geography essays leaving cert

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Leaving certificate geography exam & revision.

The Leaving Certificate Geography Exam is the final test for students studying Geography as part of their Leaving Cert. Geography is a classical subject and is one of the more popular choice subjects on the Leaving Cert. Ireland's Leaving Cert Geography Course has two parts, a Geographical Investigation Report worth 20% of the final grade and a written paper examination worth 80%. SimpleStudy offers exclusive revision tools and learning resources for Leaving Certificate Geography, Including; Revision Notes, Past Exams, Timed Questions by Topic, Long Answers, Quizzes, and other unique features usually reserved for private schools or expensive tutors.

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Geography leaving cert notes.

Geography Revision Notes; study beautiful, concise and carefully curated learning materials. SimpleStudy’s LC Geography Notes are broken down into curriculum focused topics, already highlighted, and structured for easy recall in an exam environment.

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Leaving cert geography exams.

Geography Exams; Easily study years of LC Geography Past Papers and marking schemes. Build custom Geography Exams or Tests from previous Geography exam questions with marking schemes for each answer. Studying Geography exam papers, marking schemes and building custom exams is effective & easy with SimpleStudy.

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Leaving cert geography questions.

Geography Questions; Explore LC Geography state exam questions. SimpleStudy’s Geography questions are divided by topic, timed, and offer a marking scheme for each question. Easily study previous Geography questions, pick your topic, and simulate the exam environment with our unique timer for each Geography question.

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Leaving cert geography quizzes.

Geography Quizzes; Unique Geography quizzes designed for each topic. Practice multiple choice Geography quizzes built to replicate short form exam questions. Pick a Geography quiz, answer each quiz question, and review your results; check what answers you got, how long the quiz took you, and try to beat your high score.

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Leaving cert geography essays.

H1 Leaving Cert Geography Essays; study perfect Geography sample Essays. Concise and curated for specific LC Geography Essay questions. SimpleStudy’s LC Geography essays allows you read full Essays for key exam questions. Review exclusive Geography essays and get full marks in your Leaving Cert Geography Exam with Simplestudy’s sample Essays.

Leaving Cert Geography topics to explore

Earthquakes & volcanoes, economic - european union, human - urban geography, karst regions, option - culture & identity, option - geoecology, tectonic plates, regions - continental, algebra topic.

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Marking Scheme

Aerial Photo

Leaving Certificate Exam Papers

Junior Certificate Exam Papers

Global location of Earthquakes

Global location of Volcanoes

Igneous Rock Formation

Folding affecting Ireland

Plate Tectonics affect on Ireland

Plate Boundaries

Sedimentary Rock Formation

Metamorphic Rock Formation

Limestone Surface Features

Limestone Underground Features

Formation of a Waterfall

Formation of a Delta

Features of River Rejuvenation

Ireland Peripheral (N&W)- Primary Activites

Ireland Core - Primary Activites

Ireland Core - Secondary Activities

Ireland Core - Tertiary Activites

Urban Region - Dublin

Paris Basin - Secondary Activites

Urban Region - Paris City

Mezzigiorno - Tertiary Activites

India - Primary Activites

Indian - Secondary Activities

Cultural Conflict - Kashmir

Exam Papers and Sample Answers

Tara Lead and Zinc Mine

Options - Geoecology

Leaving Certificate Sample Answers

Characteristics of Brown Earth Soil

Human Actvities impacting on Soil

Biome (Desert)- Climate affecting soil and vegetation

Biome (Desert)- Human activity impacting biome

Options - Culture and Identity

Language as a Cultural Indicator

Strategies to aid the survival of Minority Languages

The Gaeltacht as a distinct Cultural Region

How people express their Culture and Identity

The importance of Religion as a Cultural Indicator

Conflict between political structures and Cultural Groups

Migration impacting Racial Patterns

Cultural Identity Case Sudy - Switzerland

Economic impact of Common Agricultural Policy on Ireland

Economic impact of Common Fisheries Policy on Ireland

Economic/ Environmental advantages of renewables

Impact of Colonisation/ Globaliation on a Developing country (Brazil)

Impact of Tourism in a  Developed country (France)

