Leaving Cert geography Elective PredictionsUpdated May 2024

Introduction

Simply put, there is no guarantee that predictions will come up, and you need to be prepared for all scenarios.

That said, time doesn’t grow on trees during the Leaving Cert, and it is wise to prioritise certain likely topics. Make sure you know the likely questions very well, so that you are be able to ace them if they come up. Being real, the probability that a certain amount of your predictions will come up is high. With this in mind, cover your predictions the night before the exam and know them as well as you possibly can.

In addition to predictions, I would advise to cover most, if not all of the Geography course at some point. Make sure to have a general knowledge of everything so that if you have to do a question that you haven’t learned, you won’t be totally screwed! If you know predictions very well, and the rest of the course well, you will fly the exam.

Another thing to be aware of in the Geography exam is manipulating answers and thinking on the fly. It’s likely that you will have to make up at least one answer from scratch in the exam. If this is the case do not panic, use information you already know to form an answer. Use all possible info you have that’s relevant to the question and you should pick up marks. Remember that the only question where structure matters is the essay at the end, so in the other questions, you can have SRPs (significant relevant points) in virtually any order and not lose marks.

Secondly, timing. The Geography exam is probably as time-tough an exam as you will ever sit (including English and Irish Paper 2), so be aware of the time allocation for every question and do not exceed it.

Anyways, after that tangent, back to predictions. Before I crack on, recap on the rules of predictions:

1. Be aware that predictions are not guarantees
2. Cover other course material well also, so that you’re covered
3. BUT know your predictions very well, know them better than other material and make sure to revise them well the weeks before and the night before the exam. Prioritise predictions.

You may also like: Complete Guide to Leaving Cert Geography

Without further ado:

Geography HL Predictions 2024

Section 1 – Physical Geography

20 mark questions

• OS Map
• Earth Structure 
• Folding and Faulting

30 mark questions

• Sedimentary Rocks
• Feature of Erosion (fluvial/coastal/glacial)
• Isostasy (base level)
• Human Interaction with Surface Processes
• Volcanoes 
• Landform of Folding/ Faulting 
• Destructive Plate Boundaries

Section 2 – Regional Geography

20 mark questions

• Map of Sub-continental Region
• Table Interpretation
• Population Dynamics

30 mark questions

• Primary Economics Activities (Agriculture) in Sub-continental Region 
• Secondary Economic Activities in Sub-continental Region
• Tertiary Economic Activities in Irish Region
• Population Distribution in Sub-continental Region
• Culture in Regions
• Tertiary in European Region
• Primary Economics Activities in European Region

Section 3

Section 4 – Geoecology

• Characteristics of a biome
• Human interaction with soil
• Soil development influenced by:

Air 

Mineral Matter

Water 

Organic Matter

Topics that You MUST Cover

• OS Maps
• Aerial Photographs
• Sketch Maps – of both OS Maps and Aerial Photographs
• Weather systems and weather maps
• Fluvial, Glacial and Coastal Processes for shorts
• Rock types
• Do ALL the short questions and look over your mistakes
• Short Q Notes

REMEMBER: This is only a rough guide of important questions. Consult your teachers for their predictions and know the rest of the course as well. However, I would know these topics well, as they are good bets to study!

Photo by Ellen Auer on Unsplash

Track record

What we predicted for 2022

(Geography predictions weren’t made in 2023)

Section 1 – Physical Geography 2022

20 mark questions

• OS Map
• Isostasy
• Folding and Faulting

30 mark questions

• Sedimentary Rocks
• Karst Landscapes
• Feature of Erosion
• Destructive Plate Boundaries
• Landform Development caused by Folding/Faulting
• Human Interaction with the Rock Cycle
• Volcanoes

Section 2 – Regional Geography 2022

20 mark questions

• Map of Ireland / Irish Region
• Table interpretation
• European Union

30 mark questions

• Primary Economic Activities in a Continental or Sub Continental region
• Secondary Economic Activities in a Continental or Sub Continental region
• Secondary Economic Activities in a European region
• Tertiary Economic Activities in a European Region
• Population Distribution in Ireland
• Tertiary Economic Activities in Ireland
• Industrial Decline
• Changes in boundaries of regions

Section 3 – Economic elective 2022

20 mark questions

• Sketch Map
• Trade
• European Union

30 mark questions

• Sustainable Development
• Regional Development
• Mobility of MNCs
• EU policies
• Impact of Fossils Fuels
• Globalisation

What we predicted for 2021

Section 1 – Physical Geography 2021

20 mark questions

• OS Map
• Isostasy
• Folding and Faulting

However the 20 mark questions are very difficult to predict

30 mark question

• Sedimentary Rocks
• Feature of Deposition
• Human Interaction with surface processes
• Destructive Plate Boundaries
• Predicting and reducing the effects of tectonic activity
• Karst Landscapes
• Landform Development caused by Folding/Faulting

Section 2 – Regional Geography

20 mark questions

• Map of Ireland / Irish Region
• Trade
• Population Dynamics
• European Union

30 mark questions

• Secondary Economic Activities in a Continental or Sub Continental region
• Tertiary Activities in a European Region
• Secondary Economic Activities in an Irish Region
• Challenges facing the European Union
• Population Distribution in Ireland
• Industrial Decline
• Urban Development in a Continental or Sub Continental region
• Human processes in a Continental or Sub Continental region

Section 3 – Human Elective

20 marks

• Sketch Map
• Urbanisation
• Population Dynamics

30 marks

• Reasons for settlement (OS Map)
• Racial/Religious issues arising from migration
• Urban issues
• EU migration Policy
• Changing Land use patterns in an urban area
• How development levels are influenced by Population Characteristics (Population Structure; Population Density; Population Growth)
• Land use model

What we predicted for 2020

Section 1 – Physical Geography 2020

20 mark questions

• Sketch of an OS Map

• Rivers and Fluvial landforms

• The rock cycle

However the 20 mark questions are very difficult to predict

30 mark question

• Human interaction with the rock cycle

• Isostasy and fluvial adjustment

• Feature of erosion

• Rock type – igneous

• Constructive Plate boundaries

• Weathering – chemical or physical

Section 2 – Regional Geography

20 mark questions

• Map of a Continental/Sub-continental region

• Trade

• Population Dynamics

30 mark questions

• • Challenges facing the European Union

  • Population distribution in Ireland

  • Core vs. Peripheral regions

  • Primary Economic Activities/ Agriculture in an Irish Region

  • Secondary Economic activities in a European region

  • Industrial decline

  • Urban development in a Continental/Sub-continental region

Section 3 – Human Elective

20 marks

• Sketch map

• Population-graph/table

• Migration

• Urbanisation

30 marks

• Urban Planning

• Reasons for settlement

• Rural Settlement patterns

• Racial/Religious issues arising from migration

• EU migration policy

• Urban issues

Historical Short questions

Historical Human Elective