List of case studies for IGCSE

INSTRUCTIONS: Each case study has been worded differently so there is lot of repetition. These
have been taken from previous question papers. Many of these have already been done by you.
(c) is the last part of the question which is based on case studies.

Some useful websites and links:

http://revision.peterhouse.co.zw/Geography/IGCSE%20Geography/Exam%20Prep/final_case_stud
ies.pdf

http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/IGCSE+and+GCSE+Geography+Case+StudiesIGCSE

http://igcseandalevelgeography.blogspot.com/2012/06/igcse-case-studies.htmlCASE STUDIES

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazards/earthquakes_rev5.shtml

https://geographyallaroundme.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/igcse-case-studies.pdf

https://geographyatsanctonwood.com/year-11-igcse-revision/

Mrs Corpas’ complete IGCSE case studies

TNC case study https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Qs_GedQHA

NIKE TNC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0jG8jJCMfU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l5AR_hFWeM

LIST OF CASE STUDIES IN THE SYLLABUS

Some case studies are covered in the syllabus but have not been asked. Please
check the list.
Case Studies required for 1.1
• A country which is over-populated
• A country which is under-populated
• A country with a high rate of natural population growth
• A country with a low rate of population growth (or population decline)
(Related problems, Govt policies, their impact, reasons, population distribution)
Case Study required for 1.2
 • An international migration (voluntary, Involuntary, Trans migration)
Case Study required for 1.3
• A country with a high dependent population (related problems, Govt response)
Case Studies required for 1.4
• A densely populated country or area (at any scale from local to regional)
• A sparsely populated country or area (at any scale from local to regional)
(Distribution and reasons)
Case Study required for 1.5
• Settlement and service provision in an area
Case Study required for 1.6
• An urban area or areas (Problems, solutions, Govt Initiatives for solutions)
Case Study required for 1.7
• A rapidly growing urban area in a developing country and migration to it.
(Reasons, related opportunities, problems)
Case Studies required for 2.1
• An earthquake
• A volcano
(Human response, opportunities, reasons why do people live there, mitigating measures, soft and hard
engineering, short term and long term effects/ impacts.)
Case Study required for 2.2
• The opportunities presented by a river or rivers, the associated hazards and their management.
(flood, deltas, causes and impact)
Case Study required for 2.3
• The opportunities presented by an area or areas of coastline, the associated hazards and their
management
(soft and hard engineering, formation of sand dunes, Coral reef formation, human impact and
management )
Case Studies required for 2.5
• An area of tropical rainforest
• An area of hot desert
(Environmental problems and solutions, human impact and response, Biodiversity)
Case Study required for 3.1
• A transnational corporation and its global links.
Case Studies required for 3.2
• A farm or agricultural system – commercial /subsistence/ intensive
• A country or region suffering from food shortages
Case Study required for 3.3
• An industrial zone or factory
(loctional factors , role in country’s economy, impact on environment)
Case Study required for 3.4
• An area where tourism is important
(Offered opportunities, role in economy, environmental impacts)

Case Study required for 3.5

• Energy supply in a country or area
(Firewood, hydroelectricity, tidal, solar, wind, thermal, geothermal, nuclear )

Case Study required for 3.6

 • Water supply in a country or area
(related problems, use as energy, solutions)

Case Study required for 3.7

• An area where economic development is taking place causing the environment to be at risk.
(any kind of economic activity)

LIST OF CASE STUDIES ALREADY ASKED IN THE PAST PAPERS

Instruction: A case study can be asked for a country/ region/local area/city.

There is a choice in the spatial scale

POPULATION [FOR A NAMED COUNTRY/ AREA]

1. Why is the rate of natural population growth high (Country/Area).

2. Why is the government of a country concerned by rapid population growth?
or
Problems caused by overpopulation.
3. Why is the rate of natural population growth low?
4. Problems caused by underpopulation.
5. Why is BR high?
6. What policies can be used by the government to influence rates of natural
population growth?
7. The size & structure of the population may change as a result of government
policies. For a named country which you have studied, describe the policies which
have been used by the government to influence rates of natural population growth.
or
Describe the policies used by the government.
8. Describe policies used by the government to reduce natural population growth
rates & it impact.
9. What Problems are caused by an increase in % age of the population over the
age of 65?
or
Explain why is government concerned by ageing population.
10. Explain variations in the population density (country/area).
11. Impact of HIV/AIDS on size & structure of populations & on economy.
12. Explain reasons for sparsely population countries/area.

MIGRATION (VOLUNTARY, INVOLUNTARY, TRANS MIGRATION)

1. International migration: why did people migrate. Name the countries between
which people migrated and refer to both pull and push factors.
2. Describe the effect of international migration on city/country.
3. Chose any eg. of migration & name the areas between which people moved
(international, internal, forced and voluntary, permanent or seasonal. Discuss push &
pull factors.
4. Give an example of rural-to-urban migration in an LEDC. Name the area
between which migration took place & discuss push & pull factors.
5. A rapidly growing urban area in a developing country and migration to it –
reasons, related opportunities and problems caused by to growth of the urban
population.

