geography coursework

How to Get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA

In A-Level by Think Student Editor May 22, 2023 Leave a Comment

An NEA is worth 20% of your overall grade in A-Level Geography. It may not seem like much at first, but that’s 1/5 of your qualification – so you definitely want to make sure it boosts your overall grade! As well as this, there will be hundreds of other students writing A-Level Geography coursework, so yours needs to stand out amongst the others. But, if you were like me, this might be the first time you’ve ever had to complete coursework for an A-Level. So how do you do well?

In this article, I’ll be taking you through (as a former A-Level Geography student) all the dos and don’ts for your geography NEA, and the advice you need to get an A*!

Table of Contents

What is an A-Level Geography NEA?

The geography NEA is the mandatory coursework, that is a part of A-Level Geography. All UK exam boards require A-Level Geography students to produce an NEA. It is also referred to as an “Independent Investigation”.

For an NEA, you will choose a question related to physical or human geography, and then you will collect data to help you answer this question . Most NEAs are around 3,000- 4,000 words. They are essentially research papers!

For inspiration make sure you check out this Think Student article with 75+ NEA ideas!

How is an A-Level Geography NEA structured?

At the front of your geography NEA, you will have to attach a cover sheet provided by your exam board. This will usually have your name, candidate number, centre number, and your title question on it. It must be signed by you and your teachers.

An A-Level Geography NEA typically has around 7 sections :

• Introduction to the investigation
• Methodology/data collection
• Data presentation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation
• Evaluation of the investigation
• Bibliography

Exam boards are not too strict on formatting, however, so as long as you have all the major areas covered, you can format these how you like.

Your bibliography should contain all the references for any secondary material you used as part of your NEA. When you submit an NEA, you will be asked to declare that the work you have produced is 100% your own, and your NEA will be checked for plagiarism . Make sure to reference properly!

As for the rest of the NEA sections, I’ll be explaining them in more detail later in the article, so don’t worry!

How do you get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

Getting an A* in your A-Level Geography NEA is not easy, but it’s definitely not impossible.

The UK exam boards will have their NEA criteria up on their website. NEA marking criteria is usually broken down into 4 “levels” (with level 1 being the least marks and level 4 being the most marks), for each section of the NEA.

To achieve an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA, you’ll need to meet the level 4 criteria in most if not all sections of your NEA.

As a former A-Level Geography student, below I’ll share with you my advice on how to achieve the top marks in your NEA.

The A-Level Geography NEA introduction

The introduction to your A-Level Geography NEA is one of the most important parts – it sets up the rest of your investigation and shows examiners why they should keep reading!

Your introduction will outline your argument and will vaguely demonstrate what you are going to say and why this is important. Remember, you don’t want to say too much, because you’ve got the rest of the NEA to write!

Your introduction should also link to your title question; how is your argument going to relate to and answer your question?

The key to a good geography NEA introduction is to be concise and keep it simple. You should ask yourself: ‘if someone who doesn’t do A-Level Geography read my introduction, would they know what I’m going to talk about?’

How to write an A* A-Level Geography NEA introduction

Your introduction should break down your purpose for the investigation. It isn’t like your typical essay introductions which are 100-200 words – your NEA introduction should be up to 500 words.

It could be helpful to break down your title question into three or four “key inquiry questions”, which you can answer throughout your NEA.

You should also explain your title question, why you chose it and how your research is useful in thinking about the future of the research your question tackles.

Your introduction is the opportunity to provide the examiner with details about your location; you could use maps (as these count as a form of data presentation), point out key geographical features, etc. You should give some local (relevant to your area) context and global context for the issue your question is answering.

To round off the introduction, include some basic geographical theory. For example, if your NEA investigation focuses on erosion, explain the different theories of erosion and how these apply to your investigation. This is an important demonstration of knowledge!

Remember, you can format your NEA however you like (within reason), so you can put this information in whichever order you like. Just make sure you cover all the key areas of your investigation!

The A-Level Geography NEA methodology

Your NEA methodology is a breakdown of how you collected the data you use and present in your coursework.

Your methodology will be one of the most detailed parts of your NEA. This may be surprising, but it’s because your methodology is used to show that your data is legitimate and collected properly.

A methodology is included in the majority of research papers, and your A-Level Geography NEA is no exception! Make sure you put time and care into writing your methodology properly, or it could undermine your investigation.

How do you write an A* methodology for an A-Level Geography NEA?

The way you physically present your methodology is up to you, but it should cover all the qualitative data (non-measurable data), and quantitative data (measurable/numerical data).

For example, I presented my methodology as a big table across 2 pages of my NEA. Definitely don’t underestimate the size of your methodology – it’s what verifies that your data is legitimate!

In your methodology, you should include:

• The types of data you collected
• Where you collected this data (collection points)
• The equipment you used to collect your data
• A description of the method
• How often you collected data (intervals)
• The sampling technique (stratified, systematic, etc.)
• A justification for your method

As part of your methodology, you should also include what are called “ethical considerations” and a “risk assessment”.

Ethical considerations essentially means showing awareness of any ethical problems with your data collection methods. As an example, if you used a survey as a data collection, a problem with that may be that the participants’ privacy is not protected. Therefore, an ethical consideration would be to anonymise the survey.

A risk assessment is an awareness of the risks that are involved with data collection (such as getting lost, injured, weather events, etc.), and what you will do to prevent these risks. For example, having an emergency contact.

Data presentation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation in an A-Level Geography NEA

The data section of your NEA is the longest chunk and is worth the most marks. Now that you’ve set up your investigation, this is the section where you present all of your findings and interpret them, by explaining what they show and why.

Don’t panic if not all of the data you collected can be used – I certainly had a bunch of random data I didn’t need by the end! Try to use as much data as possible, and different types of data.

This section helps establish your argument; it’s essentially the evidence for your conclusion as well as just being the body of your NEA.

Since this is a long section, it’s helpful for you and your examiner to split it up into chunks using subheadings. It’s not a good idea to signpost, for example putting the subheading “Analysis”. Instead, you might divide up your data by the location, or the method you used to collect it.

How do you present data to get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

Data presentation in a geography NEA is probably the most unique part of the process – you get to present your data however you want (in accordance with the exam board guidelines, of course)!

In the data presentation section, you need to display all the data you collected for your investigation. This can be in charts, graphs, tables, photos, and more.

The data needs to be readable, so your graphs should be labelled correctly, and your photos should have captions. If you’re using any data that isn’t yours, remember to reference it correctly.

It’s also a good chance to add a bit of colour, to make your A-Level Geography NEA look great!

How do you analyse and evaluate data to get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

Your data analysis, interpretation, and evaluation section of your geography NEA is the most important section.

You should pick out key elements of the data and explain what they mean with regard to your NEA investigation question. How does the data you collected argue for/against your question?

Where applicable, it’s a good idea to calculate and explain medians, means, modes, and averages, to show that you aren’t just repeating what’s already in your presentation. You need to do something with the raw numbers, you definitely shouldn’t just relay your exact findings.

When you’re analysing, ask yourself the question: what does my data mean?

When you’re evaluating, ask yourself the question: how does my data answer my investigation?

By keeping these questions in mind when you’re interpreting your data, you can show the examiner that you can prove why your data is important and that you have a good understanding of analysis and evaluation.

Should you include statistical tests to get an A* in an A-Level Geography NEA?

The short answer to this question is: absolutely!

By now, you will have practiced a few statistical tests as part of the rest of A-Level Geography, such as Spearman’s Rank, the T-Test, Mann-Whitney U test, and standard deviation.

You should aim to use one or two stats tests when presenting the data, you collected for your geography NEA. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ stats test, so choose whichever is applicable for your data.

Statistical tests are a good demonstration of your analytical, interpretative and evaluative skills . By including a couple, you are showing the examiner that you have a clear knowledge of what the tests mean and why they’re useful!

If you struggle with the calculations, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Obviously other people can’t do it for you (remember that as part of submitting your geography NEA, you will have to testify that your work is entirely your own), but you can always ask to be shown how to do them!

Evaluating your A-Level Geography NEA investigation

Your A-Level Geography NEA investigation evaluation is slightly different to the evaluation of your data. In this section of your NEA, you should evaluate the success of the overall investigation.

You should discuss your locations and the methods you used to collect your data (both primary AND secondary data!). What was good about them? What wasn’t so good? If you had been somewhere else and used different methods, how might the outcome of your investigation have changed?

It’s also important to acknowledge the validity of your conclusions.

For example, you may not have had time or access to the correct resources to collect some really important data, that would’ve affected your outcome and potentially changed it. Showing an awareness of this helps build a more sophisticated and mature argument.

It’s important to note than an evaluation is not the same as a conclusion! You shouldn’t be summarising your research. Instead, explain the positives and negatives of your research choices.

The A-Level Geography NEA conclusion

Your conclusion is crucial because it ties together your methods, research, and analysis. Remember those “key inquiry questions” I mentioned earlier? Well now is the time to answer them!

Your NEA conclusion will answer your title question and provide the examiner with a neat, rounded summary of your investigation. By reading the conclusion, someone should be able to know the key parts of your argument and why they are important.

A conclusion is also a place to propose solutions – what can we do in future that we aren’t doing now? How might future events like climate change impact your research?

If there are relevant questions that could impact the outcome of your investigation, but you don’t have time to consider them in detail, put them in your conclusion. This shows the examiner that you have an awareness of micro- and macro-scale issues!

How do you write an A* A-Level Geography NEA conclusion?

Like most essay conclusions, your geography NEA conclusion will summarise your main arguments, what you found, and what your data means. It can also be a good place to ask any of the questions you still don’t have answers to.

You could start by going through your inquiry questions and writing “sub-conclusions” in response to them. Then, you should move on to the big conclusion: answering your title question.

In your conclusion, you should highlight the key things you found as a result of your research, broadly and specifically. Showing consideration to the “big” and “small” issues is good for showing your critical thinking skills!

Your conclusion should be about the same length as your introduction, give or take. If you start running out of things to say, don’t add things unnecessarily to fill the word count – your conclusion should be the most clear and concise part of your NEA.

Examples of A-Level Geography NEAs

Most, if not all, exam boards will have an “exemplar” coursework on their website. For example, I’ve linked the OCR exemplar coursework for you here , so check your exam board website for their exemplar!

The exemplar coursework is written and submitted by a real student, but it’s important to follow the mark scheme, not just copying someone else’s coursework. Your NEA will be checked for plagiarism!

Similarly, most schools keep exemplar coursework from each year, so if you need some inspiration, ask your teachers for the coursework they have.

If you’re struggling for ideas of what to write on for your Geography NEA, check out this Think Student article with 75+ ideas!

*To learn more about the A-Level Geography NEA, check out the specifications from the main exam boards, AQA , Pearson Edexcel and OCR by clicking on their respective links.

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.

Earth Science, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography

Loading ...

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time.

Ancient Geographers

The term "geography" was coined by the Greek scholar Eratosthenes in the third century B.C.E. In Greek, geo- means “earth” and -graphy means “to write.” Using geography, Eratosthenes and other Greeks developed an understanding of where their homeland was located in relation to other places, what their own and other places were like, and how people and environments were distributed. These concerns have been central to geography ever since.

Of course, the Greeks were not the only people interested in geography, nor were they the first. Throughout human history, most societies have sought to understand something about their place in the world, and the people and environments around them. Mesopotamian societies inscribed maps on clay tablets, some of which survive to this day. The earliest known attempt at mapping the world is a Babylonian clay tablet known as the Imago Mundi. This map, created in the sixth century B.C.E., is more of a metaphorical and spiritual representation of Babylonian society rather than an accurate depiction of geography. Other Mesopotamian maps were more practical, marking irrigation networks and landholdings.

Indigenous peoples around the world developed geographic ideas and practices long before Eratosthenes. For example, Polynesian navigators embarked on long-range sea voyages across the Pacific Islands as early as 3000 years ago. The people of the Marshall Islands used navigation charts made of natural materials (“stick charts”) to visualize and memorize currents, wind patterns and island locations.

