Making the grade - top tips from Miss Snell

Making the grade – Tips from Miss Snell - READ ALL OF THESE POINTS!!!!

1.       Grade boundaries are very close. Answer EVERY question in the exam. NEVER leave a blank answer. Why? Because the easiest marks to get are the ones you would write first.

Example: Explain the reasons why people move to cities [4].

Candidate A Answer: Jobs = 1 mark     Candidate B Answer: More hospitals and schools = 2 marks             Candidate C:  Sorry I ran out of time     = 0 marks

To get the other 2 marks you need to explain these further and they are nearly always the hardest to get because the examiner is looking for reasons not to give you full marks…but you have already scored half marks from writing just a few words….so better than nothing if you have no time left.

2.       Your answer length depends on number of marks. It doesn’t matter if you know the most about river erosion than anything else in the whole syllabus….if the question asks you to name two types of erosion…give TWO words only, then move on.  Similarly, writing a page for a 4 mark question is a waste of time. Have the discipline to MOVE ON.

3.       Don’t tell the examiner interesting stuff…only answer the question. E.g. If a case study asks you for CAUSES and EFFECTS don’t write about SOLUTIONS. They are not impressed at all by you adding in ‘nice to know’ information, it just annoys them as they have to sift through your waffle. ‘Need to know’ only please.

4.       Timing – Really essential. Get used to what 2 minutes feels like for 2 marks. Get used to 4 minutes for 4 marks and stick to them. Time yourself at home with a practice paper. Get someone to time you – start and stop for a question they have picked/you haven’t seen before.

5.       Bullet points are better than nothing if they are good points! Don’t do this if you can on the longer answers (6 marks or more) as there are marks for SPaG.

6.       It is OK to underline some words and capitalise them if you are running out of time and want to get a point across/some knowledge. E.g. Question: Describe the social and economic effects of flooding [4].

 

Answer:
·         SOCIAL- Damage to housing & schools, reduced quality of life.
·         ECONOMIC – Damage to businesses, costs of repairs, insurance claims.

It’s written in bullets and brief but it answers the question and it’s really easy to mark for the examiner! Full marks.

7.       Do NOT repeat the question in the answer. E.g. Explain the reasons why people move to cities [4]. Answer: Some people move to cities because…..    This is a waste of time and while you may find it helps you, it is annoying for the examiner. You can start straight away by saying ‘because they can get a better paid job’ or ‘They move for better job opportunities’.

8.       If a question says ‘using Fig.1 and your own knowledge…’ USE IT! If you have to describe a chart/picture – just say what you see! Really obvious stuff like the shape or a key term or read off a figure from a table. If you have to explain, you need to analyse further by saying how/why etc.

9.       Address both adjectives separately if there are two e.g. don’t say ‘There are many social and economic impacts like damage to housing and businesses…..’ as this shows that you don’t know the difference between the two. Structure it – social impacts include….. economic impacts include…….

10.   You don’t get marks for saying in an answer ‘the population has changed’ or ‘the environment has been affected’…you need to say HOW/WHY e.g. ‘The population has increased from __to __.’ Or ‘The oil spill has damaged marine ecosystems’.

11.   Include numbers in your case studies (at least 2)….e.g. Nike employs 350,000 people. It shows you have knowledge.

12.   Case study – don’t need a huge intro – just a bit of place specific detail/general info (2 sentences) then answer the question.