SETTLEMENT

1. Describe Rapid urban growth and give reasons for its growth.
2. Describe the impacts of its growth of the urban area on the environment.
3. Many settlements have grown into large urban areas eg. town & cities with
main functions such as Ports, industrial towns, tourist resorts, administration centers.
Identify main function of the urban area & explain the reasons for its growth.
4. Explain one recent change in shopping facilities in a town or city. Describe
advantage & disadvantages of this change for people who live in the town/city.
5. Problems of urban settlements-traffic congestion, squatter settlements, housing
shortage, urban sprawl, choose one problem & attempts which have been made to
solve the problem.
6. Named LEDC city, describe the main features of one of its squatter settlements.
7. Attempts were made to improve the quality of life for people who live in
squatter settlements/poor housing.
8. Urban sprawl-describe problems in its rural-urban fringe which are being
caused by its growth.
9. Building of roads, new housing and services results in urban sprawl. Describe a
city where sprawl has taken place & its effects on people & natural environment.
10. Problems in rural-urban fringe/urban sprawl as a result of the growth of towns
& cities.
11. Describe how land use has changed in the area surrounding city/urban
sprawl/rural-urban fringe.
12. Describe one recent change in shopping facilities in a town/city describe
advantages & disadvantages of this change in land use for the people who live in the
town.
13. Describe the main features of the CBD of a city.
14. Describe the hierarchy of settlements in a country/area.
15. Shortage of housing in an urban area. Describe the causes of this problem &
attempts made to solve the problem.

EARTHQUAKE
1. Causes of an earthquake/natural hazards.
2. Natural hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, drought tropical
storms, and flooding. Name an area & state natural hazards faced by people. Explain
why people live there.
3. Describe the impact of an earthquake on a named area.

RIVERS
1. Opportunities which can be provided by the natural environment an area of
mountains, floodplains, a fast-flowing rivers in an area.
2. What has been done to reduce the flooding of a river?
3. Explain how Oxbow Lake has been formed.[Illustrate]
4. Describe the advantages and difficulties for people living on a floodplain of a
river.
5. Explain the causes of flooding.
6. Describe the impacts of flooding.
7. Describe the advantages & difficulties for people living on a river delta.
8. Explain why & how a delta is formed[labelled diagram]. & difficulties for
people living on a delta.

MARINE PROCESSES

1. Explain how one of the following has formed in a named area: spit, an area of
coastal sand dunes. (labelled diagram).
2. Explain how natural features of headlands are formed as a result of wave
processes (labelled diagram).
3. Coral reefs – describe the conditions which led to the formation.
4. Benefits and problems of living near the coast.
5. Ways in which coastal areas provide opportunities for the people who live
there.
6. Describe the impacts of a natural hazard on a named coastal area.

NATURAL HAZARDS
1. Describe the causes of hazard a flood, a tropical storm, a volcanic eruption, a
drought (any one) for a named area.
2. Describe the hazards faced by people due to any natural hazard.
3. Describe the problems experienced by people living in areas at risk from
chosen hazards.
4. Explain why the effects of tropical storms of the same strength are likely to be
greater in an LEDC than in a MEDC.
5. Name an area studied by you where tropical storms occur. Describe the
problems which they cause for people living in the chosen area.

NATURAL VEGETATION
1. Name an area of tropical rainforest or tropical desert which you have studied
and explain why and how it is at risk from human activities.
2. For a named tropical rainforest explain the characteristics of its climate.
3. Describe how tropical rainforest benefits people.
4. Explain why parts of some continents experience a tropical rainforest climate
while other parts experience a tropical desert climate.
5. Describe and explain the main characteristics of the natural vegetation of
tropical rainforest (labelled diagram).

TROPICAL DESERTS
1. How and why the natural environment is threatened by human activities.
2. Describe characteristics of the natural vegetation of a named area.
3. Describe the main features of its climate.
4. Describe the features of the natural vegetation and explain how it can survive
in the desert climate.
5. Give reasons for the location of the tropical desert.

AGRICULTURE
1. Area with small-scale subsistence farming describes its inputs, processes &
output.
2. Area with large-scale commercial farming taking place. Describe inputs,
processes and outputs.
3. Small-scale subsistence farming, describe its farming processes.
4. In a named area or a country Explain why the farmers are subsistence farmers.
5. For a farm in a named area, describe & explain the land use and refer to
physical and human factors.

