Soar Valley Geography

This page contains resources and links to help you complete your GCSE coursework.

Part 1 - Locating the study area using maps

Place is important in geography so make sure you locate your investigation effectively. Always think: “If someone who does not live in Leicester looked at my investigation would they be able to work out exactly where it is?“. Location can be described, but by using additional maps it makes it much clearer and can get you presentation marks!

Your investigation will need…

(1) A map of the UK that shows the location of Leicester

(2) A map that shows the regional location of Leicester what major cities are located around Leicester?

(3) A map that shows the city of Leicester

(4) A map that shows the location of the study area

(5) Aeiral photographs of the study area

Each map must include a scale and north point!

We can then “nest” these maps together to clearly show the location of the study area. The following websites can be used to obtain general location maps (see points 1-3 above)

Multimap

Ordnance Survey - Get a map service

Once we have maps that show the general location of Leicester, we can use the websites below to provide more detailed coverage of the study area maps (see points 4-5 above) Prepare to be amazed by the power of maps!

Windows live local - This website is awesome for capturing maps and aerial photographs of the study area. If you zoom in close enough you can obtain a birds eye view by hitting the “b” on your keyboard. You can’t save images or copy and paste directly from this site so you will have to get cheeky with a spot of “Ctrl + PrtSc” and then paste into Word. Here is an example of what our study area looks like in live local

Google maps - This new Google application is similar to the above. You need to be registered with Google but its a little easier to use and will help you to locate the study area effectively. You can’t save images or copy and paste directly from this site either so you will need the old “Ctrl + PrtSc” trickery. See an example of what our study area looks like using Google maps.

In my opinion, Live local is better for capturing images of the study area, the bird’s eye views are fantastic and the satellite images are much more detailed. However, Google maps is a bit more user friendly when it comes to creating your own maps. This is something we will be doing in the methodology section of your project.

Writing the introduction

The introduction is one of the best places to show the examiner applied understanding. In this part of the coursework you need to show that you understand the theory behind our investigation. Some of the best introductions…

(1) Clearly state the aim of the investigation

(2) Say what part of the GCSE specification the investigation is linked to

(3) Describe and locate the study area (this is where your nested maps come in!)

(4) Explain the theory behind land use difference in urban areas (use the photocopied textbook sheet, your own notes and this link to a BBC bitesize revision website.

(5) Describe the typical characteristics of inner city areas (again use the other side of the sheet, your notes and this other link to a Scottish BBC Geography revision website).

(6) Explain the variety of ways planners have attempted to tackle the problems facing inner cities over time.

(7) Say how they are going to meet the aims of the investigation (this bit we will do once we have completed our methodology).

Examiners do not want to see you copy chunks out of the textbook or from the internet. The best introductions show understanding of these topics, but link it back to the aim of the investigation and the study area we are going to use. It is fine to say what the characteristics of an inner city are, but you must link this back to Westcotes.

The first time you put pen to paper it will not be perfect! Don’t expect to be able to write your introduction in one go. Do expect to make changes and improvements as we move through the investigation.

Part 2 - Writing the methodology

First thing to do for your methodology section is to show the examiner what you are going to do and where your going to do it. We will create a methodology map using Google maps to do this. Click here to see an example of a methodology map.

In order to create your own methodology map click this link to see the step by step guide to using Google maps.

Part 3 - Presenting and describing your data

Short course

(1) Environmental quality survey - There are two guides to help you present this data. Click here for part 1 Click here for part 2

You can also download some rather nice maps of the study area.

Click here for a study area map in colour

Click here for a study area map in black and white

For a selection of Westcotes photographs click this link

(2) Residential building survey

Click here to download a guide to writing an interpretation of your residential building survey

(3) Services survey

The shops and services provide the local population with it’s needs. Shops and services can be classified into two groups. Low or high order services.

Low order services like newsagents, chemists or general stores tend to sell and provide convenience goods to the local population. Examples of these goods would include, newspapers, bread, medicine and milk.

High order services like furniture shops, jewellers or sports shops tend to sell and provide comparison goods. Examples of these goods would include, furniture, trainers and jewellery.

Typical inner cities have poor access to services so you would expect to find most services offered within the study area being low order rather than high order services.

Point - What does the map show?

Evidence - Describe the pattern using estimations or actual figures showing the coverage of low order / high order services.

Explain - How does this map fit into our investigation? - Does the map provide any evidence to suggest that the pattern shown on the map is typical of an inner city area?

 

Full Course

(4) Questionnaire - Click here for your guide to interpreting radar graphs

(5) Traffic count - presenting-your-traffic-count-data.ppt this powerpoint has the slide we used in class that shows the number of vehicles counted at each location to help you complete your proportional map at home.

(6) Secondary data - Click here for your guide to presenting and interpreting your secondary data

Part 4 - Writing your data interpretation

(1) The Summary analysis

(2) The Conclusion
Part 5 - Writing the evaluation

Part 6 - Finishing touches

Cover page

Contents page

Bibliography