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Systems and equilibrium

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Top ten don’ts for your independent investigation

All A-level geography students now have to complete an independent investigation or coursework (sometimes called the NEA or non-examined assessment). This is based on both fieldwork and secondary sources. It’s a high-stakes part of your course, worth 20% of the total marks. Here are ten things to avoid as you start planning and carrying out your coursework

Some titles are just too ‘big’. For example ‘How successful has urban regeneration been in Liverpool?’ There are dozens of regeneration examples in Liverpool and this is more like a life’s work than a 3,000– 4,000 word piece of coursework.

Very narrow titles can also have problems. You might have trouble locating secondary sources to support your findings. You might struggle to link the title to the specification or to wider areas in geography. An example of a title likely to encounter these problems is: ‘How successfully have lichens colonised gravestones in St Michael’s churchyard?’

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Systems and equilibrium

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The Sustainable Development Goals: can they succeed?

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