INDUSTRY
1. An area where the manufacturing or processing industry has been located.
Explain the factors which have attracted this type of industry to the area. Explain
reasons for its growth at that location.
2. Explain why Hi–tech industry is located in an area.
3. Describe the impacts of the industry on the natural environment.
4. Describe the factors which encourage the development of the craft industry in
an area.
5. How have the lives of people in NICs changed as a result of economic growth?
6. Describe the growth of the Hi-tech industry and its benefits.

TOURISM
1. Explain why the tourist industry has developed in an area (refer to the area’s
natural & built attractions)
2. Why is the tourist industry important in a named area? Refer to the area’s
physical and human attractions.
3. Describe the benefits and problems of the tourist industry for the local people.
4. How is the tourism industry damaging the natural environment/environment at
risk?
5. Describe what has been done in the area to maintain, improve & conserve the
quality of the environment.

WATER SHORTAGE & FOOD SHORTAGE

1. Describe the likely impacts of a water shortage on the people and development
of the named area.
2. Describe physical factors, economic factors and political factors responsible for
food shortage.
3. Describe how people can be provided with a reliable supply of safe drinking
water.
4. Name a city in an LEDC and describe what has been done to improve the
quality of life of the people who live there.
5. Describe how water shortages cause problems for the people who live in an
area.
6. Describe the ways in which water supplies are being developed.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1. Trans National Corporation and its global links.
The Scoring Approach

I will use an example to explain the exact steps that you should go
through to land the highest marks:

Name a city and describe what has been done to improve living
conditions in the slums
found there. (from November 2013 paper from CIE)

The TWO-STEP Method:

-Plan what information has to be included. Make a bulleted list of
the most important points. In this case:

Name the city you are going to talk about and the country it is
located in.
1. Describe the slum you are talking about (eg. population, living
conditions, location)
2. Describe how the living conditions have been improved (you
have to make at least 3 good statements to score 6 out of 7
marks)
3. In part 2 or 3 include some form of place specific reference)
-After gathering all the information write out your answer in full
sentences. For this question, your final answer may look something
like this:

Rio de Janiero, Brazil

In Rio de Janiero, 1 in 6 people live in a squatter settlement, locally
known as favela. Several schemes have been implemented to
improve the living conditions. For example, housing quality has
been improved and slum citizens have been granted property
rights. Also, electricity and water supplies have been developed.
Besides, residents can trade a bag of waster for a gallon of milk, to
reduce pollution. This important for recycling and solid waste
management, which will ensure better living conditions. Additionally,
an education scheme encourages children to hand in toy guns for
comic books, in an attempt to counteract crime.

If you are practising (and not being graded by your teacher)

…

Are you struggling to score high marks even though you know the
material? If that is the case, I will break down this two-step
approach even further, so you can not miss anything and you will
learn precisely what the examiner wants to read.

1. Read the question carefully and underline the command

word. Are you asked to describe or explain? Describe means to
say what something is like or to give the features of something.
Explain means to say why something is a certain way or how
something occurs.
2. Underline the key words. What are you asked to describe or
explain? Are they looking for the causes of a volcanic eruption? If
 so, don’t focus on the effects unless you keep it short and do not
distract from the main point (no more than 1 sentence, either
introduction or conclusion of your case study on such a point).
Don’t overdo it! Many students tend to write responses that are
completely irrelevant to the question.
3. Jot down minimum 3 points before writing (if you are
experienced you can just make a mental note of the points rather
than writing them down).
4. Be specific NOT VAGUE: If you are to write on the causes of a
volcanic eruption and one of the points on your bulleted list is
plate movement, don’t write: The eruption of XYZ volcano was
caused by plate movement. Instead say, The eruption of volcano
XYZ (on day ABC/ month DEF/ year GHI) was caused by
movement along the Eurasian and North American Plates.
5. Don’t slack off after the intro. Continue to make these high
quality statements. Preferably sandwich lower quality statements
between two high quality statements or put them at the end.
Always start with your strongest point (so you impress the
examiner right away).
6. Include some place specific reference. This goes hand in
hand with the point of specificity and usually happens
automatically. All you do is present some fact about your case
study can usually only apply to the object you are writing about.
This can be the name of a place, a certain date, a statistic
(mainly for population), a date (for a hazard), etc.
7. Be sure to check your answer using the mark scheme and
examiner report. These documents tell you precisely what
mistakes most students made in the exam and often provide
suggestions on how you can improve. See if there is any more
information you can incorporate next time.
You can find a list of the most common case studies (including
place specific reference and details) right here and here.
In the exam hall…

Be sure to follow the guidelines above, but with practise you may be
able to emit some of the steps. Especially, you may not have the
time to meticulously plan each response. But if you know the
material and you have practised enough you should be alright.

CAREFUL READING + HIGH QUALITY THEORY + CASE

SPECIFIC REFERENCE (known or invented) = 7 POINTS.

.......................................................................................................

