Extended Writing Skills

This lesson develops the extended writing skills needed for the 12-mark and 20-mark questions across all papers of the Edexcel A-Level Geography exam (9GE0). Extended writing is where the highest-tariff marks are concentrated, and it is the skill that most clearly separates top-band students from mid-band students. This lesson provides frameworks, techniques and practice strategies for writing sustained, evaluative, well-structured geographical essays.

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Why Extended Writing Matters

The highest-value questions in the exam are extended writing questions:

Question Type	Total Marks Available Across All Papers	% of Exam Marks
20-mark essays (+4 SPaG where applicable)	~96 marks (across Papers 1, 2 and 3)	~27% of total
12-mark questions	~48 marks (across Papers 1 and 2)	~14% of total
Total extended writing	~144 marks	~41% of total

In other words, over 40% of your entire A-Level grade depends on extended writing. Improving your essay technique is the single highest-return revision activity.

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The DEEC Framework

The DEEC framework provides a clear structure for every paragraph of extended writing:

Element	What It Means	What to Write
D — Define/Declare	State your point or argument clearly	"A key factor in [X] is [Y]..." or "One perspective is that..."
E — Evidence	Support your point with specific evidence	Case study data, statistics, named examples, resource data (Paper 3)
E — Explain	Explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports your point	Link evidence to geographical processes, theories, concepts
C — Conclude/Comment	Evaluate the significance of your point	"This suggests that...", "However, this is limited because...", "The significance of this is..."

DEEC in Practice

Question: Assess the extent to which TNCs drive globalisation. (20 marks)

Paragraph using DEEC:

(D) One of the most significant ways in which TNCs drive globalisation is through foreign direct investment (FDI), which creates global networks of production, employment and trade that integrate national economies into a single global system.

(E) Apple Inc., headquartered in Cupertino, California, exemplifies this process. Its iPhone supply chain involves component manufacturing in over 43 countries, with final assembly primarily by Foxconn in Shenzhen, China (employing approximately 350,000 workers at its Longhua facility). Apple's revenue in 2023 was **$383 billion** — larger than the GDP of many countries. Its decision to invest in a particular location can transform local economies: the construction of Apple's Austin, Texas campus created **15,000 direct jobs** and an estimated$383billion∗∗—largerthantheGDPofmanycountries.Itsdecisiontoinvestinaparticularlocationcantransformlocaleconomies:theconstructionofApple′sAustin,Texascampuscreated∗∗15,000directjobs∗∗andanestimated5 billion in economic output.

(E) This demonstrates how TNC investment decisions create spatial divisions of labour at a global scale — research and design functions are concentrated in high-income countries (USA, UK, Japan), manufacturing in middle-income countries (China, Vietnam, India), and raw material extraction in low-income countries (DRC for cobalt, Chile for lithium). This pattern reflects and reinforces the core-periphery structure described by Wallerstein's world-systems theory, in which TNCs are the primary mechanism through which core countries extract value from the periphery.

(C) The significance of TNCs as drivers of globalisation is therefore substantial — they are arguably the single most powerful engine of global economic integration. However, this driving force is not neutral: TNC-driven globalisation benefits some places (those receiving investment) and marginalises others (those bypassed by investment flows), and the power asymmetry between TNCs and host governments means that the terms of globalisation are often set by corporate interests rather than national or community priorities.

Exam Tip: Notice how the DEEC paragraph does not just describe what TNCs do — it explains the PROCESS, provides SPECIFIC evidence, connects to THEORY (Wallerstein) and makes an EVALUATIVE comment about significance. This is what Level 4 writing looks like. Every paragraph of a 20-mark essay should follow this pattern.

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Building Sustained Arguments

A common weakness in A-Level essays is the "shopping list" approach — writing several disconnected paragraphs, each making a separate point, with no overall argument or thread connecting them. A top-band essay has a sustained argument — a clear line of reasoning that runs from the introduction through every paragraph to the conclusion.

How to Build a Sustained Argument

1. Start with a position — in your introduction, signal the direction of your argument. You can qualify it later, but you need a starting point.
2. Build each paragraph on the previous one — use connective phrases that show logical progression.
3. Introduce counterarguments — after establishing your main argument, present opposing evidence and evaluate it.
4. Reach a nuanced conclusion — your conclusion should not simply repeat the introduction but should reflect the journey of your argument.

Connective Phrases for Sustained Arguments

Purpose	Phrases
Building on a point	"Furthermore...", "This is reinforced by...", "Building on this..."
Introducing contrast	"However...", "In contrast...", "A counterargument is that...", "Nevertheless..."
Showing causation	"As a consequence...", "This leads to...", "The result is that..."
Evaluating significance	"The significance of this is...", "This is particularly important because...", "This suggests that..."
Acknowledging complexity	"While this is broadly true, the reality is more nuanced...", "This generalisation overlooks...", "The extent to which this applies depends on..."
Reaching judgement	"On balance...", "Ultimately...", "The most significant factor is... because..."

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Evaluating Multiple Perspectives

Geography rarely has simple, single-perspective answers. The best essays acknowledge multiple perspectives and evaluate them against each other.

The Perspectives Spectrum

For any geographical issue, identify perspectives from different angles:

Angle	Questions to Ask
Economic	What are the costs and benefits? Who gains financially? Who loses?
Social	How are communities affected? Are impacts equitable? Who is marginalised?
Environmental	What are the environmental consequences? Are they reversible?
Political	Who has decision-making power? What political interests are at stake?
Cultural	How does this affect identity, heritage, way of life?
Temporal	Are impacts short-term or long-term? How has the situation changed over time?
Spatial	How does the impact vary between places? Who is most affected geographically?
Ethical	What is the right thing to do? Are there justice implications?

Evaluating Perspectives