English Paper 2 WASSCE (SC), 2020

CANDIDATES’ WEAKNESSES

The weaknesses observed include:

  1. poor paragraphing;
  2. poor expression as a result of wrong concord, poor punctuation marks, wrong use of tenses, poor use of prepositions and articles, translation of vernacular into English, wrong amalgamation and syllabification ;
  3. failure to grasp the requirements and demands of some questions attempted;
  4. inability to construct simple and correct sentences;
  5. inability to state the meaning of the expression- “seemed like an eternity”; 
  6. wrong use of the first person pronoun “I”;
  7. writing below the required number of words on the essay topics;
  8. poor knowledge  of functions of clauses;
  9. illegible handwriting;
  10. spelling errors;
  11. poor knowledge of the basic rules of English grammar;  
  12. indiscriminate lifting of portions of set passages as answers.

 

 

SUGGESTED REMEDIES

(1) Candidates should:

  1. endeavour to improve on their vocabulary and grammar of English Language through extensive reading;
  2. learn the basic grammatical structures of English Language;
  3. take time to understand the exact demands of questions before attempting to answer them;
  4. draw up an outline to organise their thoughts before writing their essays;
  5. read through their work to correct spelling and grammatical errors before submitting their scripts;
  6. practise essay writing constantly;
  7. converse frequently in simple and correct English expressions.

        

(2)  Teachers should:
(a) spend more time in teaching comprehension skills and summary writing;
(b) give their students assignments regularly and mark such assignments in order to       
help students identify and correct their mistakes;
(c) engage their students more in the teaching and learning process;
(d) regularly attend workshops and seminars that would keep them abreast of global
best practices in the teaching of English Language.

 

(3) Schools should ensure that:
(a) only qualified teachers are engaged to teach the subject;
(b) libraries are equipped with relevant books and materials that will aid the students.