Very Important Disclaimer!!!!

You should NOT only revise these topics. You should revise everything on the specification. Anything not on the specification can come up in the exam, including topics that were asked about last year, or even in multiple successive years (as we’ve seen with the rainforest case study in Physical Geography!).

The below predictions are only educated guesses about what is more/less likely to come up this cycle based on previous data and patterns. 

You can find detailed essay plans for questions on all of these topics on the Geography Explained website.

Water and Carbon Cycles

Previous Questions…

2020: Changes to the carbon cycle - specifically, impacts of farming

2021: Case study of a local river catchment - specifically, hydrographs

2022: Water, climate, and life on Earth - specifically, carbon cycles and adaptation vs mitigation

2023: Case study of a tropical rainforest - specifically, carbon budget changes

2024: Case study of a tropical rainforest  - specifically, mitigating impacts of climate change

2025: Case study of a tropical rainforest - specifically, changes and magnitude of carbon stores

Lessons from Last Year:

The same topic can certainly come up multiple times in a row! Even 3x (!!!), so maybe nothing stopping 4x - you just need to be careful and make sure you know tropical rainforests well enough to answer a qu - it could also still come up in lower tariff questions where you might need more tightly focused AO1, even.

Potential Topics…

A few topics that are potentially more likely to come up based on not yet appearing or not being asked recently:

1. Feedbacks and dynamic equilibrium/W&CC as natural systems - sometimes difficult to see how this more ‘theory’ heavy topic is evaluative, but if they really wanted to challenge you they might ask about the value of systems thinking in understanding W/CCs.

2. Water cycle stores and processes have come up less in previous very carbon heavy years:

   1. Drainage basins were a while ago, water balance, river catchment case study now not appeared for a while. 

   2. Land use change and water cycles (potentially carbon cycles too)

3. Water, Carbon, and Life on Earth - thinking about links between water and carbon cycle - one of the hardest areas of spec IMO, so make sure you’ve got it covered

4. Carbon cycles and rainforests less likely - but YOU NEVER KNOW!!! Possibility of rainforest water cycles, instead, though?

Global Systems and Global Governance

Previous Questions…

2020: Global governance and international trade - specifically, UN vs TNCs’ roles in growth & stability

2021: Antarctica case study - specifically, protection of global commons in context of demand and CC

2022: Case study of food commodity/manufacturing product - specifically, impact on you and others

2023: SYNOPTIC: Antarctica case study - specifically, impacts of changes in carbon cycle

2024: Global commons - specifically, impact of governance on yours and others’ lives

2025: Globalisation - specifically, flows of technology and relationship to uneven consumption

Lessons from Last Year: 

Remember that 20 MQs aren’t always case-study related. They can be quite focused, like last year’s, and really hone in on a spec point very specifically. Remember with these, ofc you have to synthesise that link first and draw out the relationship but it’s still evaluative - don’t forget to answer the question as a debate.

Potential Topics…

A few topics that are potentially more likely to come up based on not yet appearing or not being asked recently:

1. Other flows - labour, services, info, production, consumption, marketing (globalisation).

2. TNCs: case study not come up before, TNCs as a topic not in a while.

3. Trade relationships - depends how topical the examiners want to make it but I can see trade maybe being at the forefront of their minds given what’s happened this year… Access to markets and interdependence not yet assessed via 20MQ yet, either.

4. Globalisation critique and unequal opportunity not yet assessed via 20MQ

5. Governance: NGOs and scales of governance not yet assessed via 20MQ

6. Antarctica/global commons have come up quite a lot and quite recently - BUT, it’s such a huge topic - the biggest subtopic you have to study in A Level Geog actually - that there’s so much more fodder to be prepared for, e.g. threats to Antarctica, protections - governance and NGOs…

Overall:

• Revise everything!

• The best way to use these is that if any of the ‘more likely’ topics are ones you struggle on  - you know you really should be focusing in on them as much as you can.

• Keep calm & stay focused - if you’d rather not pay attention to these, then don’t. Approach this A-Level period in the way that makes most sense to you. Work with your teachers and make sure you’re resting properly and taking enough breaks to be productive.

• Good luck!