AQA GCSE Geography · 3.3.1

Assessment and issue evaluation

50 revision questions with answers for 3.3.1 Assessment and issue evaluation in AQA GCSE Geography (spec 8035). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 2.2
How many exam papers make up AQA GCSE Geography (8035)?
Answer:
Three written papers, all sat at the end of the course: Paper 1 (physical), Paper 2 (human) and Paper 3 (geographical applications). There is no coursework.
Question 2 · Spec 2.2
What does Paper 1 assess and how long is it?
Answer:
Living with the physical environment (natural hazards, the living world, UK physical landscapes) plus geographical skills. 1 hour 30 minutes, 88 marks, 35% of the GCSE.
Question 3 · Spec 2.2
What does Paper 2 assess and how long is it?
Answer:
Challenges in the human environment (urban issues, the changing economic world, resource management) plus geographical skills. 1 hour 30 minutes, 88 marks, 35% of the GCSE.
Question 4 · Spec 2.2
What does Paper 3 assess and how long is it?
Answer:
Geographical applications: issue evaluation and fieldwork, plus skills. 1 hour 15 minutes, 76 marks, 30% of the GCSE, with a pre-release resources booklet.
Question 5 · Spec 2.2
What question types appear on the AQA Geography papers?
Answer:
Multiple-choice, short answer, levels of response and extended prose questions.
Question 6 · Spec 2.2
How is Paper 1 structured?
Answer:
Section A (natural hazards, all questions, 33 marks), Section B (the living world, all questions, 25 marks) and Section C (physical landscapes, answer any two of three questions, 30 marks).
Question 7 · Spec 2.2
How is Paper 2 structured?
Answer:
Section A (urban issues, all questions, 33 marks), Section B (changing economic world, all questions, 30 marks) and Section C (resource management: question 3 plus one of 4, 5 or 6, 25 marks).
Question 8 · Spec 2.2
How is Paper 3 structured?
Answer:
Section A is issue evaluation (all questions, 37 marks) based on the pre-release booklet. Section B is fieldwork (all questions, 39 marks).
Question 9 · Spec 2.2
How many marks are given for spelling, punctuation, grammar and terminology (SPaG)?
Answer:
3 marks each on Papers 1 and 2 and 6 marks on Paper 3, awarded on one or more extended-answer questions.
Question 10 · Spec 4.4
How are SPaG marks awarded?
Answer:
High performance 3 marks (consistent accuracy, a wide range of specialist terms), intermediate 2 marks, threshold 1 mark. Writing that is irrelevant or severely hindered by errors gets 0.
Question 11 · Spec 4.2
What is AO1?
Answer:
Demonstrate knowledge of locations, places, processes, environments and different scales. It is worth about 15% of the whole GCSE.
Question 12 · Spec 4.2
What is AO2?
Answer:
Demonstrate geographical understanding of concepts and how they relate to places, environments and processes, and the interrelationships between them. About 25% of the GCSE.
Question 13 · Spec 4.2
What is AO3?
Answer:
Apply knowledge and understanding to interpret, analyse and evaluate geographical information and issues to make judgements. About 35% of the GCSE, including 10% applied to fieldwork.
Question 14 · Spec 4.2
What is AO4?
Answer:
Select, adapt and use a variety of skills and techniques to investigate questions and issues and communicate findings. About 25% of the GCSE, including 5% in fieldwork contexts.
Question 15 · Spec 4.3
How is the GCSE graded?
Answer:
On a nine-point scale from 9 (best) to 1. The three papers are scaled to a total of 252 marks (88 + 88 + 76).
Question 16 · Spec 3
What is the difference between a case study and an example in the specification?
Answer:
A case study is broader and needs greater breadth and depth of knowledge. An example is more focused on a specific event or situation, is smaller in scale and covers less content.
Question 17 · Spec 3.3.1
What is the purpose of the issue evaluation section?
Answer:
It tests critical thinking and problem solving: students use knowledge, understanding and skills from the whole course to analyse an issue and make a justified decision.
Question 18 · Spec 3.3.1
Why is issue evaluation described as synoptic?
Answer:
It requires students to draw together learning from both physical (3.1) and human (3.2) geography and from skills, using more than one theme.
Question 19 · Spec 3.3.1
Where can the issue in Paper 3 Section A come from?
Answer:
From any aspect of the compulsory sections of the subject content, but resources may take students beyond it into unseen contexts.
Question 20 · Spec 3.3.1
What is the pre-release resources booklet?
Answer:
A booklet about the issue, made available 12 weeks before the exam so students can study it. A clean copy is issued in the exam, and students cannot take their annotated original in.
Question 21 · Spec 3.3.1
What types of source can appear in the resources booklet?
Answer:
Maps at different scales, diagrams, graphs, statistics, photographs, satellite images, sketches, extracts from published materials, and quotes from different interest groups.
Question 22 · Spec 3.3.1
What does the issue evaluation assessment look like?
Answer:
A series of questions about a contemporary geographical issue, leading to a more extended piece of writing that involves an evaluative judgement.
Question 23 · Spec 3.3.1
Which skills are used in issue evaluation?
Answer:
Interpreting, analysing and evaluating information, using geographical skills to set the issue in context, and examining conflicting viewpoints.
Question 24 · Spec 3.3.1
Why must you consider different stakeholders in issue evaluation?
Answer:
Different groups have different interests and opinions. Understanding their viewpoints is required to develop a critical perspective and a balanced judgement.
Question 25 · Spec 3.3.1
What does it mean to appraise advantages and disadvantages?
Answer:
