Edexcel-B GCSE Geography Revision Guide

Hey Geographers! Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of your GCSE exams? Don't worry, we've got your back! Edexcel B is a fantastic course, and with the right strategy, you can absolutely smash the revision and ace those papers. Let's break down exactly what you need to know and how to prepare!

📑 How Many Papers Are There?

You’ll sit three papers in total for the Edexcel B GCSE Geography course. Each one focuses on a different part of the world and a different type of geographical enquiry.

• Paper 1: Global Geographical Issues

• Paper 2: UK Geographical Issues

• Paper 3: People and Environment Issues - Making Geographical Decisions 

Each paper contributes to your final GCSE grade - so it’s important to give them all some love during revision!

• ⏰Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

• 🏆Marks: 94 marks, including SPaG (37.5% of total grade) 

• 📌Content: This paper focuses on physical and human topics on a worldwide scale.

• Topic 1: Hazardous Earth

• Climate Change: You need to understand the global atmospheric circulation system, natural causes of climate change (like volcanic activity and orbital changes), evidence for past climate change and the human causes (the enhanced greenhouse effect).

• Extreme Weather: Focus on tropical cyclones (formation, physical hazards like storm surges and the human impacts), including preparedness, response and why some countries are more vulnerable than others.

• Tectonic Hazards: Knowledge of the Earth's internal structure, the different plate boundaries (convergent, divergent, conservative), and the resulting earthquake and volcanic hazards. You must know how these hazards are managed differently in a developed and an emerging/developing country case study.

• Topic 2: Development Dynamics

• Measuring Development: Different ways of defining and measuring development (economic, social, composite indices).

• Global Inequality: Understanding the north-south divide and factors contributing to uneven development.

• Case Study: An Emerging Country: You must have a detailed case study (often India) to analyse the causes and consequences of rapid economic development, including positive and negative impacts on people and the environment, and its changing global influence.

• Topic 3: Challenges of an Urbanising World

• Global Urbanisation: Patterns of global urban growth and the social/economic processes driving urbanisation, especially the rise of megacities.

• Urban Change: How cities change over time (land use, employment sectors).

• Case Study: A Megacity in an Emerging/Developing Country: A detailed case study (like Lagos, Nigeria) covering the challenges (e.g., housing, employment, managing waste) and the opportunities (e.g., formal and informal economies).

• ❓Question Types:  Paper 1 tests a mix of skills - from short factual recall to long, analytical writing. Expect:

• Multiple-choice questions (1–2 marks each):
  Usually at the start of each section. Quick-fire questions testing definitions, facts or simple data interpretation.
  👉 Example: “What is the main cause of tectonic plate movement?”




• Short-answer questions (1–4 marks):
  Require concise explanations or brief data analysis. Use key terms and avoid waffle!
  👉 Example: “Explain one reason why tropical cyclones form over warm oceans.”




• Data-response questions (1–8 marks):
  You’ll use maps, graphs, photos or figures to answer. Always describe patterns and explain them.
  👉 Example: “Using Figure 3, describe the pattern of global earthquakes.”




• Extended writing (8 marks):
  These require detailed, structured arguments. Often involve evaluating or comparing case studies.
  👉 Example: “Assess how far the impacts of climate change vary between countries at different levels of development.”

💡 Tip: Always support longer answers with examples - named case studies and specific facts can make the difference between grades!

• ⏰Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes 

• 🏆Marks: 94 marks including SPaG (37.5% of total grade) 

• 📌Content: This paper shifts focus to the United Kingdom, combining physical processes, human landscapes, and crucially, your fieldwork experience.

• Topic 4: The UK's Evolving Physical Landscape

• Geology and Processes: The role of geology and past processes (like glaciation) in shaping the UK's landscapes.

• Option 4A: Coastal Change and Conflict: Processes of coastal erosion and deposition, distinctive coastal landforms (like headlands, bays, spits), and the different management strategies (hard and soft engineering) used to address conflict along the coastline.

• Option 4B: River Processes and Pressures: Processes of fluvial erosion, transportation, and deposition, landforms in the upper, middle and lower course of a river, and the causes and consequences of river flooding. You need to know about different flood management strategies.

• (Note: You only answer on Coastal OR River landscapes, but you need to revise both to be safe for your exam board's choice or for the options presented in the paper).

• Topic 5: The UK's Evolving Human Landscape

• The UK Economy: The key elements of the UK's human landscape (population, economy, settlements) and how the UK is linked to the wider world (globalisation).

• Case Study: A Dynamic UK City: A detailed case study (often London) exploring its context, how it changes (e.g., employment, services, migration), the challenges (e.g., inequality, congestion), and the strategies used to make it more sustainable.

• Changing Rural Areas: Understanding change in rural areas (e.g., migration, service decline) and strategies for managing rural change.

• Topic 6: Geographical Investigations (Fieldwork)

• This section tests your understanding of two of your fieldwork investigations: one physical (e.g., a river or coast) and one human (e.g., an urban or rural study).

• You must know:

• Enquiry questions and hypotheses.

• Data collection methods (and why they were appropriate).