Indeed, mapmaking probably came even before writing in many places, but ancient Greek geographers were particularly influential. They developed very detailed maps of Greek city-states, including parts of Europe, Africa and Asia. More importantly, they also raised questions about how and why different human and natural patterns came into being on Earth’s surface, and why variations existed from place to place. The effort to answer these questions about patterns and distribution led them to figure out that the world was round, to calculate Earth’s circumference, and to develop explanations of everything from the seasonal flooding of the Nile to differences in population densities from place to place.

During the Middle Ages, geography ceased to be a major academic pursuit in Europe. Advances in geography were chiefly made by scientists of the Muslim world, based around the Middle East and North Africa. Geographers of this Islamic Golden Age created an early example of a rectangular map based on a grid, a map system that is still familiar today. Islamic scholars also applied their study of people and places to agriculture, determining which crops and livestock were most suited to specific habitats or environments.

In addition to the advances in the Middle East, the Chinese empire in Asia also contributed immensely to geography. Around 1000, Chinese navigators achieved one of the most important developments in the history of geography: They were the first to use the compass for navigational purposes. In the early 1400s, the explorer Zheng He embarked on seven voyages to the lands bordering the China Sea and the Indian Ocean, establishing China’s influence throughout Southeast Asia.

Age of Discovery

Through the 13th-century travels of the Italian explorer Marco Polo, European interest in spices from Asia grew. Acquiring spices from East Asian and Arab merchants was expensive, and a major land route for the European spice trade was lost with the conquering of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire. These and other economic factors, in addition to competition between Christian and Islamic societies, motivated European nations to send explorers in search of a sea route to China. This period of time between the 15th and 17th centuries is known in the West as the Age of Exploration or the Age of Discovery.

With the dawn of the Age of Discovery, the study of geography regained popularity in Europe. The invention of the printing press in the mid-1400s helped spread geographic knowledge by making maps and charts widely available. Improvements in shipbuilding and navigation facilitated more exploring, greatly improving the accuracy of maps and geographic information.

Greater geographic understanding allowed European powers to extend their global influence. During the Age of Discovery, European nations established colonies around the world. Improved transportation, communication and navigational technology allowed countries such as the United Kingdom to establish colonies as far away as the Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa. This was lucrative for European powers, but the Age of Discovery brought about nightmarish change for the people already living in the territories they colonized. When Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, millions of Indigenous peoples already lived there. By the 1600s, 90 percent of the Indigenous population of the Americas had been wiped out by violence and diseases brought over by European explorers.

Geography was not just a subject that enabled colonialism, however. It also helped people understand the planet on which they lived. Not surprisingly, geography became an important focus of study in schools and universities.

Geography also became an important part of other academic disciplines, such as chemistry, economics and philosophy. In fact, every academic subject has some geographic connection. Chemists study where certain chemical elements, such as gold or silver, can be found. Economists examine which nations trade with other nations, and what resources are exchanged. Philosophers analyze the responsibility people have to take care of Earth.

Emergence of Modern Geography

Some people have trouble understanding the complete scope of the discipline of geography because geography is interdisciplinary, meaning that it is not defined by one particular topic. Instead, geography is concerned with many different topics—people, culture, politics, settlements, plants, landforms and much more. Geography asks spatial questions—how and why things are distributed or arranged in particular ways on Earth’s surface. It looks at these different distributions and arrangements at many different scales. It also asks questions about how the interaction of different human and natural activities on Earth’s surface shape the characteristics of the world in which we live.

Geography seeks to understand where things are found and why they are present in those places; how things that are located in the same or distant places influence one another over time; and why places and the people who live in them develop and change in particular ways. Raising these questions is at the heart of the “ geographic perspective .”

Exploration has long been an important part of geography, and it’s an important part of developing a geographic perspective. Exploration isn’t limited to visiting unfamiliar places; it also means documenting and connecting relationships between spatial, sociological and ecological elements.

The age-old practice of mapping still plays an important role in this type of exploration, but exploration can also be done by using images from satellites or gathering information from interviews. Discoveries can come by using computers to map and analyze the relationship among things in geographic space, or from piecing together the multiple forces, near and far, that shape the way individual places develop.

Applying a geographic perspective demonstrates geography’s concern not just with where things are, but with “the why of where”—a short but useful definition of geography’s central focus.

The insights that have come from geographic research show the importance of asking “the why of where” questions. Geographic studies comparing physical characteristics of continents on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, for instance, gave rise to the idea that Earth’s surface is comprised of large, slowly moving plates—plate tectonics.

Studies of the geographic distribution of human settlements have shown how economic forces and modes of transport influence the location of towns and cities. For example, geographic analysis has pointed to the role of the United States Interstate Highway System and the rapid growth of car ownership in creating a boom in U.S. suburban growth after World War II. The geographic perspective helped show where Americans were moving, why they were moving there, and how their new living places affected their lives, their relationships with others, and their interactions with the environment.

Geographic analyses of the spread of diseases have pointed to the conditions that allow particular diseases to develop and spread. Dr. John Snow’s cholera map stands out as a classic example. When cholera broke out in London, England, in 1854, Snow represented the deaths per household on a street map. Using the map, he was able to trace the source of the outbreak to a water pump on the corner of Broad Street and Cambridge Street. The geographic perspective helped identify the source of the problem (the water from a specific pump) and allowed people to avoid the disease (avoiding water from that pump).

Investigations of the geographic impact of human activities have advanced understanding of the role of humans in transforming the surface of Earth, exposing the spatial extent of threats such as water pollution by artificial waste. For example, geographic study has shown that a large mass of tiny pieces of plastic currently floating in the Pacific Ocean is approximately the size of Texas. Satellite images and other geographic technology identified the so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

These examples of different uses of the geographic perspective help explain why geographic study and research is important as we confront many 21st century challenges, including environmental pollution, poverty, hunger, and ethnic or political conflict.

Because the study of geography is so broad, the discipline is typically divided into specialties. At the broadest level, geography is divided into physical geography, human geography, geographic techniques and regional geography.

Physical Geography

The natural environment is the primary concern of physical geographers, although many physical geographers also look at how humans have altered natural systems. Physical geographers study Earth’s seasons, climate, atmosphere, soil, streams, landforms and oceans. Some disciplines within physical geography include geomorphology, glaciology, pedology, hydrology, climatology, biogeography and oceanography.

Geomorphology is the study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists investigate the nature and impact of wind, ice, rivers, erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, living things, and other forces that shape and change the surface of Earth.

Glaciologists focus on Earth’s ice fields and their impact on the planet’s climate. Glaciologists document the properties and distribution of glaciers and icebergs. Data collected by glaciologists has demonstrated the retreat of Arctic and Antarctic ice in the past century.

Pedologists study soil and how it is created, changed, and classified. Soil studies are used by a variety of professions, from farmers analyzing field fertility to engineers investigating the suitability of different areas for building heavy structures.

Hydrology is the study of Earth’s water: its properties, distribution, and effects. Hydrologists are especially concerned with the movement of water as it cycles from the ocean to the atmosphere, then back to Earth’s surface. Hydrologists study the water cycle through rainfall into streams, lakes, the soil, and underground aquifers. Hydrologists provide insights that are critical to building or removing dams, designing irrigation systems, monitoring water quality, tracking drought conditions and predicting flood risk.

Climatologists study Earth’s climate system and its impact on Earth’s surface. For example, climatologists make predictions about El Niño, a cyclical weather phenomenon of warm surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. They analyze the dramatic worldwide climate changes caused by El Niño, such as flooding in Peru, drought in Australia, and, in the United States, the oddities of heavy Texas rains or an unseasonably warm Minnesota winter.

Biogeographers study the impact of the environment on the distribution of plants and animals. For example, a biogeographer might document all the places in the world inhabited by a certain spider species and what those places have in common.

Oceanography, a related discipline of physical geography, focuses on the creatures and environments of the world’s oceans. Observation of ocean tides and currents constituted some of the first oceanographic investigations. For example, 18th-century mariners figured out the geography of the Gulf Stream, a massive current flowing like a river through the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery and tracking of the Gulf Stream helped communications and travel between Europe and the Americas.

Today, oceanographers conduct research on the impacts of water pollution, track tsunamis, design offshore oil rigs, investigate underwater eruptions of lava, and study all types of marine organisms from toxic algae to friendly dolphins.

Human Geography

Human geography is concerned with the distribution and networks of people and cultures on Earth’s surface. A human geographer might investigate the local, regional and global impact of rising economic powers China and India, which represent 37 percent of the world’s people. They also might look at how consumers in China and India adjust to new technology and markets, and how markets respond to such a huge consumer base.

Human geographers also study how people use and alter their environments. When, for example, people allow their animals to overgraze a region, the soil erodes and grassland is transformed into desert. The impact of overgrazing on the landscape as well as agricultural production is an area of study for human geographers.

Finally, human geographers study how political, social, and economic systems are organized across geographical space. These include governments, religious organizations, and trade partnerships. The boundaries of these groups constantly change.

The main divisions within human geography reflect a concern with different types of human activities or ways of living. Some examples of human geography include urban geography, economic geography, cultural geography, political geography, social geography and population geography. Human geographers who study geographic patterns and processes in past times are part of the subdiscipline of historical geography. Those who study how people understand maps and geographic space belong to a subdiscipline known as behavioral geography.

Many human geographers interested in the relationship between humans and the environment work in the subdisciplines of cultural geography and political geography.

Cultural geographers study how the natural environment influences the development of human culture, such as how the climate affects the agricultural practices of a region. Political geographers study the impact of political circumstances on interactions between people and their environment, as well as environmental conflicts, such as disputes over water rights.

Some human geographers focus on the connection between human health and geography. For example, health geographers create maps that track the location and spread of specific diseases. They analyze the geographic disparities of health-care access. They are very interested in the impact of the environment on human health, especially the effects of environmental hazards such as radiation, lead poisoning or water pollution.

Geographic Techniques

Specialists in geographic techniques study the ways in which geographic processes can be analyzed and represented using different methods and technologies. Mapmaking, or cartography, is perhaps the most basic of these. Cartography has been instrumental to geography throughout the ages.

Today, almost the entire surface of Earth has been mapped with remarkable accuracy, and much of this information is available instantly on the internet. One of the most remarkable of these websites is Google Earth, which “lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean.” In essence, anyone can be a virtual explorer from the comfort of home.

Technological developments during the past 100 years have given rise to a number of other specialties for scientists studying geographic techniques. The airplane made it possible to photograph land from above. Now, there are many satellites and other above-Earth vehicles that help geographers figure out what the surface of the planet looks like and how it is changing.

Geographers looking at what above-Earth cameras and sensors reveal are specialists in remote sensing. Pictures taken from space can be used to make maps, monitor ice melt, assess flood damage, track oil spills, predict weather, or perform endless other functions. For example, by comparing satellite photos taken from 1955 to 2007, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discovered that the rate of coastal erosion along Alaska’s Beaufort Sea had doubled. Every year from 2002 to 2007, about 13.7 meters (45 feet) per year of coast, mostly icy permafrost, vanished into the sea.

Computerized systems that allow for precise calculations of how things are distributed and relate to one another have made the study of geographic information systems (GIS) an increasingly important specialty within geography. Geographic information systems are powerful databases that collect all types of information (maps, reports, statistics, satellite images, surveys, demographic data and more) and link each piece of data to a geographic reference point, such as geographic coordinates. This data, called geospatial information, can be stored, analyzed, modeled and manipulated in ways not possible before GIS computer technology existed.

The popularity and importance of GIS has given rise to a new science known as geographic information science (GISci). Geographic information scientists study patterns in nature as well as human development. They might study natural hazards, such as a fire that struck Los Angeles, California, United States, in 2008. A map posted on the internet showed the real-time spread of the fire, along with information to help people make decisions about how to evacuate quickly. GIS can also illustrate human struggles from a geographic perspective, such as the interactive online map published by the New York Times in May 2009 that showed building foreclosure rates in various regions around the New York City area.