To weigh up the positive and negative impacts of each option on people, the economy and the environment, in the short and long term.
Question 26 · Spec 3.3.1
What does it mean to evaluate alternatives?
Answer:
To compare different options or solutions, decide which is best and give reasons why, while explaining why others are less suitable.
Question 27 · Spec 3.3.1
What are physical and human interrelationships in issue evaluation?
Answer:
Links between natural processes and human activities, such as how building on a floodplain increases flood risk. Answers should justify solutions by their impact on people and the environment.
Question 28 · Spec 3.3.1
Who are stakeholders?
Answer:
People or groups affected by, or with an interest in, an issue, such as residents, farmers, businesses, councils, developers, conservation groups and tourists.
Question 29 · Spec 3.3.1
How should you use the 12 weeks before Paper 3?
Answer:
Read the booklet repeatedly, annotate maps and graphs, make a fact file, list stakeholders and their views, and prepare a table of options with pros and cons.
Question 30 · Spec 3.3.1
How should you begin a Paper 3 Section A question?
Answer:
Identify the location, scale and theme of the issue, and read the question carefully to see what skill is needed (describe, explain or evaluate).
Question 31 · Spec 3.3.1
How should you use maps and photographs in the booklet?
Answer:
Describe features and patterns using evidence such as grid references, labels and scale, and infer what they show about the issue, linking them to your knowledge.
Question 32 · Spec 3.3.1
How should you use graphs and statistics in the booklet?
Answer:
Quote figures and units, describe trends and anomalies, make simple calculations such as percentage change, and use them to support points.
Question 33 · Spec 3.3.1
How should you treat quotes from interest groups?
Answer:
As viewpoints that may be biased. Consider who is speaking, their motive and reliability, and weigh them against other evidence.
Question 34 · Spec 3.3.1
How can you compare the options in an issue evaluation?
Answer:
Compare costs, benefits, who gains and who loses, impacts on the economy, society and environment, and whether each option is sustainable in the long term.
Question 35 · Spec 3.3.1
What does it mean to give a justified decision?
Answer:
Choose the option you think is best and support it with evidence from the resources and your knowledge, explaining why it is better than alternatives.
Question 36 · Spec 3.3.1
How should an extended answer on the issue be structured?
Answer:
Briefly set out the issue, analyse the options with evidence and different viewpoints, reach a clear judgement, and conclude with a justified decision.
Question 37 · Spec 3.3.1
What does 'evaluate' mean in an exam question?
Answer:
Weigh up the strengths and weaknesses or the advantages and disadvantages, use evidence and make a reasoned judgement.
Question 38 · Spec 3.3.1
What does 'justify' mean in an exam question?
Answer:
Give reasons and evidence to support a decision, option or statement, and explain why it is the best choice.
Question 39 · Spec 3.3.1
What does 'to what extent' mean in an exam question?
Answer:
Make a judgement about how far a statement is true, considering evidence for and against and giving a conclusion.
Question 40 · Spec 3.3.1
Give examples of the kinds of issue that could be set.
Answer:
Managing a coastline or flood-prone town, developing tourism in a fragile environment, a new energy scheme, urban regeneration, water supply or conservation versus development.
Question 41 · Spec 3.3.1
How can issues be examined at different scales?
Answer:
The same issue may be viewed locally, nationally and globally. For example, a dam affects local communities, national energy supply and international rivers.
Question 42 · Spec 3.3.1
Why are links between different themes useful in Paper 3?
Answer:
Issues cross physical and human themes, such as climate change affecting food, water and migration, so a good answer connects ideas from across the course.
Question 43 · Spec 3.3.1
How can unfamiliar contexts be handled in issue evaluation?
Answer:
Use the resources first, then apply the geographical ideas and examples you know about similar places and processes.
Question 44 · Spec 3.3.1
Why do examiners value counter-arguments?
Answer:
Considering the other side and explaining why you still prefer your choice shows evaluation and a balanced, critical perspective.
Question 45 · Spec 4.4
Why are specialist terms important in extended answers?
Answer:
They show precise geographical understanding and are credited in the SPaG marks as well as in the content marks.
Question 46 · Spec 3.3.1
What are common mistakes in issue evaluation?
Answer:
Ignoring the resources, giving a one-sided answer, listing facts without evaluating, or failing to give a clear final judgement.
Question 47 · Spec 2.2
How should you manage time in Paper 3?
Answer:
The paper has 76 marks in 75 minutes, roughly a minute per mark. Spend longer on extended answers, leave time to check, and do not spend too long on low-mark questions.
Question 48 · Spec 4.4
Why is spelling, punctuation and grammar assessed in Geography?
Answer:
It rewards clear communication. The criteria look at accuracy of spelling and punctuation, control of grammar and use of specialist terminology.
Question 49 · Spec 4.1
What are the aims of the AQA GCSE Geography course?
Answer:
To develop knowledge of places, environments and processes (know), understanding of interactions and change (think), skills and enquiry (study) and the ability to apply geography to real issues.
Question 50 · Spec 2.2
How do the Paper 3 sections link to the rest of the course?
Answer:
Section A uses your whole course knowledge on an unseen issue, while Section B tests your own fieldwork enquiries and unfamiliar fieldwork materials.

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