Edexcel GCE Geography unit 4: Geographical Research

Is there anyone here who's doing the option on tectonics? Just wondered how you all intended to play the introduction. I have a huge problem spending too much time on it and I think it's because I'm trying to cram in every single bit of geographical knowledge we’ve got!

Do you intend to write anything about plate tectonics, convection currents etc in your introduction, essentially enquiry question 1 stuff, or go straight into factors that make tectonic activity hazardous and scale of impact? In a mock I did (which my teacher didn't get round to looking at, it's been two weeks since I sent it to her and dropped one into her pigeon hole so I've given up) my intro went into tectonics, convection currents, boundaries, vulnerability, dreggs, disaster risk, emdat classification, before going into factors and scale of impact and how I intended to lay it out, methodology etc. Does that sound ok, or should I hone it down a little, whilst I know it's relevant geogers we do need to focus on how to get those marks.

I'd really appreciate any words of wisdom; it would be really useful to hear a different perspective. Thank you in advance (:

Hi, I'm doing tectonics too

Looking at the generic mark scheme, to get into the top band for "introducing, defining and focussing on the question", you have to have:
- clear reference to the title, develops a focus
- Indication of framework, either by concepts and/or case studies
- Accurate definitions of key terms.

So obviously it'll depend on what the exact question is, but i'd define the key terms (e.g. difference between tectonic activity, hazards and disasters). You need to say what the focus for your report is e.g. this report will centre around the human and economic impacts of tectonic disasters, as opposed to the physical impacts on landscapes or something. You also need to talk about the framework for your report i.e. how you will structure the findings... I went to a conference on the topic last november and they advised against using case studies for your subheadings, so instead of
- Mt St Helens
- Kobe
- Eyjafjallajokull

do something like
- Plate boundary
- Vulnerability
- Economic development
Then have 1 or 2 case studies to back up each point. So in the introduction you might say "this report will be centred around the (insert name) model/ concept."

Aside from that things like plate tectonic theory, degg's model and disaster risk equation really depend on if they're relevant to the exact question we get. you could bring them in in the methodology instead.

Hope that helps a bit, sorry this post is so long!! :P

Thank you, that's brilliant! In my mock I separated the factors into physical and human and the further into magnitude, vulnerability, proximity to plate margin, development etc and in each section used contrasting case studies and looked at the impacts in terms of macro/meso/micro but then further looking at long and short term and social/economic and environmental impacts and little conclusions. Although I really need to remember to use the models more as opposed to just mentioning them and really struggled with referencing properly, but think I'll be ok once I've learnt the case studies properly. Just a lot to remember but I think we're going to be ok, it's a really good focus and allows us to expand quite a lot as it's quite open (: Think it's just getting our confidence up and keeping calm! Good luck and thank you (:

processes - frost heave, frost cracking, gelifluction etc
landforms - pingos, palsas, ice wedges, gelifluction lobes, thermokarst lakes, talus slopes etc
landscapes - polar lowlands, highlands and relict
case studies - tuktoyaktuk peninsula, cairngorms, himalayas and east anglia ( the fens)

just as an overview

Processes leading to food insecurity :

- Desertification
-Salinisation
-Climate change (less rainfall)


Any more?

Yeah I think if the question does ask about what makes tectonic activity hazardous then splitting into physical and human factors is a good idea because then you cover all the bases. When putting in models I do something like:
3.1. Vulnerability
*draw PAR model, lable as figure 1*
Figure 1 above shows how vulnerability can influence....

Also, what do you mean by splitting the impacts into macro/ meso and micro? Never heard of that!

It's just a different way of splitting the scales of impact in terms of how widespread they are I suppose. Macro is global, meso is national and micro is within the community affected. And then you can divide it down to long and short term and social/economic/environmental effects.

That's a really good way of doing it! (: However, what is the PAR model? I've never heard of it. Just googled, so progression of vulnerability (root cause, dynamic pressures, unsafe conditions) meets hazard = disaster. I get it, that's brilliant, oh I really like that! It's definitely a better way of breaking down vulnerability!! Can't believe I haven't heard of that, thank you for mentioning it, I sort of have but can I steal it. My geography teacher for this unit is supremely hopeless! You've actually taught me more (:

Ah I like it! That's a good way of splitting impacts down because you could have eyjafjallajokull (almost-global), or krakatoa for macro, something like Haiti for meso (due to economic impacts), and the march 2011 earthquake in Burma for micro

Haha you're more than welcome the PAR model is good for comparing case studies. E.g. San Francisco 1989 and Armenia 1988 were very similar in magnitude (so Hazard is constant), however, the impacts were massively different, showing the importance of vulnerability

my teacher found it on jstor
how many doing cold environments in your school?

I am doing Desertification too, I think the question will be evaluating if deseritification is the greatest cause of food insecurity or not, (desertification vs other factors)

i know my stuff im just really bad at writing reports, I need an A grade example

culture people...

how are you structuring the essay... trasnformationalists, hyperglobalists and sceptics or differently??