How to study geography? :(

[cdj]

Hi guys I am really struggling with my Geography revision. The problem is that the learning matter is easy and deductive to a certain extend, but it is just a massive lot of information! I won't be able to learn all of that by heart. I also can't shorten my notes it as I can't be sure which topic will be on the 15 point essay at the end of paper one. Can someone help me please? Thanks!

[flinquinnster]

Hey! It is incredibly hard to memorise content, especially for Geography - and especially at HL, if you're doing that. In terms of learning information, one way to break down large blocks of information into smaller chunks is to use flashcards - they're also handy to carry around to revise. I also found having colour/graphics in my notes helped me memorise. Finally, if you see overlap between areas of the syllabus and can use the same case study for multiple areas - for instance, a case study for the tourism option being used as an example of globalisation - then go ahead and repeat case studies!

In the end though, you should still aim to condense your notes so that you can have a very concise summary of the syllabus. The point is that you summarise the main concepts, and by reading the broad summary you can hopefully recall the dense detail from your other notes. I would suggest using mind maps or very short dot points - you should be able to get your very short summary of the whole syllabus down to a few pages.

My best advice as to how to memorise content for geography is to do practice of past paper questions. By actually using your knowledge and trying a broad range of questions, you can actively use your concepts/case studies and that should help you remember content!

In the end though, often having a cram session of content where you read notes the night before the geography exams can help keep all the detail fresh in your mind.

[cdj]

Thank you so much! That really helped. I will immediately start with my revision!