English Paper 2 WASSCE (SC), 2017

Candidate's Weakness

The weaknesses observed include:

  1. poor understanding of the questions answered;
  2. poor expression as a result of lack of appropriate vocabulary to convey ideas, faulty analogy and concord, wrong use of tenses, poor use of conjunctions, prepositions and articles;
  3. poor use of punctuation marks;
  4. spelling errors;
  5. mindless lifting of portions of the passage as answers;
  6. poor paragraphing resulting in illogical and unbalanced presentation of ideas especially in essay writing and letter writing;
  7. inability to construct simple and meaningful sentences;
  8. poor knowledge of the basic rules of grammar and the rudiments of summary writing;
  9. writing essays below the required number of words;
  10. inability to differentiate the main points from illustrations and examples especially in the summary passage.

Suggested Remedies

  1. Candidates should:
    1. read extensively to broaden their horizon and linguistic repertoire;
    2. take time to identify the actual demand of questions before attempting them;
    3. read through their work to correct grammatical and spelling errors before submitting;
    4. practise WAEC past question papers for better performance;
    5. prepare adequately for the examination;
    6. converse frequently in simple correct English Language.

  2. Teachers should:
    1. cover all aspects of English Language while teaching;
    2. concentrate on teaching the basic rules and principles of grammar;
    3. encourage students to write essays frequently, mark and grade them accordingly;
    4. attend seminars and workshops that would keep them abreast of modern practices in the language regularly;
    5. attend coordinating sessions during the marking of English Language.

  3. Schools should ensure that:
    1. employ competent and qualified teachers to teach this subject;
    2. equip their library with relevant books and materials that will aid students academically;
    3. encourage teachers to attend seminars and workshops regularly.