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PRE-RELEASE RESOURCE PACK

FOR GCSE EDEXCEL GEOGRAPHY B UNIT 3: MAKING GEOGRAPHICAL DECISIONSRURAL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES IN UGANDA

The Decision-Making Exercise 2013© ZigZag Education 2013

Photocopiable/digital resources may only be copied by the purchasing institution on a single site and for their own use

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KEY POINTS OF THE EXAMINATION PAPER

All you need to know is in the Resource Booklet.

All you need to understand isn’t. Know your key terms; they are all in italics.

Learn their definitions and use these words in your answers.

Watch your time – 54 marks in one hour. The longer parts of questions are level

marked; higher level answers will need to:1. address the question directly2. use evidence3. come to a conclusion4. avoid copying large chunks out of the booklet

SPELLING, PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR For the first time in this unit, there will be 4 marks

available for SPaG. This means the paper total will be 54 rather than 50. The 4 marks will be awarded in Section C in a 9-

mark extended writing question. It will be made very clear which question this applies

to. You are advised to be familiar with the various

descriptors used in the awarding of these marks; it is not just about your English, but about your use of specialist, geographical terms too.

In Sections A and B you will still have this assessed as part of the levels marked answers, indicated with an *.

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PURPOSE OF THE EXAMINATION PAPER To examine geographical skills and understanding,

especially the higher level skills of making choices between options and justifying the choices made

There are three sections in the paper that mirror the Resource Booklet: Section A (Question 1): Getting to know Uganda Section B (Question 2): Understanding the issues in rural

Uganda Section C (Question 3): Looking to the future

Section C is probably the most likely to test you, but it should be fairly obvious roughly what the questions will be.

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SECTION A (QUESTION 1)

Getting to know UgandaThere will be three or four questions, 15–18 marks in total. There will be an incline of difficulty; watch

out for an asterisk (*) as marks are included for the quality of written communication for that question.

Perhaps a couple of definitions will be asked for, but otherwise extended writing will be required.

Likely command words are: define

give reasons

how whycompare

outline

explain

describe

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HINT

Work backwards, since Section C (Question 3) is fairly predictable.

If you are going to be asked which option is the ‘best’ or ‘worst’, read the booklet with that in mind.

Annotate your booklet with that in mind. Bear in mind that one chosen option might

impact on another, so think laterally. For example: providing safe piped water will

mean the rural health clinics will have water too.

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SECTION A – CLUES FROM THE RESOURCE BOOKLET

What characteristics of Uganda are covered in the Resource Booklet? The size of the country, the location of the oil and

gas reserves and the settlements The landscape of the country The people of the country, their development and

their health The population structure and population growth of

the country The economy of the country The changing wealth of the countryNote the key terms: landlocked,

plateau, fertile, TNCs, cash crops, export(s), HDI, rate of natural increase, GDP per capita, imports, HIV-positive, HIV/AIDS

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WHAT QUESTIONS MIGHT BE SET?

Something about the location of the country and the places within it?

Something about the landscape? Something about the population? Something about the economy? Something about HIV/AIDS?

Questions

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SECTION B (QUESTION 2)Understanding the issues in rural UgandaWhere is Kabujogera? What is it like? What issues does it have? 3–4 parts, 2–9 marks for each A total of 15–19 marks Some extended writing with an asterisk (*)

showing question(s) with marks included for the quality of written communication, so use full sentences and good English.

Likely command words are:

justifyexplain

definesugges

t

describe

compare

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SECTION B – CLUES FROM THE RESOURCE BOOKLETThe location is described and shown on a map. Some facts and figures are provided about the village and its characteristics.The village faces five issues: Issue 1: Rural isolation – it is a long way from other

settlements and transport links are poor. Issue 2: Rural poverty – famers are mainly subsistence;

little food is produced; a cycle of poverty exists. Issue 3: Education and the status of women in rural

areas – literacy rates are low, especially in women; families have to pay fees for secondary education; drop-out rates are high; few attend university; women have a different status to men; women benefit greatly from education if they can get it; many mothers die in/after childbirth.

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SECTION B – CLUES FROM THE RESOURCE BOOKLET (CONT.)

Issue 4: Health in rural areas – health care is limited and expensive; HIV is common; people lack knowledge about the disease; treatment is seldom provided and is expensive; sufferers have a reduced ability to work; clean water is not widely available; there is a lack of sewage disposal; many other diseases are common.

