Analysis of English Paper 2 (101/2) 2024
A REPORT BASED ON AN EXAMINER’S PERSPECTIVE
QUESTION ONE (READING COMPREHENSION)
* The performance here was below average. Most students scored between 4 and 8.
* The passage was easy to understand but the questions remotely linked. There is need to teach higher level skills.
* Question (a) on why roommates and friends were mentioned separately, and (b) on leaving the nest were based on synthesis. Questions on vocabulary had high demands with specific words being required for a candidate to score.
* Let’s encourage students to understand particular words so that they don’t change meaning of their answers. Some used ‘living’ to mean ‘leaving’ the nest.
* The note-making question was fairly performed. Only half a mark was deducted for writing in prose.
* Only less than 10 percent of the candidature scored the question on how someone would be lonely in a crowd of friends. The answer was inferential and required a general understanding of the passage. It was not directly based on the passage.
QUESTION TWO
* Average score was 8-12
* This one based on Fathers of Nations was picked from Dr. Afolabi’s journey from USA to Nigeria. The first question on context was well scored.
* The question on character traits and styles was well performed. The excerpt was rich on these aspects. However, some students failed to highlight the effects of each style especially the various dialogues used.
* The question on the intention of Tad Longway was based outside the context. Those who read the novel scored that question well.
* Students should learn the themes used and how they interrelate. Some candidates could not relate corruption and impunity and barely lifted the words used in the excerpt.
* The grammar question did not favour students. The answer took a different tense than what many expected.
QUESTIONS THREE
* Average score was 10 in this question.
* An oral poem- a dirge
* A majority of students wrote that the poem was about death. That clearly didn’t score. It was asking about the inevitability of death.
* Let learners look at the thematic and plot approach to poetry.
* The question on styles used was easy and well performed.
* Lifting of lines on poem as explanations does not score. Candidates were required to paraphrase and do interpretions in most of the answers.
QUESTION FOUR
* Candidates still have problems with sentence inversions. Most failed terribly in that section.
* Punctuation is important when sentences are rewritten. It hurts to see students failing for lack of commas and full stops.
* On the use of linking words, let candidates learn the proper shaping of letters. Some began sentences with small letters.
* This section was well performed. Majority scored above 8 marks.
GENERALLY, this paper was more challenging than the 2023 paper. Average scores ranged between 24 to 38. It was occasional to see candidates scoring 60s. Very low scores ( 02) were also evidenced.
