Candidate's Weakness and Remedies

 

CANDIDATES’ WEAKNESSES

 

The following were some of the candidates’ weaknesses:

1. Insufficient knowledge of the bible and prescribed texts

Some candidates selected questions that they did not have proper knowledgeabout therefore; they guessed the answers to such questions. These candidates were unable to score high marks in such questions. Also, some candidates failed to understand the demands of questions and such candidates strayed away from the essence of the questions.

 

2. Inadequate and inappropriate responsesto questions

Many candidates provided inadequate answers especially in questions demanding candidates’ responseto be 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.

 

3. 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 application questions. To this end, some candidates answered questions that they do not have sufficientknowledge or understanding about. This led to some candidates writing outside the scheme of the set questions.

4. Poor grammatical expression

The tenses and grammar ofsome of the candidates were not correct.  They could hardly express themselves in theright 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 ofscoring good marks.
(vi)       Illegiblehandwriting
Some candidates wrote illegibly, and some also had bad handwriting which hindered examiners from deciphering the words and meaning of what the candidates wrote. Wrong spellings coupled with poor expression of ideas negatively affected the performance of a lot of candidates.

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 shouldprepare 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 demandsof 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.
4. 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 introduction when answering questions or trying to explain what the question is. Introduction attracts no extra mark.
5. They should show greater commitment and interest in the subject.  They should work hard to cover the syllabus and revise with past question papers. Also, recommended textbooks specified in the syllabus should be used as it aids candidates on how to approach questions.
6. They should complement their study of the bible (RSV) with their teacher’s notes as a companion. It is observed that candidates narrate bible stories using the residual knowledge they know or have gathered from Sunday school. This hinders candidates from giving the main points as detailed and structured in the Revised Standard Bible.
7. The need to re-orientate the interest of candidates on Christian Religious Studies is important. Most candidates feel they don’t need the subject, and in most cases, they only register for it in order to complete their minimum subject requirements, thus, they show non-challant attitude towards it.
8. Candidates should make effort to improve their understanding and mastery of the use of the English Language. This will enable them to comprehend the requirements of questions, 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 such aslist, interpret, evaluate, identify, state, discuss, emphasise, outline, point out,  demonstrate, deduce, analyse, elaborate, etc.