Issue 5: Energy – households usually lack electricity; firewood is collected for fuel; this leads to deforestation; fuel oil has to be imported.

Note the key terms: isolated, subsistence farmers, smallholdings, investment, households, extended family, cycle of poverty, low productivity, inputs, artificial fertiliser, pesticide, surplus, literacy rate, gender inequalities, manual labour, domestic work, dowry, maternal mortality rate, malnourished, pit latrines, deforestation, biodiversity.

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WHAT QUESTIONS MIGHT BE SET?

Something about the individual issues and how they affect people?

Something about why these issues have arisen? Something about recent changes in some of these

issues? Something about the links between the different

issues and sets of data?

Questions

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SECTION C (QUESTION 3)Looking to the future Two parts, totalling 15 to 18 marks An asterisk (*) shows that in that part, 4 separate marks will

be awarded for appropriate and accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar in one of the questions

The focus will be on what to do and why should it be done – choose a way forward and justify that choice

Likely command words: explai

nevalua

teasses

sexamin

ejustif

y

Note the key terms: Millennium Development

Goals, environmental sustainability, sustainable,

solar power, hydroelectricity

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WHAT QUESTIONS MIGHT BE SET?

Fairly predictably… Consider how well Uganda is doing in

meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Choose the ‘best’ option and justify your

choice. Identify the ‘worst’ option and justify your

choice. Choose the best option for Kabujogera

specifically and/or the best option for Uganda as a whole.

Questions

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PREPARE YOUR ANSWERS! Choose your ‘best’ option. Remember there are no ‘right answers’; you have to be able to

justify your choice.

There are a number of key points to consider:

1. What exactly does ‘best’ mean? Best for who? In what way?

2. There are always winners and losers. So, what is good for some may be bad for others.

3. Options may impact upon people, wealth (economy) and the environment.

4. Each option will have benefits and problems.

5. Is it sustainable?

6. Might there be a multiplier effect?

7. Could there be any externalities (secondary effects)? Might one option also bring other benefits?

8. Select appropriate evidence from the resource booklet to use to support your answer.

HOW TO MAKE A DECISION For each option identify the problems. These may be

economic, social and environmental. They may include direct and indirect problems. These may be short-term and/or long-term problems.

For each option identify the benefits. These may also be economic, social and environmental; direct and indirect, short-term and/or long-term.

Consider the scale of the problems/benefits – local or national?

Compare the benefits to the problems and see which option has the best comparison.

Consider whether the options are ‘sustainable’ or not. Record evidence in a grid, such as the one that follows (copy

in the booklet). It may be helpful to give scores on a scale of 1-5 for each category and then total them up to give a final score. This can help you decide which is best.

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USE A SUMMARY GRID TO HELP YOU DECIDE

Option   Benefits Problems

1

People  

Wealth   

Environment   

2

People  

Wealth   

Environment   

3

People  

Wealth   

Environment   

4

People  

Wealth   

Environment   

5

People  

Wealth   

Environment   

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EXAMINATION ADVICE

Don’t…1. Rewrite the question.2. Repeat yourself: ‘As I have said before...’3. Use vague terms such as ‘It is hard...’

without saying why it is hard.4. Write ‘all I know about the topic’ answers.5. Use bullet points – except in an emergency.6. Lose track of the time. Spend about 15

minutes on Section A, 15 minutes on Section C and 20 minutes on Section C. The leaves 10 minutes for planning beforehand and checking through at the end.

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EXAMINATION ADVICE 2

Do…1. Answer the question set. Use a highlighter –

is the command word ‘describe’ or ‘explain’, or...?

2. Reread your answers at the end. Add as much detail as you can.

3. Include evidence from the Resource Booklet.

4. Remember that you cannot lose marks.5. Conclude longer answers. Use ‘Therefore...’

and qualify with ‘However...’

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SUMMARY ADVICE The key discriminator on this paper is not knowledge. The introduction says: ‘You may not know much about

Uganda or this village. Do not worry; it is not your previous knowledge of Uganda that is being tested, but more your ability to understand the geographical issues that it faces and its future options. You can do all of that using only the information in this Resource Booklet.’

It is vital that you obey the command words and watch out for tricky words that need addressing such as:

opportunity trend

issues

features

structure

benefits

rates pattern

characteristics

problems

challenge