Ireland Peripheral (N&W)- Secondary Activites

Ireland Peripheral (N&W)- Tertiary Activites

Paris Basin - Primary Activites

Paris Basin - Tertiary Activites

Impact of EU expansion on Ireland

Conflict between Economic and Environmental interests

Exam Paper 1

Exam Paper 2

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Leaving Cert Papers, News, Notes, Tips and Resources

Guide to Geography

note: this is based on the old course and was written 4 years ago

Geography is a fairly easy subject to do well in. You can’t really fail it, but at the same time, an A is hard work. Common sense will be enough to pass and if you’ve done geography for the JC, it’s pretty similar at LC level, just a bit more detail and more focus on the human environment rather than the physical one. A lot of it is bluff work and common sense, however to obtain a high mark, a bit of detail and accuracy is needed.

What you have to learn (~41%) Short questions are mostly bluff work but i’d say 4% out of the 16% going for it requires some learning/work. Then you have choices which invites you to bluff! – You have to answer 3 longish questions (80mks each) from a choice of about 12 and finally – do an essay-type question (80mks). I’d say 50% or more of each question is bluff work. The geography project you have to hand up during the year is worth 20%, a good 15% is bluff work though. Overall, that totals roughly 41% learning.

What you can bluff… (~59%) Firstly, you have the short questions which are basically bluff work and common sense and you’re only marked on 10 out of 12. That’s worth 16% overall, a good 12% is bluff work. As i’ve said above, you then answer 3 long questions and 1 essay question, all of which could be bluffed for 50% of the marks. The project is very bluffable too – about 15% of 20% could be bluffed. That gives us an overall total bluffing mark of 59%.

Conclusion: The majority of Geography is bluff work/common sense. That said, don’t fall in to the trap of thinking it’s an easy A1 – it’s not. However it’s easy to pass with very little work. The project you hand up during the year also makes things easier as that’s 20% done and dusted and 20% less to worry about come June.

44 thoughts on “Guide to Geography”

sorry but that assessment of goegraphy is ridiculous its not all bluff obviously whoever wrote it is a very foolish person.

Sorry the idea that most of the geography exam can be bluffed is completely off the wall altogether. It goes against everything my teacher has been teaching me. SRPs are needed for every answer, these can’t be bluffed. An examiner can tell a bluffer a mile away. Quite simply bluff your way through the exam and you’ll get your C.

That is a load, in a fairness, lets be realistic here! You have to learn a ton of stuff in geography, to say it is a bluff subject means you must never have done it………………or maybe you did pass??………………….

I really don’t agree that it is mostly bluff! That is just beyond crazy am sorry!!! 😯 ❗

Sorry pal, you are talking at of your backside!!

i am an actual geography teacher, and this idea that geography can be bluffed is a joke.you have obviously made up those percentages, and the marking scheme (as any geography student would know) is made up of s.r.p’s which are actual pieces of significant relevent information, so you have to know your facts to get your points!! and the number of facts should run alongside the marks allocated per question, i.e. 10 mark question, takes 5 s.r.p’s to answer!! so you obviously made up your facts, so why dont you leave the teaching to the properly qualified!!!

Well after readin that i would have to say that u would b wrong to say it is a bluff!!! It is an exam that needs much practice in gettn the right SRP’s!!! Sure the project got me 20% and the short q’s may be easy once gne thru in the papers!!! Bt to achieve a high grade in it is really difficult now i must sit it tomorrow!!!

That was my opinion, they were percentages i made up after going through exam papers, i call it as it is and in my view, geography was one of the easier subjects to pass.

I got a ‘b’ something in my leaving cert, didn’t kill myself studying either. As i keep saying, if you want A1’s, don’t look at me, i was never an A1 student in any leaving cert subject.

Any A1 student, or examiner, teacher etc… will of course tell you nothing can be bluffed – that’s to be expected, naturally, as all of those guys demand the best.

