Geography Practices 1

Geography, More than Just Maps

Cynthia Pinto-Cabrera

Writing 2
Professor Johnson
May 30, 2016

Geography Practices 2

Geography, More than Just Maps

When I told people I was in Geography 3B the majority of people responded with something
along the lines of Im bad at reading maps. This response never meant anything to me until I
was asked to look at the literacy practices of Geography 3B. I began to notice that when the word
geography was mentioned people usually thought about looking at maps and locating where
places are. Noticing peoples responses made me realize that I did not actually know what the
term meant, so I decided to look it up and the definition I got was the study of places and the
relationships between people and their environments. After looking at the definition I began to
understand that Geography is a wide field that has many branches to it. For example, there is
human geography and physical geography and within these branches there are sub branches. Not
only is geography used to be able to locate areas, it is also studying physical features of the earth
and its atmosphere. It also includes studying human activity as it affects and is affected by these,
including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries.
Geography means more than just knowing where something is. It is figuring out how our
Earth works. College has exposed me to a new side of geography through my enrollment in
Geography 3B, Physical Geography. Taking Geography in college has not only taught me that
there is more to it than just maps and finding places on them. I have learned so much about the
way the atmosphere works, how winds travel, about the different types of soil, and the different
climates of the world. Taking this geography class has helped me obtain a better understanding
of how the Earth works but has also taught me how this class and Professor Roberts use literacy
practices to deliver the material better through different visual representations and specific
terminology.

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The most common and noticeable literacy practice is visual representations. Geography
uses many form of visual representation such as, graphs, charts, and diagrams. I first began to
notice the use of diagrams in lecture, after a process was described there would almost always be
a diagram to show us how the process works. For example, there is a atmospheric circulation that
occurs at the equator that consists of flowing air masses, this is called a Hadley Cell. I had a hard
time trying to imagine what air moving would look like, but with diagrams I was able to see
what that process would look like. This not only held true for me, when I interviewed a fellow
classmate I asked "What are lectures like?" Their answer was that they too noticed that
Professor Roberts used an excessive amount of diagrams in lecture. They noticed that many
processes had corresponding diagrams. They also said that diagrams were something that they
particularly focused on when studying for the midterm. Not only did the student notice lecture
have diagrams, they also noticed the textbook has the same diagrams that are used in lecture.
They stated that they focused particularly on those diagrams when studying because their
repetitive appearances deemed it to be important.
Alongside diagrams another common depiction of visual representation in Geography
3B is graphs. In order to keep track of changes in Earths features, graphs are very much needed
to enable us to distinguish important differences and to find patterns within these features. In the
academic journal Landslide-Glacier Interaction in a Noeparaglacial Setting at, Jotunhiem,
Southern Norway I there are various graphs that demonstrate different features of a glacier.
Features such as the glaciers roundness and it's height are shown in these graphs allowing
geographers to be able to interpret them and come to conclusions about the Landslide-Glacier
interactions. Graphs are a seen in the Geography 3B textbook as well as throughout the course.
In order to keep track of precipitation and climate, graphs called climographs are needed in order

Geography Practices 4
to be able to keep track of changes and to be able to distinguish certain places based on their
climate. These graphs enable geographers to distinguish different climates such as arid and
tropical climates based on climographs. To ensure that graphs were an important part of this
course I asked a fellow classmate how often they see graphs and in their response they stated that
in multiple homework assignments and in the midterm we were given precipitation graphs and
we needed to be able to identify a location and its features. The student also mentioned that in
our section their TA would spend time with the class going over charts to ensure that everyone
understood how to read them. These examples demonstrate how extremely important it is to be
able to read graphs and interpret them, thus making them a literacy practice. Charts continued to
be seen in another academic journal, Geogenic Contamination: Hydro geochemical processes
and relationships In Shallow Aquifers of Ibadan, South-West Nigeria. This journal contains
various charts for the reader to understand the processes and relationships being discussed in the
journal. Multiple uses of charts and graphs throughout various writings in Physical Geography
demonstrate that they are literacy practices of the subject.
The second most noticeable literacy practice of Physical Geography is its specialized
diction. Certain terminology is used not only within this branch but all branches of Geography.
Geography is very specific with its names. For example, there are various names for winds based
on their location, features and direction. Names for winds include Westerlies, Easterleis, and
Trade winds. These words are not necessarily the hardest vocabulary words one will come
across but they common, everyday vocabulary for geographers. In lecture words like these are
used daily and you are expected to know them. The student I interviewed stated that for
homework assignments in was mandatory to use our newfound geography diction to interpret the
graphs and charts they have use do for the assignment. For example, when we get a precipitation

Geography Practices 5
chart we must try to describe the climate. Using words such as humid subtropical climate to
describe the climate is what gets us full points. I have also noticed the use specialized diction in
lecture. Many terms that are used to describe winds, soils, and climates are bolded and have
definitions next to them. Words such as erosion and felsic are geographical terms that appear
on tests, homework, and section. Vocabulary plays an important role in geography, without
knowing the terminology we would not be able to do well in the class.
Furthermore, within my observation of lecture, I noticed the professor writes important
terminology on the chalkboard in order to explain certain processes and to engage with the class
more. He uses those written terms to emphasize their importance and to connect certain terms
together. The textbook is also full of geographical terminology that are bolded to emphasizes that
it is a term geographers use. The student I interviewed stated that when reading the textbook they
will come across at least ten terms that are bolded per chapter. They also stated that many of the
terms used in the textbook are also terms that have been used in lecture. The repetition of words
and their presentation in the class has led to the conclusion that terminology is a major literacy
practice used within Geography.
Geography would be very difficult to understand without the help of visual
representations and without its specific diction. Together these literacy practices make it easier to
distinguish what branch of geography you are studying and how to make sense of what you are
learning. These representations allow for better and easier learning and allow the topics to be
more understandable. Visual representations and diction play a major role in the way Geography
is presented to people; they help make sense of what it happening. It also makes it easier for
geographical scholars to understand one another.

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References
Amanambu, A. C. (2015). Geogenic Contamination: Hydrogeochemical processes and
relationships in Shallow Aquifers of Ibadan, South-West Nigeria. Bulletin of
Geography. Physical Geography Series, 9(1). doi:10.1515/bgeo-2015-0011
Owen, G., Hiemstra, J. F., Matthews, J. A., & McEwen, L. J.. (2010). Landslide-Glacier
Interaction in a Neo Paraglacial Setting at Tverrbytnede, Joutunheimen, Southern
Norway. Geografiska Annaler. Series A, Physical Geography, 92(4), 421436.
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