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GENERAL COMMENTS This year 13,546 candidates were entered for the CSEC Geography examination. For the Alternative to the School-Based Assessment (SBA) (Paper 03/2), 290 candidates were entered. The most popular questions were 2 and 5 and the least popular were 4, 6 and 7. Map reading, the compulsory question and a critical aspect of Geography, continues to be unsatisfactory. Most candidates were able to earn some of the Profile marks but had great difficulty with questions that required descriptions and interpretations. Responses to questions relating to weather, climate, vegetation, rivers and drainage patterns, volcanoes and plate tectonics were generally unsatisfactory. Many candidates avoided these questions and of those who attempted them a large number displayed many deficiencies in their knowledge. In general, too many candidates still display a lack of understanding of basic geographical concepts. This is sometimes reflected in their interpretation and response to questions. In Papers 03/1 and 03/2, many candidates displayed an inability to conduct appropriate field research and to write reports on that research. This was especially true of those who wrote Paper 03/2. Some other areas of concern include the following: - Maps and diagrams were often badly drawn, untidy and inaccurate. Conventions for drawing maps and diagrams were often ignored. - Poor language skills. - Many candidates ignored the instructions given in the questions. - Lack of adequate and meaningful elaboration of answers. Many candidates could identify, name and list factors, phenomena but often did not earn full marks because of a lack of appropriate elaboration and explanation. DETAILED COMMENTS Paper 01 – Multiple Choice This paper comprised 60 multiple-choice questions. Performance on Paper 01 produced a mean mark of 353 out of 60, and scores ranged from 7 to 59. Paper 02 – Essay Questions Section A – Map work Question 1 In this question, over 50 per cent of candidates obtained scores