GCSE Geography Week 4 Exam Preparation Tips

Smashing short answer questions

This week we’re going to focus on the more technical side of the exam. We’ve covered content such as processes and case studies in the last few weeks but today we’re going to look at how to guarantee you’ll get all the marks on short answer questions in your exam.

The structure I am going to show you today is made up of a four-item checklist. By remembering this checklist in the exam, writing your answers for these questions will be simple! The checklist is as follows:

· Highlight the keywords

· Number of marks = number of points needed

· Use technical vocabulary

· Development of points

At this point in the lead up to your exams, you should be at the stage where you are coming to the end of revising and starting to do loads of past papers. This blog and the next blog will help with ensuring you are answering the question with the correct technique.

1) Highlight the keywords

The first thing when you see a question is naturally to read it. The issue is some students only read the question once and think they know what to do; this means if they’ve read it wrong they probably might not even notice and in the end, they will have an answer to a totally different question written down. What you want to do is read it once normally. Then read it again and properly take it in. Then you want to highlight or underline the keywords in the question. Highlight the question word (I.e. why….? Explain how….? Give a reason why…?) This will help you to make sure you phrase your answer correctly. Next highlight the keywords of the topic the question is asking you to discuss and maybe annotate around the questions what these mean.

2) Number of marks = number of points needed

The number of marks indicates how many different schools of thought your answer should have. A 20 marker and an 8 marker could have the same question but different techniques are needed to answer the question in the mark scheme expects you to. Focussing on short answer questions such as 4,6, and 8 markers, the structure of your answer is going to be as follows:

4 marker:

1 point + 1 explanation/development

1 point + 1 explanation/development

6 marker:

1 point + 1 explanation/development

1 point + 1 explanation/development

1 point + 1 explanation/development

8 marker:

1 point + 1 explanation/development

1 point + 1 explanation/development

1 point + 1 explanation/development

1 point + 1 explanation/development

I’ll speak in more depth about developing your points in a few steps’ time but for now, this is the main structure you need to keep in mind. If your content is correct applying it in this manner will help you to try and tick off enough of the required number points by the mark scheme. Having less will mean that even if all your content included is correct you will automatically not receive full marks. A good idea is after highlighting the question on the side make a few quick bullet points made of two or three words that help you to plan your answer to make sure you have enough points.

3) Use technical vocabulary

This is something that you might easily forget whilst you’re writing away. But it is what will increase your chance of having an answer in line with what is written on the mark scheme. In some cases, it is what will cost most students a whole mark. This is because sometimes a keyword or terminology is what a whole mark is. It will also enhance the quality of your answer and will help to show the examiner that you know exactly what you are talking about. This is something you can do when annotating and highlighting your question.

For example: if the question asks about erosion, highlight erosion then annotate next to it words such as abrasion, corrosion, hydraulic action, and attrition so that when you are writing your answer you don’t forget to include these.

4) Development of points

Lastly development of points. This is where you can get most of your points. Explain why you have used the point that you have? How does this answer the question? Try to be concise and don’t waffle, make it clear what your points are to the examiner. You want to use lots of connective conjunctions to make it flow better and show the different ideas that you are using.

Now that we have that sorted you should be all set to ace these short answer questions!! Next week we’re onto those horrid long answer ones but don’t worry we will make it as easy as possible! And less horrid!

Have any questions about how to prepare for your GCSE exams? Having problems with any hard to understand content or tricky past exam questions? Then ask Dharaa. Dharaa will be hosting a series of Q&A webinars in the 2 weeks before final exams. Post your questions here, and Dharaa will answer them in these sessions.