What is the Advanced Higher Geography geographical issue and how is it marked?
The geographical issue: the 40-mark critical evaluation of a current complex issue, justifying the choice, summarising and evaluating a wide range of viewpoints, and reaching reasoned conclusions supported by evidence.
An overview of the SQA Advanced Higher Geography geographical issue: the 40-mark critical evaluation in which a candidate justifies the choice of a current complex issue, reads widely, summarises and critically evaluates a range of viewpoints, and reaches reasoned, evidenced conclusions.
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What this key area is asking
The geographical issue is the second part of the project-folio, worth 40 marks (27% of the course). It is a critical evaluation of a current complex geographical issue. You justify the choice of issue, read widely, summarise a wide range of viewpoints, critically evaluate each, and reach reasoned conclusions supported by evidence. The decisive word is "critical": the marks come from evaluating sources and viewpoints, not from describing them.
What the issue requires
The issue tests independent critical thinking on a contested topic. It is the evaluation counterpart to the geographical study's data work.
- Justify the choice. Explain why the chosen issue is current, complex and worth evaluating.
- Read widely. Gather a wide range of sources and viewpoints.
- Summarise viewpoints. Set out the differing positions fairly.
- Critically evaluate and conclude. Judge each viewpoint and reach an evidenced conclusion.
What critical evaluation means
This is the skill the issue is built around. A strong evaluation treats sources sceptically, asks who produced them and why, and uses the comparison of viewpoints to build towards a reasoned conclusion.
A routine for the issue
- Choose and justify. Pick a current, contested issue with enough source material.
- Read and summarise. Gather a wide range of sources and set out the viewpoints fairly.
- Critically evaluate. Judge credibility, bias and reliability, and weigh the viewpoints.
- Conclude on the evidence. Reach a reasoned conclusion that follows from the weighed evidence.
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. How many marks is the geographical issue worth, and what is its central skill? [2 marks]
- Cue. 40 marks; the critical evaluation of viewpoints on a current complex issue.
Q2. What does "critical evaluation" of a viewpoint involve? [2 marks]
- Cue. Judging the argument's credibility, bias and reliability, and weighing it against other viewpoints to reach an evidenced conclusion.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA AH folio5 marksDescribe what the geographical issue requires a candidate to do and how it is assessed.Show worked answer →
The geographical issue is the 40-mark part of the project-folio, 27% of the course. The candidate justifies the choice of a current complex geographical issue to critically evaluate, undertakes wide background reading from a range of sources, summarises a wide range of viewpoints on the issue, critically evaluates each viewpoint, and reaches reasoned conclusions supported by a wide range of evidence.
A full answer covers these stages, stresses the word "critical" (evaluating the credibility, bias and reliability of sources, not just summarising them), and states that the issue is produced independently with minimum support, over time under some supervision and control, submitted to SQA and externally marked. The strongest answers note that a genuinely complex, contested issue is needed so there are real differing viewpoints to weigh.
SQA AH folio4 marksExplain what makes an issue suitable for the geographical issue, and what 'critical evaluation' means.Show worked answer →
A suitable issue is current and complex, with a genuine range of differing viewpoints drawn from a wide range of accessible sources, so the candidate has real positions to evaluate and conclude on. An issue with only one side, or too little source material, cannot be critically evaluated.
Critical evaluation means assessing each viewpoint and its sources: identifying the argument, judging credibility, bias, reliability and whether information is missing or out of date, and weighing the viewpoints against each other. Strong answers stress that the marks come from this evaluation and the reasoned, evidence-based conclusion, not from describing the viewpoints in turn.
Related dot points
- The geographical study: the 60-mark independent investigation that plans a methodology, gathers primary and secondary data, and processes, analyses and interprets it using mapping, graphical and statistical techniques.
An overview of the SQA Advanced Higher Geography geographical study: the 60-mark independent investigation in which a candidate plans a methodology, gathers primary and secondary data, and processes, analyses and interprets it using mapping, graphical and statistical techniques.
- Planning and writing the folio: building a sound methodology and sampling plan, structuring the write-up, referencing sources, and managing the folio independently to meet the SQA submission date.
How to plan and write the SQA Advanced Higher Geography project-folio: building a sound methodology and sampling plan, structuring the geographical study and geographical issue, referencing sources, and managing the work independently to meet the SQA submission date.
- The 100-mark project-folio overview: two independently produced parts, the geographical study (60 marks) and the geographical issue (40 marks), externally marked by SQA.
An overview of the SQA Advanced Higher Geography project-folio: the 100-mark independent coursework made of the geographical study (60 marks, a fieldwork investigation) and the geographical issue (40 marks, a critical evaluation), produced over time and externally marked by SQA.
- Evaluating fieldwork techniques: judging the reliability, accuracy and limitations of a method and its data, identifying sources of error and bias, and suggesting improvements.
How to analyse and evaluate fieldwork techniques in SQA Advanced Higher Geography: judging the reliability, accuracy and limitations of a method and its data, identifying sources of error and bias, and suggesting improvements to strengthen an investigation.
- The shape of Advanced Higher Geography: a skills-based course built on map interpretation, gathering and processing techniques and geographical data handling, assessed by a 50-mark question paper and a 100-mark project-folio.
How SQA Advanced Higher Geography is built and assessed: the three skill areas of map interpretation, gathering and processing techniques and geographical data handling, plus the 50-mark question paper and the 100-mark project-folio (geographical study and geographical issue).
Sources & how we know this
- Advanced Higher Geography Course Specification — SQA (2019)
- Coursework Assessment Task for Advanced Higher Geography — SQA (2023)