3.3.3 Geographical Skills — Overview

Geographical skills are tested throughout all three GCSE Geography papers. They include cartographic (map) skills, graphical skills, statistical skills and the ability to interpret a variety of sources.

Map skills

Ordnance Survey (OS) maps: six-figure grid references, four-figure grid references, scale, contour lines (identifying landforms), symbols, measuring distances (with scale bar), direction (compass bearing).

Topographic maps: identifying relief features — valleys (V-shaped contours pointing upstream), hills (concentric circles), escarpments, ridges.

Thematic maps: choropleth maps (shading), isoline maps (lines connecting equal values), dot maps, flow line maps, proportional symbol maps. Know how to construct and interpret each.

Graphical skills

• Bar charts (simple, compound, divergent)
• Line graphs (simple, comparative)
• Pie charts
• Scatter graphs: identify positive, negative or no correlation; draw and interpret best-fit lines
• Climate graphs (temperature + precipitation on same axes)
• Population pyramids
• Histograms

Be able to: draw from data, complete incomplete charts, calculate percentage change, work out ranges and medians.

Statistical skills

• Mean: sum of values divided by number of values
• Median: middle value when ordered
• Mode: most common value
• Range: highest minus lowest
• Percentage and percentage change: (new − old) / old × 100
• Spearman's rank correlation coefficient: tests strength of relationship between two variables

Interpreting sources

Photographs (aerial, ground-level), satellite images, GIS data, news articles, tables — all appear in exam papers. Key skills: describe what you see using geographical terminology; suggest explanations; identify anomalies.

Exam focus

• Practise all graphical skills — completing graphs is common
• Know all OS map symbols and six-figure grid references
• Spearman's rank: know the process (even if you don't need to memorise the formula)
• When interpreting any source: describe → explain → evaluate