The weaknesses observed include:
- poor paragraphing;
- 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 ;
- failure to grasp the requirements and demands of some questions attempted;
- inability to construct simple and correct sentences;
- inability to state the meaning of the expression- “seemed like an eternity”;
- wrong use of the first person pronoun “I”;
- writing below the required number of words on the essay topics;
- poor knowledge of functions of clauses;
- illegible handwriting;
- spelling errors;
- poor knowledge of the basic rules of English grammar;
- indiscriminate lifting of portions of set passages as answers.
SUGGESTED REMEDIES
(1) Candidates should:
- endeavour to improve on their vocabulary and grammar of English Language through extensive reading;
- learn the basic grammatical structures of English Language;
- take time to understand the exact demands of questions before attempting to answer them;
- draw up an outline to organise their thoughts before writing their essays;
- read through their work to correct spelling and grammatical errors before submitting their scripts;
- practise essay writing constantly;
- 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.