A case study is only as strong as its evidence. This record sheet keeps each fact tied to a source and a date, and keeps your own conclusions in a separate column.
Use one sheet per case study. It suits Geography, and works in the same way for Environmental Management, Global Perspectives and History source work.
The record template
| # | Place | Fact I want to use | Source (title, page or section) | Year of the fact | Date I read the source | Fact, or my interpretation? | Open question |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Rules for filling it in:
- One fact per row. Do not bundle three figures into one cell.
- Name the place exactly. A named town or region is stronger than “a coastal area”.
- Write the year of the fact, not only the year of publication. If the year is missing, write “INCOMPLETE” and do not use the row in an answer until you find it.
- Keep interpretation separate. Put causes, effects and opinions in their own rows and mark them “interpretation”.
- Add one open question per few rows: something the source does not tell you.
Filled example with an invented place
The place below is made up for practice, so its numbers are illustrative only. Use real, sourced facts in your own record.
| # | Place | Fact | Source | Year of fact | Date read | Type | Open question |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sungai Contoh, a fictional river town | The river rose 3.2 m above its normal level during the October event | Practice handout A, p.2 | 2020 | 1 Oct 2026 | Fact | Was this the highest level recorded? |
| 2 | Sungai Contoh | 1,800 residents moved to temporary shelters | Practice handout A, p.3 | 2020 | 1 Oct 2026 | Fact | How long did they stay? |
| 3 | Sungai Contoh | Flooding was worse because drains were blocked | My reading of handout A | (not a fact) | 1 Oct 2026 | Interpretation | What evidence shows the drains were blocked? |
| 4 | Sungai Contoh | About 40% of homes were affected | Practice handout B | (missing) | 1 Oct 2026 | Fact | INCOMPLETE: which year and which survey? |
Row 4 is flagged because it has no year. Row 3 is honest about being a conclusion, and the open question tells you what evidence would support it.
Turning the record into an answer
Pick two facts and one interpretation from your sheet. Write: the fact with place and year, what it shows, and the evidence that supports your conclusion. If the open question is still unanswered, say so in the answer rather than assuming.
The geography evidence and case-study ledger on this site follows the same structure, stores notes locally in your browser and flags a statistic without a year as incomplete. See other templates on the resources page, and the Geography tuition page for how individual lessons can build case study answers from evidence.