The enormous possibilities for producing computerized maps and diagrams that can help us understand environmental and social problems have made geographic visualization an increasingly important specialty within geography. This geospatial information is in high demand by just about every institution, from government agencies monitoring water quality to entrepreneurs deciding where to locate new businesses.

Regional Geography

Regional geographers take a somewhat different approach to specialization, directing their attention to the general geographic characteristics of a region. A regional geographer might specialize in African studies, observing and documenting the people, nations, rivers, mountains, deserts, weather, trade and other attributes of the continent. There are different ways you can define a region. You can look at climate zones, cultural regions or political regions. Often regional geographers have a physical or human geography specialty as well as a regional specialty.

Regional geographers may also study smaller regions, such as urban areas. A regional geographer may be interested in the way a city like Shanghai, China, is growing. They would study transportation, migration, housing, and language use, as well as the human impact on elements of the natural environment, such as the Huangpu River.

Whether geography is thought of as a discipline or as a basic feature of our world, developing an understanding of the subject is important. Some grasp of geography is essential as people seek to make sense of the world and understand their place in it. Thinking geographically helps people to be aware of the connections among and between places and to see how important events are shaped by where they take place. Finally, knowing something about geography enriches people’s lives—promoting curiosity about other people and places and an appreciation of the patterns, environments, and peoples that make up the endlessly fascinating, varied planet on which we live.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Principal Author

Illustrators, educator reviewer, expert reviewers, last updated.

September 13, 2024

User Permissions

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service .

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Related Resources

Geography Degree

• Physical Geography
• Political Geography
• Country Information
• Key Figures & Milestones
• Urban Geography
• M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge
• B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis

Earning your college degree in geography shows prospective employers that you can solve problems, research solutions, utilize technology, and see the "big picture." A typical geography degree involves a wide variety of coursework within the discipline to expose students to all aspects of this fascinating wide-ranging subject .

Undergrad Geography Coursework

A typical undergraduate geography degree consists of coursework in geography and other disciplines. In many cases, the college courses taken in other subjects fulfill a student's general education (or GE) requirement. These courses can be in subjects such as English, chemistry, geology, math, sociology, political science, foreign language, history, physical education, and other sciences or social sciences. Every college or university has different general education or core required courses for all students earning a degree from that university. In addition, geography departments may impose additional interdisciplinary requirements on students.

You will typically find that a college or university will offer either of Bachelor of Arts degree in geography or a Bachelor of Science degree in geography. Some colleges and universities offer both Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A. or A.B.) and the Bachelor of Science degree (B.S.) in geography. The B.S. degree will typically require more science and math than a B.A. degree but again, this varies; either way, it's a bachelor's degree in geography.

As a geography major, you will be able to select from a plethora of interesting courses about all facets of geography as you work toward your geography degree. However, there are always core courses that every geography major must meet.

Lower Division Course Requirements

These initial courses are typically lower-division courses, which means they are designed for freshmen and sophomores (students in their first and second years of college, respectively). These courses are usually:

• An introduction to physical geography lecture (sometimes including a laboratory course in which you make maps, using Geographic Information Systems [GIS], work with compasses and topographic maps, etc.)
• An introduction to cultural or human geography lecture
• World regional geography lecture

During the first two years of college, a student would likely take their lower-division geography courses and maybe a handful of other lower-division geography courses. However, freshman and sophomore years are usually the time to take your general education courses to get them out of the way.

You will take most of your geography courses (and your schedule will mostly be geography courses) only during your junior and senior years (third and fourth years, respectively).

Upper Division Course Requirements

There are core upper-division requirements that usually include:

• Geographic techniques and methods (learning about geography journals, the use of the library, research, using computers for cartography and GIS, using other software platforms, and learning how to think geographically
• Cartography and/or Geographic Information Systems Laboratory (4 to 8 hours a week learning how to make maps and making maps on the computer)
• History of geographic thought (learning about the history and philosophy of geography as an academic discipline)
• Quantitative geography (statistics and analysis of geographic problems)
• One upper-division course in physical geography
• One upper-division course in cultural or human geography
• One regional geography course to learn about a specific region of the world
• Senior project or capstone project or advanced seminar
• Fieldwork or internship

Additional Geography Concentrations

Then, in addition to the core upper-division courses, a student working toward a geography degree might focus on a specific concentration of geography. Your choices for a concentration might be:

• Urban and/or economic geography and/or planning
• Geographic Information Systems and/or cartography
• Physical geography, environmental studies, climatology, or geomorphology (the study of landforms and the processes that shape them)
• Human or cultural geography
• Regional geography

A student would likely be required to take three or more upper-division courses within at least one concentration. Sometimes more than one concentration is required.

Upon completion of all coursework and university requirements for a geography degree, a student is able to graduate and show the world that he or she is capable of great things and is an asset to any employer!

• Jobs in the Geography Field
• Geography 101
• Regional Geography Overview
• Geography Internships
• How Latitude Is Measured
• Where Do the Equator and Prime Meridian Intersect?
• Geography for Kids
• Human Geography
• Major Sub-Disciplines of Geography
• An Overview of Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography Overview
• Geography Definition
• Definition of Geography
• Why Study Geography?
• Preparing for the Geography Bee
• Important Geographical Journals

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1.1 Geography Basics

Learning objectives.

• Understand the focus of geography and the two main branches of the discipline.
• Learn about the tools geographers use to study the earth’s surface.
• Summarize the grid system of latitude and longitude and how it relates to seasons and time zones.
• Distinguish between the different types of regional distinctions recognized in geography.
• Understand the spatial nature of geography and how each place or region is examined, analyzed, and compared with other places or regions.
• Determine the basic geographic realms and their locations.

What Is Geography?

Geography is the spatial study of the earth’s surface (from the Greek geo , which means “Earth,” and graphein , which means “to write”). Geographers study the earth’s physical characteristics, its inhabitants and cultures, phenomena such as climate, and the earth’s place within the universe. Geography examines the spatial relationships between all physical and cultural phenomena in the world. Geographers also look at how the earth, its climate, and its landscapes are changing due to cultural intervention.

The first known use of the word geography was by Eratosthenes of Cyrene (modern-day Libya in North Africa), an early Greek scholar who lived between 276 and 194 BCE. He devised one of the first systems of longitude and latitude and calculated the earth’s circumference. Additionally, he created one of the first maps of the world based on the available knowledge of the time. Around the same time, many ancient cultures in China, southern Asia, Polynesia, and the Arabian Peninsula also developed maps and navigation systems used in geography and cartography.

The discipline of geography can be broken down into two main areas of focus: physical geography and human geography . These two main areas are similar in that they both use a spatial perspective, and they both include the study of place and the comparison of one place with another.

Physical geography is the spatial study of natural phenomena that make up the environment, such as rivers, mountains, landforms, weather, climate, soils, plants, and any other physical aspects of the earth’s surface. Physical geography focuses on geography as a form of earth science. It tends to emphasize the main physical parts of the earth—the lithosphere (surface layer), the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), and the biosphere (living organisms)—and the relationships between these parts.

The major forms of study within physical geography include the following:

• Geomorphology (the study of the earth’s surface features)
• Glaciology (the study of glaciers)
• Coastal geography (the study of the coastal regions)
• Climatology (the study of climates and climate change)
• Biogeography (the study of the geographic patterns of species distribution)

Some physical geographers study the earth’s place in the solar system. Others are environmental geographers, part of an emerging field that studies the spatial aspects and cultural perceptions of the natural environment. Environmental geography requires an understanding of both physical and human geography, as well as an understanding of how humans conceptualize their environment and the physical landscape.

Physical landscape is the term used to describe the natural terrain at any one place on the planet. The natural forces of erosion, weather, tectonic plate action, and water have formed the earth’s physical features. Many US state and national parks attempt to preserve unique physical landscapes for the public to enjoy, such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon.

Human geography is the study of human activity and its relationship to the earth’s surface. Human geographers examine the spatial distribution of human populations, religions, languages, ethnicities, political systems, economics, urban dynamics, and other components of human activity. They study patterns of interaction between human cultures and various environments and focus on the causes and consequences of human settlement and distribution over the landscape. While the economic and cultural aspects of humanity are primary focuses of human geography, these aspects cannot be understood without describing the landscape on which economic and cultural activities take place.

The cultural landscape is the term used to describe those parts of the earth’s surface that have been altered or created by humans. For example, the urban cultural landscape of a city may include buildings, streets, signs, parking lots, or vehicles, while the rural cultural landscape may include fields, orchards, fences, barns, or farmsteads. Cultural forces unique to a given place—such as religion, language, ethnicity, customs, or heritage—influence the cultural landscape of that place at a given time. The colors, sizes, and shapes of the cultural landscape usually symbolize some level of significance regarding societal norms. Spatial dynamics assist in identifying and evaluating cultural differences between places.

Traditionally, the field of cartography , or map making, has been a vital discipline for geographers. While cartography continues to be an extremely important part of geography, geographers also look at spatial (space) and temporal (time) relationships between many types of data, including physical landscape types, economies, and human activity. Geography also examines the relationships between and the processes of humans and their physical and cultural environments. Because maps are powerful graphic tools that allow us to illustrate relationships and processes at work in the world, cartography and geographic information systems have become important in modern sciences. Maps are the most common method of illustrating different spatial qualities, and geographers create and use maps to communicate spatial data about the earth’s surface.

Geospatial techniques are tools used by geographers to illustrate, manage, and manipulate spatial data. Cartography is the art and science of making maps, which illustrate data in a spatial form and are invaluable in understanding what is going on at a given place at a given time.

Making maps and verifying a location have become more exact with the development of the global positioning system (GPS) . A GPS unit can receive signals from orbiting satellites and calculate an exact location in latitude and longitude, which is helpful for determining where one is located on the earth or for verifying a point on a map. GPS units are standard equipment for many transportation systems and have found their way into products such as cell phones, handheld computers, fish finders, and other mobile equipment. GPS technology is widely implemented in the transport of people, goods, and services around the world.

Remote sensing technology acquires data about the earth’s surface through aerial photographs taken from airplanes or images created from satellites orbiting the earth. Remotely sensed images allow geographers to identify, understand, or explain a particular landscape or determine the land use of a place. These images can serve as important components in the cartographic (map-making) process. These technologies provide the means to examine and analyze changes on the earth’s surface caused by natural or human forces. Google Earth is an excellent example of a computer tool that illustrates remotely sensed images of locations on the earth.

Figure 1.1 Low Elevation Air Photo of Cultural Landscape in Morehead, Kentucky

Photo by R. Berglee – CC BY-NC-SA.

Geographic information science (GIS) , often referred to as geographic information systems, uses a computer program to assimilate and manage many layers of map data, which then provide specific information about a given place. GIS data are usually in digital form and arranged in layers. The GIS computer program can sort or analyze layers of data to illustrate a specific feature or activity. GIS programs are used in a wide range of applications, from determining the habitat range of a particular species of bird to mapping the hometowns of university students.

Figure 1.2 Illustration of Layers in a GIS Process

GIS specialists often create and analyze geographical information for government agencies or private businesses. They use computer programs to take raw data to develop the information these organizations need for making vital decisions. For example, in business applications, GIS can be used to determine a favorable location for a retail store based on the analysis of spatial data layers such as population distribution, highway or street arrangements, and the locations of similar stores or competitive establishments. GIS can integrate a number of maps into one to help analysts understand a place in relation to their own specific needs.

GIS also focuses on storing information about the earth (both cultural and natural) in computer databases that can be retrieved and displayed in the form of specialized maps for specific purposes or analyses. GIS specialists require knowledge about computer and database systems. Over the last two decades, GIS has revolutionized the field of cartography: nearly all cartography is now done with the assistance of GIS software. Additionally, analysis of various cultural and natural phenomena through the use of GIS software and specialized maps is an important part of urban planning and other social and physical sciences. GIS can also refer to techniques used to represent, analyze, and predict spatial relationships between different phenomena.

