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GCSE Edexcel Geography Coursework Guide
GCSE Edexcel Geography Coursework Guide
How do I write up my
coursework?
Your coursework at a glance
Your coursework will comprise a total of five chapters. The following pages will help you to complete each section but an overview
of these chapters can be seen below.
Chapter 1 – Introduction
This will not be the first page of your coursework as you will have lists of contents and illustrations plus a title page, but it is
the first part of the written text and it is here that the examiners are looking for evidence of a well planned and well ordered
investigation. You need to demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of WHY you are carrying out this investigation by
using key geographical terms and ideas on which the study is based and that your choice of method is appropriate.
Chapter 5 – Evaluation
This is the last chapter and could be called ‘How the enquiry process can be improved’. You will be critically looking at the enquiry
and suggesting improvements.
Chapter 1
1.
1ST paragraph
State your hypothesis
Say WHY you are investigating this topic
4
2
4th paragraph 2nd paragraph
Define your key terms and PREDICT some outcomes that
ideas you expect to find from this
Possible terms: location, land investigation i.e. the
use, CBD, pedestrian count, differences that you expect to
questionnaire, sphere of INTRODUCTION find between Ramsbottom and
influence, mode of travel, Bury
order of goods, frequency,
accessibility, comparison,
environment, pollution
Draw a diagram to show 3
settlement hierarchy
3rd paragraph
You need to describe where Bury and Ramsbottom are located in a written
description, making specific reference to your maps
2/3 maps e.g. UK, North West, Bury/Ramsbottom
Maps must be labelled
www.multimap.com
www.upmystreet.com
Chapter 2
Start off with a summary table of all your methods like Land Use Map 2
1 the one above Explain the meaning of the key and why
Random –choosing sites/people by chane categories were chosen
Biased – choosing specific sites/people for a definite Explain HOW you carried it out
reason Describe WHY this would help you in
Systematic – choosing every 10th shop/person proving/disproving the hypothesis
You also need to include a separate table for the data
that you collected on your own and explain what you did
3
Questionnaire
7 Own study Include a copy of the
State what you did, how you did it, questionnaire
when you did it and why Explain HOW you carried it out
Describe WHY each question was
used and how each would help you
Environmental Quality
Survey
6 DATA COLLECTION to prove/disprove the hypothesis
1 2
Process the data that you All graphs, maps, tables, charts, sketches,
collected in Bury and photographs and diagrams must be accurate,
Ramsbottom clearly titled and labelled
Look in the coursework booklet Try to use higher order skills in addition to
for examples of different lower order skills e.g. bar graphs in order to
techniques earn more marks
DATA PRESENTATION
AND
DESCRIPTION OF RESULTS
2
1
Summarise the key findings that you have discovered
Try writing them out in rough to try and find a logical order
START OFF THIS SECTION BY
Make sure you mention the evidence from your results that
RESTATING YOUR HYPOTHESIS!
backs up each conclusion
Use the keywords that you listed in the Introduction
when explaining as this will help you to gain extra marks
1 2 Results
Methods
How accurate are they?
Try to find a problem for each method
Did you make any errors when collecting the
Suggest ways that it could be improved
date that could affect the results?
Think about the quality of each method, sample
Would you get the same results if you
sizes, impact of the day/date/time or weather
repeated it now?
on the method
What if you repeated the study in a different
season?
EVALUATION
4 3
Finally, aim to link the three elements Conclusions
together by showing how the limitation in the Question the accuracy of your conclusions if your
data collection techniques has affected the results are not entirely accurate
accuracy of the results and, therefore, the Would you get the same conclusions if you
validity of the conclusions. repeated the study at a different time?