been discussed to try to make sure it conveys the meaning it should give. You should get used to studying questions to decide what the examiner wants you to do. There will be a command word, this tells you what activity the examiner expects from you. (See the section on command words below.) There will be some indication of the topic (plate tectonics or population studies or whatever). This can usually be identified fairly easily and is the key phrase in the question. There will be instructions concerning the aspect of the key phrase which you need to answer. (Geography knowledge is vast, so no one expects you to answer on all of it but on a particular bit of it.) When attempting questions you may find it useful to study them and break them down into these three bits (as a plan of your answer). You might also want to write a plan before you answer the question. Remember in the exam, however, that writing a plan means that you write things out twice – it won’t get you extra marks so spending more than a minute or two on this could be a waste of time! A plan in an examination should be no more than a few words to let you remember what you set out to write about. Levels of response Examiners want you to show them what you can do. They don’t want you to write a thesis (huge, long, academic answer) about a topic. They would, however, like you to show them that you understand something. You can do this by the way in which you answer a question (the level of your response). Low level answers (see Level 1 in the mark schemes for GAIA questions) usually contain some very basic facts – but little else that is relevant. They often do not answer the question properly or fully (i.e. if there is a command to ‘Describe and Explain …’ then a Level 1 answer would contain simple description only). Low level answers are usually awarded too few marks to pass. Mid level answers (see Level 2 in the mark schemes for GAIA questions) give more detail. They attempt to give more of the required answer. They contain more detail on the topic and any processes (i.e. if there is a command to ‘Describe and Explain …’ a Level 2 answer would contain detail for the description and begin to suggest why/how). High level answers (see Level 3 in the mark schemes for GAIA questions) fully answer the question. The answer is logical, contains detail, hangs together and covers all of the main points. Sometimes the instructions for examiners say that answers at this level contain ‘real geographical insights’ into the topic or place being discussed. Remember There is no single or model answer to an AS or A2 question. You are studying Geography in detail (in some ways as deeply as in the first year of university courses). You will all bring your knowledge and your own enthusiasms to the examination with you. No examiner expects a ‘perfect’ answer to a question, because there are always several ways to answer a question. You will bring your examples to the question (see using examples below) and you will bring the other knowledge you have. You will also bring your own writing style. The examiner marks what is there – and does not try to measure your answer against a ‘perfect’ answer. It is also important to remember that there is not just one answer which is worth all of the marks. There is always something else that could be said about the topic – but the examiners just expect you to give them enough evidence to meet the needs of the question. This would get full marks. If you give too little you will miss marks that are available. If you give too much you will get all of the marks, but you will not get extra for any material beyond that and will probably find that you are running out of time. So it is up to you to persuade the examiner that:
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