Geo 2026: Skills: graphs, data, photos and articles

Use HLGTA for any graph or map:
High: where or when is it highest? Quote the figure.
Low: where or when is it lowest? Quote the figure.
General pattern: what is the overall picture?
Trend over time: is it rising, falling or levelling off, and how fast?
Anomalies: anything that does not fit the pattern.
Always quote data with units, and manipulate it: work out the change ('rose by 40%') or compare ('three times higher').

A Malthus graph shows population rising faster (a steep, curving line) than food supply (a straight, steadier line). Where the lines cross, there is a crisis point (famine, disease or war) and population falls back.
A Boserup graph shows food supply rising in steps each time population pressure leads to a new invention, so food stays ahead of population.
When describing, say which line rises faster, when they meet, and what happens afterwards.

Use several indicators together: GDP per capita (wealth per person), employment structure (percentage in each sector), energy use per person, percentage urban, and informal employment.
Example (practice data): a country with 65% primary jobs, 10% secondary, 25% tertiary and low energy use per person is likely to be a low-income country at the pre-industrial stage of the Clark-Fisher model. A country with 2% primary, 18% secondary and 80% tertiary is post-industrial, likely a high-income country.
Photos and newspaper articles: describe what you can see (land use, buildings, people, landforms) using foreground, middle ground and background; then explain. For articles, check who wrote it, when, whether it is fact or opinion, and any bias; pick out evidence to support your answer.

The hardest skill is manipulating data, not just copying it. Quoting a figure shows you can read the graph; working something out from it shows you understand it.
Three easy ways to manipulate data:
1. Difference: subtract. If primary jobs fell from 60% to 30%, that is a fall of 30 percentage points.
2. Ratio: divide. 30% is half of 60%, so primary employment halved.
3. Percentage change: change divided by the start value, times 100. A rise from 20 to 30 is 10 divided by 20, times 100, which is a 50% increase.
Watch out: a change from 60% to 30% is a fall of 30 percentage points, but a 50% fall. These are different things.
Then link the numbers to geography: a falling primary sector and rising tertiary sector suggests a country is developing, as in the Clark-Fisher model.

No units: always write %, years or the unit on the axis next to every figure.
Only describing the trend: add HLGTA detail: highest, lowest, general pattern, trend and any anomalies.
Confusing percentage points with percent: 60% to 30% is 30 percentage points but a 50% fall.
Judging a country from one number: use several indicators together, such as GDP per capita, employment structure and energy use.
Trusting every article: check who wrote it, when, whether it is fact or opinion, and any bias.

Choropleth maps shade each area by its value using a key, such as the class maps of energy use per person (world, 2024) and energy consumption per person (EU, 2022).
To describe one: use HLGTA, name countries or regions, and quote the key classes (for example 'over 30,000 kWh per person').
Limitation: each country gets one shade, so it hides differences inside the country, such as between cities and rural areas.
Comparing two line graphs (such as world population and global energy use since 1800): describe each trend with data, say whether they rise together, then explain the link. Two lines rising together suggest a connection, but you still need a geographical reason; one does not automatically cause the other.
Photos as evidence: describe what you see, then infer. For example, a steep pebble beach with tall waves breaking close together suggests destructive waves and erosion.