…
2026 HSC Geography exam: What to learn from last year's mistakes
Hi all, in preparation for the upcoming exam, here's what to learn from last year's mistakes.
Exam: Monday 2 November 2026, 1:50 pm to 5:00 pm. All times are NSW local time.
The 2025 paper was the first HSC exam for the current Geography syllabus. It totalled 100 marks: 15 multiple choice, 45 short answer, a 20-mark structured response and a 20-mark extended response.
Questions to revisit: Q17b (3 marks), Q18b (4), Q20c (5), Q21 (6), Q22c (12) and Q23 (20).
NESA does not publish question averages in the feedback. These are the specific gaps it identifies.
1. Q17b: Justify the fieldwork method for Site 2
Where students went wrong
Students named a method without showing why it suited the investigation’s purpose or the particular site.
What they should have done
Use the purpose statement and the residential–forest boundary in the stimulus. Surveying nearby residents could reveal how use and impacts have changed over time, which a single visit may miss. Explain why that information is relevant to the investigation. A survey is not automatically the best method simply because it produces primary data.
2. Q18b: A trend changes over time
Where students went wrong
Students described a static pattern or dropped in a case study that did not answer the question.
What they should have done
Identify a change, its cause and its consequence. For example, increasing habitat fragmentation can isolate populations and make movement or breeding harder. Use evidence showing the change over time, then explain the ecological effect. A map showing where forests exist today does not, on its own, demonstrate a trend.
3. Q20c: Compare the two sustainability strategies
Where students went wrong
Responses described two strategies separately and relied on similarly or however to make them look comparative.
What they should have done
Choose a common basis for comparison, such as the resource pressure addressed, cost, scale or implementation limits. In viticulture, drip irrigation targets water use while organic practices address a different set of input and ecosystem concerns. Explain that difference and what it means for sustainability in the activity. Two positive descriptions do not establish which problems each strategy can solve.
4. Q21: Judge one initiative against two pillars
Where students went wrong
Students wrote about sustainability in general or described a project without judging its success.
What they should have done
Name the specific initiative and select two pillars of sustainability. Use evidence for each, then make a judgement that follows from it. A transport project might improve access while creating a financial burden; the evaluation should account for both. Do not treat the project’s stated aim as proof that it achieved the outcome.
5. Q22c: Link an existing strategy to quality of life
Where students went wrong
Students used vague or future strategies, supplied little city-specific evidence, or failed to connect outcomes to residents’ lives.
What they should have done
Use an implemented strategy in your selected city of more than five million people outside Australia. Explain the outcome using a verified case-study measure, then connect it to quality of life. Reduced travel time could improve access to work and leave more time at home, but consider who actually benefits. A city-wide average can conceal unequal access. State how effective the strategy is and why.
6. Q23: Explain how the ecosystem functions
Where students went wrong
Students needed stronger supporting evidence and accurate use of ecological concepts instead of a descriptive tour of their case studies.
What they should have done
Use an Australian and an overseas ecosystem to explain interacting processes. For instance, a disturbance that changes vegetation can alter energy transfers, habitat and nutrient cycling, with consequences for resilience. Explain the connections and feedbacks, then support them with your case-study evidence. Naming biodiversity, succession and equilibrium without showing their relationships does not explain complexity.
Source: NESA 2025 Geography exam, marking guidelines and feedback.
Use the Geography hub and past papers and marking guides alongside this.
0 repliesReply