Hwa Chong Institution

Integrated Humanities 2014 Sec 2 Geography

Topic: Exam Skills
Handout 4: Answering Geography Questions
Name: (

Date:

Class:
Sections
1. Prelude
2. Data Response Questions
a. On graphs & trends
b. On population pyramids
3. Structured Questions
a. Point Explanation; Point Explanation
4. Essay Questions
a. Structure of your essay
b. Structure of your paragraphs
c. The conclusion
Prelude
This handout supplies a dire need for many students: it is a primer on the
art of answering Geography questions. Every year, students enter the
exam hall (our modern day equivalent of battlements) well equipped with
multitudinous knowledge of land reclamation methods, ready to rain upon
their enemies all the possible benefits (real and imagined) of desalination
like barrages of arrows. But arrows shot in the dark inevitably miss their
mark and like their counterparts in the Battle of Red Cliff, they supply
10,000 arrows to their cunning enemies and contribute to their own
imminent defeat. If youll permit me to extend the martial metaphor just
once more, this handout will teach you what to aim at and how.
If youll notice in the first sentence of the previous paragraph, I coined this
technique as an art. One does not simply call something an art just
because it sounds fanciful; it is called an art to remind you that it is not a
science. Thus, take the material that follows as guidelines, not rules;
suggestions, not absolute truths. Remember to exercise your discretion in
applying them.

Data Response Questions

On Graphs and Trends
DRQs can come in all shapes, sizes, stripes, and spots, but they all test
one thing: your ability to interpret data correctly. Several questions will
arise which numbers should I give? or what should I say about the
trend? or Is this small anomaly worth mentioning? Below is a rough
guide on answering such questions.
1. State the
When youre asked to state something, it most probably is a number, or
an item, or a category, or anything else that can be mentioned in a word.
Its the most direct question that can be asked; be direct and only state
the thing in your answer.
2. Describe the trend
When youre asked to describe a trend, it is most probably a time-series
trend. The question may or may not indicate a start-point: if it doesnt,
start from when the graph starts.
Tell me if the trend increased or decreased, mention the start point and
the associated data, and the end point and the associated data. If youre
given a graph that has a significant anomaly, i.e. it creates a new peak or
trough, mention it too.
In addition, youll want to use adjectives to describe the rate of change. If
the rate of change is high, you want to use rapidly, drastically; if the
rate of change is low, youll consider gradually, steadily.
If you get such a question that has more marks awarded to it than usual
(i.e. its worth 2 marks or more), then youll want to do some arithmetic
calculations to make your answer worth the mark what do I mean? In
the question below, youll want to compare the eventual number to the
initial number and tell me how many times it has decreased by, or the
percentage drop, etc.
Example: Describe the trend of the birth rate in the figure below [2]

Answer: The birth rate declined drastically from 28 births per 1000 people
in 1950 to 8 births per 1000 people in 2006. This was a decline of
approximately 70%.
3. Compare the various trends shown
If asked to compare two or more trends, you need to provide similarities
and differences between the trends, while mentioning the appropriate
data. Before you start mentioning differences, use transitional phrases
such as however or on the other hand.
Example: Compare the two trends in the graph below

Answer: Both trends declined from 1950 to 2008. However, the birth rate
faced a greater decline from 28 in 1950 to 8 in 2008, while the death rate
declined less from 11 in 1950 to 9 in 2008. Moreover, the birth rate faced

a sharp decrease in 1965, while the death rate decreased gradually. (Add
this last sentence in if your Qns is worth 3 marks)
On Population Pyramids
When given a population pyramid, there are five segments to consider:
1. Overall Shape Triangular or Pyramidal
2. Base Narrow or Broad? A narrow base suggests a low BR, while a
broad base suggests a high BR.
3. Top Narrow or Broad? How high up does it stretch? If it stretches
high up to the 80 100 age brackets and is relatively broad, you
may infer that the life expectancy is high. Note that tops width
doesnt necessarily suggest any death rate death rate a narrow
top may well have arisen due to high birth rates; a broad top, low
birth rates. Be careful about how you talk about death rates.
4. Drop in terms of people in a particular age group compared to
the next This is what you may more reasonably use to deduce the
death rate. If each successive age group has far fewer people than
the one that precedes it, it may suggest that the death rate is high
(because not many people are living past every age group). Again,
this is not definite; youre only making inferences here.
5. Gender ratio Is it skewed, or even? Only mention this when a
significant segment of an age group appears to be missing it
looks as if someone took a chunk out of the population pizza.
Attribute this to migration because its the likeliest reason in most
scenarios; dont invent diseases that only males from 30 to 40 in
country X caught, or anything along those lines.

