Yomi BlackWhat Technical Drawing looks like in NABTEB is set by how NABTEB examines it: written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate. The topic areas matter, but the format decides how you should work them.
- Subject
- Technical Drawing
- Examined by
- NABTEB
- Format here
- Written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate
- Depth
- Technical and business depth, with a trade or vocational emphasis the general certificates do not carry
- What the grade does
- An O’level equivalent credit, and for the trade subjects a documented skill an employer can act on
- Papers
- Objective, essay, and a papers of sketches, building and mechanical drawing.
- Required for
- Engineering, architecture, industrial design, building technology and surveying
How NABTEB examines this subject
The format is written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate, and it is written papers marked conventionally, with the practical assessed on procedure, safety and finished work.
This certificate is the only school-leaving award here that proves you can do something, not only that you know something.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective, essay, and a papers of sketches, building and mechanical drawing.
Split your preparation roughly in the proportion the components are weighted. Candidates habitually over-prepare the part they enjoy and meet the other part for the first time in the hall.
What makes it hard
It is examined on accuracy to the millimetre. A correct method drawn imprecisely scores badly, which is unlike any other subject on the certificate.
Set that against how this examination works. Workshop hours matter more than reading hours. A candidate without bench time cannot pass the practical.
Where marks are lost in this subject
- Working without a properly sharpened pencil, which costs line-quality marks on every drawing.
- Misreading first-angle and third-angle projection symbols.
- Running out of time because the constructions were not practised to speed.
Time every drawing you practise. Accuracy under time pressure is the whole subject.
Turning it into a plan
- Get the current syllabus from NABTEB and check the year range on the cover.
- Write one line per topic area, with a box beside it.
- Work a past paper in this examination’s format, written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate, and tag every question back to a line.
- Mark the lines your teaching has never covered. Those are the priority.
- Re-weight towards the component carrying the most marks. Two series a year across the school and private examinations.
What a good grade here is worth
In this examination the grade is an O’level equivalent credit, and for the trade subjects a documented skill an employer can act on. Technical Drawing is required for engineering, architecture, industrial design, building technology and surveying, and course requirements are checked subject by subject, so a strong overall result with a weak grade here is a disqualification for the course that names it rather than a near miss.
Quick answers on Technical Drawing
Is Technical Drawing compulsory?
No. It is a science subject, chosen as one of your electives, and you should choose it because a course you want names it.
What is it required for?
Engineering, architecture, industrial design, building technology and surveying.
How many papers are there?
Objective, essay, and a papers of sketches, building and mechanical drawing.
What makes it hard?
It is examined on accuracy to the millimetre. A correct method drawn imprecisely scores badly, which is unlike any other subject on the certificate.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Working without a properly sharpened pencil, which costs line-quality marks on every drawing.
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From NABTEB, on its own site, free. Check the year range on the cover before you use it.
Has the syllabus changed?
Syllabuses are revised on published cycles and old ones stay online after they expire. If the copy you are holding has no year range, you do not know what you are holding.
How do I turn it into revision?
One line per topic area with a box beside it, then tick the lines off against past papers rather than against your notes. The lines that stay blank are the finding.
What the subject covers
Use these topic areas as the frame for your own checklist, then verify the detail against the syllabus NABTEB publishes itself, because depth and emphasis shift between curriculum cycles even when the headings do not.
- Drawing instruments, lines and lettering.
- Plane geometry, constructions and loci.
- Solid geometry and projections.
- Orthographic and isometric projection.
- Development of surfaces.
- Building drawing and mechanical drawing.
Sources
- National Business and Technical Examinations Board. www.nabtebnigeria.org