Geography is a much broader field than many people realize. Most people think of area studies as the whole of geography. In reality, geography is the study of the earth, including how human activity has changed it. Geography involves studies that are much broader than simply understanding the shape of the earth’s landforms. Physical geography involves all the planet’s physical systems. Human geography incorporates studies of human culture, spatial relationships, interactions between humans and the environment, and many other areas of research that involve the different subspecialties of geography. Students interested in a career in geography would be well served to learn geospatial techniques and gain skills and experience in GIS and remote sensing, as they are the areas within geography where employment opportunities have grown the most over the past few decades.

The Earth and Graticule Location

When identifying a region or location on the earth, the first step is to understand its relative and absolute locations. Relative location is the location on the earth’s surface with reference to other places, taking into consideration features such as transportation access or terrain. Relative location helps one compare the advantages of one location with those of another. Absolute location , on the other hand, refers to an exact point on the earth’s surface without regard to how that point is related to any other place. Absolute location is vital to the cartographic process and to human activities that require an agreed-upon method of identifying a place or point.

Just as you were taught in geometry that there are 360 degrees in a circle or a sphere, the earth also has 360 degrees, and they are measured using a grid pattern called the graticule . Lines of latitude and longitude allow any absolute location on the earth to have an identifiable address of degrees north or south and east or west, which allows geographers to accurately locate, measure, and study spatial activity.

Geographers and cartographers organize locations on the earth using a series of imaginary lines that encircle the globe. The two primary lines are the equator and the prime meridian. From these lines, the systems of longitude and latitude are formed, allowing you to locate yourself anywhere on the planet. The line is the longest when you travel along in an east-west direction. At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two equinoxes, which occur in March and September.

Figure 1.3 Basic Lines of Longitude and Latitude

Parallels or Lines of Latitude

Figure 1.4 Noted Lines of Latitude

The equator is the largest circle of latitude on Earth. The equator divides the earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and is called 0 degrees latitude. The other lines of latitude are numbered from 0 to 90 degrees going toward each of the poles. The lines north of the equator toward the North Pole are north latitude, and each of the numbers is followed by the letter “N.” The lines south of the equator toward the South Pole are south latitude, and each of the numbers is followed by the letter “S.” The equator (0 latitude) is the only line of latitude without any letter following the number. Notice that all lines of latitude are parallel to the equator (they are often called parallels) and that the North Pole equals 90 degrees N and the South Pole equals 90 degrees S. Noted parallels include both the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, which are 23.5 degrees from the equator. At 66.5 degrees from the equator are the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle near the North and South Pole, respectively.

Meridians or Lines of Longitude

The prime meridian sits at 0 degrees longitude and divides the earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The prime meridian is defined as an imaginary line that runs through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, a suburb of London. The Eastern Hemisphere includes the continents of Europe, Asia, and Australia, while the Western Hemisphere includes North and South America. All meridians (lines of longitude) east of the prime meridian (0 and 180) are numbered from 1 to 180 degrees east (E); the lines west of the prime meridian (0 and 180) are numbered from 1 to 180 degrees west (W). The 0 and 180 lines do not have a letter attached to them. The meridian at 180 degrees is called the International Date Line . The International Date Line (180 degrees longitude) is opposite the prime meridian and indicates the start of each day (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Each day officially starts at 12:01 a.m., at the International Date Line. Do not confuse the International Date Line with the prime meridian (0 longitude). The actual International Date Line does not follow the 180-degree meridian exactly. A number of alterations have been made to the International Date Line to accommodate political agreements to include an island or country on one side of the line or another.

Climate and Latitude

The earth is tilted on its axis 23.5 degrees. As it rotates around the sun, the tilt of the earth’s axis provides different climatic seasons because of the variations in the angle of direct sunlight on the planet. Places receiving more direct sunlight experience a warmer climate. Elsewhere, the increased angle of incoming solar radiation near the earth’s poles results in more reflected sunlight and thus a cooler climate. The Northern Hemisphere experiences winter when sunlight is reflected off the earth’s surface and less of the sun’s energy is absorbed because of a sharper angle from the sun.

The Tropic of Cancer is the parallel at 23.5 degrees north of the equator, which is the most northerly place on Earth, receiving direct sunlight during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer. Remember that the earth is tilted 23.5 degrees, which accounts for seasonal variations in climate. The Tropic of Capricorn is the parallel at 23.5 degrees south of the equator and is the most southerly location on Earth, receiving direct sunlight during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer.

The tropics (Cancer and Capricorn) are the two imaginary lines directly above which the sun shines on the two solstices , which occur on or near June 20 or 21 (summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere) and December 21 or 22 (winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere). The sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer at noon on June 20 or 21, marking the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn at noon on December 21 or 22, marking the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Solstices are the extreme ends of the seasons, when the line of direct sunlight is either the farthest north or the farthest south that it ever goes. The region between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn is known as the tropics. This area does not experience dramatic seasonal changes because the amount of direct sunlight received does not vary widely. The higher latitudes (north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn) experience significant seasonal variation in climate.

Figure 1.5 Road Sign South of Dakhla, Western Sahara (Claimed by Morocco), Marking the Tropic of Cancer

This sign was placed in this desert location by the Budapest-Bamako rally participants. The non-English portion is in Hungarian because of the European participants in the race.

Wikimedia Commons – public domain.

The Arctic Circle is a line of latitude at 66.5 degrees north. It is the farthest point north that receives sunlight during its winter season (90 N − 23.5 = 66.5 N). During winter, the North Pole is away from the sun and does not receive much sunlight. At times, it is dark for most of the twenty-four-hour day. During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, the North Pole faces more toward the sun and may receive sunlight for longer portions of the twenty-four-hour day. The Antarctic Circle is the corresponding line of latitude at 66.5 degrees south. It is the farthest location south that receives sunlight during the winter season in the Southern Hemisphere (90 S − 23.5 = 66.5 S). When it is winter in the north, it is summer in the south.

The Arctic and Antarctic Circles mark the extremities (southern and northern, respectively) of the polar day (twenty-four-hour sunlit day) and the polar night (twenty-four-hour sunless night). North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year and below the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year. This is true also near the Antarctic Circle, but it occurs south of the Antarctic Circle, toward the South Pole. Equinoxes , when the line of direct sunlight hits the equator and days and nights are of equal length, occur in the spring and fall on or around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23.

Figure 1.6 Graphic of the Four Seasons

Universal Time (UT), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or Zulu Time (Z): all four terms can be defined as local time at 0 degrees longitude, which is the prime meridian (location of Greenwich, England). This is the same time under which many military operations, international radio broadcasts, and air traffic control systems operate worldwide. UTC is set in zero- to twenty-four-hour time periods, as opposed to two twelve-hour time periods (a.m. and p.m.). The designations of a.m. and p.m. are relative to the central meridian: a.m. refers to ante meridiem , or “before noon,” and p.m. refers to post meridiem , or “after noon.” UT, UTC, GMT, and Z all refer to the same twenty-four-hour time system that assists in unifying a common time in regard to global operations. For example, all air flights use the twenty-four-hour time system so the pilots can coordinate flights across time zones and around the world.

The earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours at the rate of 15 degrees per hour (15 × 24 = 360). Time zones are established roughly every 15 degrees longitude so that local times correspond to similar hours of day and night. With this system, the sun is generally overhead at noon in every time zone that follows the 15-degree-wide system. The continental United States has four main time zones (see Table 1.1 “Four Main Time Zones in the Continental United States and Their Central Meridians” and Figure 1.7 “Major Time Zones of the World” ).

Table 1.1 Four Main Time Zones in the Continental United States and Their Central Meridians

Figure 1.7 Major Time Zones of the World

The twenty-four times zones are based on the prime meridian in regard to Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or Zulu Time (Z), which all operate on the twenty-four-hour time clock. Local time zones are either plus or minus determined by the distance from the prime meridian.

Figure 1.8 Diagram Illustrating the Width of a Time Zone

In this diagram, 75 W is the central meridian for the eastern standard time zone in the United States.

The eastern standard time zone is five hours earlier than the time at the prime meridian (UTC) because it is about 75 degrees west of 0 degrees (5 × 15 = 75). For example, if it is noon in London, then it is 7 a.m. in New York. If it is 1 p.m. in New York, it is 10 a.m. in San Francisco, which is three times zones to the west. Since there are twenty-four hours in a day, there are twenty-four time zones on Earth. Each time zone is 15 degrees wide.

A problem with the 15-degree time zones is that the zones do not necessarily follow state, regional, or local boundaries. The result is that time zones are seldom exactly 15 degrees wide and usually have varied boundary lines. In the United States, the boundaries between the different time zones are inconsistent with the lines of longitude; in some cases, time zones zigzag to follow state lines or to keep cities within a single time zone. Other countries address the problem differently. China, for example, is as large in land area as the United States yet operates on only one time zone for the entire country.

Regions in Geography

A region is a basic unit of study in geography—a unit of space characterized by a feature such as a common government, language, political situation, or landform. A region can be a formal country governed by political boundaries, such as France or Canada; a region can be defined by a landform, such as the drainage basin of all the water that flows into the Mississippi River; and a region can even be defined by the area served by a shopping mall. Cultural regions can be defined by similarities in human activities, traditions, or cultural attributes. Geographers use the regional unit to map features of particular interest, and data can be compared between regions to help understand trends, identify patterns, or assist in explaining a particular phenomenon.

Regions are traditionally defined by internal characteristics that provide a sense of place. Their boundaries vary with the type of region, whether it is formal, functional, or vernacular; each type has its own meaning and defined purpose. A formal region has a governmental, administrative, or political boundary and can have political as well as geographic boundaries that are not open to dispute or debate. Formal boundaries can separate states, provinces, or countries from one another. Physical regions can be included within formal boundaries, such as the Rocky Mountains or New England. An official boundary, such as the boundary of a national park, can be considered a formal boundary. School districts, cities, and county governments have formal boundaries.

Natural physical geographic features have a huge influence on where political boundaries of formal regions are set. If you look at a world map, you will recognize that many political boundaries are natural features, such as rivers, mountain ranges, and large lakes. For example, between the United States and Mexico, the Rio Grande makes up a portion of the border. Likewise, between Canada and the United States, a major part of the eastern border is along the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. Alpine mountain ranges in Europe create borders, such as the boundary between Switzerland and Italy.

While geographic features can serve as convenient formal borders, political disputes will often flare up in adjacent areas, particularly if valuable natural or cultural resources are found within the geographic features. Oil drilling near the coast of a sovereign country, for example, can cause a dispute between countries about which one has dominion over the oil resources. The exploitation of offshore fisheries can also be disputed. A Neolithic mummy of a man who died in 3300 BCE caused tension between Italy and Switzerland: the body was originally taken to Innsbruck, Switzerland, but when it was determined that the body was found about 90 meters (180 feet) inside the border of Italy, Italian officials laid claim to the body.

Functional regions have boundaries related to a practical function within a given area. When the function of an area ends, the functional region ends and its boundaries cease to exist. For example, a functional region can be defined by a newspaper service or delivery area. If the newspaper goes bankrupt, the functional region no longer exists. Church parishes, shopping malls, and business service areas are other examples of functional regions. They function to serve a region and may have established boundaries for limits of the area to which they will provide service. An example of a common service area—that is, a functional region—is the region to which a local pizza shop will deliver.

Vernacular regions have loosely defined boundaries based on people’s perceptions or thoughts. Vernacular regions can be fluid—that is, different people may have different opinions about the limits of the regions. Vernacular regions include concepts such as the region called the “Middle East.” Many people have a rough idea of the Middle East’s location but do not know precisely which countries make up the Middle East. Also, in the United States, the terms Midwest or South have many variations. Each individual might have a different idea about the location of the boundaries of the South or the Midwest. Whether the state of Kentucky belongs in the Midwest or in the South might be a matter of individual perception. Similarly, various regions of the United States have been referred to as the Rust Belt, Sun Belt, or Bible Belt without a clear definition of their boundaries. The limit of a vernacular area is more a matter of perception than of any formally agreed-upon criteria. Nevertheless, most people would recognize the general area being discussed when using one of the vernacular terms in a conversation.

