The big idea: Paper 1 Option G opens with urban geographic skills -- you must read information off a map or a graph and quote it accurately.
The two core skills are cartographic (reading a topographic or street map) and graphical (reading a value or a trend off an urban graph). Marks are awarded for precise, correctly-quoted figures with units, not for explanation.
Key terms for map and graph skills
- Grid reference -- numbers locating a place on a map: eastings (read across) then northings (read up). 'Along the corridor, then up the stairs'.
- Four-figure grid reference -- names a whole grid square (e.g. 1911).
- Six-figure grid reference -- pins an exact point by splitting each square into tenths (e.g. 176104).
- Scale -- the ratio of map distance to real distance (1:50 000 means 1 cm on the map = 0.5 km on the ground).
- Compass direction (bearing) -- N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW between two points.
- Time-series graph -- a line/bar graph with time on the x-axis (e.g. a congestion index over a week).
Eastings first, northings second: Always read the easting (the across number) before the northing (the up number).
The phrase 'along the corridor, then up the stairs' keeps the order right -- swapping them is the most common skills mistake.
How this is tested: Paper 1 Option G opens with a data-response on a topographic or street map of a real city. You State or Identify a feature at a grid reference, State a six-figure grid reference, give a compass direction between two places, or Estimate a distance using the scale. Always quote the units and read the axes carefully.
| E 17 | E 18 | E 19 | E 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N 12 | Harbour station | Old Town square | Riverside School | Marsh fields |
| N 11 | Container port | Market hall | Hospital | Highway 6A |
| N 10 | Docks | Bus depot | Sports stadium | Ring-road junction |
| N 09 | Industrial estate | Power plant | Reservoir | Forest park |
| Read | Method |
|---|---|
| Feature at a grid reference | Find the easting column, then the northing row -- read what is in that square |
| Six-figure grid reference | Take the square's 4 figures, then estimate tenths across (easting) and up (northing) |
| Compass direction A to B | Stand at A, face B -- read N/NE/E/SE/S/SW/W/NW from the way you must travel |
| Distance A to B | Measure the straight line, then multiply by the scale (1:50 000 -> x 0.5 km per cm) |
Converting a measurement with the scale
- 1:50 000 -- 1 cm on the map = 0.5 km (500 m) on the ground.
- 1:25 000 -- 1 cm on the map = 0.25 km (250 m) on the ground.
- Method: measure the line in cm, then multiply by the km-per-cm value. 3 cm at 1:50 000 = 3 x 0.5 = 1.5 km.
Direction = stand at the start and face the end: For 'direction from Harbour station to the Hospital', stand at Harbour station (E17 N12) and face the Hospital (E19 N11). You move right and slightly down -- that is roughly south-east (SE).
Quote the value exactly, with units: Skills marks are all-or-nothing per part. Give the exact feature name, the compass point, or the figure with its unit (km, the grid-reference digits). A trend word with no figure scores nothing.
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Option G also gives urban graphs -- a congestion index, a land-value gradient, a population-density transect, or a pollution time-series. The skill is the same: read a value off the axis, calculate a difference between two points, or describe the trend with figures.
| Day | Morning peak (07:00-09:00) | Evening peak (16:00-18:00) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 62 | 71 |
| Tuesday | 65 | 74 |
| Wednesday | 58 | 69 |
| Thursday | 66 | 78 |
| Friday | 70 | 88 |
| Saturday | 41 | 55 |
How to read an urban time-series graph
- Read a value -- find the day/time on the x-axis, go up to the line/bar, read the y-axis value across.
- Find a peak -- the highest point; name the day/time it occurs and its value.
- Calculate a difference -- subtract one peak value from another (e.g. Friday evening minus Monday evening).
- Describe the trend -- give the overall direction plus figures (e.g. 'congestion rises through the week, peaking Friday at 88').
Real urban graphs you might meet: Lagos -- a congestion index that spikes at rush hour because road growth lags far behind car ownership.
Barcelona -- pollution falling inside its 'superblocks' where through-traffic is removed.
Singapore -- a road-pricing graph showing traffic dropping when the congestion charge rises. Reading these is the same skill as reading the Marisport table above.
How this is tested -- a multi-part read: There is no [10] essay for this skills micro. Instead the paper strings several one-mark reads together off the same map or graph -- a grid reference, a direction, a distance, and a graph value. Each part is marked independently, so a slip on one does not cost the others.
The top skill is speed with accuracy: identify which read is wanted, do it cleanly, quote the figure with its unit, and move on.
| Step | What to do | Marisport example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Square | Find the four-figure square first (easting, then northing) | Riverside School is in square 1912 |
| 2. Easting tenths | Estimate how far across the square the point sits, in tenths | about 6 tenths across -> 196 |
| 3. Northing tenths | Estimate how far up the square the point sits, in tenths | about 3 tenths up -> 123 |
| 4. Combine | Write easting digits then northing digits | 196123 |
Two things examiners reward: (1) The right order -- eastings before northings, square before tenths. (2) The unit -- 'km' on distances, the bare digits on a grid reference, the index number on a graph read.