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A2 Edexcel- Unit 3 Contested Planet Pre-release

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Reply 20
Original post by street.lovin'
That is what I am doing. I am revising Energy Security and definitely will be answering questions in Superpower and another one - but I am not sure, what another topic would be - I kind of know more about case studies for Water conflict but Bridging Development gap is more like common sense and probably turn out to be easier... But I am never doing Biodiversity - it's terrible. :P


Yeah, I was thinking of doing Water Conflict and Biodiversity (sorry ha!) and then I was just going to try revise Bridging the Development Gap to sort of cover myself in case one of the questions is awful, as someone suggested in a previous post.
I find all the politics side of superpowers really difficult, but I guess thats not a problem for you as I see you are applying for politics! :smile:
Original post by OhNo_23
Yeah, I was thinking of doing Water Conflict and Biodiversity (sorry ha!) and then I was just going to try revise Bridging the Development Gap to sort of cover myself in case one of the questions is awful, as someone suggested in a previous post.
I find all the politics side of superpowers really difficult, but I guess thats not a problem for you as I see you are applying for politics! :smile:


Hehe, I love Politics. Well, I find Superpower Geographies the easiest out of all. But when it comes to stuffs like 'environment', 'physical geography' - I just have not got a clue. :P I dont even think I will do well in Bridging Development Gap - So I might do Water although I absolutely hate it. :P Good luck though.

I am trying to organise my notes on this sypnotic topic and if I have tim eI would type it all up and put it on here so everyone can use it. :P
Reply 22
What I'm finding easiest revising for Section C- Synoptic is planning the exam questions that teachers have given us.
i think someone posted them earlier.
By planning them you'll have the ideas that you can formulate to make the answers. I find it'll be the most effective way.
Now for the synoptic linkages -- my class were given a huge booklet that we were advised to complete to help us with this part.

1. Development pathways - USA and Canada reached a stage of high-mass consumption (remember Rostow's model of development - 5 steps to development). this equates to hem reaching peak oil. Mexico is further away on the development pathway.

2. Emergent Markets (BRIC economies) Mexico as a 5th BRIC, perhaps?

3. Superpowers - Regional Trade blocs (NAFTA)

4. Superpowers - conflict between old and new superpowers - so, the USA and China , for example. China and India, especially have started to invest heavily in African countries for the vast reserves of oil. Emerging economies need extra oil to fuel their economies too. Conflict between oil exports/imports, trade barriers etc.

5. Development gap - China in Africa - 'Neo-colonialism' (Kwame Nkrumah) - prevents the developing countries from developing by exploiting their resources for the developed country's own good

6. Development gap - the unethical behaviour of TNCs in the developing world

7. Biodiversity Under Threat - new reserves in North America affecting the natural biodiversity of areas. So, the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge)- apparently holds the largest onshore reserves in North America, but is inhabited by 45 species of land and marine mammals

Biodiversity under Threat - example, China's vast economic development, haven't paid attention to the diminishing biodiversity, i.e. the endemic Giant Panda. Lack of space for the bears. China building the equivalent of 2 coal-fired power stations every week, creating circumstances for acid precipitation etc. Possibility that the huge levels of co2 created in North America could have very distinct effects upon the biodiversity of some areas

8. Technological Fix? -- Finding and digging up new reserves requires technology & money.
Turning oil shale and sands into oil -
for example, Alberta, Canada supposedly contains up to 2.5 TRILLION barrels of oil (more than Saudi Arabia) BUT, only a few hundred billion of these barrels are reckoned to be recoverable using current technology. Therefore, more infrastructure and subsequent money will have to be found and spent...it will cost A LOT.
<<< KNOCK ON EFFECTS on the economy, the environment..

There's not a whole lot to write about regarding water conflicts. But some ideas could be...

Mexican Deep Water Oil Drilling - contains lots of oil that is extractable, however can and has caused many minor and some major oil spills and leaks which can effect the water quality and biodiversity.
Anyone else got any ideas?


Hope this has given a few ideas, yes, no, maybe?

Anyway, all the best with the exam!!!
Original post by lolly21
There's not a whole lot to write about regarding water conflicts. But some ideas could be...

Mexican Deep Water Oil Drilling - contains lots of oil that is extractable, however can and has caused many minor and some major oil spills and leaks which can effect the water quality and biodiversity.
Anyone else got any ideas?