The number of case studies pupils are expected to learn will vary from
board to board and topic to topic but there is no denying that they
form an integral part of geography courses. So how do we, as
teachers, help them learn and remember not only the general
information but the all-important detail? Below are five very simple,
tried and tested ideas.

1. Choose case studies that are applicable to more than one theme in the
specification
Before your students even embark on revision, you can help them
remember case study information by carefully selecting those you
teach. If a single case study can be used for at least two themes then
that can make a real difference to pupil understanding, as well as
making the overall number more manageable.

For example, the stretch of the Hampshire/Dorset coastline (from

Portland Bill to Milford on Sea) can be used not only to
exemplify landforms of erosion(Swanage Bay, Old Harry Rocks etc.)
but also those of deposition (Hurst Castle Spit) as well as themes
of ecology (salt marsh creation at Keyhaven Marshes) and coastal
management (Christchurch Bay and Barton on Sea). Similarly for
human geography, the Thai population policy can be used as an
example of an anti-natalist approach to bring down birth rates (useful
for population changethemes) as well as a how the government is
tackling the spread of HIV/AIDS (central to topics of health
issues and development).
2. A case study on one side
Condensing information onto one side of A4 or A3 is a really useful
way of streamlining the case study and making it easier for a student
to memorise. Writing out the notes forces the student to read (and
hopefully process) the material which reinforces learning.
Furthermore by writing out the case study they can see if there are
any gaps in their notes or areas they don’t understand – both of
which are vital when they are preparing for examinations.

Constructing mind maps on a sheet has the added advantage of

encouraging students to see links between parts of the topic or indeed
between topics (thereby identifying synoptic links which is
particularly important at A2). Finally, a case study on one sheet is
portable (ideal for revision on bus journeys) and is easily stuck on a
bedroom wall.
3. Be realistic
Some people are lucky enough to have photographic memories but
most of us, unfortunately, do not. Whilst we always encourage
students to learn detail (this is crucial to access the higher mark tier
for most specifications) it is important to keep things in perspective.
A student who tries to cram in too many facts and figures runs the
risk of having a meltdown come exam time. I would say to most of my
students to choose three to five key dates or figures to memorise for
each case study. Obviously this will depend on the topic and level
they’re working towards but when faced with panicking pupils I say
some is better than none.
4. Use images
Whether or not a particular student is a “visual learner” (a number of
academics now think we should move on from the notion of learning
styles), there is a lot to be said for linking visual stimuli with case
studies. Whether it’s a geological map of the Dorset coastline to help
remember the theory of bay and headland formation or a propaganda
poster to reinforce the mechanisms of the Chinese One Child Policy,
images can prompt memory and therefore be a strong tool in learning
case study material. Some students may find drawing out a
story-board helpful, while others may want to write notes around a
central photograph or sketch.
5. Mark up the specification
This is one of the most useful things I feel I can do as a teacher to
help my students prepare for their exams and it is so simple. Take a
copy of the specification and mark on exactly where each case study
fits in. You can do this by hand or word process it as a table, but
however you do it, your students will thank you for it: putting case
studies into context is so helpful and their geographical knowledge
will be enhanced by it.

You may want to give them a blank copy of the specification to do it

for themselves but you should make sure that each student has a
correct copy at the front of their notes when it comes to exam
preparation. Choosing the right case study for the right question is
absolutely crucial to success; if they don’t they can waste valuable
time and marks by barking up the wrong (or less fruitful) tree.

Image: By Saffron Blaze (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia
Commons
 Rebecca Veals undertook her PGCE at the
Institute of Education, and went on to her first job at Eltham College
in London, where she spent four years. She is now Head of
Geography at The King’s School, in Gloucester, a position which
she has held since2010
............................................................................................................
..........
How to approach Case Studies
Quick revise
There is no set way in which you should approach case studies, however using
the rule of the ‘five Ws’ is always a good place to start.
The ‘five Ws’ are:

● What happened?
● When did it happen?
● Where did it happen?
● Why did it happen?
● Who was affected by it happening?

When you revise a case study or meet new content for the first time you should
be thinking about the five Ws:

● What happened? – Can you recall some background on what actually

happened, with some facts and figures?
● When did it happen? – Have you some idea of the date that the case
study happened and if possible the time of day?
● Where did it happen? – The geographical setting is very important, so
can you name the location, the country, could you draw a sketch map to
show the location?
● Why did it happen? – What causes the case study incident to occur?
What natural systems were interacting with human activity?
● Who was affected by it happening? – Which people were affected? How
many were affected? Can you say something about the wealth of the
people affected? Students aiming for the higher grades will also be able
to discuss what the affected people did about the situation. They would
be able to discuss the management strategies put in place to reduce the
impacts of the case study incident while it was happening and should be
able to discuss what could be done to reduce the impacts of any future
incident.