Skills

Skills you need: the one-page sheet

Reading Maps and Data

Read every map, table and chart in the same order: title, legend and units, source line, then the pattern. The units tell you whether you are looking at a total, a percent or a rate, which changes what you can claim. A strong pattern statement names real places and gives values, and a trend gives its direction, dates and size.

A legend (or key) says what each shade, symbol or line on a map stands for. Read it before you look at the colors.
Check the units. A total (number of people) favors big places; a percent or a rate (per 1,000 people) lets you compare places of any size.
A source line names who made the data and the year. "Invented data for practice" means the numbers are made up for the exercise.
A trend is a change over time. Describe it with its direction, its dates and how much it changed.

you know what the figure measures, where and when you know whether a shade or a number is a total, a percent or a rate per 1,000 people you know how far to trust the numbers and how old they are your answer is specific enough to earn credit

legend (map): The box on a map that says what each color, shade, symbol or line stands for, often with the units. Also called a key.
source line: A line under a map, table or chart that says who made the data and in what year, or that the data are invented for practice.
trend: A change in data over time, described by its direction (rising or falling), its dates and how much it changed.

Scale of Analysis and Map Scale

Geographers use "scale" in two ways. Map scale is the ratio between the map and the ground: a large-scale map shows a small area in detail. The scale of analysis is the size of the unit the data describe: global, regional, national or local. Name the scale from the data, not from the size of the map, and remember that a pattern at one scale can look different at another.

Map scale is a ratio such as 1:50,000: 1 cm on the map stands for 50,000 cm (0.5 km) on the ground. A large-scale map (1:5,000) shows a small area in detail; a small-scale map (1:50,000,000) shows a large area with little detail.
The scale of analysis is the size of the unit the data describe: global (the world), regional (a group of countries), national (one country) or local (part of a country).
A map of one country shaded by province shows local (subnational) data. It is not national just because it shows a whole country.
A pattern can change with the scale: one national number can hide big differences between provinces or cities.

that unit sets the scale of analysis the differences between the small units disappear from view you need data at that scale to answer it well

map scale: The ratio between a distance on a map and the same distance on the ground, such as 1:50,000. A large-scale map shows a small area in detail; a small-scale map shows a large area with less detail.
scale of analysis: The size of the unit that data describe or that a question is about: global, regional, national or local. It is set by the data, not by the size of the map.
global scale: The scale of analysis that looks at the whole world, comparing places across it.
regional scale: The scale of analysis that looks at a part of the world made of several countries, such as South Asia or Latin America.
national scale: The scale of analysis that looks at one country as a whole, with one value for each country.
local scale: The scale of analysis that looks at a part of a country, such as a province, state, city or neighborhood. Data for parts of a country are also called subnational.

How FRQs Are Scored and What Each Task Verb Demands

Free-response answers are scored part by part, one point each, against one rubric line. The task verb tells you what to write: identify names, define gives a meaning, describe gives features, explain gives the how or why with a link word, compare speaks of both sides and explain the degree states the degree first. Name a place and its scale whenever you can, and never just restate the question.

The exam has three free-response questions, each with seven parts (A to G) worth 1 point each: Question 1 has no stimulus, Question 2 has one and Question 3 has two.
A task verb is the word that says what to do: identify, define, describe, explain, compare or explain the degree.
A rubric is the scoring guide readers use. Each part has one point and one line saying what earns it.
Explain needs a link word (because, so). Compare speaks of both sides. Explain the degree states the degree first.

the verb tells you exactly what the answer must do an answer earns the point only if it does what that line checks it earns nothing, even if the fact is right

task verb: The word in a question that says what your answer must do, such as identify, describe, explain or compare.
rubric: The scoring guide readers use to mark an answer. On the AP® Human Geography exam each part has one point and one rubric line saying what earns it.