Using a State as a Comparison Guide

In comparing one formal political region with another, it is often helpful to use a familiar country, state, province, or political unit as a reference or guide. Wherever you are located, you can research the statistical data for a formal region familiar to you to provide a common reference. The US state of Kentucky is one example that can be used to compare formal political regions. Kentucky ranks close to the middle range of the fifty US states in terms of its population of 4.3 million people. Kentucky is also within the median range of the fifty states in overall physical area. The state’s 40,409-square-mile physical area ranks it thirty-seventh in size in the United States. Kentucky is not as large in physical area as the western states but is larger in physical area than many of the eastern states. Kentucky includes part of the rural peripheral region of Appalachia, but the state also has cosmopolitan core urban centers such as Lexington and Louisville. Kentucky also borders the metropolitan city of Cincinnati. The rural peripheral regions of the state are home to agriculture and mining. The urban core areas are home to industry and service centers. Other US states could also be used as examples. Identifying a state’s geographical attributes provides readers both in and outside the United States with a comparison indicator for geographic purposes.

The state of Kentucky can be used as a comparison guide for understanding other formal political regions around the world.

World Regional Geography

World regional geography studies various world regions as they compare with the rest of the world. Factors for comparison include both the physical and the cultural landscape. The main questions are, Who lives there? What are their lives like? What do they do for a living? Physical factors of significance can include location, climate type, and terrain. Human factors include cultural traditions, ethnicity, language, religion, economics, and politics.

World regional geography focuses on regions of various sizes across the earth’s landscape and aspires to understand the unique character of regions in terms of their natural and cultural attributes. Spatial studies can play an important role in regional geography. The scientific approach can focus on the distribution of cultural and natural phenomena within regions as delimited by various natural and cultural factors. The focus is on the spatial relationships within any field of study, such as regional economics, resource management, regional planning, and landscape ecology.

Again, this textbook takes a regional approach with a focus on themes that illustrate the globalization process, which in turn helps us better understand our global community. The regions studied in world regional geography can be combined into larger portions called realms . Realms are large areas of the planet, usually with multiple regions, that share the same general geographic location. Regions are cohesive areas within each realm. The following eleven realms are outlined in this text:

• Europe (Eastern Europe and Western Europe)
• The Russian Realm (Russian republic of the former Soviet Union)
• North America (United States and Canada)
• Middle America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central America)
• South America
• North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia
• Subsaharan Africa (Africa south of the Sahara Desert)
• Southern Asia (India and its neighbors)
• Eastern Asia (China, Mongolia, Japan, and the Koreas)
• Southeast Asia (mainland region and the islands region)
• Australia and the Pacific (including New Zealand)

Figure 1.10 Major World Realms

Key Takeaways

• Geography is the spatial study of the earth’s surface. The discipline of geography bridges the social sciences with the physical sciences. The two main branches of geography include physical geography and human geography. GIS, GPS, and remote sensing are tools that geographers use to study the spatial nature of physical and human landscapes.
• A grid system called the graticule divides the earth by lines of latitude and longitude that allow for the identification of absolute location on the earth’s surface through geometric coordinates measured in degrees. There are twenty-four time zones that are set at 15-degree intervals each and organize time intervals around the world.
• The tilt of the earth’s axis at 23.5 degrees helps create the earth’s seasonal transitions by either absorbing or reflecting the sun’s energy. The line of direct sunlight always hits the earth between 23.5 degrees north (Tropic of Cancer) and 23.5 degrees south (Tropic of Capricorn), depending on the time of year.
• A region is the basic unit of study in geography. Three main types of boundaries define a region: formal, functional, and vernacular. World regional geography is the study of a particular group of world regions or realms as each compares with the rest of the world.

Discussion and Study Questions

• How does the discipline of geography provide a bridge between the social sciences and the physical sciences?
• How does the cultural landscape assist in indicating the differences between a wealthy neighborhood and a poverty-stricken neighborhood?
• How can remote sensing technology assist in determining what people do for a living?
• What is the significance of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn?
• What occupations depend on knowledge of the seasons for their success?
• If it is 4 p.m. in San Francisco, what time is it in London, England?
• How would GIS, GPS, or remote sensing technology be used to evaluate the destruction caused by a tornado in Oklahoma?
• How is the cultural landscape influenced by the physical landscape?
• Can you list a formal region, a functional region, and a vernacular region that would include where you live?
• What methods, topics, or procedures would be helpful to include in the study of world geography?

Geography Exercise

Identify the following key places on a map:

• Arctic Circle
• Antarctic Circle
• International Date Line
• Prime meridian
• Tropic of Cancer
• Tropic of Capricorn
• Use Google Earth to locate your current school or residence.
• Draw a map of your home state or province and include lines of latitude and longitude.
• Compile the statistical data on your home state, province, or territory to use in comparing formal political regions.

World Regional Geography Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

University of Florida

Geography is the science of place, space, and environment. Each place on earth is distinguished by a unique mix of natural resources, cultural practices, and socioeconomic and political systems. Geographers study what makes each place unique, as well as the connections and interactions between places.

About this Program

• College: Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Degrees: Bachelor of Arts |  Bachelor of Science
•      Specializations: Environmental Geosciences (BA) |  Geographical Science and Sustainability (BA)   | Medical Geography in Global Health (BA) | Medical Geography in Global Health (BS)
• Credits for Degree: 120
• Contact: Email

To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college, and major requirements.

Department Information

The Geography Department offers a range of topics in contemporary geography and geospatial science, rich and lively cultural and learning environments, BA and BS undergraduate degrees, MA, M.S., and PhD degrees, as well as the largest Medical Geography program in the United States. Website

Email | 352.392.0494 (tel) | 352.392.8855 (fax)

P.O. Box 117315 330 Newell Drive 3141 TURLINGTON HALL GAINESVILLE FL 32611-7315 Map

 Curriculum

• Combination Degrees
• Geographic Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Certificate
• Geography Minor
• Geography Minor UF Online
• Geography UF Online
• Geospatial Information Analysis Certificate
• Medical Geography Certificate
• Medical Geography in Global Health Minor
• Meteorology and Climatology Certificate

Geography offers exciting undergraduate degrees at UF. Students learn from world-renowned faculty and award-winning mentors, and contribute to groundbreaking research, all while studying topics that have great environmental and social significance. Geography is an integrated and highly interdisciplinary field of study spanning the physical world and society. It is also a hands-on discipline, with a strong emphasis on computer-based tools and field studies.

Geographers can choose to study an enormous range of subjects, essentially anything that has a spatial component. Students who major in geography use the lens of space to examine issues as diverse as climate variability and change on the African continent, malaria outbreaks in Africa and South America, deforestation and land conflict in the Amazon, and the origin and spread of blues music in the Southeastern United States. Across the globe, geographers study tropical cyclones, river restoration, disease outbreaks, the role of parks and other protected areas, changes in land cover, forest management and fragmentation, community conservation, emerging infectious diseases, environmental influences on the elderly, and economic development.

Geography explores the relationship between human and biophysical systems and deals with some of the most critical issues of our time such as environmental hazards, climate change, sustainability of resource management systems, international development, and community and urban planning. Understanding the concept of place, including how and why places differ from each other, is a central concern. Students who have social and economic interests can enter into careers in international development, urban and regional planning, geographic information systems, and environmental consultancy. Students who combine the study of socioeconomic factors and the biophysical world can work in resource management, conservation, environmental assessment, and watershed and coastal planning.

Coursework for the Major

The geography major has six different programs: the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Science, the Bachelor of Arts in environmental geosciences, the Bachelor of Arts in Geographical Science and Sustainability, the Bachelor of Arts in medical geography in global health, and the Bachelor of Science in medical geography in global health. Coursework for the major will depend upon the program, which are all flexible. Students must earn a minimum grade of C in all coursework for the major.

Students who are uncertain of a program should contact the Department of Geography's undergraduate coordinator for information and curriculum planning.

Required Coursework

All majors take some techniques courses, including GEO 3162C and a minimum of two additional courses that involve working with data and computers. All majors take a regional course, focusing on the countries, cultures and landscapes of one region in the world. The systematic courses include specialized courses in human or environmental/physical geography, but majors can also take additional techniques courses as part of this requirement. Students can concentrate coursework in economic geography and planning, environmental/physical geography, geospatial technologies, medical geography, or natural resource management.

Coursework for the major will depend upon the degree program. Courses for each program are listed below under Critical Tracking and Model Semester Plan.

Bachelor of Arts in Geography

Best suited for students interested in careers in urban and regional planning, business geography, medical geography, and geographic education, or for students who want a broad overview of the discipline with a focus on human geography.

Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Geosciences

A joint program between the Department of Geography and the Department of Geological Sciences and is intended for students interested in land and water aspects of the environment. The degree focuses on human impacts, water and mineral resource exploitation and management, disasters, environmental planning, earth science education, or environmental law.

Bachelor of Science in Geography

Best suited for someone who wishes to pursue a career in environmental consulting or graduate work in physical geography or related natural sciences, including atmospheric science, geosciences, hydrologic sciences, or meteorology.

Bachelor of Arts in Geographical Science and Sustainability

A joint program (specialization) co-offered by Geography and Sustainability Studies and is intended for students interested in using geospatial technologies to advance sustainability. Students in this specialization learn modern geospatial technologies, such as geographical information system, remote sensing and spatial analysis, and use them to maintain ecological and environmental health, create economic welfare, and pursue social justice in a changing world.

Bachelor of Arts in Medical Geography in Global Health

Intended for students interested in social and cultural aspects of medical geography and global health and disease issues. The degree focuses on human impacts, cultural and social aspects of health and disease, and public health planning and management.

Bachelor of Science in Medical Geography in Global Health

Best suited for someone who wishes to pursue a career in public or animal health or disease management or graduate work in medical geography, public health or related natural sciences, including ecology, biology, or epidemiology/public health. This specialization offers the flexibility for students to prepare for admission to health professions programs.

A major in Geography enables students to know the earth’s physical environment, to learn social, cultural, and economic concepts from spatial and regional perspectives, and to understand the relationship between environment and society. Students will learn how geographic techniques, skills, and concepts are applied in the subfields of geography. Computer-based lab assignments teach students how to analyze geographic information and to apply an interpretation of data toward problem solving or modeling. They will be able to interpret and to effectively communicate information spatially, graphically, and/or with statistics.

The Bachelor of Arts in Geography enables students to learn how geographic techniques, skills, and concepts are applied in various subfields of geography. The Bachelor of Science enables students to learn basic concepts in sciences related to the earth and its atmosphere.

Before Graduating Students Must

• Complete a capstone exam in GEO 4930 , as developed by geography faculty.
• Complete a capstone portfolio in GEO 4930 , evaluated by geography faculty.
• Complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.

Students in the Major Will Learn to

Student learning outcomes | slos.

• Identify and describe the physical and human characteristics of Earth and its regions, the essentials of human‐environment interactions, and the techniques of geographic science.

Critical Thinking

• Analyze geographic information and apply interpretation of data toward problem solving or modeling.

Communication

• Interpret and effectively communicate information spatially, graphically, and/or with statistics.

Curriculum Map

I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed

Assessment Types

• Capstone exam

Print Options

Print this page.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

All pages in 2024-2025 Academic Catalog.

Pardon Our Interruption

As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. There are a few reasons this might happen:

• You've disabled JavaScript in your web browser.
• You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed.
• You've disabled cookies in your web browser.
• A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Additional information is available in this support article .

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

Please select one of the options below:

• Resident tuition
• Non-Resident tuition

Your tuition estimate

Undergraduate key:

12+ credits for full-time

6 credits for part-time or working students

Drag the slider to see the tuition breakdown by credit hour

Tuition breakdown**

Academic Year Total

*This is not a bill. This is only an estimate. Special class fees are dependent on specific class enrollment and are not included here.

For additional cost estimates, view our standard cost of attendance .

How can we assist?

• Skip to main content
• Report an accessibility problem
• Colleges and Schools

Online Bachelor of Arts in Geography

Are you interested in expanding your knowledge of human cultural traditions around the world? In the Bachelor of Arts in Geography program, you'll learn how people interact with the environment through cutting-edge techniques, preparing you to address some of the world's most pressing challenges. Graduates of this bachelor's in geography program pursue a wide range of career paths, including private firms, nonprofit organizations, state, local and federal government agencies and more.

