Yomi BlackEnglish Language is examined at senior secondary depth, three years of teaching examined in one diet. That is the sentence to hold onto, because the same subject examined by a different body at a different depth needs a different plan, and candidates who carry preparation across from one to the other lose marks they did not need to lose.
- Subject
- English Language
- Examined by
- WAEC
- Format here
- A written examination with an objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical or alternative to practical where the subject has one
- Depth
- Senior secondary depth, three years of teaching examined in one diet
- What the grade does
- A credit, and credits are the unit almost every admission requirement is written in
- Papers
- Objective, essay and a separate Test of Orals.
- Required for
- Every course in every Nigerian institution without exception
How WAEC examines this subject
The format is a written examination with an objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical or alternative to practical where the subject has one, and it is marked by examiners against a published mark scheme, with method marks awarded for working and presentation marks for layout.
The grade sits on a certificate that does not expire and that you will show for the rest of your working life.
What makes it hard
The essay is marked on content, organisation, expression and mechanical accuracy together, so a candidate with strong ideas and weak punctuation loses in two categories at once.
Set that against how this examination works. Three years of school teaching, which means your gaps are your school’s gaps, and finding them is the first job.
Where marks are lost in this subject
- Writing the essay in the register of a different question type, a formal letter answered as an article.
- Treating the summary as a comprehension question and copying sentences instead of compressing them.
- Neglecting orals entirely because it feels unteachable, when it is the most predictable paper in the subject.
Write one timed essay a week and mark it against the four criteria separately. Most candidates never learn which of the four is costing them.
Turning it into a plan
- Get the current syllabus from WAEC 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, a written examination with an objective paper, 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. One diet a year for school candidates, so there is no second attempt inside the same admission cycle.
What a good grade here is worth
In this examination the grade is a credit, and credits are the unit almost every admission requirement is written in. English Language is required for every course in every Nigerian institution without exception, 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.
Questions candidates ask about English Language
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Writing the essay in the register of a different question type, a formal letter answered as an article.
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From WAEC, 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.
Is English Language compulsory?
It is compulsory.
What is it required for?
Every course in every Nigerian institution without exception.
How many papers are there?
Objective, essay and a separate Test of Orals.
What makes it hard?
The essay is marked on content, organisation, expression and mechanical accuracy together, so a candidate with strong ideas and weak punctuation loses in two categories at once.
What the subject covers
Use these topic areas as the frame for your own checklist, then verify the detail against the syllabus WAEC publishes itself, because depth and emphasis shift between curriculum cycles even when the headings do not.
- Comprehension and summary.
- Lexis and structure.
- Oral English and the test of orals.
- Essay writing across letter, article, speech, report and narrative forms.
- Registers, idioms and figures of speech.
- The prescribed literature component where the syllabus sets one.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective, essay and a separate Test of Orals.
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.
- WAEC English Language: past questions
- WAEC English Language: how to pass
- All WAEC subjects
- WAEC syllabus, all subjects
- WAEC grading and what counts as a credit
Sources
- The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria. Entry regulations for WASSCE. waecnigeria.org
- The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria. Registration and entry. waecnigeria.org
- The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria. Frequently Asked Questions. www.waecnigeria.org