• Data presentation and analysis techniques.

• Conclusions and evaluations (e.g., limitations of your method, suggested improvements).

• ❓Question Types: This paper combines knowledge-based questions with skills and fieldwork analysis.

• Multiple-choice (1 mark):
  Quick factual recall about UK geography.
  👉 Example: “Which of the following is a hard engineering coastal defence?”




• Short-answer questions (2–4 marks):
  Often ask for definitions, processes, or short explanations.
  👉 Example: “Explain how a waterfall is formed.”




• Source/data-response questions (2–8 marks):
  You’ll interpret maps, graphs, photos or diagrams. Describe patterns, identify trends and explain what they show.
  👉 Example: “Using Figure 5, describe the changes in urban population in the UK from 1950–2020.”




• Fieldwork questions (4–12 marks):
  You must refer to your own fieldwork. You’ll be asked to describe methods, present data, analyse results or evaluate your investigation.
  👉 Example: “Explain one strength and one weakness of your data collection method.”

  You might also get unfamiliar fieldwork data to interpret - similar to your own, but from a new context.




• Extended writing (8 marks):
  Often appear in human or physical sections, testing explanation and evaluation.
  👉 Example: “Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies used to manage river flooding in the UK.”

💡 Tip:
Use your own fieldwork examples accurately — it’s a great way to show understanding. Know where you went, what you did, and why.

• ⏰Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes 

• 🏆Marks: 64 marks including 4 marks for SPaG (25% of total grade) 

• 📌Content: This paper is synoptic, pulling knowledge from various topics and skills to address a specific issue, often based on an unseen resource booklet.

• Topic 7: People and the Biosphere

• Biomes: The distribution of large ecosystems (biomes) like tropical rainforest and taiga, and how climate affects their characteristics.

• Biosphere as a Life Support: How the biosphere provides humans with goods and services (e.g., food, water cycling, tourism) and the threats posed by commercial exploitation.

• Topic 8: Forests Under Threat

• Tropical Rainforests: Characteristics, threats (deforestation from ranching, logging, mining), and strategies for sustainable management and conservation.

• Taiga Forests: Characteristics, threats (e.g., wildfires, pests, acid rain), and strategies for management.

• Topic 9: Consuming Energy Resources

• Energy Resources: Classification (renewable vs. non-renewable) and the impact of energy production on the environment.

• Global Energy: Factors affecting access to energy, the increasing global demand for oil, and the changing balance between reliance on fossil fuels and the switch to renewables and efficiency.

The Decision-Making Task (DMT)

The final section of Paper 3 is the 12-mark DMT. It requires you to apply all this knowledge and the geographical skills (AO4) to the resources in the booklet to select and justify a course of action to solve a geographical problem relating to one of the Paper 3 topics.

• ❓Question Types:  Paper 3 is all about applying your geographical knowledge to real-world situations.

• Multiple-choice (1 - 2 marks):
  A few simple questions to ease you in.




• Data and resource interpretation (1–8 marks):
  You’ll be asked to analyse graphs, photos and maps. Look for patterns, anomalies and relationships.
  👉 Example: “Using Figure 4, describe the changes in global forest cover between 1990 and 2020.”




• Short and medium explanations (1–6 marks):
  Explain processes, causes or consequences related to the issue in the resource booklet.
  👉 Example: “Explain how deforestation can affect local and global ecosystems.”




• Decision-making/evaluation (8–12 marks):
  The big finale! 🎯 You’ll assess different viewpoints and make a justified decision based on evidence.
  👉 Example: “Evaluate which management strategy would be most sustainable for the local community.”

💡 Tip:
For the final question, there’s no single “right” answer - but you must show clear reasoning and balance. Use connectives like “however”, “on the other hand”, and “overall” to structure your argument.

✨Here are some top tips to make your revision more effective:

 1. Organise your notes🗂️

Break your revision down by topic and paper. Colour-code your notes (e.g. blue for physical geography, green for human geography) to make them easier to navigate. 🎨

 2. Use case studies wisely🗺️

Don’t just memorise facts - understand why things happen. Make flashcards for key case studies and practise applying them to different questions.

 3. Practise exam questions🧠

The best way to get comfortable is to use past papers and mark schemes. Time yourself ⏱️ and review how the examiners expect you to structure answers. You will find the links to past papers on this page!

 4. Learn key terms💬

Geography is full of specialist language! Use glossaries, quizzes or friends to test yourself on definitions - it’ll help you gain easy marks in short questions.

 5. Master your data skills📊

Work on interpreting graphs, maps and photos. These appear on every paper, so get used to describing patterns, trends and anomalies clearly.

6. Take breaks and stay positive😌 

Revision marathons don’t work! Plan breaks, go outside, and give your brain time to recharge. You’ve got this! 💪

🌟 Final Thoughts

Geography isn’t just about memorising - it’s about understanding the world around you. The more you practise applying your knowledge, the more confident you’ll feel in the exams.

So grab your notes, open that atlas and start revising smart. Good luck, geographers - the world is yours to explore! 🌍✨