A2 Unit 4 Edexcel - Tectonics

Before we started writing our reports in class, our teacher gave us a checklist type thing which is distilled from all mark schemes in the past, showing us how to get top marks in our essays.
Here it is:

Section 1a - Introduction (10 marks)
1- REFERENCE - actually make reference to your title in your introduction.
2- DEFINITIONS - indirectly define the key words in the title so that you break the main title down.
3- FOCUS - you must state what you are going to be looking at in particular in this report. Diagrams of key concepts go here.
4- FRAMEWORK - how you are going to address the question with concepts and case studies. Make sure to mention here your 3-4 main case studies that you intend to use in the answer. These must be relevant and up to date. Each case study must be justified as to why you think it is an ideal case study to use for the particular piece of information you are discussing.

Section 1b - Methodology (15 marks)
1- PRIMARY SOURCES - people, interviews, your own experience.
2- SECONDARY SOURCES - websites, newspapers, DVDs, online essays, podcasts, magazines etc. Name specific methods, and if you can, specific articles. Justify your use of them. Cite as many as possible.

Section 2 - Analysis, application and understanding (20 marks)
Include main concepts and theories
Pepper your essay with snippets of information from other case studies.
Mention any different values or perspectives on any topic that you are discussing.
Use 3-4 main case studies. Make sure you vary the location of these case studies eg one in Asia, one in North America, an LIC and a HIC etc.
Make sure you mention both sides of any arguments even though you may lean towards one side of the argument.
Use sourcing of information throughout.

Section 3 - Conclusions and evaluation (15 marks)
Start your conclusion by emphasizing the complexity of the question set.
Recall the content/case studies of the essay as a summary (specifically mention these by name).
Evaluate at the end of the essay, but also try to evaluate throughout the essay.

Overall
1. Include headings that are underlined, in the style of a report. (eg 1.1 - Introduction, 1.2 - Methodology)
2. Use sub headings within each section. (eg 1.2.1 - Primary research, 1.2.2 - Secondary research)
3. Diagrams must be legible. Make diagrams at least 1/3 of a side. Also, annotate and figure reference the diagram. Refer to this figure reference at an appropriate point in the text.
4. Reference throughout your work, whether it be people or websites.
5. Make sure that spelling and grammar are perfect. You get 10 marks
for quality of written work and communication.
6. Use black pen to write with and a pencil and ruler to draw with.

If you have any further questions, or would like to see a sample essay, feel free to ask

So we were told to use 3 or 4 large case studies to outline the main points in our essay, with several small ones just to supplement your points.

I have attached four exemplar essays for you to look at.

Does anyone else find the mark schemes and examiners reports quite hard to understand theyre just really wordy without actually saying what you need to do to get high marks and say very little about how to write a conclusion??

We were given a generic mark scheme to use. In order to get high marks in the conclusion you need to:
1. have clearly stated your conclusion (answer to the question)
2. have thorough recall of content/case studies used in the essay
3. have ongoing evaluation throughout the report (so evaluate your methods etc while you write, it means there is less to write in the conclusion but DO NOT repeat your previous evaluations)
4. understand the complexity of the question

Essentially, answer your question while saying that it is complex and recall your case studies as proof. In the rest of your report you should have evaluated everything as well.

Hope this helps!

We were given a generic mark scheme to use. In order to get high marks in the conclusion you need to:
1. have clearly stated your conclusion (answer to the question)
2. have thorough recall of content/case studies used in the essay
3. have ongoing evaluation throughout the report (so evaluate your methods etc while you write, it means there is less to write in the conclusion but DO NOT repeat your previous evaluations)
4. understand the complexity of the question

Essentially, answer your question while saying that it is complex and recall your case studies as proof. In the rest of your report you should have evaluated everything as well.

Hope this helps!

Thank you this helped a lot!

One last question, how do you evaluate? Like I didn't get what you meant by that, is it just like comparing case studies or something?

Sorry to bother you so much, this unit is doing my head in and you seem very knowledgeable in it

You essentially have to say whether your sources were good, whether you used the right case studies to answer the question.

For example, if the question is to do with how organisations respond to tectonic hazards, you would want to talk about the work of NGOs such as Oxfam in Haiti, rather than the Bam earthquake in Iran where no NGOs responded for political reasons. BUT if you did talk about Bam, you would want to evaluate the how useful that case study was in your response to the question (not very).

You would be wanting to use sources such as the USGS rather than someone's blog, but if the blog had useful information in it, you would evaluate it: "despite the possible bias and basic information in the blog, I found it useful because it described how organisations responded to the Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption".

Hope this helps!

Hey,

I've just started unit 4 today (tectonics) and im a bit confused, do we have to reference definitions too? Like the theory from the book?

thanks!

Hey,

I've just started unit 4 today (tectonics) and im a bit confused, do we have to reference definitions too? Like the theory from the book?

thanks!

No, you don't have to reference your definitions, but if you want to, I recommend USGS for all definitions. You have to embroider your definitions into the body of writing, and do remember to define all of the key words in the question, it makes it much easier to focus your answer because the questions are so open.

Hope this helps

I'm really confused as to whether this question is on causes or impacts

I assume we have to talk about things like:

For Human factors:
- Growing urbanisation, dense infrastructure and increasing population
- People choosing to live in tectonically active areas. Ignorance, inertia and all that.
- Living in a socially and economically developing or less developed country - You could compare Californian earthquake impacts compared to Haiti 2010 for example.

I mean these all increase the impact of disasters.

For physical factors do we discuss secondary effects to earthquakes and volcanoes, such as tsunami's, lahars, landslides eg. as these are physical impacts which make a disaster worse?

I'm so unsure of all this, I was ill at college during the last week so I haven't been there D: