Pictorial & Written Material
- The command word for photographs is usually describe
- This is about observational skills and understanding what is being shown
- When describing look for:
| Observation | Description |
| Physical features | Vegetation, climate, relief, drainage, distinct features (cliff, river, desert, landslide etc) rocky outcrops etc. |
| Human features | Grouping of buildings: offices, homes, factories etc. Urban or rural or fringe settlements. Industry and transport developed or developing areas and general condition of features. Busy, quiet, modern, old etc. |
| Relief | Height and shape of ground surface, named features, overall appearance |
| Agriculture | Animals: type and spread, vegetation type: grass, barren, sparse etc. Land type: arable or pasture, ploughed or fallow, crops or harvested etc. Types of farm buildings and machinery and condition |
| Settlements | Rural or urban, features of buildings, types of buildings, use of settlements and buildings, spacing between or among buildings: linear, dispersed nucleated |
| Housing | Size and storey: bungalow, large, multi-storey, skyscraper etc. number of windows, are there building plots or vacant sites, on the urban fringe or new build etc. |
Field sketches
- Should include location/site number, title and compass direction
- Includes the key features at a site
Field sketches - strengths and limitations
| Strengths | Limitations |
| Things can be left out of the sketch if they are not relevant to the enquiry | The scale in the sketch may be inaccurate |
| Smaller important areas can be more detailed | Important details may be missed |
| Gives a broad overview of the features | The sketch may contain inaccuracies which affect the analysis for example more litter than there actually was at the site |
| Helps recall of key features |
- If presented with a photograph and asked to sketch and label key features:
- It is not expected to be completely accurate or well-drawn, but important features such as rivers, coastlines, hills, etc. must be included
- Always follow the geographical rules for sketching:
- Draw a box to frame the sketch
- Always draw in pencil
- Use colour to highlight a feature
- Use a ruler for straight lines and arrows
- Arrows go to the feature not to the label
- Never cross arrow lines
- Write horizontally to the arrow in the pen
Exam Tip
- The command word for photographs is usually describe
- This means 'say what you can actually see', not 'what you think'
- The 'what and why' usually comes in a later question
- You will not gain extra marks for explaining, but lose out on precious time
- I am looking at a photograph of a black cat and describe it as having:
- Long tail, pointed ears, long whiskers, four paws and black fur
- Now I look at a photograph of my pet cat and describe her:
- Jess has black fur with a little bit of white on her tummy. Her fur is soft, and she has long whiskers and a stubby tail. Jess has sharp claws and purrs a lot, even though she has lost a tooth, she can still bite when she is annoyed.
- Note the difference? The first describes a cat, the second one describes a cat I know, but the photo wouldn't tell me that the cat has long claws, lost a tooth, bites, purrs or has soft fur.
- Always remember to say what you can see in the photograph ONLY
- Many resources used in geography depend on the printed word
- Show understanding of any written material presented
- This material can be from any secondary sources and include:
- Books
- Leaflets
- Posters
- Newspapers
- Journals
- Periodicals etc.
- There is a need to interpret the material at a range of scales
- Consider and select a possible option in relation to the issue(s)
- Justify any decision, using information from the material to support the answer
