How to Answer Geography GCSE Issues Based Questions?

During my 30-year career as a geography teacher, I have witnessed first-hand the challenges faced by students in completing issue-based questions in geography GCSE papers. The thought of answering the question at the end of a long exam is often overwhelming for students and panic sets in.

Over many years, I have developed strategies to support students in approaching issue-based questions with confidence. In this article, I will share with you what issue-based questions are and what examiners like me are looking for in your answer. This will ensure that you can ace those questions and get higher marks.

What is an issue or decision-making question?

This is a question my students often ask me. Issue-based questions vary in length and are based on sources and data that are provided in the exam, focusing on a particular geographical issue. These questions may also be known as geographical decisions or issue evaluations.

In most geography papers where these questions appear, there are shorter questions followed by a main decision or analysis question. All of these questions are based on your analysis of the sources provided as well as your knowledge gained through your GCSE studies. The shorter questions will help you begin to interrogate the sources. 

The steps below focus on the highest-mark question, which is worth between 8 and 12 marks depending on which exam specification you are following. This final question is often a synoptic question. This means that you will be expected to draw on knowledge from different parts of the geography GCSE course in your answer. It will involve problem solving and critical thinking. You will be expected to analyse or discuss the issue outlined. 

Past issues have included:

• Sustainable transport schemes (Edexcel A GCSE)

• Energy options in Norway (Edexcel B GCSE)

• Challenges faced by Rio de Janeiro (OCR B GCSE)

• The location of a waste incinerator (AQA GCSE)

• The changing location of retail outlets (Edquas WJEC A GCSE)

What sources of information are provided?

In most GCSE exams, you will receive the sources in a resource booklet provided with the question paper. During the exam you will be expected to interpret these sources and make links between them. The more practice you have in interpreting sources, the more confident you will be in doing this.

The AQA GCSE course is different. As part of this course, you will be given a pre-release resource booklet 12 weeks before the exam in mid-March. You will then have time to spend interrogating the sources and considering the types of questions you may be asked. Save My Exams provides exceptional resources for the AQA pre-release materials each year. Written by our GCSE geography teacher experts, these questions will help you prepare for this part of paper 3.

An example of AQA pre-release materials – information about the proposed port at George Town, Cayman Islands

Why does geography GCSE have issue-based questions?

Understanding the purpose of the issue-based question is crucial. As I frequently tell my students, it is important to think like a geographer. Geography as a subject is all about making links and connections between people and the environment in which we live. Successful geography students see the connections and can outline how different components interact. When examining GCSE geography papers, I have often seen students simply outline what is shown in the sources without making links between them. This results in their marks being limited to level 1.

The issue-based questions are designed to test your ability to combine knowledge and understanding from different geographical topics and units. For example, deforestation in Brazil reduces biodiversity and contributes to climate change. This links to impacts on countries and people around the world. For example, climate change leads to more frequent storms, which affect coastal erosion in the UK. It may help to think of the issue as a concept map where there are links between the different components.

A concept map outlining the issues relating to tourism in the Cayman Islands

How should I tackle an issue-based question? 

When introducing students to issue-based questions, I encourage them to take a systematic approach. This means that you tackle the question step by step. 

The more often you attempt this type of question, the more confident you will become and more able to interrogate the sources quickly and effectively.

Step one: The question 

The first step is to break down the question. I recommend identifying the key themes and the specific requirements of the question. One way to do this is to highlight the command words, key terms and themes. 

An example from OCR B GCSE of highlighting command word, key terms and themes

What are exam command words? 

You must understand what command words are and what they are instructing you to do. A command word is an instruction; it tells you how you should answer the question.

I always provide my students with a list of the key command words at the start of their GCSE course so that they can become familiar with using them. These lists can be found on the exam boards’ websites:

• AQA GCSE Geography command words

• Edexcel GCSE Geography command words

• OCR GCSE Geography command words

The command words used most frequently in issue-based questions are ‘discuss’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘justify’.

What do ‘discuss’ and ‘evaluate’ mean? 

• To discuss is to set out both sides of an argument – for and against.

• To evaluate, you need to set out both sides and then reach a conclusion that relates to the question.

In other exam papers, you will be asked to make a decision and ‘justify’ it. What does this mean?

• To justify your answer, you need to outline the reasons why your view is valid.

• This may involve outlining alternative views and actions before discounting them.

• It is important to be clear about the positives and negatives of the options.

• For the option you have chosen, the positives should outweigh the negatives.

Step two: Plan

Plan the information you are going to include. This can be a brief list of bullet points of the key issues, and arguments for and against. The examiner wants to see that you:

• Have a thorough understanding of the concepts covered across different topics in the course

• Can identify how the different aspects of the course interact

• Can apply case study/data source knowledge within your answer.

A quick plan will give you the foundation for structuring a successful answer.

My students are often concerned about writing on the resource booklet. Do not worry about this! The resource booklet is there to help you and annotating the sources of information will help you to keep your answer focused on the question.

Not answering the question asked

Step three: Write your answer

Write your answer using the following structure:

1. Introduction – this should show the examiner that you know what the question is about. 

   • Define any key terms. For example, in a decision question about the use of greenfield and brownfield sites, you should define both terms. 

   • Some exam boards may also require you to state your decision at the start of your answer.

2. Main body of the answer – this is where you demonstrate your ability to apply your geographical knowledge and understanding, linking information from different sources. You can use the Point, Explanation, Example, Link (PEEL) structure if it helps, but this can lead to you worrying more about whether you have completed the steps correctly than what you are writing. The key things you need to include are:

   • Balance – explanations of both sides of the argument/opposing views 

   • Evidence to support the information you have outlined as facts and figures from the sources and your knowledge.

3. Conclusion – in the conclusion you repeat your overall decision/view and justify it by summarising why it is valid. Your conclusion should highlight that you have proven your decision/view.

   • This only needs to be two or three sentences. 

   • It should not simply repeat the information in the main body of your answer.

How can I write a great answer in such a short time?

One of my students’ main concerns is being able to write a great answer in the 10–15 minutes available for these questions. As outlined in step two, I always advise them to spend a couple of minutes at the start planning their answer. This will save you time!

A concise and clear answer is more likely to score higher marks than an answer that goes on for too long and loses focus. The best answers I have seen as a GCSE examiner are those where there is a clear plan, and where the student has listed on the side of the paper the main points they intend to cover before starting their answer.

What is SPaG?

Some of the issue-based questions also have marks awarded for SPaG. This refers to the marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. There are 3 marks awarded for SPaG in most GCSE geography papers. It is important that you ensure that you take care to spell correctly (particularly key terms), that you use punctuation correctly, and that you divide your answer into clear paragraphs. The easier your answer is to read, the more quickly the examiner will be able to identify the relevant information.

Other FAQs

What is the best way to revise for issue-based questions?

• The issue-based questions are all about the skills of taking information from a range of sources, and using them to answer the question. 

• The key is practice and more practice! 

• Use past papers from Save My Exams to practise answering the questions. Then use our model answers written by expert geography teachers to check your answers.

What are the common mistakes and how can they be avoided?

Every year, as a GCSE examiner, I have to write an examiner’s report to highlight any common errors. For the issue-based questions, the same mistakes come up year after year. I have mentioned these above but they are also summarised below to help you avoid making the same errors.