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A2 Geo exam in 3 weeks!! No revision done so far!!? Help!

Hi, i am studying Edexcel Geo A2. My exams are beginning of June 5th(Unit 3), 9th(unit 4).
And i have not started intense revision yet.

for unit 3 , i have revised water conflict, energy, superpowers, but need to recap. What two topics will you guys be revising for this? I haven't even started past papers, how are you guys revising for this unit?

For the pre release, my teachers has given booklets, which i have been working through, but still need to revise the content. I have not even started to revise the Bridging Development Gap content. How are you guys revising the development gap topic, so it links in with the pre release?

For unit 4, i am doing Health Pollution, and majority of research is done for focus and the 'explore' bit. However i have not done E4, and am confused on whether i should or not. will you guys be doing Eq4, but it does have hardly anything to do with the pre release? What case studies have you done for the exam for unit 4 ?

i have hardly any motivation and only 3 weeks left. Any opinions and advice apprieciated.

Thanks guys!
Hey :smile:

I did this exam last year and I'm now studying geography at Oxford, so I can give you some tips if you need them! For Unit 3 last year I did Biodiversity, Water and Energy, three topics that i found linked together really well. With your revision for Section A of unit 3 finding the links between the topics you study is key, and this will aid you even more in Section B!
For the pre-release (on the Panama Canal region I believe?) the most important thing is to revise some basic background material from the Development Gap topic (such as different types of aid, examples of how nations develop, Rostow's model etc) and try and bring them into one of your essays. I can't imagine a situation where you won't be able to bring development models (either Rostow's or Wallerstein's world systems theory) into an essay for development, so supplementing your knowledge of the pre-release with some background from the course will be very helpful!
For the pre-release itself, just work through it and examine the figures (graphs especially) very carefully- we were given a question directly relating to a graph last year, and that threw a lot of people off in this section, giving them some really poor marks. But the most important thing for Section B is not to worry! Just make sure you know the pre-release VERY well and use synoptic links to the rest of the course to supplement (e.g. how might the discussions surrounding new waterways in the region potentially bring about conflicts over water?).

I'm afraid i did Cold Environments for Unit 4 so I can't help you there, but if you need some help with more basic ideas such as structure then that's not a problem.

Good luck!
Original post by Bigbarlow180
Hey :smile:

I did this exam last year and I'm now studying geography at Oxford, so I can give you some tips if you need them! For Unit 3 last year I did Biodiversity, Water and Energy, three topics that i found linked together really well. With your revision for Section A of unit 3 finding the links between the topics you study is key, and this will aid you even more in Section B!
For the pre-release (on the Panama Canal region I believe?) the most important thing is to revise some basic background material from the Development Gap topic (such as different types of aid, examples of how nations develop, Rostow's model etc) and try and bring them into one of your essays. I can't imagine a situation where you won't be able to bring development models (either Rostow's or Wallerstein's world systems theory) into an essay for development, so supplementing your knowledge of the pre-release with some background from the course will be very helpful!
For the pre-release itself, just work through it and examine the figures (graphs especially) very carefully- we were given a question directly relating to a graph last year, and that threw a lot of people off in this section, giving them some really poor marks. But the most important thing for Section B is not to worry! Just make sure you know the pre-release VERY well and use synoptic links to the rest of the course to supplement (e.g. how might the discussions surrounding new waterways in the region potentially bring about conflicts over water?).

I'm afraid i did Cold Environments for Unit 4 so I can't help you there, but if you need some help with more basic ideas such as structure then that's not a problem.

Good luck!


thank you! So how did you actually revise for unit 3? More past papers or just memorizing the info?

Yes it is on panama, costa rica, and nicaruga. So what parts of the development gap topic should i revise? It would be of great help if you could tell me, because i'm really stuck on this bit/

What tips could you give for structure for the unit 4 report? How did you do it? I am aiming to get 50 marks at least.
Yeah no problem.
My main revision strategy for Unit 3 was to use the Specification for the unit, directly structuring my revision around the areas highlighted by the spec. I would highlight a section of the spec, then revise that exact topic, making sure that I was comfortable/knew the wording of the exact question, helping to limit any surprises there might be from that. It was also really useful to compare the specification to past paper questions: I did that last year and was able to accurately predict that there would be a 15 mark biodiversity question on Players in biodiversity. So I strongly suggest using the specification for Unit 3, which I have attached here (http://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/A%20Level/Geography/2013/Specification%20and%20sample%20assessments/UA035234_GCE_Lin_Geog_Issue_4.pdf)

