Candidates' Weaknesses

Some of the weaknesses observed in the candidates’ scripts were:

            (i)         Inadequate knowledge of the subject

Some candidates answered questions that they did not have enough knowledge or understanding about thereby, guessed the answers to these questions. To this end, candidates were unable to score high marks in such questions. In like manner, some candidates failed to understand the demands of questions and such candidates strayed away from the essence of the questions.

1. Inadequate and inappropriate responses to questions

Many candidates responded inadequately to the demands of the questions by giving inadequate answers to some of the questions, especially in questions requesting candidates to answer from a particular point of view, e.g, from a particular gospeller or apostle. To this end, candidates performed woefully in some of the questions.
(iii)       Sermonizing (preaching)

                        Most candidates that answered questions, especially in Section C, were more of                             preaching than stating the fact or answers.

            (iv)       Poor grammatical expression

The tenses and grammar of most of the candidates were bad.  They could hardly express themselves in simple correct English even in situation where they seemed to know the demands of the question.

(v)        Unnecessary Preambles
Some candidates gave very long and unnecessary preambles to the questions instead of going straight to the answers. This made them waste valuable time on irrelevant points thereby, limiting their ability to score good marks.
(vi)       Illegible Handwriting

Some candidates wrote in illegible ways and bad handwriting which hindered examiners to decipher the words and meaning of what some candidates wrote. Wrong spellings coupled with poor expression of ideas and facts negatively affected the performance of a lot of candidates.

 

       SUGGESTED REMEDIES TO OVERCOME CANDIDATES’ WEAKNESSES

1. Candidates should get familiar with contextual passages and strive to have adequate knowledge of the biblical characters and the event that happened to them as reported by the Bible.
2. Candidates should read novels and different literature text to improve their grammatical expression and writing skills.
3. Candidates are advised to go straight to the demands of the questions rather than engage in unnecessary preambles and sermonization.
4. They should show greater commitment and interest in the Subject.  They should work hard to cover the Syllabus and revise with past question papers.
5. They should complement their study of the Bible (RSV) with their teacher’s notes as a companion.

Candidates should make effort on improving their understanding and mastery of the use of the English Language. This will enable them to comprehend the requirements of questions, as it will also facilitate logical expression and coherent presentation of points. Furthermore, candidates should understand and know how to interpret the demands of questions from the action verbs associated with the questions. These verbs includes: list, interpret, evaluate, identify, state, discuss, emphasise, outline, point out,  demonstrate, deduce, analyse, elaborate, etc