GCSE Geography Paper 3 Predictions AQA

Main ideas / lessons

• Paper 3 still requires revision, even though a pre-release resource booklet is provided for Section A. You won’t have time to read it in the exam, so you must be familiar with its content.
• Section A (pre-release) will strongly follow a familiar pattern: repeated question types including one 9-mark question and multiple 6-mark questions, likely linked to the booklet’s topics (notably water management and reservoirs).
• Section B (unseen/unfamiliar fieldwork) focuses on fieldwork skills rather than specific case studies you already know.
• Section C (your own fieldwork) will ask about your real investigations, typically:
  • physical fieldwork questions and human fieldwork questions
  • a longer question often asking you to link your work to geographical theory or justify methods and improvements.

---

Methodology / instruction list (what to do to prepare)

1) Before the exam: what to revise

Section A

• The pre-release booklet
  • Know everything inside the booklet well enough that you can answer without rereading.
  • Revise likely argument structures for a reservoir proposal decision question.

Fieldwork (overall)

• Revise unseen fieldwork and fieldwork skills.
• Revise skills from your own school fieldwork too (because questions can be based on it).

---

2) Section A preparation (9-mark + 6-mark pattern)

A. The likely 9-mark question (argument format)

• Expect a question similar to:
  • “Do you think the reservoir should be built?” / “Should the proposal go ahead?”
• Preparation approach:
  • Plan your response in terms of pros vs cons:
    • Pros: improving/increasing water supply, meeting water demand, supporting population growth and more houses being built, etc.
    • Cons: negative impacts on farmers, local people, potentially more traffic to the area, etc.
  • Use the common “tick yes/no then argue” approach (as described).
  • Remember the 9-mark question includes:
    • 3 marks for spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPaG).

B. The likely 6-mark questions (what they may test)

• Expect two or three 6-mark questions, often:
  • One on the first double page (Figure 1)
  • One on the second double page (Figure 2) (sometimes more than one)

• Likely topic areas to focus on:

  • Why water management in the UK is increasing in difficulty

    • Combine multiple figure ideas, such as:
      • increasing population (especially south of England)
      • climate change altering rainfall patterns
      • less rainfall in the southeast where population is higher

  • Sustainable management strategies for water supplies

    • Possible content includes:
      • reducing leakage from pipes
      • increasing public awareness about water use
      • other strategies shown in Figure 2

• Map skills likely needed (because Figure 2 contains a detailed map):

  • practice:
    • measuring distances
    • using grid references
    • using contour lines (as applicable)

---

3) Section B preparation (unseen fieldwork & skills)

Be ready for questions about:

A. Selecting suitable data presentation techniques

• Choose the method based on the data type:
  • Percentages → pie chart
  • Categories → bar chart
  • Changes over time / distance → line graph

B. Improving reliability vs accuracy

• Reliability: improve by increasing the amount/coverage of data

  • collect data at different times of day and different times of year
  • use more secondary data
  • increase sample size / expand data collection

• Accuracy: improve by improving measurement precision

  • use more technical equipment so measurements/readings are more precise

C. Common-sense question design

• If asked what question a student could ask (e.g., about tourism), use the task context and read carefully:
  • survey members of the public about perceived benefits/negatives of tourism
  • survey visitors about what they came to do
  • ask visitors how far they traveled, etc.

---

4) Section C preparation (your own fieldwork)

Expected structure (as described)

• A couple of questions on physical fieldwork
• A couple of questions on human fieldwork
• A 9-mark question, often choosing between responding to either physical or human fieldwork

Likely question types

• A theory link question:
  • explain how one investigation links to geographical theory
  • example given: for rivers, theory about what happens as a river flows downstream
• Questions about the choice of fieldwork location
  • e.g., close to school, affordable, safe
• Questions involving:
  • statistical techniques (e.g., averages)
  • maps and graphs
  • use of secondary data
• A longer justification question (most emphasized):
  • for a physical inquiry, justify data presentation techniques
    • explain which graphs you used and why they were suitable

Likely 9-mark “improvement” style prompts

• focus on:
  • how you could improve the inquiry
  • whether you reached a valid conclusion
  • how you could improve reliability/accuracy of your collected data
• Apply these improvement/reliability ideas to both inquiries.

---

Speakers / sources featured

• Primary speaker: An unnamed YouTube presenter/teacher (the only identifiable source in the subtitles).