Three days left. OCR Paper 3, Geographical Exploration, is different from the other two. It tests map and graph skills, your own fieldwork, and a decision-making exercise built from resources given to you in the exam. There's no new content to learn here, only preparation. Here's exactly what to do with the time you've got.
One focus per day, building to a timed run. Work it in order.
Ranked from analysed past papers. Start at the top: if you run out of time, you will have covered the most-tested ground.
Six-figure grid references, scale calculations, contour reading and cross-sections are short, mark-heavy skills questions that appear on this paper and are entirely practice-based.
Reading unfamiliar graphs, tables and choropleth maps accurately, and quoting the right figure with the right unit, underpins marks across the resources-based sections of this paper.
This paper asks about YOUR two enquiries specifically: location, methods, and results. A generic textbook answer that doesn't match your actual fieldwork will not score well.
Whichever physical enquiry you did (river, coast, or similar), be ready to explain the method used to collect each variable and how you reduced risk or error in that method.
For your human enquiry (urban, land use, questionnaires), be ready to explain sampling strategy and why that method suited your specific research question.
Explaining why a graph or map type suited your data, and how your results answered your enquiry question, is tested through 'justify' and 'evaluate' style questions on both enquiries.
OCR's decision-making exercise gives you a set of resources in the exam and asks you to choose between options and justify your choice with evidence, using the same skills as the issue evaluation content on other boards.
PrepWise has a one-page Knowledge Organiser for the transferable skills below. In your final 3 days, use them the same way each time: cover the page, try to recall everything from memory, uncover and check what you missed, then repeat tomorrow. For your own fieldwork, your own notes and write-up are your real revision material. No Knowledge Organiser can replace them.
Rules specific to Paper 3. On this paper, structure earns as many marks as knowledge.
Every fieldwork question is asking about the enquiry you actually carried out. If you describe a method, location or result that doesn't match your own write-up, you cannot score marks even if the geography is technically correct.
'The sample size was small' only works if it's true of your enquiry and you explain the effect it had on your results. Generic limitations lifted from a textbook that don't match your method will not convince an examiner.
Read every resource given to you in the exam before deciding. State your decision clearly, back it with at least two pieces of evidence from the resources, and acknowledge the alternative option before explaining why your choice is stronger.
Map skills questions are marked precisely. A six-figure grid reference one digit out, or a distance measured to the wrong scale, loses the mark even if your method was sound. Double-check your reading against the scale bar.
The errors examiners see most on this paper. Each one is an easy mark you already know how to keep.
Giving a generic fieldwork limitation that doesn't match your actual enquiry → Before the exam, write out the real limitation of each method you used (weather on the day, time available, equipment issues) and revise those specific points, not a general list from a revision guide.
Rushing into the decision-making exercise without reading all the resources first → Skim every resource in the booklet before you start writing. A decision made from only two of five sources misses the evidence that could have strengthened your justification.
Sitting on the fence in the decision-making conclusion → 'There are points for both options' with no final decision will not reach the top level. State which option you support and why, using evidence from the resources to justify it.
Misreading contour lines or grid references under time pressure → Practise map skills questions specifically in the final days. They are quick to lose marks on if rusty, and quick to secure if you've drilled six-figure references and cross-sections beforehand.
Running out of time before the final decision-making question → The decision-making exercise is usually worth the most marks on the paper and comes near the end. Check the time remaining against the mark allocation partway through the exam so you don't rush your strongest answer.
The 60 minutes before you walk in. Review what you know and settle your nerves.
The marks come from applying it, not reading it. Practise exam-style Geography questions in PrepWise, get instant marking, and see whether your case-study detail is specific enough to score.
Open the Geography Knowledge Organisers, quiz every priority topic and walk in ready. Free during alpha.
Get started with your personalised revision