How to Use Case Studies & Place Knowledge (AQA A Level Geography): Revision Note
Exam code: 7037
Why do case studies matter?
Case studies and place studies give you the named, specific evidence that higher-level answers need
Both of these question types reward knowledge of places as well as concepts and processes
You don't usually need one for the 4-mark or 6-mark questions, unless the question asks about your place study
What does the question ask for?
Check the wording of the question, because it tells you how many examples to use:
Wording | Past paper example | What to do |
|---|---|---|
A named type of place you have studied | “With reference to a tropical rainforest that you have studied, evaluate attempts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.” (Paper 1, June 2024) | Use one named rainforest |
One or more | “With reference to one or more hot deserts that you have studied, assess potential impacts of climate change on the development of landforms.” (Paper 1, June 2024) | Use one in depth, or more than one if it helps your argument |
One specified example | “With reference to one plagioclimax in the British Isles, assess the factors affecting change and development in this ecosystem.” (Paper 1, June 2024) | Use only one |
One of your places | “Assess the role of endogenous factors in shaping people’s lived experience in your local place or the distant place that you have studied.” (Paper 2, June 2024) | Choose one place and stay with it |
Which case studies do I need?
The AQA specification names very few places, so your teacher/school usually chooses them
You only need the case studies for the options that you study
Paper 1
Topic | What the specification requires |
|---|---|
Water and carbon cycles | a tropical rainforest, and a river catchment at a local scale |
Hot desert systems and landscapes | a hot desert environment, and a local landscape where desertification has occurred |
Coastal systems and landscapes | coastal environment(s) at a local scale, and a contrasting coastal landscape beyond the UK |
Glacial systems and landscapes | glaciated environment(s) at a local scale, and a contrasting glaciated landscape beyond the UK |
Hazards | two recent tropical storms in contrasting areas, a recent volcanic event, a recent seismic event, a recent wildfire event, a multi-hazardous environment beyond the UK, and a place in a hazardous setting at a local scale |
Ecosystems under stress | one plagioclimax, a region experiencing ecological change, and an ecosystem at a local scale |
Paper 2
Topic | What the specification requires |
|---|---|
Global systems and global governance | one named transnational corporation, world trade in at least one food commodity or manufactured product. Antarctica as a global common |
Changing places | your local place and a contrasting distant place |
Contemporary urban environments | two contrasting urban areas, a river restoration project, and waste disposal in one named urban area |
Population and the environment | a country or society experiencing population change, a local area showing links between place and health, and specified diseases, climates and soils |
Resource security | water, energy or mineral ore issues in a global or regional setting or one named place, and iron ore or a specified non-ferrous metal ore |
Changing places
Changing places is compulsory, and both of your place studies must be real places that you know in detail
Your distant place must show a significant contrast with your local place in at least one of its:
economic development
population density
cultural background
political and economic systems
Both studies must cover people's lived experience in the past and at present
Both must also cover either changing demographic and cultural characteristics or economic change and social inequalities
Learn which of these two themes your class has studied, as questions can refer to them
How to use a case study well
Step 1
Build a short case study bank before the exam
For each case study, learn:
the name and location
a few accurate figures, with dates
the processes or causes involved
the people or groups affected
one way in which it supports an argument and one way in which it challenges it
Step 2
Choose your evidence to fit the question
"Assess the extent to which economic change has affected people's lived experience in your distant place."
In this example, you need to use only the parts of your place study that are about economic change and how people experience it
Step 3
Be specific about the place
General: "The area became wealthier after new offices were built"
Specific: "The former West India Docks became the Canary Wharf financial district"
Step 4
Link every fact back to the question
Fact only: "The West India Docks closed in 1980"
Fact linked to the question: "The West India Docks closed in 1980, which removed a major source of local work, so economic change directly affected people's daily lives"
Use words such as "therefore" or "this suggests" to show what the evidence means
Write about different groups of people, as a place can change in different ways for each of them
What if?
You've forgotten a figure: don't guess. Use a rounded figure you're sure of or a different accurate detail
Your case study doesn't quite fit the question: use only the parts that help you to answer it, rather than everything you've learned
You've been retelling the case study: stop and add a sentence that says what the evidence means for the question
Worked Example
Assess the extent to which economic change has affected people's lived experience in your distant place.
[20 marks]
Model paragraph:
Economic change has shaped lived experience in Tower Hamlets, but its effects have been uneven. [Ap] The West India Docks closed in 1980, which removed a major source of local work. [KU] The London Docklands Development Corporation then helped to turn the area into the Canary Wharf financial district. [KU] Many long-term residents gained little from this, because the new jobs often required qualifications that former dock workers did not have. [Ap] Around Brick Lane, Bangladeshi businesses have faced rising rents as gentrification has spread from nearby Shoreditch. [KU] The borough's Bangladeshi community made up about 35% of its population in 2021, so this pressure affects a large part of the community. [Ap] For these residents, economic change has often brought insecurity, while young professionals may experience the same streets as an exciting place to live. [Ap] This suggests that economic change has been a powerful influence, but that its effects depend on who is experiencing them. [Ap]
Mark allocation
'This is a 'levelled response' question. Each valid point made in the answer does not equal a mark.
[KU] shows knowledge and understanding (AO1)
[Ap] shows application through analysis, evaluation and judgement (AO2)
Commentary
This paragraph shows how to use place knowledge at the top level:
Named detail: it names specific places and an organisation rather than "the docks" or "the government"
Link to the question: it moves from each change to how people experience it
Different groups: it contrasts long-term residents, Bangladeshi businesses and young professionals
Evaluation: it ends by saying what the evidence means for "the extent to which"
Common errors
Common errors when using case studies include:
writing everything you know about a case study, whether or not it answers the question
using several places when the question asks for one
leaving evaluation until the end of the essay
relying on stereotypes, such as describing a place by one feature
describing how a place has changed without saying what it is like now
confusing the order of events
Alternative content
The paragraph above is just one example, as your place study will depend on what your class has studied. Other evidence that could be used in a similar paragraph includes:
Census data on employment or ethnicity
Oral histories from people who have lived in the place for a long time
Newspaper reports, novels or photographs that show how the place has been represented
Examiner Tips and Tricks
A few accurate facts that you can apply are better than a long list. Only use figures that you are confident about, and make sure that each one supports a point in your argument.
Keep your place knowledge up to date, and go beyond the most obvious description of a place.
Unlock more, it's free!
Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams
the (exam) results speak for themselves:
Was this revision note helpful?
