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Using Data and Writing » Using Data and Writing Strong Answers

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

AQA spec: 3.4.5, 3.4.6, 3.4.7

The difference between qualitative and quantitative data, and the main types of geographical data
How data is used to obtain, illustrate, communicate, interpret, analyse and evaluate information
How to write descriptively, analytically and critically
How to build an extended written argument in 6 and 9 mark answers

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Qualitative and quantitative data

Using data in your answers helps you score higher marks

Geographers use data to find out what is happening in the world and to back up their ideas. Data comes in two main kinds, and it can come from primary or secondary sources (see the fieldwork lessons).

Key terms:

Quantitative data: data that is measured or counted and given as numbers, such as a river width of 4.2 m or 85 cars an hour.
Qualitative data: data that describes opinions, feelings or appearance in words or images, such as how safe people say they feel or what a beach looks like.
Geographical information system (GIS): computer software that stores data about places as layers on a map, so that layers can be switched on and off and compared.
Satellite imagery: pictures of the Earth taken from space.

Types of data you need to know

The spec lists the types of data you should be able to use. Look at each one and ask: is it mostly numbers, mostly words and pictures, or both?

🗺 Maps

Atlas and Ordnance Survey maps show where things are, their shape and their height. They can give both numbers (heights, distances) and descriptions (land use).

📋 Fieldwork data

Tallies, measurements and questionnaires. A tally of pedestrians is quantitative. People's opinions about a town centre are qualitative.

💻 GIS

Layers of data on one digital map, for example flood risk, homes and roads. Placing the layers together helps you spot links between them.

🛰 Satellite imagery

Shows large areas, such as a city or a forest, and can be compared over time to show change in land use.

📰 Written and digital sources

Newspaper reports, websites and official documents. These are often secondary and may have a point of view.

📷 Visual and graphical sources

Photographs, sketches, graphs and charts. Photographs are qualitative. Graphs usually show numbers.

The last type is numerical and statistical information, such as census figures, rainfall totals and averages. This is quantitative data.

What you do with data

Use real figures from the data to back up your answers

The spec says data is used to obtain, illustrate, communicate, interpret, analyse and evaluate geographical information. In an exam these verbs become real tasks:

Obtain: pull a fact out of a source, for example a figure from a table.
Illustrate: show an idea with data, such as a graph that backs up a point.
Communicate: present data clearly to others, for example in a graph, map or report that suits the audience.
Interpret: say what the data shows, including trends and patterns.
Analyse: pick the data apart, make links and give reasons.
Evaluate: judge how useful, reliable or complete the data is.

Why use both kinds?

Numbers tell you how much, but not why. Words and pictures can give the reasons. A strong answer uses both. For example, traffic counts (quantitative) show a road is busy, and residents' comments (qualitative) show how it affects them.

Identifying questions and sequences of enquiry

Geography is about asking good questions. A sequence of enquiry is a set of steps that leads from a question to an answer. Spotting the question behind a task is the first skill. In short, the sequence runs like this:

Ask a clear question, such as: Why is flooding getting worse in this town?
Collect the data that fits the question, and name its type, for example a GIS layer of flood zones or a questionnaire.
Present it, then describe and analyse it.
Reach an answer that is backed up by the evidence, and judge how good the evidence was.

You met these steps in the fieldwork lessons. The same thinking helps with any data question in the exam.

Writing descriptively, analytically and critically

The spec asks you to write in three ways. They build on each other.

Descriptive

Say what you can see or what the data shows. Use numbers, place names and words like highest, lowest, increases and decreases.

Analytical

Say why and how. Make links between things, using words like because, so, this leads to and as a result.

Critical

Weigh things up. Say what is strong and weak, and which factor matters most.

Worked example

Descriptive: Rainfall in the town rose from 600 mm to 900 mm.
Analytical: This increased surface runoff, so the river rose faster and flooding became more likely.
Critical: Rainfall is important, but building on the flood plain probably caused more of the damage, because it left water nowhere to go.

Extended written argument and 6 and 9 mark questions

Extended questions, usually 6 and 9 marks, are marked on how well you build a connected argument and support it with evidence. They are not marked tick by tick. Spelling, punctuation and grammar can also earn marks in some questions, so write clearly and check your work.

Read the question and underline the command word. Is it asking you to explain, assess or evaluate?
Plan in two minutes. Jot down three or four points and your final view.
Make a point, then back it up. Use a named example, a place or a figure from the resource.
Link and develop. Explain why each point matters, then compare the points.
Finish with a judgement. A short conclusion that answers the question directly and is based on your evidence.

A 9 mark answer is not just longer. It is better linked and shows a clear judgement. Do not repeat the same point in different words.

Literacy and audience

The spec says you should communicate in ways suitable for a range of target audiences. A report for a council needs formal, precise language. A leaflet for local residents needs short, simple words. Check who the answer is for and match the tone. In the exam, use geographical words, such as erosion or urbanisation, rather than everyday words like wearing away or towns getting bigger.

Common mistakes

Writing only description and never saying why. Listing facts without linking them. Using general statements with no named place, figure or example. Forgetting a conclusion. Spending too long on one point and running out of time.

Exam-style question

A geographer studies flooding in a river town. The data includes: river discharge rose from 20 to 80 cumecs after heavy rain (quantitative); residents' comments that water 'came up through the drains' and 'flooded the high street' (qualitative); and a GIS map showing most flooded homes are on the flood plain.

(a) State one example of qualitative data and one example of quantitative data from the study. [2 marks]

(b) Explain why the geographer should use both types of data. [2 marks]

Model answer

(a) Qualitative: residents' comments that water flooded the high street (1). Quantitative: discharge rose from 20 to 80 cumecs (1).
(b) Numbers show how big the change was (1), but comments show how the flooding affected people and what it was like (1).
(c) Discharge rose four times, from 20 to 80 cumecs, which means the river carried far more water than the channel could hold (1). This happened because heavy rain ran quickly off into the river (1). The GIS map shows most flooded homes are on the flood plain, so building there put many homes in the path of the water (1). The comments about the high street show that water also came through the drains, so the drainage was overwhelmed (1). The damage was so severe because many homes and businesses were in a low-lying area that floods first (1). Overall, the heavy rain caused the flood but the location of the buildings made the damage worse (1).

Exam tip

In part (c), use the data in your answer. Quote a figure or refer to the map, then explain what it means.

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