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OCR Geography - Long Essays ?

I can never score 25 mark out of 25 for the long OCR style Geography AS essays! I seem to get a B on most papers, but how come ? We only get 30 mins and the max I can write is a page and a half, but I never score well.

Does anyone have any tips ? How do I score max marks ? Is there any techniques ? How many case studies should I use and how in dept it should be ?

Reply 1

Krakykelly

can you give me an example???

Reply 2

cawcarrot

Evaluate the importance of geology of rocks in the formation of coastal landforms.

Reply 3

mirandaandhector

I did AQA, but I would have thought the following general points might be helpful:
-Make a brief plan before you start - a clear structure will not only read better, but with an 'evaluate' type question will tend to make your reasoning more clear.
-Keep as tightly to the question as you can, and practice writing concisely; this is especially important if you struggle to write quickly. It is worth seeing if you can get your speed up a bit when writing - you tend to write faster in exams anyway, but it should definitely be possible to write 2-3 sides in that time with the information at your fingertips
- Remember to refer to case studies, which allow you to give specific examples to back up your points.

With regards to the example you have given:
Evaluate the importance of geology of rocks in the formation of coastal landforms.

This question, as most will, gives you a lot of help in terms of structure.

'Evaluate the importance' suggests two key areas of focus:
1)Why is geology significant in the formation of coastal landforms
2)How significant is it IN RELATION TO OTHER FACTORS - this second point is perhaps less obvious, always give yourself time to break down the question. In this example, your answer will probably reference factors such as waves and wind and weather
You can use this as a guide as to what to include when devising your structure
Hope this helps