Pictorial & Written Material (AQA GCSE Geography)

• The command word for photographs is usually describe

• This means 'say what you can actually see', not 'what you think'

• The 'what and why' usually comes in a later question

• You will not gain extra marks for explaining, but lose out on precious time

• I am looking at a photograph of a black cat and describe it as having:

  • Long tail, pointed ears, long whiskers, four paws and black fur 

• Now I look at a photograph of my pet cat and describe her:

  • Jess has black fur with a little bit of white on her tummy. Her fur is soft, and she has long whiskers and a stubby tail. Jess has sharp claws and purrs a lot, even though she has lost a tooth, she can still bite when she is annoyed. 

• Note the difference? The first describes a cat, the second one describes a cat I know, but the photo wouldn't tell me that the cat has long claws, lost a tooth, bites, purrs or has soft fur. 

• Always remember to say what you can see in the photograph ONLY

The photograph below shows a feature of a river in its upper course.

1. Identify the landform in the photograph                    [1 mark]

2. Sketch and label the key features of this landform  [4 marks]

Answer:

1. Waterfall and gorge [1]

2. 

[4]

Increasing food supply can be done by increasing the area of cultivation or by making agriculture more intensive. Figure 1 below describes some of these methods.

Figure 1

Using information from Figure 1 only, describe:

(i) Two ways of increasing the area cultivated               [2 marks]

(ii) Two ways of making agriculture more intensive        [2 marks]

Answer:

• The key word here is 'describe', not state

• This means you need to briefly add how each idea has increased cultivation or how agriculture has been intensified etc. 

  • Mechanisation has intensified agriculture through cutting down time spent on jobs such as ploughing, sowing or harvesting

  • Increasing the amount of fertiliser increases crop yields, and can shorten growing time, increasing opportunities to grow two crops in one season

Suggest one reason for the shift in manufacturing production shown.

[3 Marks]

Answer:

• You will be awarded 1 mark for an idea from the resources, and up to a further 2 marks through explaining why this might be

  • Countries like China can offer car manufacturers new markets [1], which increases sales of vehicles locally and this increases company profits (d) [1]

  • By-passing Mexico is due to costs of production [1] China has a larger work force but also a cheaper one as well (d) [1] This cuts the cost of manufacturing (d) [1] and Ford is taking a decision to move to an area with one of the lowest costs to maximum profits (d) [1]

  • Advances in technology allows relocation of manufacturing to overseas countries [1] this stimulates growth of new jobs (d) [1] but also maintains the quality of the finished product (d) [1]

Read Figure 1 below:

Figure 1

Suggest how government policies and other factors may have reduced Vietnam's birth rate.

[4 Marks]

Answer:

• Suggest means use your overall knowledge and understanding give a likely reason why

• As this is for four marks, you would need to identify four possible ideas

• Any four from ideas such as:

  • Government restricted family size/restricted number of children by the use of two-child limit [1]

  • People fined/had land taken off them/lost income if they did not follow the policy [1]

  • Contraception/abortions made available or made cheaper [1]

  • Campaigns for people to use contraception/abortions [1]

  • People concentrating on careers [1]

  • Education of women [1]

  • Education about family planning [1]

  • Later marriages [1]

  • Improvement of infant healthcare/lower IMR (infant mortality rate) [1]

  • Pensions [1]

  • Mechanisation of farms/less agricultural work/more emphasis on secondary and tertiary sector etc. [1]