Showing INTERACTION, not sequence (the whole standard)
Two or more processes, each changing the conditions for the other. Exam-style A Southern Alps / glaciated valley environment How do interacting natural processes shape it? TECTONIC: convergence at the Pacific–Australian boundary drives uplift along the Alpine Fault — roughly 10 mm a year near the main divide, raising rock into the zone of attack. INTERACTION 1 — uplift × orographic rainfall: the rising range forces moist westerly air to ascend, producing very high precipitation on the western slopes, which powers both glacial and fluvial erosion. INTERACTION 2 — glacial × weathering: freeze–thaw above the ice shatters rock, which falls onto the glacier and becomes the abrasive tools that deepen the valley into its U-shape. INTERACTION 3 — erosion × uplift (the loop): removing mass unloads the crust, allowing further uplift, so erosion and uplift roughly balance and the range stays a similar height while the rock passing through it changes. SPATIAL: the wet western side is more heavily eroded and steeper; the drier eastern side has broad outwash plains built from the transported material. TEMPORAL: seasonal snowmelt raises discharge each spring; single storm events move far more sediment in days than months of normal flow. ✓ Each paragraph names two processes and the link between them. The final loop — erosion enabling more uplift — is the strongest interaction available in a NZ environment. ✕
The list disguised as an essay
A paragraph on uplift, then one on glaciation, then one on rivers is a list. The examiners are explicit that "interacting" is the command: every paragraph should contain the word "because" linking one process to another, and at least one should describe a two-way link or feedback.
Interaction type
Example pairing
One-way (still a real interaction)
Uplift raises rock into the zone of glacial attack
Two-way / feedback loop (the strongest form)
Erosion unloads the crust, which allows further uplift, which exposes more rock to erosion
Cross-system (spans two process families)
A river delivers sediment to the coast, which longshore drift then redistributes
A fast test before writing a paragraph
Does the sentence contain "because", genuinely linking one process to another?
Could this paragraph be reordered without losing meaning? If so, it may be a list, not an interaction.