Fiducia TogetherData presentation
Choosing the right graph or map for the data you have — and being asked to justify it.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Data presentation covers the techniques used to display geographical data: bar and line graphs, scatter graphs, pie charts, choropleth maps, flow lines, proportional symbols, radar charts and located bar charts.
Where it applies
GCSE geography, especially in the fieldwork paper.
How it works
Each technique suits a data type. Choropleth maps show density or rate by area; flow lines show movement; scatter graphs show relationships between two variables; proportional symbols show amounts at points.
The common weakness is a technique that does not fit the data, and questions ask you to identify or justify exactly that.
How to use it in your work
Be able to justify your choice: "a scatter graph, because it shows the relationship between velocity and distance downstream".
Know one advantage and one disadvantage of each technique.
When describing a graph, quote figures from it. Description without data scores poorly.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification — options differ enormously between centres, and yours is the one that counts. Bitesize covers the skills; the subject song runs the topics.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Geography Song The GCSE geography topics, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.