From the specification, I would suggest that you look at in particular the section on 'reducing the development gap' which includes theories such as Rostow's Modernisation model or Wallerstein's World Systems theory, which link very nicely to the pre-release section on the development of new mega projects in the Panama Canal region, and the possible development of new projects in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and how these could bring positive and negative outcomes (perhaps stress the top-down approach and how the benefits do not always 'trickle down'). With the pre-release, they often like to ask an (approximately) 10 mark question that involves comparing the countries that the pre-release discusses. I would therefore also work through the pre release by building comparison tables, for economic and social indicators like GDP, HDI etc.

For Unit 4, it's a difficult one as each topic is different in terms of what it calls for. But, on a basic level, there are a few things that they really like each report to have in it:
-Numbered sections (e.g. 1.1, 2.3, etc)
-Introduction highlighting an exact intro to the question set, definitions and key sources/methods used.
-The main body of the essay clearly signposted, with each section having a definitive structure (including a small conclusion)
-A conclusion that contains NO NEW EVIDENCE, and sums up the argument from each section, coming to an overall conclusion
Time is a problem in this exam, so if time is running out, then the most important thing is that you put in a conclusion. You can 'finish' your main body by writing in the points you would have made in bullet points, but always ensure you have a strong conclusion, as this makes up almost 20% of the marks awarded.
I wrote my report like this and did pretty well, so I would suggest that you do the same.

Finally, the Edexcel Website is the most important resource out there! It contains examiners' reports (especially useful for Unit 4), past papers and the specification. I would suggest that you use it!

Let me know if you need any more help!
Best of luck!
Original post by Student5365968
Hi, i am studying Edexcel Geo A2. My exams are beginning of June 5th(Unit 3), 9th(unit 4).
And i have not started intense revision yet.

for unit 3 , i have revised water conflict, energy, superpowers, but need to recap. What two topics will you guys be revising for this? I haven't even started past papers, how are you guys revising for this unit?

For the pre release, my teachers has given booklets, which i have been working through, but still need to revise the content. I have not even started to revise the Bridging Development Gap content. How are you guys revising the development gap topic, so it links in with the pre release?

For unit 4, i am doing Health Pollution, and majority of research is done for focus and the 'explore' bit. However i have not done E4, and am confused on whether i should or not. will you guys be doing Eq4, but it does have hardly anything to do with the pre release? What case studies have you done for the exam for unit 4 ?

i have hardly any motivation and only 3 weeks left. Any opinions and advice apprieciated.

Thanks guys!



IM IN THE SAME SITUATION. I don't know where to start from
I'm doing energy security and tech fix for unit 3
for unit 4 im doing cultural diversity
Original post by Be.a.trix
I'm doing energy security and tech fix for unit 3
for unit 4 im doing cultural diversity


If i were you I'd try and do three options for section A of unit 3 just to make sure that you have covered your bases in case the question for one of your options is not particularly good! If you follow some of my advice given above and use the specification well then I'm sure that you will be fine!
Original post by Bigbarlow180
If i were you I'd try and do three options for section A of unit 3 just to make sure that you have covered your bases in case the question for one of your options is not particularly good! If you follow some of my advice given above and use the specification well then I'm sure that you will be fine!


ok. thanks a lot, but do you think I have enough time to do that?
Original post by Be.a.trix
ok. thanks a lot, but do you think I have enough time to do that?


Yes you have plenty of time! The exam is on the 5th of June! There's more than enough time to do most of a third topic. The important thing is that you learn the core basics plus a couple of other case studies, just don't do it in as much detail as the other three. So I'd do a third topic, water conflicts for example as it links well with energy, in less detail to make sure you've covered all of your bases!
Original post by Bigbarlow180
Yes you have plenty of time! The exam is on the 5th of June! There's more than enough time to do most of a third topic. The important thing is that you learn the core basics plus a couple of other case studies, just don't do it in as much detail as the other three. So I'd do a third topic, water conflicts for example as it links well with energy, in less detail to make sure you've covered all of your bases!


ok thanks:smile:

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