HKDSE Geography/Objectives

HKDSE Geography

• Objectives
• Living with our physical environment
  • M1: Opportunities and Risks
  • M2a: Rivers
  • M2b: Coasts
• Facing changes in the human environment
  • M3: Industry
  • M4: Sustainable City

development mutually exclusive?

• Confronting global challenges
  • M5: Famines and Agriculture
  • M6: Tropical Rainforests
  • M7: Global Warming
• Elective modules
  • E1: Dynamic Earth
  • E2: Climate
  • E3: Transport
  • E4: Zhujiang Delta

The objectives of this book are as follows:

• Provide comprehensive notes for the HKDSE syllabus. This includes:
  • Concept words. Remember that geography students must not write 'everyday language'. This is a common complaint from the HKEAA's candidate performance reports. In DBQs, if you do not use the exact word provided in the marking scheme, you will not score anything. In essays, your score will be very low. Therefore, it is important to know your keywords. (For instance, you must write 'expressway', not 'highway'.) Keywords are in bold. (Not everything in the curriculum is important, so less important concepts are put instead in italics.)
  • Concepts. From waterfall formation to drip irrigation, concepts are very important in geography.
  • Examples. Only important and relevant examples are given. (Examples are needed in essays only. They are not required in DBQs.)
• Provide past paper and exam trend information, as well as how to tackle various questions.

When writing this book, we will adhere to these principles:

• Exam-oriented: Not a single word will be wasted on unrelated material. There will be no 'suggested reading', 'further information', 'fun facts', etc.
• Emphasis on both knowledge and application: Reciting everything will not get you a 5**. You need to apply your knowledge to a flexible range of question types.
• Clarity: There will be explanations in plain English. If this book ever gets translated by the Chinese Wikibooks, there will be a translation to which to refer, too. Also, the sequence of the book will not follow strictly HKEAA's, but will instead by altered to facilitate comprehension.

Moreover, note that:

• All photographs are in full colour.
• There will be no maps for map-reading as they require very hefty royalties from the government to be reproduced.
• A lot of annotated diagrams will be in black-and-white. You exam paper will be scanned black-and-white, so it's just as well.

A Word on Conventions

Definition boxes - house definitions that you must recite. (In other words, definitions anywhere else don't have to be recited, although you do need to understand them.)

Red boxes Red boxes are about common misconceptions in geography. You are frequently tested about them in multiple-choice questions, so make sure you read through these.

Green boxes Green boxes provide statistical data and examples that you should cite in essays for higher scores. Only study and remember this if you have time on your hands and want to aim for a 5+ grade.

Let us get started.