Quick facts

Next start date: 10/16/2024

Total classes: 40

Weeks per class: 7.5

Total credit hours: 120

Degree questions, answered

Have questions about the Geography (BA) ? Fill out this form and we’ll get in touch!

* Indicates a required field

By submitting my information, I consent to ASU contacting me about educational services using automated calls, prerecorded voice messages, SMS/text messages or email at the information provided above. Message and data rates may apply. Consent is not required to receive services, and I may call ASU directly at 866-277-6589 . I consent to ASU’s mobile terms and conditions , and Privacy Statements , including the European Supplement.

What are the benefits of studying geography?

What will i learn in this online geography degree.

• Geographic information science and technology.
• Population and migration.
• Urban and regional geography.

What can you do with a bachelor’s degree in geography?

• Master of Arts in geography .
• Master of Urban and Environmental Planning .

Will my geography degree say 'online'?

No, Arizona State University’s diplomas don’t specify whether you earn your degree online or in person. All diplomas and transcripts simply say “Arizona State University.” That’s because ASU Online students learn from the same faculty and receive the same course content as in-person students receive.

Geography courses

Bachelor's in geography courses cover a variety of topics in research, geographic information systems, physical sciences and human civilization. In addition to core courses, you'll complete electives and a hands-on capstone project, allowing you to focus on topics most important to you. Geography degree courses include:

• View full major map .

What careers can you get with a degree in geography?

A bachelor's in geography gives you the edge you need when applying for jobs following graduation, preparing you for success in careers related to community development, foreign service, intelligence analysis, international trade, urban or regional planning and more.

While this geography degree does not prepare students for careers in meteorology, it does help set you apart from other applicants when applying for similar positions. Potential career paths include, but are not limited to:

Cartographer (Map Maker)

Education professor, geodetic surveyor, geographic information systems analyst (gis analyst), geographic information systems technician (gis technician), human behavior researcher, land surveyor, park ranger, survey technician, learn from leading educators and researchers.

As a part of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning is home to nationally and internationally recognized thought leaders and innovators within the disciplines of geography and geographic information science. Our faculty includes:

• Academia Europea Member.
• American Association of Geographers Fellows.
• Fulbright American Scholars.
• U.S. National Academy of Sciences Members.

How to apply

• first-year student
• transfer student
• international student

You’re considered a first-year student for application purposes if you’ve never attended college or have fewer than 12 transferable credit hours.

Learn how to apply .

Competency requirements

To be admitted to ASU, you must hold a high school diploma or equivalent and have completed at least 14 of the following courses.

• Four years of math.
• Four years of English (non-ESL/ELL courses).
• Three years of lab sciences (One year each from biology, chemistry, earth science, integrated sciences or physics).
• Two years of social sciences (including one year of American history).
• Two years of the same second language.
• One year of fine arts or career and technical education.

Note: You cannot have course deficiencies in both math and lab sciences competencies.

Additional admission requirements

Applicants must meet at least one of the following:

• Top 25% in your high school graduating class.
• 3.00 GPA in competency courses (4.00 = A).
• ACT score of 22 for Arizona residents (24 nonresidents) or SAT Reasoning score of 1120 for Arizona residents (1180 nonresidents).*

*Additional information about ACT / SAT:

• ASU doesn’t require the writing portion of these tests.
• ACT or SAT scores are not required for admission but may be submitted for ASU course placement.

High school equivalency

Besides a high school diploma, applicants may also meet undergraduate admission requirements through one of the following:

• 50 or above for tests completed before 2002.
• 500 or above for tests completed between 2002 and 2013.
• 170 or above for tests completed after 2013.
• Total score of 75.
• A minimum total score of 2700.
• A minimum score of 500 on each of the five content areas.
• A score of two or above on the essay.
• Please contact your enrollment coach at 866-277-6589 if you’ve completed the California High School Proficiency Examination or other high school equivalency diplomas.

*Some higher requirement programs require ACT/SAT scores or additional coursework to satisfy aptitude and/or course competency requirements.

Homeschool applicants must meet all general admission requirements for ASU. You may also need to provide additional documentation after you submit your application. If needed, you'll be notified after we receive your transcript.

Don't meet admission requirements?

You can still gain general admission to most online programs at ASU through Earned Admission. Through this pathway, you can demonstrate your ability to succeed at ASU by completing online courses with a 2.75 GPA or higher.

To begin, submit an application to ASU. An enrollment coach will reach out with more information if Earned Admission is right for you.

*Some programs may have higher admission requirements. You must meet all program requirements to be admitted.

The largest and most diverse college at ASU

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences takes a transdisciplinary approach to education with a vast spectrum of degrees in the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. We inspire students to become socially aware critical thinkers and global citizens.

currently enrolled students.

$170 million

in research expenditures in 2022.

interdisciplinary schools and departments.

undergraduate degrees.

Tuition calculator

Use our calculator to estimate your full-time or part-time tuition fees for this program prior to any financial aid. Keep in mind that most of our students receive financial aid, which can reduce out-of-pocket costs. Learn more.

You might also be interested in

Undergraduate

Anthropology (BA)

Starts 10/16/2024

Global Studies (BA)

Geography (BS)

Geographic Information Science (BS)

100 Most Popular Courses For September

Harvard and MIT’s $800 Million Mistake: The Triple Failure of 2U, edX, and Axim Collaborative

The future of Coursera’s only credible alternative for universities rests in the hands of 2U’s creditors.

• [2024] 250 Top Domestika Courses of All Time
• [2024] 150+ Psychology Courses You Can Take for Free
• Layoffs Hit Udemy: 20% Out as Some Jobs Move Overseas
• 7 Best Online First Aid Courses and Sites for 2024
• 30% of Coursera Courses Have Peer Reviews: Here Are the Best

600 Free Google Certifications

Most common

• web development

Popular subjects

Software Development

Data Analysis

Computer Science

Popular courses

Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential

Understanding the GDPR

Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

Organize and share your learning with Class Central Lists.

View our Lists Showcase

Geography Courses and Certifications

Learn Geography, earn certificates with paid and free online courses from Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, The Open University and other top universities around the world. Read reviews to decide if a class is right for you.

• Cartography Courses
• Remote Sensing Courses
• Geology Courses
• Climate Science Courses
• Urban Planning Courses
• Demography Courses
• Environmental Science Courses
• ArcGIS Courses
• With certificate (145)
• Free course (137)
• With free certificate (9)
• University course only (64)
• Beginner (23)
• Intermediate (14)
• Advanced (2)
• < 30 mins (18)
• 30 - 60 mins (14)
• 1 - 2 hours (18)
• 2 - 5 hours (12)
• 5 - 10 hours (22)
• 10+ hours (145)
• English (221)
• Bengali (1)
• Chinese (1)
• Gujarati (1)
• Japanese (1)
• Russian (2)
• Spanish (7)
• Turkish (2)

Geography: Middle School

Comprehensive middle school geography course covering Earth's physical features, human geography, and regional studies through engaging video and text lessons.

• 2 days 22 hours
• Paid Course

Geography for Kids

Explore world geography through fun, engaging video lessons designed to improve knowledge for homework, exams, and assignments in elementary school.

• 6 hours 40 minutes

3rd Grade Social Studies

Explore geography, ancient civilizations, early American history, and economics in this comprehensive social studies resource for young learners.

NY Regents Exam - Global History and Geography: Tutoring Solution

Comprehensive study guide for NY Regents Global History and Geography Exam, featuring interactive video lessons and quizzes covering major historical periods from prehistory to globalization.

• 1 day 23 hours 20 minutes

Geography Study Guide

Comprehensive guide covering global geography, maps, human civilizations, and spatial processes for students seeking to improve knowledge and grades.

• 9 hours 4 minutes

VCE Geography: Exam Prep & Study Guide

Comprehensive VCE Geography exam preparation covering key concepts, hazards, tourism, land cover, population dynamics, and more. Includes lessons, quizzes, and flashcards for effective study.

• 1 day 1 hour 4 minutes

ISEB Common Entrance Exam at 13+ Geography: Study Guide & Test Prep

Comprehensive preparation for ISEB Common Entrance at 13+ Geography exam, covering atlas skills, world geography, mapwork, fieldwork, natural phenomena, human geography, and British geography.

Geography: High School

Comprehensive exploration of global geography, covering physical, cultural, and economic aspects across continents, with practical map-reading skills and case studies for enhanced understanding.

• 14 hours 40 minutes

Holt McDougal Introduction to Geography: Online Textbook Help

Comprehensive video lessons aligned with textbook chapters, covering geographer's world, Earth, climate, resources, culture, population, government, economy, and global connections.

• 8 hours 48 minutes

Virginia SOL - World Geography: Test Prep & Practice

Comprehensive review of world geography topics for Virginia SOL exam, featuring interactive lessons and quizzes to enhance understanding and test readiness.

High School Geography: Homeschool Curriculum

Comprehensive exploration of global geography, covering physical, cultural, and economic aspects through engaging videos. Ideal for homeschool parents seeking to make complex concepts accessible and interesting.

• 15 hours 36 minutes

Survey of Physical Geography

Explore Earth's diverse landscapes, climates, and ecosystems through informative lessons on geographical features, basins, weather, and more. Ideal for exam prep or personal enrichment.

• 7 hours 20 minutes

AEPA Geography (AZ004): Practice & Study Guide

Comprehensive study guide for Arizona teachers covering diverse geography topics, from physical processes to human geography, with a focus on U.S. and Arizona-specific content.

MTTC Geography (008): Practice & Study Guide

Comprehensive study guide for MTTC Geography exam, covering physical and human geography, world regions, historical events, and related topics through mobile-friendly lessons and practice quizzes.

General Geography Lessons

Comprehensive exploration of global geography, covering continents, regions, and key geographical concepts for a well-rounded understanding of our world.

• 1 day 8 hours 8 minutes

Never Stop Learning.

Get personalized course recommendations, track subjects and courses with reminders, and more.

Save £500 when you enrol by 30th September! T&C’s apply

• How to Make Your Coursework as Good as It Can Possibly Be

Many GCSE and A-level subjects are assessed in part by coursework in addition to exams, meaning that the mark you receive for coursework contributes to your overall grade. Many students prefer coursework, because it’s a chance to showcase your academic abilities away from the high-pressured environment of the exam room, making it ideal for those who don’t perform to the best of their abilities in exams. However, the time you have available for coursework, in contrast with the time constraints of the exam room, can lull some students into a false sense of security. Coursework is arguably just as challenging as exams, just in different ways – and, given the fact that you have more time, much higher standards are expected of you in coursework than in exams. Careful planning and research are needed for successful coursework, as well as strong data-gathering and essay-writing skills. In this article, we look at how to produce excellent coursework, from planning to proofreading. This information might also be useful to you if you’re planning on attending an Oxford Summer School this summer.

What is coursework?

GCSE and A-level coursework typically takes the form of an extended essay or project. Its objectives vary from one subject to another, but there’s usually an emphasis on the student conducting independent research into a topic of their own choice. Thus coursework often takes the form of some sort of investigation; it may, therefore, help to have your ‘detective’ hat on as you explore, investigate and analyse your topic. You can usually work on your coursework at home, though it’s sometimes completed under controlled conditions through sessions at school. To give you a better idea of how coursework varies from one subject to another, here are some examples:

• English – English coursework usually takes the form of an extended essay with a title of your choice. You’re usually given a choice of themes and/or texts to explore, and you could choose a format such as a comparison between a set text and another one.
• Geography – Geography coursework usually focuses on the gathering, reporting and interpretation of data designed to answer a particular geographical question. You could investigate usage of a shopping centre, for example, or look at erosion on a particular beach.
• Sciences – coursework for science subjects often takes the form of a scientific project or experiment that you conduct and report on yourself.

Before you start work on your coursework, it’s essential that you have a thorough understanding of the rules. Failing to conform to the rules – inadvertently or not – may result in your coursework (or possibly even your entire qualification) being disqualified, so it’s a serious matter.