And also the Oil Shale Development means the extraction can only be done by heating the ground to at least 400 degree. The area of the development is near tot eh Colorado River basin which is the source of water for California - the large state of America containing 40 million people, 6th largest economy in the world (as a state). The issues of water conflict and shortages have already been arisen. Therefore, Oil Shale Development can worsen the situation. :smile:

The Canadian Tarsand is also water consuming. It needs a whole lots of water to produce one barrel of oil. As it is not purely oil, to extract it it needs one barrel of normal oil and large amount of water. It also causes toxic lakes and the last point is that they might have to take water fromt he ground which means water supply for nearby areas are distracted and will cause conflict over it. :smile: But I am not sure, may need to find out how much of water supply in Arbathasca, Canada came from ground. :smile:
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 24
Original post by street.lovin'
And also the Oil Shale Development means the extraction can only be done by heating the ground to at least 400 degree. The area of the development is near tot eh Colorado River basin which is the source of water for California - the large state of America containing 40 million people, 6th largest economy in the world (as a state). The issues of water conflict and shortages have already been arisen. Therefore, Oil Shale Development can worsen the situation. :smile:

The Canadian Tarsand is also water consuming. It needs a whole lots of water to produce one barrel of oil. As it is not purely oil, to extract it it needs one barrel of normal oil and large amount of water. It also causes toxic lakes and the last point is that they might have to take water fromt he ground which means water supply for nearby areas are distracted and will cause conflict over it. :smile: But I am not sure, may need to find out how much of water supply in Arbathasca, Canada came from ground. :smile:



Oh awesome! Thanks..that's perfect!
Reply 25
anyone have any ideas on contrasting or parallel case studies, to north america's energy security (renewable potenial, unconventional and diffcult techique that has led to disaster somewhere else, that could happen in north america if they uses these techique)
Reply 26
any names or ideas on contrasting or parallel case studies, to north america's energy security (for example: renewable potential else where compared to USA, unconventional and diffcult techique that has led to disaster somewhere else, that could happen in north america if they uses these techique)


Original post by lolly21
Original post by street.lovin'
And also the Oil Shale Development means the extraction can only be done by heating the ground to at least 400 degree. The area of the development is near tot eh Colorado River basin which is the source of water for California - the large state of America containing 40 million people, 6th largest economy in the world (as a state). The issues of water conflict and shortages have already been arisen. Therefore, Oil Shale Development can worsen the situation. :smile:



dang good point!
My teacher went to an examiners meeting(or whatever)
and was saying how synoptic links are looked very highly upon and things like synoptic links and evaluative language are the easiest ways to get to the top boundaries
Original post by antipesto93
dang good point!
My teacher went to an examiners meeting(or whatever)
and was saying how synoptic links are looked very highly upon and things like synoptic links and evaluative language are the easiest ways to get to the top boundaries


I just had a mock test on this sypnptic paper and I did pretty bad at it due to the structure of my essay. It's really annoying cos the teacher said the points I made on the essays were absolutely brilliant. :frown: My structure are pretty much jumping about and she said she had to read my essay twice cos she keeps getting lost when reading it - pretty harsh :frown: So yeah, hopefully I won't mess up this exam. :frown:
Reply 29
Original post by topboim
any names or ideas on contrasting or parallel case studies, to north america's energy security (for example: renewable potential else where compared to USA, unconventional and diffcult techique that has led to disaster somewhere else, that could happen in north america if they uses these techique)


BBC News - parallel case study -- Tyndall Centre calls for UK shale gas moratorium

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12190810

Found this quite helpful.
Good luck!
Everyone, can I ask for the tips for writing this exam?

There are 7 questions we all have to write answers for. They are all essays right?

The structure of essay is Introduction, Main body and then Conclusion. I am quite confused as in Economics or Business studies for the question that says 'Analyse.....', there is no need for conclusion. But for geography my teacher says there are needs for conclusion in every question.

How much time you guys are planning to spend on each question?

I am very worried cos I always ended up spending tooo much time on the first question and then I dont have time to make a quick plan.

I need an A on this paper!!!!! :frown:

Can you also suggest me how to improve the structure of an essay?


PLEASEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM BEGGIN YOU!
Reply 31
Original post by street.lovin'
Everyone, can I ask for the tips for writing this exam?

There are 7 questions we all have to write answers for. They are all essays right?

The structure of essay is Introduction, Main body and then Conclusion. I am quite confused as in Economics or Business studies for the question that says 'Analyse.....', there is no need for conclusion. But for geography my teacher says there are needs for conclusion in every question.

How much time you guys are planning to spend on each question?

I am very worried cos I always ended up spending tooo much time on the first question and then I dont have time to make a quick plan.

I need an A on this paper!!!!! :frown:

Can you also suggest me how to improve the structure of an essay?


PLEASEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM BEGGIN YOU!


The exam is 150 minutes (2 and a half hours). It was suggested that we spend 80 minutes on the first 2 questions = 40 minutes each = 20 minutes for each part. That leaves 70 minutes for the synoptic with 3 questions = just under 20 mins for each.
Original post by street.lovin'
Everyone, can I ask for the tips for writing this exam?

There are 7 questions we all have to write answers for. They are all essays right?

The structure of essay is Introduction, Main body and then Conclusion. I am quite confused as in Economics or Business studies for the question that says 'Analyse.....', there is no need for conclusion. But for geography my teacher says there are needs for conclusion in every question.

How much time you guys are planning to spend on each question?

I am very worried cos I always ended up spending tooo much time on the first question and then I dont have time to make a quick plan.

I need an A on this paper!!!!! :frown:

Can you also suggest me how to improve the structure of an essay?


PLEASEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM BEGGIN YOU!



You dont get too many marks for an introduction/main/conclusion setup, They are looking for better organisation of your ideas, So for example, If you where asked to explain factors affecting diversity,
Each factor you think of should be in its own paragraph, About 5 lines long,(ish)
This makes it easier for the examiner to see how many ideas you have come up with etc etc....

If you where to write all if the 'factors affecting biodiversitry' in a large block of text in the middle the reader just gets lost and it souds as if you dont know what you are talking about.

A conclusion should allways include a point such as'By far the greatest threat is..)The conclusion just has to be a few lines, And just by using evaluative language you are immediately aiming for the higher marks.

also make synoptic links really obvios and the intro really dosenth ave to be that long.

Our teacher gave us some moddle answers and some of the ones that got 10/10 where only a page long !
Original post by antipesto93
You dont get too many marks for an introduction/main/conclusion setup, They are looking for better organisation of your ideas, So for example, If you where asked to explain factors affecting diversity,
Each factor you think of should be in its own paragraph, About 5 lines long,(ish)
This makes it easier for the examiner to see how many ideas you have come up with etc etc....

If you where to write all if the 'factors affecting biodiversitry' in a large block of text in the middle the reader just gets lost and it souds as if you dont know what you are talking about.

A conclusion should allways include a point such as'By far the greatest threat is..)The conclusion just has to be a few lines, And just by using evaluative language you are immediately aiming for the higher marks.

also make synoptic links really obvios and the intro really dosenth ave to be that long.

Our teacher gave us some moddle answers and some of the ones that got 10/10 where only a page long !


Thank you so much. :smile:

So the introduction I will just define a key word in the question and then that's it as it does not have to be long... I have been very worried cos my teachers are very strict when it comes to structure. I got like very low mark cos she wants us to write a lot within time limit and also to have a good introduction and detailed content and outstanding conclusion which I am struggling in doing. :frown: I am still worried but will use your advice, thank you. :smile:
Original post by street.lovin'
Thank you so much. :smile:

So the introduction I will just define a key word in the question and then that's it as it does not have to be long... I have been very worried cos my teachers are very strict when it comes to structure. I got like very low mark cos she wants us to write a lot within time limit and also to have a good introduction and detailed content and outstanding conclusion which I am struggling in doing. :frown: I am still worried but will use your advice, thank you. :smile:


yeah defining a keyword is a good idea (Make sure its relevant obviously)
A few people started by saying
' In this essay i will be discussing the effects of.....(bla bla bla "
might help, As it tells the examiner that you understand the question, and its like a mini plan





Do you all allways plan before the question?
Original post by antipesto93
yeah defining a keyword is a good idea (Make sure its relevant obviously)
A few people started by saying
' In this essay i will be discussing the effects of.....(bla bla bla &quot;
might help, As it tells the examiner that you understand the question, and its like a mini plan





Do you all allways plan before the question?


