Reading unfamiliar resources fast, under time pressure
The single hardest part of this standard is not the geography — it is extracting usable evidence from a resource booklet you are seeing for the first time, in a fixed amount of time.
A fast first pass through a new resource booklet
Read the QUESTION first, then the resources — you extract completely different things from a map depending on what you are being asked to find in it.
For a map: check the title, the key, the scale, and any date — these four tell you what the map can and cannot be used as evidence for.
For a graph: identify the axes and units first, then the overall trend, then the extreme values (highest/lowest), then any anomaly.
For a text extract: find the named place, the named process, and any number with its unit — these are what you will quote back as evidence.
Cross-reference resources against each other — a strong answer uses evidence from more than one resource for the same point, which is usually worth more than reading each resource in isolation.
✕
Retelling the resource instead of using it as evidence
A common way to lose marks: summarising what a graph or map shows in your own words, without ever stating the actual figure, place name, or date it contains. "The graph shows an increase" restates it. "The graph shows wildfire area burned rising from roughly 2 million to over 7 million hectares between 2010 and 2023" uses it as evidence — always attach the number. Exam-style Extracting usable evidence from an unfamiliar map A resource booklet gives a map of a country titled "Lithium reserves by region, 2021" with a scale bar and a colour-coded key. What should your first pass extract? Title and date: this is 2021 reserve data specifically, not current extraction — a claim about "extraction today" needs a different resource. Key: identify which colour band the region named in the question falls into, and name that band's value range. Scale: estimate the actual size of the highlighted region using the scale bar, if the question asks about extent. Anomaly: check for one region that breaks the overall spatial pattern (e.g. a small area with disproportionately high reserves) — this is often what a follow-up question asks about. ✓ Title, key, scale and an anomaly, extracted before writing a single sentence of the answer — this first pass is what makes the following paragraphs evidence-based rather than generic.
Resource type
First thing to check
Map
Title, key, scale, date
Graph
Axes and units, then trend, then extremes
Text extract
Named place, named process, any quoted figure with its unit