• No plagiarism – this is particularly dangerous given the ready availability of relevant information on the internet these days. Make sure everything is in your own words; you’ll need to sign a declaration stating that it’s your own original work.
• There’s only so much help your teacher can give you . They can provide guidance on what you need to include, and on what the examiners will be looking for. You can ask them questions, but they’ll usually only be able to check through your first draft once and offer broad hints on updating it.
• Check the word count , and stick to it. Find out whether footnotes, appendices and bibliographies are included in the word count.
• Check what topics you’re allowed to do your coursework on; if there’s an exam on this topic, you’ll almost certainly have to choose a different one for your coursework.

Choose your topic wisely

Ideally, choose something you’re genuinely interested in, as your enthusiasm will come across and you’ll find it more enjoyable to write. If there’s something you’ve been working on for the course so far that you’ve particularly enjoyed, you may be able to focus more on this as part of your coursework. For science coursework, you’ll need to choose something to investigate that you can measure, change and control; it should be what’s called a ‘fair test’, meaning that you have to acknowledge all the controls you use in the experiment and why. Try not to pick a topic for which the scope is too vast, as you’ll struggle to research it properly and you’re unlikely to do it justice, and it’ll be hard to keep within the word limit. Ask your teachers for some guidance on choosing your topic if you’re not sure what to write about; they might even tell you a bit about what previous students have done to give you some inspiration.

Plan how long it’s going to take

Never leave your coursework until the last minute, even if this is your normal approach to essays and it usually works for you. Make sure you understand when the deadlines are, including time for submitting a first draft for comments from your teacher. Then schedule blocks of time for working on it, allowing plenty of time before the deadline to cater for any unexpected delays. Allow ample time for making corrections based on teacher feedback on your first draft, and keep some time aside before the deadline for final editing and proofreading. Because actual deadlines are few and far between, you’ll need to take responsibility for the writing process and impose some deadlines on yourself to ensure it’s finished in time. Write down your deadlines on a calendar, with the coursework broken into stages and dates assigned to each, by which time each task should be complete. You can base your stages on the next few points in this article – research and data gathering, a structure plan for the piece of work, writing up, and so on.

Conducting your research and gathering data

As coursework is primarily a research exercise, the research phase is crucial, so don’t be tempted to skimp on it and go straight to writing up. Use as many different resources as you can to gather data: books, journals, newspapers, television, radio, the internet and anything else you think might be relevant. For science and Geography coursework, you’ll need to base your work on a hypothesis, so the research stage should start by coming up with at least one hypothesis, otherwise your research will lack direction. The research phase for some subjects may involve site visits for gathering data, so allow plenty of time for this, particularly if you need your parents to drive you somewhere to do so. If it’s a scientific experiment you’re conducting for your coursework, you’ll need to pay careful attention to planning the experiment using rigorous scientific methods (also noting what Health and Safety precautions you are taking), as well as reading up on the background and theory so that you have an idea of what to expect from the outcome of your experiment. In the research stage, make notes about what you expect to happen, so that you can later compare your expectations with what actually did happen. The experiment itself also forms part of the research and data-gathering stage for your science coursework; in the write-up stage, which we come onto shortly, you analyse and write up the results.

Plan your structure

Once you’ve completed your research, the process of writing up begins. Before you get down to the actual writing, however, it’s advisable to write a plan for how you’re going to structure it – essentially an essay plan for English coursework and other subjects for which the coursework is based on an extended essay. It’ll look slightly different from an essay plan for science subjects and others that revolve around project work, but the principle is the same: plan out what order you’re going to present your information in. For big projects, this is particularly important, because with a lot of information to convey, you risk being disorganised and waffling.

Writing up your project

For any coursework, but particularly coursework based around an extended essay, you’ll need to perfect your essay-writing abilities. For science coursework, writing up your project also involves data analysis, as you interpret the results of your experiment and work your notes into formal scientific language.

When you’re writing up, it’s important to find a place where you can work quietly, without distractions that could cause you to make careless errors. You wouldn’t want noise or distractions when you were in an exam room, so treat your coursework with the same reverence.

Supporting materials and images

For some subjects, namely the sciences and Geography, it would be appropriate to include images, graphs, charts, tables and so on in your coursework. For example, for Geography coursework, your extra material could include annotated images and maps of the site you’re talking about, plus tables, graphs and charts. An appendix could then detail your raw data; if, for example, your coursework focused on the results of a survey, you could put the raw survey responses in an appendix and provide summaries and analysis in the main body of the coursework.

Footnotes and bibliography

As we said earlier, it’s important that you always use your own words in your coursework to avoid the possibility of falling foul of plagiarism rules. However, it’s acceptable to quote from another source, as you would in any piece of academic writing, but you must make sure that you state where it is from and use quotation marks to show that it’s a quote from somewhere else. The best way of citing another work is to use a footnote; word processors will allow you to insert one, and it just puts a little number at the end of the sentence and another in the footer of the document, into which you put the name of the author and work, and the page within that work that the quote can be found. At the end of your piece of work, include a bibliography that includes a list of every external source you’ve used in the creation of your coursework. Stick to a set formula when including books. A common format is: Author Surname, Initial. (Date) – Title of Book , page number For example: Lewis, C.S. (1960) – Studies in Words , p. 45 When you get to university, you’ll be expected to include footnotes and bibliographies in all your essays, so it’s a good habit to get into and coursework gives you good practice at it.

The final pre-submission check

Having completed a first draft, received feedback from your teacher, and honed your work into a finished piece of coursework, have a final check through it before you send off your coursework for submission.

• Sense check : have a read through your completed piece of work and check that it all makes sense. Make sure you haven’t contradicted yourself anywhere, or repeated yourself, or laboured the point. If there are any facts that you may have meant to look up to double check their accuracy, do so now.
• Word count : ensure that the completed work falls within the word count, and double check whether the bibliography should be included in the word count. If you’ve exceeded it, you’ll need to work through the piece and tighten up your writing, omitting unnecessary information, reordering sentences so that they use fewer words, and so on.
• Proofread : check your spelling and grammar, and ensure that there are no typos. Don’t just use the spellcheck – go through it with a fine toothcomb, manually, and if you can, ask someone to read through it for you to see if they spot anything you haven’t.
• Formatting : check that you’ve included page numbers, and that the font and line spacing is consistent throughout the work. Ensure that the font is plain and easy to read, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Bibliography : check that you’ve included everything, that the format is the same for all sources mentioned, and that the right information is included for each.

Once this stage is complete, you’re ready to submit your coursework along with your declaration that it’s entirely your own work. Get ready for a feeling of immense satisfaction when you finally send off your hard work!

Image credits: banner

Cambridge International IGCSE Geography Learner guide

Topic outline.

• Select activity Syllabus content - what you need to know about Syllabus content - what you need to know about

You will have three assessments:

• Two theory papers:
• Paper 1 (Geographical Themes)

Paper 2 (Geographical Skills)

• One practical assessment
• either Component 3 (Coursework)
• or Paper 4 (Alternative to Coursework).

Your teacher will be able to tell you whether you are doing coursework (Component 3) or taking Paper 4.

• If you are doing coursework, you will complete one assignment and take Paper 1 and Paper 2 in the examination.
• if you are not doing coursework, you will take three papers in the examination, Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 4.

Make sure you always check the latest syllabus, which is available at  www.cambridgeinternational.org .

• Select activity How you will be assessed How you will be assessed
• Select activity Please rotate your device Please rotate your device
• Select activity What skills will be assessed? What skills will be assessed?

We take account of the following skill areas in your examination papers:

• your knowledge (what you remember) and understanding (how you use what you know and apply it to new situations)
• how you interpret and analyse information, e.g. data, graphs, diagrams, photographs
• how you make judgements and decisions, including conclusions, based on information.

These skills are called assessment objectives. They are explained in the sections below. Your teacher will be able to give you more information about how each of these is tested in the examination papers.

What does the AO mean?

Remembering facts and applying these facts to new situations

What do you need to be able to do?

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the wide range of processes, including human actions, contributing to the development of a. physical, economic and social environments and their effects on the landscape b. spatial patterns and interactions which are important within these environments
• the relationships between human activity and the environment
• the importance of scale (whether local, regional or global)
• the changes which occur through time in places, landscapes and spatial distribution

How you select information and apply geographical understanding to explain the information

• Interpret and analyse geographical data
• Use and apply geographical knowledge and understanding to maps and in numerical, diagrammatic, pictorial, photographic and graphical form
• Use geographical data to recognise patterns in such data and to deduce relationships
• Select and show understanding of techniques for observing and collecting data
• Select and use techniques for organising and presenting data.

Being able to make judgements based on information and recognise possible decisions

Use your geographical training to:

• an appreciation of the attitudes, values and beliefs of others in issues which have a geographical dimension
• an awareness of the contrasting opportunities and constraints of people living in different places and under different physical and human conditions
• a willingness to review their own attitudes in the light of the views of others and new knowledge acquired
• the physical and human contexts in which decisions are made
• the values and perceptions of differing groups or individuals
• the choices available to decision makers
• the increasing level of global interdependence and the need for sustainable development.
• Select activity Command words Command words
• Select activity The flipcards below include command words used in ... The flipcards below include command words used in the assessment for this syllabus. The use of the command word will relate to the subject context.
• Select activity Example candidate response Example candidate response
• Select activity All information and advice in this section is spec... All information and advice in this section is specific to the example question and response being demonstrated. It should give you an idea of how your responses might be viewed by an examiner but it is not a list of what to do in all questions. In your own examination, you will need to pay careful attention to what each question is asking you to do.
• Select activity Question The question used in this example is from... Question  The question used in this example is from Paper 1 and is an example of a structured-answer question. Now let’s look at the question to see what the ‘command words’ for this question mean for your answer. (c) For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by over population. Describe is the command word in this question. This means that you state the main features of the problems caused by overpopulation. Using examples is an excellent way of supporting your descriptions.