Hardly ever. :frown: I tried to plan before but I ended up writing a long plan so since then I just plan as I write the essay. :frown: But I will try to spend less time from now on. I think my problem is the time management. :smile:
Reply 36
Original post by street.lovin'
Hardly ever. :frown: I tried to plan before but I ended up writing a long plan so since then I just plan as I write the essay. :frown: But I will try to spend less time from now on. I think my problem is the time management. :smile:


My teachers have said that it is extremely helpful making a plan. I was taught I really quick and efficient way to do it

So for example, a question -- explain why oil exploration in the areas shown could lead to high economic and environmental costs (10)
This one's really easy

intro - what is oil exploration, perhaps an example

para 1 - economic costs

para 2 - environmental costs

BOTH referring to FIGURE 1.. when they ask you to study a figure..refer to it - it will help you AND that's what they want to see

no conclusion needed

Perhaps a less obvious one could be -- Assess the relative importance of named players in the global supply of energy (15)

Intro - identify that there are many different players in the global supply of energy

Then you could do ..

Para 1 - Countries i.e. Saudi Arabia, Africa

Para 2 - TNCs i.e. Exxon, BP

Para 3 - Regional blocs/trade blocs - OPEC, NAFTA

Conclusion - for this you DO need a conclusion because its asked us to assess and therefore come to an agreement/conclusion - so identify and explain who the most important players are in the global supply of energy

To get into the top boundaries of the mark schemes its VITAL to have a clear, outlined structure, so PLAN - it will only take like a minute, if you know what you're talking about and it will make writing the essay so much quicker and easier (:
Original post by lolly21
My teachers have said that it is extremely helpful making a plan. I was taught I really quick and efficient way to do it

So for example, a question -- explain why oil exploration in the areas shown could lead to high economic and environmental costs (10)
This one's really easy

intro - what is oil exploration, perhaps an example

para 1 - economic costs

para 2 - environmental costs

BOTH referring to FIGURE 1.. when they ask you to study a figure..refer to it - it will help you AND that's what they want to see

no conclusion needed

Perhaps a less obvious one could be -- Assess the relative importance of named players in the global supply of energy (15)

Intro - identify that there are many different players in the global supply of energy

Then you could do ..

Para 1 - Countries i.e. Saudi Arabia, Africa

Para 2 - TNCs i.e. Exxon, BP

Para 3 - Regional blocs/trade blocs - OPEC, NAFTA

Conclusion - for this you DO need a conclusion because its asked us to assess and therefore come to an agreement/conclusion - so identify and explain who the most important players are in the global supply of energy

To get into the top boundaries of the mark schemes its VITAL to have a clear, outlined structure, so PLAN - it will only take like a minute, if you know what you're talking about and it will make writing the essay so much quicker and easier (:


Ohhh, thank you so much.

So, if it says 'explain' then there is no need for conclusion. One paragraph for each point. :smile:

But if it says 'assess' , 'evaluate' or 'how far do you agree/to what extent do you agree' then I have to choose one option at the end so there is a need for a conclusion. :smile:

What about 'discuss' and 'analyse' ???


Thanks so much, I will try to plan plan plan and plan!! :smile:
Reply 38
This exam is doing my head in. So much to know in terms of case studies. The knowledge is there but examples are important.
Energy is a good one to come up... I plan to do Technological Fix and Super Powers or Water... We shall see.
Reply 39
Original post by street.lovin'
Ohhh, thank you so much.

So, if it says 'explain' then there is no need for conclusion. One paragraph for each point. :smile:

But if it says 'assess' , 'evaluate' or 'how far do you agree/to what extent do you agree' then I have to choose one option at the end so there is a need for a conclusion. :smile:

What about 'discuss' and 'analyse' ???


Thanks so much, I will try to plan plan plan and plan!! :smile:


Discuss you definetly don't need a conclusion. BUT, analyse you might need one.. depends what the rest of the question is..i.e. analyse the relative importance, you would need a conclusion. A question will sound whether there needs to be some concluding statement (:

and you are very, very welcome. Glad I could be of help! Good luck with the exam! (:

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