Suppose you get a pyramid like the above; which parts of the pyramid
should you look at and describe?
1. Overall Shape Triangular or Pyramidal
2. Broad Base This suggests a high birth rate.
3. Narrow Top that doesnt stretch very high (few people in the
70+ age group) Life expectancy may not be very high.
4. Large drop in terms of people in a particular age group
compared to the next suggest that DR might be quite high.
5. Gender ratio Is it skewed, or even?
Lastly, if youre asked to State the % of population above a certain
age you need to give an exact percentage!
Structured Questions (2 6 marks)
The most important thing in this section is:
Questions are marked point (0.5), explanation (0.5)
Rinse and repeat
Examples may also earn you marks, but dont cite them excessively
The more pragmatic amongst you may decide that youll never have to
write examples in structured questions since they dont always earn you
marks this is a mistaken conclusion to draw for the following reasons:
1. Mark schemes may place a cap on total marks if no examples are
given.

2. If the question begins with Using examples you have studied,

describe and your answer is devoid of examples, you may obtain
a grand prize of zero marks for your efforts.
3. Mark schemes may award marks for examples because markers
want to be kind.
Right conclusion to draw: Have at least one or two examples in every
structured question.
Example: Describe three strategies to combat problems arising from an
aging population [3]
Answer: The government can consider granting incentives to encourage
marriage and childbirth (0.5). Incentives can be monetary in nature, such
as housing subsidies and baby bonuses for couples with children. This
encourages childbirth as it alleviates couples financial burdens (0.5).
Moreover, the retirement age can also be raised this ensures that
workers do not retire too early and can remain economically productive in
the workforce (0.5). This lessens the economic decline arising from an
aging population (0.5). Lastly, more social services that cater to elderly
needs can be developed (0.5). The elderly face a unique set of needs,
ranging from social companionship to specialized healthcare. By building
more medical infrastructure and elder-recreation facilities, we can help the
elderly live more fulfilling lives in their twilight years (0.5).
Note the highlighted portions; they serve the function of explaining how
exactly your proposed strategy alleviates problems from an aging
population. Many of you like to simply state a point and leave it hanging,
without explaining how it combats the problem at hand, because you may
think that its obvious what. Unfortunately, markers lack telepathic
abilities (even if we possess them, wed insist on clear explanations) so
youll need to explain clearly whats so self-evident in your mind to us.

Essay Questions (8 marks)

Structure of your essay
For very many of you, this may be your first foray into argumentative
writing. Argumentative writing, as the name suggests, is a form of writing
that focuses on exploring the various perspectives that can be taken on
an issue, while establishing a position that takes one of these
perspectives.
To help you understand the above, first consider the fact that all
argumentative topics have two or more sides to the issue there wouldnt
be an argument otherwise! These topics range from arguing whether
Deforestation brings more benefits than costs, to deciding whether
Water conservation is the best way to meet Singapores water needs. In
each of these topics, you may agree or disagree with the sentence, which
is otherwise known as a prompt (its called a prompt, because it prompts
you to weigh both sides of the issue and argue). Therefore, always
remember to talk about both sides of the topic when writing an
argumentative essay.
For most essays, youll want to follow the hamburger structure whats
the hamburger structure?
Introduction - Bread
Three body paragraphs - Patties
Conclusion - Bread
Now will be a good opportunity to discuss how LORMS factor into your
essay. Level Of Response Marking Scheme (LORMS), as you should already
know, is the system with which markers will grade your essays. There are
3 levels in LORMS, each with its own band of marks:
L1: 1 3 marks (One-sided essay)
L2: 4 6 marks (Two-sided essay)
L3: 7 8 marks (Well-developed two-sided essay with insightful
conclusion)
Note that you cannot jump levels to progress from one level to another,
you will need to satisfy the standards set out in the lower level. This
means that even if you were to write three excellent paragraphs in in
support of your position, but fail to consider the other positions, you will
be given a maximum of L1, 3 marks; hence the above injunction to talk
about both sides of the topic. Following this dictum will lead you
easily to L2.
How you vary within the L2 band from 4 to 6 marks will depend on the
number of paragraphs you write, along with the quality of each
paragraph. Generally, writing 3 well-developed, sensible

paragraphs will earn you 6 marks. Well-developed will be defined in

the next section, along with the possible things you may include in
conclusions that will bring you to L3.

