Examine how international sporting events bring social and economic benefits to different places.

Examine the physical and human reasons why some rural areas have become important for leisure activities.

Refer to Paper 1 markbands (available under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials).

International sporting events include the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup and the Paralympic Games. These can have significant economic and social benefits to communities and countries around the world.

Possible applied themes (AO2) demonstrating knowledge and understanding (AO1):

Economic benefits might include:

• urban renewal, for example the development of brownfield sites
• development of infrastructure and transport to accommodate sporting events competitors and visitors
• job creation, which may be only temporary.

Social benefits might include:

• sporting legacy – increasing participation in sporting events
• inclusion via changing gender roles; increased female participation
• inclusion of disabled people through growing importance of paralympic sporting events
• community cohesion linked with national/local pride
• housing supply increases post-event, eg reuse of athletes’ villages.

Good answers may be well structured (AO4) and may additionally offer a critical evaluation (AO3) of the statement in a way that examines the economic and social benefits from different perspectives or on varying time or spatial scales. Another approach might be to examine why some places have benefited more than others from hosting the same events and the varying power of different places to maximize benefits for themselves.

For 5–6 marks, expect some outlining of how a sporting event brings some social and/or economic benefits. The response is partial, narrow or lacks supporting evidence.

For 7–8 marks, expect a well-structured account, which includes:

• either a well-evidenced explanation of one or more sporting events and the social/economic benefits for different places
• or an ongoing evaluation (or discursive conclusion) grounded in geographical concepts and/or perspectives.

For 9–10 marks, expect both of these traits.

Refer to Paper 1 markbands (available under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials).

The focus of the question mainly concerns primary tourist/recreational resources in rural areas. Secondary tourist/recreational resources, such as accommodation and entertainment, might also be discussed.

The question is relatively broad and a wide range of responses is possible. The term “leisure activities” might include tourism, recreation and sport. The scale of the rural areas is not specified; it might be a large national park or small village.

If an inappropriate example is used, award up to a maximum of [4].

Possible applied themes (AO2) demonstrating knowledge and understanding (AO1):

• The importance of physical reasons in rural areas, including outstanding landscapes, attractive climates and unique ecosystems (such as coral reefs, tropical rainforests).
• Human factors in rural areas might include important heritage sites, areas of distinctive cultures, and indigenous populations.
• Human factors might also include secondary resources, such as accommodation and entertainment.
• Some of these areas have been specially designated as national parks or UNESCO sites, which will further attract tourists.
• This may result in the creation of tourist “hotspots”.
• Activities in rural areas might include hiking, enjoying the wilderness, or visiting heritage sites.
• Reasons why some rural places become music/religious/other festival sites.

Good answers may be well structured (AO4) and may additionally offer a critical evaluation (AO3) in a way that examines the interactions between physical and human processes in different rural places. Another approach might be to examine who has power over rural areas (to allow or block touristic developments). Another approach might be to explicitly examine rural areas at varying scales.

For 5–6 marks, expect some outlining of physical and/or human reasons for leisure activities in rural areas. The response is partial, narrow or lacks supporting evidence.

For 7–8 marks, expect a well-structured account which includes:

• either a well-evidenced explanation of a range of physical and human reasons why rural areas are important for leisure activities
• or a discursive conclusion (or an ongoing evaluation) grounded in geographical concepts and/or perspectives.

For 9–10 marks, expect both of these traits. 

A very popular question. Most candidates were able to discuss an international sporting event (the London and Rio Olympics were commonly used) and to focus on positive socio-economic impacts in different places. The best answers compared two or more sporting events and evaluated the extent to which each brought long- and short-term benefits to their respective communities. Weaker candidates either wrote generalized comments about the Olympics of choice and/or failed to address the 'different places' element of the question. A few used non-international sporting events like the Premier League or NBA.

- This was a less popular question choice. Successful responses followed the wording of the question and included well-explained and evidenced physical and human reasons.  Many  candidates,  however, failed to include physical reasons, such as climate, landscape and ecosystems, focusing rather on how certain areas have 'space' for music festivals (e.g. Glastonbury). Others misinterpreted the question and examined the pros and cons of rural tourism.