How best to revise for Geography

There’s a lot to learn for your A Level exams, so make sure you start early – don’t leave it to the last minute!

First, get a copy of your syllabus – this is the definitive list of what you need to know! For the highest AO1 marks you must use geographical language confidently and accurately, so make a glossary of definition and test yourself regularly. Some good ways to do this are in an Excel document, on post-it notes or revision cards, or in an app like Quizlet.

Secondly, use your syllabus as a checklist. Print off a copy and use red, orange and green highlighters to ‘traffic light’ the content. Green means ‘I know this really well’, Orange means ‘I need to do some more revision to be confident on this’ and Red means ‘I don’t understand this at all’. Do this periodically to help target your revision on the areas you are less confident about.

Thirdly, focus on your case studies. These are vital! Remember, you will lose a lot of AO2 marks on the essay questions if you can’t give detailed examples. It’s a good idea to choose case studies that contrast – such as from countries at different levels of economic development, or in different parts of the world. For each case study, summarise the main points – a mind map is a great way to do this! Put the name of the case study in the middle, and then have ‘stalks’ for the key questions. This means asking: What happened? Where and when did it happen? Why did it happen? Who was affected? What was the response? Adding photos or using bright colours is a great way to help this information become more interesting and memorable.

Lastly, practice! You will have a mock exam, of course, but it’s important to make sure you have a few goes at applying your knowledge – it’ll help you to be more confident in the exam, too. As part of your revision timetable, set aside time to do past papers to timed, exam conditions. Pay special attention to command words like ‘describe’, ‘explain’, ‘compare’ or ‘discuss’. If there are gaps in your knowledge, such as a case study you forgot, or some definitions you didn’t know, fill those holes straight away by going back and revising those sections. Going to a revision course like Oxford Science Studies can be a great way to get lots of focused time to practice on exam technique, too.

Good Luck!