But when i was sitting my leaving not so long ago, geography was the easy touch and i know most of the people in my group put much more effort in to other subjects.

here dats a load of bull i tried dat for d moks an failed…

who ever is writin this is a plank,,, i studyin my ass off all day n i came on this to get a few tips n u say its all a BLUFF… ur havin a bubble mate/// 👿

The reality is… anyone who does nothing will fail – simple as. I set this site up because it’s always useful to get advice/experience/help online… and there’s a severe lack of it…

You guys think you know better, by all means set up a site and i’ll happily link to it 😉

I dont know about what your sayin, but i didnt study or do much work at all in the last 2 years and i have my geography tomorow..i was comin on to find some tips to and bluff isnt really gonna help somwon out now is it.. alot of it is common sense but i think in my opinion most of the knolage of it comes from the JC..i got 84% in my mock ordinary level and i was well happy with that wouldnt mind getin it tomorow! id say the best thing to do at this stage is read them rapid revision books there pretty good!

ok well i sat the geog exam yesterday at higher lever, AND IT WAS NOT BLUFF!! it was tough!!!! tougher than the mock id say everone wud agree!! i thought yea i got a B3 in the mock, it should go up in the real thing, but i went in there with the wrong intentions, thinkin it was “bluff”, but i did myself no favours, if anythin I stayed at a B3 or went down, only for the project i’d be damned. . there was no A1 in that for me, so bluff your way thru that!!!!!

yes well i sat the geography exam too on friday and to be honest i just waffled my way through it.. big surprise if i passed haha !

Can anyone help me with Wednesday history’s exam? I was really happy with my answer on the Eucharistic Congress. But not with my answer on the Communications in Ireland in topic 6 which althougb I mentioned the impact of rte, I feel I may have bluffed a little. Myh answer on Stalin and Lenin is kind of hazy, I knew all my stalin stuff, but was weak on Lenin, though I mentioned him, I feel I focused a lot on Stalin. I loved the Vietnam set question and think I got high marks on it. My research project I think might get close to 20%. Does this 20% make a difference to the grade? Lets say if the worst happened and I only got 50% in the written paper(I need a high grade in this) and I had the 20% in the project. Is the 20% and 50% added together to give you, your final grade – 70%? I’m so worried about this 🙁

Geography Can Compltly Be bluffed You can twist most of the regional questions and still get the marks..I did it!

Geography can be bluffed. In the mocks, wen it’s marked harder, i did the atomispheric 80 mark question with out learning it in school yet and i got 65marks wit just common sense

dis is all a loda shit dont ye have anything betta 2 do

ur a bluff. that was the biggest bluff “advice” i have ever seen. write about something you know and dont be a bluffer ur whole life.

So I’m guessing it can’t be bluffed no? I’m repeating the leaving and I took it up this year will i be able to get through it with at least a B3 in honors or is that just a dream? x

sccgirl has it right

its True its hard to faiol geography.. but it is extremely difficult to get a c!

can it really be that easy? my geog teacher is the biggest stresser in the whole world and always goes on about S.R.Ps saying that they’ll get u most of the marks once its accurate. I’m sh*te at geography and find it rli hard to study too, so is a B3 (ish)easy to achieve through bluffin?? XxX

It is that easy, you can make up most points about things, but there is some learning

just study from the exam papers is the best way to go

Well i tried bluffin my way thru the Geography xmas exam which ws on the 2008 H.L. geog paper n all i got was 28% so basically DONT BLUFF Lol i aint bluffn on d mocks dahs 4 sure…:D

If you are struggling with Geography Revison try downloading this software – absolutely brilliant http://www.ictgeography.com

i agree geography is soo not easy but it is kinda common sence..!!

This person's comment is poorly punctuated and poorly written, as well as containing the imaginary word “relevent”, rather than the correct “relevant”; therefore I would hope that this person is not a teacher.

Sir youclearly did not take geography since… it has been on the Leaving Cert course. Which is probably since the begining. There are similar areas focussed on, with more human/social stuff, but that means you need 15 statisitics per 30 mark question. These are the essay questions, and may come up in different forms, so you need about 30 for each topic. Out of over 100 topics/chapters… You work that one out. Saying there is “a bit” more detail in it compared to the JC is like saying there is “a bit” more detail in the Sistine Chapel (spelling?) compared to an A JC art project.

you can't just bluff in geography. there is a hell lot to learn because there is so much detail. if you bluffed in an exam you would fail and many people do. it's actually really hard to do well and get an A1. This is the worst tip ever and if anyone follows it they will fail, so don't. this is a pile of bull.

are you fucking shitting me easy my bollocks have you even taken this subjet or are you just makin up numbers

Im a student , passed mocks with flying colours , all bluff work. dead right , small bit of learning for real thing along with alota common sense and im in for a good grade

Bad Advice but it is true that if you got a A in the Junior Cert. you could bluff the leaving Cert. to a C grade (i.e. 59%). Besides in general all L.C. exams are getting easier every year and in geography the questions seem not to stray too far from the core information, which was studied for the Junior Cert.

dead right you can bluff a pass … but not an A..GIVE THE GUY A BREAK

What the hell? Bluff? Geography teachers are also scientists!! You can’t bluff facts! You can bluff in physical geography when giving examples such as a waterfall but you CANNOT bluff ‘mostly’.

I have my christmas test in geography tomorrow, it is sooooo much harder in irish! its not common sense

Hes right in the sense some of it is common sense,but to say you can pass it with common sense is a bit far fetched.With JC knowledge you might pass but i have to say failing geography would take skill and more time than it takes to pass it.It is easy to do well in it,but getting above the B3 is very difficult.SRP’s cannot be bluffed,they are facts that every examiner will know because they will be correcting hundreds of papers,not just an individuals.

I agree with what you’re saying actually! In my year Geagraphy is a subject thats often left until last by many students! In my opinion it’s easy to pass but very difficult to achieve an A in! I know for my mocks I did literally no study for it and passed easily, a bit of common sense goes a long way in Geography, a lot longer than in any of my other subjects anyway!

i totally agree, i got a B1 in the mocks and genuinely didnt do a tap .. i expect and A through sheer guess work

If you go to your classes and re-read the sample answers youll get a decent grade

XD I have to disagree with most of these comments, since you can most definitely bluff your way through the paper to pass. You just need to study to actually get a good grade.. XD Yes, you do have to have SRPs but as long as you make it sound real and concise, you can mask the bluff ^.^ All it takes is listening in class to be able to bluff.. 😀

your all a bunch of idiots what he’s saying is so true if you have paid any attention in class youl be able to piss through the exam without studying , I didnt study for my mocks this year and I got 58% without the field study being there obviously so shut up you stress heads it’s not that hard to make up an srp from common sense if you have a few brain cells! I’d say this article is pretty accurate and he never said you could get an A if you read it properly you illiterate morons youl notice he says if you want a high Mark you HAVE TO STUDY so dont comment without at least reading the article properly!!!!

ffs. if i hear my teacher say “oh jimmy, you need 12 srp’s” I KNOW I NEED THEM. but how i can i distinguish what is an SRP and how can I expand all my srp’s to 1 page and 1/2 ? everytime i do a long question essay, i can only do it in 1 line bullet points. if anybody has the book “Planet’s and People” then you will know how I feel. i think that book is very hard to understand. im not sure if it has to do with my Dyselxia or what, but i’m really frustrated about doing geography. at this point, all i want is a D3

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Leaving Cert Geography Predictions 2024 (Higher Level)

• Post author: Martina
• Post published: November 2, 2023
• Post category: Geography / Predictions

Updated November 2023 Introduction Simply put, there is no guarantee that predictions will come up, and you need to be prepared for all scenarios. That said, time doesn’t grow on…

Rocks for Leaving Cert Geography

• Post published: February 12, 2018
• Post category: Geography

Rocks Rocks Key Words: Igneous: Rocks made from magma or lava. Sedimentary: Rocks made from sediments of other rocks and/or fossils/dead plant and animal remains. Metamorphic: Rocks formed when heat…

Greater Dublin Area (GDA) for Leaving Cert Geography

• Post published: December 11, 2017

Irish Core Region: The Greater Dublin Area Key Words GDA: The Greater Dublin Area. This is made up of Dublin and its surrounding counties, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare. Core Region:…

