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. The following were some of the candidates’ weaknesses:

   1. Insufficient knowledge of the bible and prescribed texts

   Some candidates answered questions that they did not have proper  knowledge about therefore, they guessed the answers to such questions. This made candidates to be 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 questions especially in questions demanding that candidates answer from a particular biblical point of narrative. To this end, candidates failed to understand the demands of the questions and such candidates strayed away from the points required to answer such questions.

   1. Mixing up of Biblical characters/Inadequate knowledge of Biblical Themes

   It was observed that candidates were not familiar with the bible stories from which some questions were drawn. More often than not, candidates mixed up questions which were based on narratives with similar biblical stories. Such candidates took the question because of the part B which was based on simple common sense answers. To this end, some candidates answered questions that they do not have enough knowledge or understanding about. Perhaps, they did not understand the questions; however, the questions were straight forward. This led to some candidates writing outside the scheme of the set questions.

   1. Poor grammatical expression

   The tenses and grammar of most of the candidates were not correct.  They could hardly express themselves in right tenses even in situation where they seemed to know the demands of the question. This in effect allowed the examiner to mark such candidates down.

   (5)        Unnecessary Preambles and introduction
   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 chances of scoring 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 negatively affected the performance of a lot of candidates.

2. SUGGESTED REMEDIES TO OVERCOME CANDIDATES’ WEAKNESSES

   The following are some of the actions necessary in tackling the identified weaknesses:

   1. Candidates should improve on their knowledge of the bible. They should prepare adequately for the examination by making efforts to comprehend the bible using the prescribed texts as a guideline.  They should also make use of past WASSCE questions in preparing for the examination.
   2. 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 and demand of questions, as it will also facilitate logical expression and coherent presentation of points. They can approach this by devoting quality time to reading books, novels, journals, etc.
   3. Candidates should get themselves familiar with contextual passages and strive to have adequate knowledge of biblical characters. No question is set outside the syllabus. To this end, they should consult the syllabus and the Revised Standard Bible as references when they study.
   Candidates are advised to go straight to the demands of the question rather than engaging in unnecessary preambles and semonization. There is no need giving