Hi Reader,

Many students have doubts about Geography that they may not verbalise, like...

• What should I expect for my Geography exam?
• How am I marked?
• Do I actually need to remember everything in the textbook?
• Why should I pay attention to Lower Sec Geography when I'm not sure if I would choose it as my O level Humanities subject?
• What Humanities subject(s) should I choose when I submit my choices in the Subject Option Exercise at the end of Sec 2?
• (For Upper Sec students experiencing "buyer's remorse") Am I at a disadvantage if I chose Geography as my Humanities elective instead of History Elective? 😰

Read on for Teacher Stacy's answers to get "un-confused", if the above questions sound familiar :)

1. There are three main types of assessment questions - data skill, application and structured questions.

Here's a sample question from a Sec 1 End-of-year (EOY) Geography Exam:

Data skill question:
Q1(ai) This question type tests your ability to interpret different data types such as graphs, maps and photographs. You do not even need to have learnt about the topic to score full marks!
However, you must refer to the figure in your response to be awarded full marks.

Application question:
Q1(aii) This question type tests your ability to use textbook knowledge to explain observations you had made from the figure. You must refer to the figure and textbook knowledge to answer the question.

Structured question:
Q1(b) This question type tests your understanding of textbook knowledge. You should rely on the textbook knowledge you have learnt to answer the question. Most of the time, there is no figure to refer to at all. If there is one, you do not require any information from the figure to answer the question.

So you see, once you know what type of question you're answering, you'll also know where you should get your sources of evidence, and avoid losing marks!

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2. All EOY exam questions are point-marked (except for essay questions tested at Upper Secondary).

According to MOE’s guidelines, all Sec 1/2 EOY exam questions should be point-marked.
And all Sec 3/4/5 EOY exam questions should be point-marked, except for essay questions.

Here's a sample question from a Sec 2 Geography EOY exam:

Point marking means that every valid point that you write will earn you a mark.
For Q2(a), a 2-mark question means that you will need to state 2 points of comparisons.

Contrast the above with this sample of a Sec 4 Geography Preliminary Exam essay question:

Upper Sec Geography essay questions are marked using the Levels of Response Mark Scheme (LORMS).

This is a rubric that classifies your response into three levels based on how well you elaborate on, provide supporting examples for and evaluate points raised in your argument.
For Q3(c), you are graded on the quality of your argument rather than the exact number of benefits and disadvantages that you write about.

Once you know how your answers are marked, it will help you craft your answer in a way that helps you improve your scores!

If you or your teen are still unsure and want our ex-MOE Geography coaches to mark your answers, feel free to check out our Mock Exam online courses:

• ​👉 Sec 1 Geography Mock Exams​
• ​👉 ​Sec 2 Geography Mock Exams​
• ​👉 ​Sec 3 Elective Geography Mock Exam (we JUST launched this, and you're the first to know!!)

The links above already have your exclusive 10% discount applied, so there is no need to key in any discount codes either :)))

3. You can use examples from beyond the textbook.

Geography is indeed in everyday life, in every city and in every country. If the question does not specify that examples have to be from Singapore, you are free to write about examples from anywhere else in the world.

You just need to make sure that these non-textbook examples are factually accurate and relevant to the question context.

4. What you learn in Lower Secondary Geography matters in Upper Secondary.

The data skills that you learn in Sec 3/4/5 build on the fundamental data skills that you learn at the lower secondary levels.

In Sec 1/2, you work with simpler graphs and answer questions with a lower mark allocation.

In Sec 3/4/5, you will work with more complex graphs and answer questions with higher mark allocations. You may even have to interpret multiple graphs for a question.

In Upper Secondary, you will encounter concepts on water, tropical forests, housing and transport again in the cluster on Geography in Everyday Life.

This cluster is compulsory content taught in both Elective and Core Geography, typically in the first semester of Sec 3.

5. Geography is related to Social Studies.

Many students know that for O level Humanities, the History Elective and Social Studies exam papers feature similar types of questions about 70-80% of the time.

But did you know that Geography is also related to Social Studies?

Just like with Geography, Social Studies allows you to use non-textbook examples as long as they are factually accurate, specific and relevant to the question context.

This means that you can use examples that you learn in Geography to answer Social Studies questions!

Some examples:
- The strategies that the Singapore government uses to manage water resources, forestry, housing and transport is related to the issue of Governance in Social Studies.
- The Ethnic Integration Policy that you may have learnt under inclusive public housing in Geography is an example of how governments manage Diversity in Social Studies.
- Globalisation - a factor that led to the rise of tourism (also a Geography cluster topic) - is another issue that Social Studies explores.

Apart from content, the skills that you learn in Geography can also help you with Social Studies.
In Sec 1/2, you are asked to propose feasible actions in Geographical Investigation (GI) and Response to Geographical Issue (RGI) to address issues.

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These will come in very useful in Upper Sec Geography, when you are asked to evaluate perspectives to put forth an argument.
These skills are assessed again in Structured Response Questions for Social Studies.

So...what's the point we're making here?

As educators, we hope that teens can appreciate the relevance and beauty of the subjects they study, whether it be the Humanities subjects, Mathematics, the Sciences or Languages.

The various disciplines have more in common than we might think, so don't be too quick to compartmentalise or dismiss a certain subject!

We also believe and try to impress upon our students that subjects we find difficult can be mastered, once we appreciate that education is a privilege and and learn to play the game happening around us.

Because, yeah, despite all the heartening changes that MOE is making to Singapore's education landscape, we still can't escape the exams.

So rather than be played by the game/system, we want our students to learn how to play the game well.

And when they internalise these important principles and thinking skills, our teens will be steady and confident when faced with overwhelming, difficult and uncertain situations as they advance in their education journey and enter the workforce.

Any questions, ideas, or comments about the above article by Teacher Stacy?

We'd love to hear from you! Just hit reply and let us know.

To our teens' success,

Karen Ang (Tr Karen)
Principal & Founder
learnMOJO