Leaving Certificate Geography

• Ordnance Survey Map skills
• Aerial photographs
• Graph skills
• Chapter 1 Plate Tectonics
• Chapter 2 Folding and Faulting
• Chapter 3 Earthquakes
• Chapter 4 Volcanoes
• Chapter 5 The rock cycle
• Chapter 6 Weathering
• Chapter 7 The Karst Landscape
• Chapter 8 Mass Movement
• Chapter 9 Rivers
• Chapter 10 Coastal Studies
• Plate Tectonics 2
• Plate Tectonics 3
• Rock types and their formation
• Rock Cycle 2
• The Rock Cycle 3
• Rock Landscapes: Limestone
• Intrusive and Extrusive volcanic landforms
• Human interaction with the rock cycle
• Tara Mines case study
• Folding and Faulting
• Weathering and Erosion
• River processes and features
• Coastal Studies Ms. Carr
• Chapter 22 Concept of a region
• Chapter 23 The Western Region
• Chapter 24 The Greater Dublin Area
• Chapter 25 The Paris Basin
• Mezzogiorno: Peripheral European region
• Subcontinental India
• Regional Geography Outline
• Definition of Regions
• Ireland: The Greater Dublin Region - Core
• West of Ireland - Ms. Carr
• The West of Ireland : Peripheral Region
• Core region: Paris Basin
• Paris Basin: Ms. Carr
• Mezzogiorno - peripheral region
• Mezzogiorno: European Peripheral Region
• Introduction
• India: Powerpoint
• India: Secondary Activities
• India: Tertiary Activities
• India: Ms. Carr
• EU enlargement
• Chapter One: Populations
• Chapter 2 Human development and overpopulation
• Chapter 3 The dynamics of settlement
• Chapter 4 Migration
• Chapter 5 Urban problems
• Chapter 6 Urban settlement and planning issues
• Population test
• Overpopulation question
• Overpopulation and Resources
• Migration Test
• Student presentations
• Student Presentations 2
• Settlement Patterns
• Student work
• Student work 2
• Urban Sprawl-Introduction
• Chapter 5: Land use change
• Chapter 6 Urban problems in developed world cities
• Chapter 7 Heritage Issues & Environmental Issues
• Chapter 9 Developing world cities / counter-urbanisation
• Physical indicators of population
• Cultural indicators of population
• Nationality and Nation states
• Case study: Switzerland
• Brown earth soils
• Latosols - Tropical rainforest soil
• Soil Formation
• Soil erosion - human activities
• Soil erosion - preventative methods
• Biome: Tropical rainforest
• 2013 field study
• Leaving Cert Exam
• Honours Paper
• Ordinary Paper
• What do I study?
• Physical Powerpoints
• Plate tectonic questions
• Volcano & Earthquake questions
• Rock revision
• River Revision
• Glaciation Revision
• Regional Powerpoints
• EU expansion revision
• European Regional Revision
• Human Elective Powerpoints
• Economic short questions (H&O)
• Geoecology Powerpoints
• Geoecology questions
• Sample Answers Outline
• Waterfall: River Landform
• Delta: River Landform
• Cirques: Glacial landform
• Drumlin: Glacial landform
• Cave,Arch,Stack,Stump: Coastal landform
• Beaches: Coastal landform
• Isostatic and Eustatic Processes
• Human control of natural processes
• Impact of Flood Control
• Impact of Coastal Management
• Landform in a Karst landscape
• Regions are areas defined by one or more criteria (two discussed)
• Agriculture in Irish region influenced by factors
• Development of agriculture in Mezzo influenced by factors
• Development of agriculture in Paris Basin influenced by factors
• Development of secondary activities in a Core Region
• Industry in The Greater Dublin Area
• The Gaeltacht
• Climatic Region: The Cool Temperate Oceanic Climate
• Tertiary activities in the Paris Basin
• Two EU policies and their impact
• EU expansion and the impact on a member state
• The defining role of Culture (India)
• Urban Growth : Kolkata, India
• Growth of an urban area Paris
• Culture defining a region - India -outline
• Overpopulation
• Three Urban Models
• Characteristics of soil
• How human activities can accelerate soil erosion
• Natural processes and soil
• Tropical rainforest biome
• Human interaction with a biome
• Urban problems and solutions
• Map work: Location of a Town
• Swapped powerpoints
• Geography at Leaving Cert level

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