• Select activity Example candidate response and examiner comments Example candidate response and examiner comments
• Select activity (c) For a named country you have studied, describe... (c) For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by over population. Name of country: Ghana Ghana is noted to be one of the top countries known to be overly populated. With this, we see that there is pressure on Ghana’s resources. The population of Ghana is very high and because of this water supply would reduce, there would be pressure on the electricity in Ghana because so many people in the country are using the power. Ghana’s government revenue would reduce. The government of Ghana would put in a bit of money to improve medication to new ones, rebuild hospitals, care homes, provide new and well trained doctors, re-construct roads bring more water from another place where there is no supply of water. Ghana has a high rate of crime due to overpopulation. When there is a crowded area people who are uneducated would want to cause a scene and steal and kill people. There is a high spread of so many diseases in Ghana. Diseases such as cholera due to the water we drink as a country and also people use dirty hands to eat. When there are crowded, immediately one person gets the disease it spreads to another person and moves on. The settlements in Ghana are congested. An example is Nima. Nima is very congested and the homes are all together and there is even no space for a car to park. Over-population brings about unemployment because there are a lot of people in the country. Over-population brings noise.
• Select activity Revision Revision
• Select activity Explore the advice below to help you revise and pr... Explore the advice below to help you revise and prepare for the examinations.  It is divided into general advice for all papers and more specific advice for Paper 1, Paper 2, and Paper 4.
• Find out when the examinations are and plan your revision so you have time to revise.
• Create a revision timetable and divide it into sections to cover each topic.
• Find out how long each paper is, how many questions you have to answer, how many marks there are for each question, and work out how long you have for each question.
• Find out the choices you have on each paper, make sure you know how many sections there are and which sections you should answer from.
• When there is a choice of questions in a section, make sure you revise enough to have a choice.
• Know the meaning of the command words used in questions and how to apply them to the information given.
• Look at past examination papers and highlight the command words and check what they mean.
• Make revision notes. Try different styles of notes.
• Work for short periods then have a break.
• Revise small sections of the syllabus at a time.
• Test yourself by writing out key points, redrawing diagrams, etc.
• Make sure you define geographical terms accurately, e.g. deforestation is not simply ‘cutting down trees’, it is ‘the total deliberate removal or clearance of forest/trees by cutting and/or burning at rates faster than natural regeneration or without replanting’.
• Definitions must not reuse the words to be defined. E.g. land pollution means the contamination (pollution) of the earth’s surface (land) by the unplanned or illegal disposal of waste substances.
• Make your own dictionary or draw up a glossary of key terms for each section of the syllabus. Look at maps, diagrams, tables, etc. to find out what they show; e.g., recognising landforms and settlement patterns on maps and photographs.
• Practise drawing clear, IGO, neat, fully-labelled diagrams and maps.
• Learn your case studies thoroughly. What do they show? How you might use them? Where in the world are they? Are they are local, regional, international or global scale?
• Make a list of case studies for each section of the syllabus.
• Look at past questions and decide which case study would be best to answer each one.
• Know your own local case studies, whenever possible.
• Learn to spell geographical terms correctly.
• Have a look at past questions so that you are clear of what to expect in an examination.
• Look at mark schemes to help you to understand how the marks are awarded for each question.
• Read the instructions carefully and answer the right number of questions from the right sections.
• Do not answer more questions than are needed, as this will not gain you more marks in the examination.
• Plan your time according to the marks for each question. For example, a question worth three marks requires less time and a shorter answer than one worth 10 marks.
• If a question has several parts, then the parts with more marks will need more time and more developed answers.
• Do not leave out questions or parts of questions.
• Remember, no answer means no mark.
• Identify the command words – you could underline or highlight them
• Identify the other key words and perhaps underline them too
• Try to put the question into your own words to understand what it is really asking.
• Read all parts of a question before starting your answer. Think carefully about what is needed for each part. You will not need to repeat material.
• Read the title, key, axes of graphs, etc. to find out exactly what it is showing you
• Look for dates, scale, and location
• Try using coloured pencils or pens to pick out anything that the question asks you about.
• Answer the question. This is very important! Use your knowledge and understanding. Do not just write all you know, only write what is needed to answer the question.
• Plan your answers. Clear, concise, well-ordered, well-argued, well-supported answers get more marks than long, rambling, muddled, repetitive ones. Quality is better than quantity.
• Use geographical terms in your answers as much as possible.
• Use the resource material given in the question to support your answer. Annotated maps, diagrams and graphs can help you, and be used to support your answer. Use them whenever possible but do not then repeat the information in words.
• Use case study material even when it is not required specifically by the question. Case studies and examples can come from your home area
• Make sure your writing is clear and easy to read. It is no good writing a brilliant answer if the examiner cannot read it.
• Look at the instructions on the front of the paper. You have to choose three out of the six questions, one out of two questions in each section so that you answer a question on each of the three themes.
• Do not try to answer all the questions, you will not have time to answer them properly.
• Write the answers to the questions in the spaces in the question and answer booklet provided, using this as a rough guide to the amount of detail and length of answer that is needed.
• If you run out of space continue the answer on the spare lined sheet at the back of the booklet. Make sure you number any continuation answers carefully and also indicate that your answer is continued on the extra page at the end of your partly-written answer.
• Look at the number of marks available for each part of a question. Do not spend too much time on one part if it is only worth one or two marks, or alternatively write only a short answer when a question is worth more marks.
• Timing is important, do not spend too much time on your first chosen question, otherwise you will have to rush the last question.
• Just in case you run out of time, if there is a question which you are not confident on, answer it last.
• Read the information given in the stem of the question carefully as well as the questions themselves.
• Wherever possible in your answers try to include relevant examples and case studies. There may be local examples which you could use in your answers.
• Where you are asked to complete an answer by labelling or drawing on a resource you must do this rather than writing an answer.
• If you use any extra sheets make sure that you put your name on them and attach them to your answer booklet before handing it in.
• When you are asked to use a written resource you will not be given marks for copying out sections from it.
• Look at the question you are being asked and try to show your understanding by answering in your own words.
• If you are asked to compare or describe the differences between two things it is no good just writing about one. You could use words like ‘bigger’ or ‘more’ to help you compare or a word like ‘whereas’ in the middle of your sentence, e.g. ‘a constructive wave deposits material on the coast whereas a destructive wave erodes material from it’.
• Try to be as precise as possible as vague statements are unlikely to get you many marks. e.g. ‘A Stevenson Screen is used to get accurate readings’ is far too vague. You need to give details explaining why readings are accurate when a Stevenson Screen is used (the louvers allow a free flow of air, the white surface reflects the sun’s rays, it allows you to take temperatures in the shade etc.).
• Make sure you know the differences between global environmental problems which you may have studied. Many people mix up global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain.
• You must also make sure you do not mix up causes and effects / consequences – you may be asked for one or the other so read the question carefully.
• This paper is testing a range of skills.
• Try to be as accurate as you can with measuring and plotting.
• Take your time, take care and always use a ruler to complete graphs and measure straight line distances.
• Many questions ask you to ‘use the evidence’ in the resources provided such as the maps, photographs and graphs.
• You must make sure that you do so rather than using your background knowledge, e.g. if you are asked to describe the features of an industry shown in a photograph there is no need to include general information about that industry and its location.
• If you are asked to describe features of a coastal area shown on a map there will be no credit for explaining how they were formed.
• If you are asked to use evidence from the map to explain why there are no settlements in some areas there is no point in referring to the climate as the map extract is unlikely to include information about it.
• Practise basic map skills, for example six-figure grid references. Candidates sometimes get the third and sixth figures confused.
• Make sure you give the reference for the position of the symbol rather than the name of the place.
• If you are asked to measure a distance it is worth using the linear scale below the map and a straight edged piece of paper. By doing this you will be less likely to make mistakes which are possible when using calculation to convert centimetres to kilometres and metres.
• Look carefully at what units you need to use, whether you should answer to the nearest kilometre or in metres.
• Make sure you always give the units in your answer rather than just writing down the number.
• You could be asked to give a direction or a compass bearing.
• Make sure you know the difference and check which of the features you are measuring from and to, by looking carefully at the wording of the question.
• If you are asked to draw a graph be as accurate as you can, measuring carefully and using a ruler.
• Take care to draw the type of graph that the question asks for rather than a different type of graph.
• Make sure you know how to draw and read a divided bar graph; it is used in a different way from a normal bar graph.
• This paper is an alternative to coursework and to prepare for it you need to be able to answer questions about collecting, presenting and analysing data like you would in a geographical investigation. There is nearly always a question that asks you to write a conclusion and an evaluation. You need to practise these skills.
• Many of these questions are based on a hypothesis. Make sure you are familiar with testing hypotheses.
• You will be given resources to use in the examination which you have not seen before, perhaps different types of graphs or diagrams. Look at the diagrams carefully and think carefully about what they are showing before you answer the questions. You may be asked to complete a diagram, in which case you need to complete it accurately and carefully.
• You will have to answer questions about data which has already been collected as part of an investigation. This could be a set of figures, graphs or maps. One of the things you will be asked to do is to recognise and describe patterns or trends, e.g. the distribution of rainfall over an area as shown on a map or over time as shown on a graph, the amount of erosion alongside a footpath as shown on a diagram. You should practise this skill, using data which you have collected yourself, or data from your teacher.
• If you are asked questions about the data in the resources you will be expected to use that data rather than simply listing or repeating the figures, e.g. you may be asked to compare two sets of data about different places, look for a relationship between two or more sets of data or recognise similarities and differences. However it is always useful to support your answer by referring back to the resource and quoting data from it.
• Learn about the different types of samples that can be used when collecting data – you may be asked to describe the advantages of using systematic or stratified sampling for example. Many candidates assume that the only sample that can be taken is a random sample.
• You may be asked to suggest practical ways in which something could be improved. This could be an actual investigation or something which has been investigated, e.g. the amount and distribution of pollution in a river. You will be expected to be realistic in your suggestions so always think about whether they are practical. For example to suggest that all the residents of a town should be interviewed rather than taking a sample is unrealistic. Similarly, to suggest that all factories alongside the river are shut down is not a suggestion which is practical.
• When asked to write a conclusion you need to look at the evidence and then say whether you think the hypothesis is correct or not. In a few cases it may be only partly correct. You must then give evidence to support your conclusion. This evidence must be based on the data provided in the question.

Theme 1: Population and settlement

• Select activity 1.1 Population dynamics 1.2 Migration 1.3 Populati... 1.1 Population dynamics 1.2 Migration 1.3 Population structure 1.4 Population density and distribution 1.5 Settlements and service provision 1.6 Urban settlements 1.7 Urbanisation

Theme 2: The natural environment

• Select activity 2.1 Earthquakes and volcanoes 2.2 Rivers 2.3 Coast... 2.1 Earthquakes and volcanoes 2.2 Rivers 2.3 Coasts 2.4 Weather 2.5 Climate and natural vegetation

Theme 3: Economic development

• Select activity 3.1 Development 3.2 Food production 3.3 Industry 3... 3.1 Development 3.2 Food production 3.3 Industry 3.4 Tourism 3.5 Energy 3.6 Water
• Select activity Useful websites Useful websites
• Select activity The websites listed below are useful resources to ... The websites listed below are useful resources to support your Cambridge IGCSE Geography studies

Imagine a university that does more than just prepare you for a career—one that equips you to set the foundation for a full and meaningful life

Find all the information you need about joining a community committed to helping you explore bigger ideas about who you are, what you believe, and what you're called to do in the world

Explore our undergraduate and graduate degree programs to discover a learning community passionate about helping you thrive on your academic and professional journey

Experience a vibrant student community filled with new friends, lifelong memories, and lots of opportunities for getting plugged in and experiencing the best of university life

Learn more about our Spartans athletics programs, and discover how we equip our student-athletes for life with the Complete Champion Approach ™

Discover a dynamic community of teachers, scholars, and researchers producing new knowledge and innovation that is having a positive impact for the good of the world and the glory of God

Find out the latest news and events taking place within the life of the community, and discover how our students, alumni, faculty, and staff are making a positive difference in the world

Discover how you can actively participate in our global community of more than 30,000 engaged and connected alumni from around the world

How can we help?

Frequently searched items.

• Tuition & Costs
• Scholarships
• International
• Requirements
• Service Hub
• Transcripts

GENV 230 - Geography of Canada | 2024-2025

Japanese Language Classes available on campus

The University is running in-person Japanese language courses on campus, open to anyone aged 18 and over.

There are two courses available, one for beginners and the other for those who have previous basic knowledge of the language.

The courses will run for 20 weeks during term time only, starting 9 October 2024:

Fees per year

• Students:  £162
• Staff, Alumni, Campus Partners: £182
• General Public:  £202

Japanese 1, Wednesdays 4-6pm

Japanese 1 is designed for beginners with little or no knowledge of the language. The course covers a variety of everyday situations such as:

• Introducing yourself and others
• Telling the time

Classwork will emphasise listening, speaking, and practice of sentence structure. Self-study will consist of reviewing work done in class and practicing language skills, as advised by the tutor. Writing and reading Japanese letters (Kana) are also part of self-study, using the handouts provided and with the tutor’s support.

Japanese 2, Wednesdays 2-3.30pm

Japanese 2 is for learners who have previous basic knowledge of the language, such as verbs (masu form) and their conjugation with appropriate particles and adjective conjugation and how they modify nouns. Learners are expected to have had approximately 80 hours of previous study, 40 hours of contact time, and 40 hours of personal study.

Knowledge of Hiragana (reading and writing) is required, and knowledge of Katakana is desirable. Learners are expected to have covered ‘Japanese for Busy People I’ Level 1-14, or equivalent. The course will introduce new grammatical structures and focuses on how to express topics relevant to daily life, such as:

• Giving and receiving
• Inviting someone to do something together
• Making suggestions and offers
• Talking about one’s possessions, habitual action, ongoing action, and states
• Giving and asking for permissions and prohibitions
• Talking about one’s skills, preferences, symptoms etc

The course also introduces cultural aspects to understand the background of the language and people.

To register for the course, use the link below to the online shop.

For more information please email  [email protected] .