2020 HKDSEGeography Paper 1Level 5 Exemplar 1

Paper 1 Level 5 exemplar 1 comments

- The candidate demonstrated comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the curriculum. He/ she

communicated ideas and expressed his/ her views concisely and logically.

- In Question 1, the candidate gave a clear and systematic account of the merits and demerits of using the ‘Urban

Environmental Quality Assessment Form’ with appropriate elaboration. He/ she pointed out the need to choose

sampling sites covering all land uses but he/ she did not consider the inadequate spatial coverage. The candidate

did very well in part (c) in which he/ she logically described the processing of data from grouping, to its calculating

and presentation in a bar chart. Finally, the candidate described and explained the data collection method quite

comprehensively in part (d).

- In Question 4, the candidate described and explained the characteristics of nomadic herding as well as the physical

and human settings of the Sahel region logically and concisely. In part (b), he/ she was able to identify the

agricultural system in California. However, he/ she did not interpret the question precisely and thus explained

only briefly how irrigation increases the output while suggesting other agricultural technologies which were not

shown in the figures. Finally, the candidate discussed the topic in part (b) (ii) quite comprehensively.

- In Question 5, the candidate explained clearly and concisely the vegetation characteristics in a tropical rainforest

with reference to the climatic conditions. He/ she explained the decreasing nutrient storage in the biomass and

the soil logically and comprehensively. Finally, he/ she highlighted the long regeneration time of the tropical

rainforest and soil degradation as the major constraints on the proposal. However, he/ she failed to make a clear

judgement of whether the proposal was feasible or not.

- In Question 8, the candidate described and explained the rising trend in global greenhouse gas emissions with

reference to industrialisation and rising living standards. He/ she also discussed comprehensively the use of

technology and its limitations in slowing down such a rising trend. However, he/ she did not make a clear

judgement of whether such technology was effective or not.

2020 HKDSEGeography Paper 2Level 5 Exemplar 1

Paper 2 Level 5 exemplar 1 comments

- The candidate demonstrated good understanding of the curriculum and communicated his/ her knowledge and

understanding using accurate geographical terminology and concepts.

- In Question 1, the candidate was able to identify measure Q and explain how it enhances slope safety. However,

he/ she answered measure P incorrectly. The candidate demonstrated a good understanding of the information in

Figures 1b and 1c and applied geographical knowledge to explain how relief and climate led to the occurrence of

the natural hazard. He/ she also explained clearly that sudden heavy rain triggered the occurrence of the natural

hazard. Finally, he/ she briefly explained the merits and limitations of measure Q but did not take a clear stance

on whether measure Q could replace measure P.

- In Question 6, the candidate interpreted logically a range of physical factors, such as proximity to desert, dry

climate and strong winds, which favour the occurrence of sandstorms in North China. He/ she demonstrated

good understanding of the effectiveness of the shelter forest programme in tackling sandstorms in North China.

He/ she also understood well the limitations of the shelter forest programme, such as the scale of the programme

being small as compared with the huge desert area and it might take a long time for the programme to be successful.