Exam skills: Paper 2

Paper 2

Paper 2, Challenges in the human environment, takes 1 hour 30 minutes and is worth 88 marks, 35% of the GCSE, including 3 for SPaG.

Section	Marks	Topics
A	33	Urban issues and challenges: answer all
B	30	The changing economic world: answer all
C	25	Resource management: answer the question on food, water and energy in the UK, and one of food, water or energy

That is about a minute per mark. The command words, point-marked questions and levels work as in Paper 1.

Using case studies

Paper 2 relies on your : a city in an LIC or NEE (such as Rio de Janeiro), a UK city (such as Bristol), an LIC or NEE's development (such as Nigeria), and your resource examples.

Name the place, and use specific facts: numbers, dates and names.
Link each fact to the question: don't just retell the case study.
Use the right case study for the right question: "a city in an LIC or NEE" isn't Bristol.

When a question says "Using Figure…", quote its data with units, then add your own knowledge.

Key terms

Making a judgement

9-mark questions in Paper 2 often ask how successful something was, or it improved lives. Judge by asking:

Who benefited, and who didn't?
How many, and how much: use figures.
Social, economic and environmental effects: were all three improved?
Short and long term: will it last?

Then decide: "largely successful", "partly successful" or "unsuccessful", and say why.

Common mistake

A 9-mark answer without a can't reach Level 3, however good its points are.

Key terms

A model 9-mark answer: urban issues

Question: Using an example, to what extent can urban planning improve the quality of life for the urban poor? [9 marks]

Model answer:

Urban planning can improve life a great deal, as Rio de Janeiro's Favela Bairro Project shows. From 1994, it upgraded favelas rather than knocking them down, adding paved roads, water supplies, sewers and nurseries. Its first phase reached about 253,000 residents in 73 communities, and a study for its lender found services improved most in the poorest areas. Residents were involved, and more gained legal ownership of their homes.

However, it reached only part of the problem: about 250,000 of Rio's 1.2 million favela residents at first, and new informal homes kept being built.

Overall, planning can greatly improve life for the people it reaches, but on its own it can't reach everyone.

Key terms

Exam practice

Plan your own answer first, then open the model answers to see what each level looks like.

9 marks · about 12 minutes · +3 SPaG

To what extent has urban growth created challenges in an LIC or NEE city? Use a case study.

To what extent means: Weigh up how far something is true, with evidence on both sides, then give a clear judgement.

Link it

Use the facts from:

Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Present day)
The Favela Bairro Project (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, From 1994)

Level 1 (Basic)· 3/9 marks (band 1–3)

Rio has favelas with poor housing and crime. There is pollution too.

Why this level: Simple challenges with no detail and no judgement. To reach Level 2: use facts about Rio to explain several challenges.

Level 2 (Clear)· 5/9 marks (band 4–6)

Urban growth has created serious challenges in Rio de Janeiro, home to about 6.2 million people in 2022. Many people live in favelas: Rocinha alone had 72,021 residents. Across Brazil, about 40% of workers had informal jobs in 2019, without security. Much of the city's sewage flows untreated into Guanabara Bay.

Why this level: Clear, accurate social, economic and environmental challenges. But it doesn't consider the other side or how far they have been met. To reach Level 3: weigh the challenges against opportunities and solutions, then judge.

Level 3 (Detailed)· 8/9 marks (band 7–9)

Urban growth has created serious challenges in Rio de Janeiro, home to about 6.2 million people in 2022. Rapid rural-urban migration meant many people built homes in favelas, often on steep hillsides at risk of landslides: Rocinha, Brazil's largest favela, had 72,021 residents. Economically, about 40% of Brazil's workers had informal jobs in 2019, without contracts or security. Environmentally, much of the city's sewage still flows untreated into Guanabara Bay. Crime has also been a problem, and Pacifying Police Units placed in favelas from 2008 had mixed results. However, urban growth has also brought opportunities, such as jobs in the port, oil and tourism, and better access to healthcare and education than in rural areas. Planning has met some challenges: the Favela Bairro Project upgraded favelas for about 253,000 residents. Overall, urban growth has created major challenges, especially for the poor, and although planning shows they can be partly met, many remain.

Why this level: Detailed, accurate evidence of social, economic and environmental challenges, weighed against opportunities and solutions, with a supported judgement. This is Level 3.

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