Course and assessment overview: SQA Advanced Higher Geography

SQA Advanced Higher Geography is a skills-based course at SCQF level 7, assessed out of 150 marks by a question paper and a project-folio. This guide maps the assessment; the module dot points take the structure, the paper, the folio and the grading in detail.

A skills-based course

Unlike Higher Geography, Advanced Higher has no content units. It samples three skill areas - map interpretation, gathering and processing techniques, and geographical data handling - which candidates apply to their own independent research. The content of the course is the geographical methods and techniques themselves.

The question paper

The 50-mark paper lasts 2 hours 30 minutes and splits into map interpretation (20 marks), gathering and processing techniques (10 marks) and geographical data handling (20 marks). It is sat with a 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey Explorer map, supplementary items and a clean general atlas. Questions may focus on one skill or integrate several.

The project-folio

The folio is worth 100 marks, two thirds of the assessment. The geographical study (60 marks) is an independent fieldwork-based investigation; the geographical issue (40 marks) is a critical evaluation of a current complex issue using a wide range of sources and viewpoints. Both are produced over time, under some supervision and control, and externally marked.

SCQF level and grading

Advanced Higher Geography is at SCQF level 7, worth 32 SCQF credit points, and graded A to D out of 150 marks. Level 7 is pitched at the demand of first-year degree study, which is why independence and critical evaluation matter so much.

How to use this module

Learn the shape of the assessment first, then prioritise the project-folio because it carries most of the marks. Drill the question paper's three skill areas using SQA past papers, the specimen paper and the coursework assessment task, and always revise from the current SQA course specification.