Structure of your paragraph

Most of you are 14 years old, which is really the right time for you to learn
how to write in paragraphs. To kick things off, here's a helpful way to think
of this issue: A paragraph is a unit of thought. What this means is that
when you're writing a paragraph, what you want to do is to express one,
and only one idea. Of course, good ideas are not easy to explain, which is
precisely why you need several sentences to make a paragraph. Below are
the essential sentences you need in an essay paragraph; to illustrate how
they come together in forming a paragraph, I borrow an essay from Ryan
Pan (2A214) on Responses to land scarcity. Thanks Ryan!
1. Point: State your idea directly - "An effective solution to deal with
Singapores land needs is land clearance." With this sentence, you
have encapsulated one clear point that will be the topic of your
paragraph. Your paragraph shouldn't be talking about anything that
doesn't contribute to the reader's understanding of the topic.
2. Explanatory sentences: So you've made a claim in your topic
sentence. In order for me to believe you, you need to be able to
back it up with explanation and real-world examples: Land
clearance is the process whereby empty plots of land are cleared for
other land uses. Land clearance is often carried out in urban areas
by demolishing of old buildings, and in rural areas by deforestation.
3. Examples: Another way to convince me that your point works is to
show me real-world examples and applications of it: For example,
in Shenton way and Outram, old, historical buildings have been
demolished to make way for offices and residential units. Note that
you dont need too many examples in your essay.
4. Benefits: This is the first part of an evaluation when youre writing
an essay that concerns responses you need to tell me why this
solution works: It increases the supply of available land for usage
by clearing underutilized land for other purposes. Moreover, land
clearance is fast and effective as the land can be used once it has
been cleared.
5. Limitations: This is the second part of an evaluation for
responses you need to suggest the possible ways the strategy
may fail, or the limitations to its effectiveness: However, land
clearance may lead to extinction of some species. For example, the
gorilla population in Congo has been endangered as their natural
habitats, the rainforest, are getting cleared at a rapid speed. In
urban environments, we will also lose heritage sites that have
historical value. As illustrated, you may find it useful to offer an
example in this segment to back up the limitation you speak of.

6. Linkage (AKA concluding sentence): You'll need a linkage to

"close your paragraph". Essentially, your linkage must tie back to
your topic sentence, to show how your whole paragraph makes
sense in relation to the topic: Upon deeper consideration, land
clearance is fast and effective but has detriments on the natural
environment and heritage.
Putting all the highlighted chunks together gives you a lovely paragraph
(albeit slightly lengthy) that easily bumps you up a mark or two on the
LORMS. Note that it may be too long for you to reproduce exactly in the
exam in which case you need to exercise your discretion on how much to
write. A paragraph thats shorter than this can still get you the requisite
marks:
Land clearance is the process whereby empty plots of land are cleared for
other land uses. Land clearance is often carried out in urban areas by
demolishing of old buildings, and in rural areas by deforestation. For
example, in Shenton way and Outram, old, historical buildings have been
demolished to make way for offices and residential units. It increases the
supply of available land for usage by clearing underutilized land for other
purposes. Moreover, land clearance is fast and effective as the land can be
used once it has been cleared. However, land clearance may lead to
extinction of some species. For example, the gorilla population in Congo has
been endangered as their natural habitats, the rainforest, are getting
cleared at a rapid speed. In urban environments, we will also lose heritage
sites that have historical value. Upon deeper consideration, land clearance
The conclusion
What you write in the conclusion will get you into L3 (7 8 marks). Below,
I offer a non-exhaustive list of suggestions for when youre concluding
essays, most of which are more appropriate when talking about
responses:
1. Suggest a multi-pronged approach: Think of Poseidons trident,
or a fork each of those pointy things is called a prong (well
strictly speaking, those on a fork are called tines, but). When
you stab your fork into food, you always do it with all three prongs,
right? It works the same way when were considering responses.
Suggesting an approach that uses several methods at once is likely
to get you marks if you explain that the limitations of individual
responses can be moderated or countered by the benefits of other
methods
2. Consider if the solution is long-term, or short-term:
Obviously, we would prefer a solution that is long-term for most
Geography problems (because the problems we study in Geography
tend to be intransient, or permanent). However, if long-term

solutions need a long time to be effected, maybe immediate

solutions can help alleviate the problems in the short term.
3. Consider the characteristics of individual countries: You may
choose individual countries to talk about when considering the
application of your solutions if you wish to talk about distillation to
meet water needs and the question is on Singapore, point out that
itll be too costly for us because we dont have cheap access to
fossil fuels needed to generate heat for distillation! You may then
suggest that it works better in other countries that have cheap
energy, like Saudi Arabia. If in another situation youre talking about
land reclamation methods for Singapore, suggest that we tend to
use landfills over Empoldering because they take a shorter time to
settle, and we dont reclaim land for agricultural purposes.