Levelled Marked Questions (the ones with ‘extra

space’ written!)

How to achieve full marks

Do a brief outline plan

1. Organise your thoughts2. Jot down the key ideas (including

the place names and facts that you need)

3. Decide on the best order to write these key ideas

4. Put a line through your rough work and write it out in neat

What key points should you always bear in mind?

• Most of these levelled questions will want you to give examples, and so even if the question doesn’t ask for them you MUST give named examples of places/schemes, otherwise you will not score very high marks

• To get the highest marks of all you need to write some factual information e.g. figures, specific place names relevant to the case study/example - you therefore need to learn your case studies!

• You must also do exactly as the question asks – sometimes a question asks you to do 2 things e.g. write about immediate and long-term responses, and so if you don’t do this you will not score very high marks – underline the key words to ensure you don’t miss anything out

• You must try and write in linked sentences, using connectives e.g. ‘therefore’, this means that’, consequently’ etc. If you just bullet point/list your ideas you will lose marks.

Example Question:

‘Use a case study to describe the human responses to a tsunami’(9)

How are these questions marked?

• Level 1 (Basic) (1-4 marks)• Describes responses to a tsunami• Statements are general in a random order.• No example used or just generic information is

given.• E.g. ‘People ran away from the sea. They tried

to find family they had been separated from. Holidaymakers tried to get back home out of the countries affected. People tried to get injured to hospital. Mass graves were dug.’

• Level 2 (Clear) (5-7 marks)

• Likely to begin to categorise – such as immediate and long term responses – to give a clearer structure.

• May be clear imbalance between immediate and long term responses although meaning may be implicit.

• Statements are linked.

• There is clear reference to the case study named.

• E.g. ‘When the tsunami struck the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004 people were at first caught unaware – holidaymakers were on beaches in Thailand and fled as the wave approached. They tried to get to higher storeys in hotels, out of the way of the wave. After, there were many bodies that had to be buried quickly so that disease would not spread, and so mass graves were dug. Later, schools had to be rebuilt as well as people’s homes.’

• Level 3 (Detailed) (8-9 marks)• Will have a clear structure – likely to be

determined by time scale - immediate and long term responses are in greater balance with explicit meaning.

• Statements are logically ordered and linked.• Detailed references to a specific case study.

• E.g. ‘When the tsunami struck the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004 people were at first caught unaware – holidaymakers were on beaches in Phuket, Thailand and fled as the wave approached. They tried to get to higher storeys in hotels, out of the way of the wave. In Banda Aceh, Indonesia (the first area to be hit) hospitals couldn’t cope and people were left untreated in corridors. After, there were many bodies that had to be buried quickly so that disease would not spread. Mass graves were dug, as the scale of the disaster was so large, and people had to look at photos to identify the bodies. Aid agencies like the Red Cross responded immediately by bringing in water purification tablets and tents for survivors. Long term responses included £40m spent by the Disasters Emergency Committee in the first year on rebuilding projects in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, such as schools and roads, following a major appeal for aid which raised £372m by the British public alone. A new Indian Ocean tsunami warning system became operational in 2006, so that warning of future tsunamis can be given, and people are being educated on how to respond.’