Paper 1 - Decision Making Exercise
Paper 1 is a decision making exercise. This will involve making some sort of decision (yes, really...) rather than using so much case study material. In lots of ways this paper often seems easier - but you have to know how to go about answering it to maximise your mark.
We know in advance the topic for your DME paper. This means you can prepare for the DME in advance - you know what the paper's going to be about. It will be your first exam - so you don't need to look at other units in your last minute revision. It is still useful to know some basic case studies for the unit. You won't need them in quite the same way but we do credit case study marks still if you use the material sensibly to support what you're saying
How to Pass Paper One
It's useful to think about how to answer Paper 1 effectively. There are a few key things you can do to improve your chances of a higher mark.
Download the How to Pass Paper 1 guide to help you to get these things right when it really counts.
By the way, I'm an examiner for Paper One. So assume that I know what I'm on about here, OK?
2009 DME Topic
The topic for 2009 is:
Paper 1 will consider the economic and environmental impact of land use changes in MEDC town centres and why some town centres go through periods of economic decline. It will then consider the issues associated with town centre regeneration by looking at a proposed town centre regeneration scheme in the UK and assessing its potential impacts on both people and the environment.
This breaks down, for me, into 4 bits:
- the economic and environmental impacts of land use change in CBDs
- why some CBDs go through decline
- the issues connected with CBD regeneration - why do we do it? What happens if we don't?
- the impacts (and possibly conflicts from) of a CBD regeneration scheme
This is basically unit 3 - so there won't be very much about this unit on Paper 2.
Think about this - this is urban areas, in the UK (an MEDC) yes? So there will almost certainly be some OS mapwork on this paper. This doesn't, however, guarantee there won't also be a map on Paper 2... Check the skills section for more on maps - there's lots of stuff on the LHS Web
Revision Files
If you haven't already got it, it's worth downloading the revision file for the MEDC Cities unit::
There is also a Norwich Riverside resource sheet you may find useful to download:
Norwich Riverside Resource Sheet
Jump to the BBC Bitesize page on Creating sustainable cities in MEDCs - looks awfully useful for this paper to me