Introduction to Geography
At Columba College we believe that Geography is the study of where places are, what they are like, what life is like in them, how and why they are changing, and why there are arguments about how we use them. Geography helps to give a greater awareness of day-to-day life at local, regional, national and world levels, emphasising the relationship between people and their environment. We feel that this equips pupils with vital understanding and skills that allows them to make a positive difference to their lives and those of others.
Geography students study issues as diverse as migration, plate tectonics, urban sprawl and various types of erosion. These and many other topics are synthesised within a number of overarching themes including sustainable development, positive attitudes to the physical and human environment and active and informed citizenship.
Breakdown
The Leaving Certificate course is 2 years in length and incorporates a diverse range of topics. The syllabus consists of:
- 3 compulsory components; Physical Geography, Regional Geography and Geographical skills.
- Geographical Investigation (project)
- Elective topics; Patterns and Processes in Economic Geography or Patterns and Processes in Human Geography
- Electives; These apply to Higher Level only. One topic from the following is chosen;
- Global Interdependence
- Geoecology
- Culture and Identity
- The Atmosphere-Ocean Environment
The Geographical investigation (Project) is completed in sixth year and worth 20%
The final exam lasts 2 hours and 50 minutes and is worth 80%
Useful Tips
1: Reading over and answering questions from past papers can be a great way to see how to get your answers exactly right.
2: Pay huge attention to the project aspect of this course. It provides an excellent opportunity to achieve 20% of your overall grade prior to sitting the final exam
3: Pay attention in class and get involved as much as possible. Most of your learning and understanding of the subject happens in the classroom.
4: Before attempting your written homework read over all information covered in class that day and highlight any parts you don’t understand and ask about it in the next class
5: When studying Geography make sure to have a set time frame and a precise topic that will be revised. For e.g. in this 40 minutes I will study the creation of Fold Mountains
Useful Websites
2: https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.5061933,-7.0178369,11z
**Columba College Killucan and LWETB are not responsible for the content of third party websites**