ENGLISH LANGUAGE
PREAMBLE
This examination sets out to test the different basic skills of communicating in English using the mediums of speech and writing. The examination will test the receptive and productive abilities of candidates. These abilities will be demonstrated in the following forms: reading, comprehension, summary, vocabulary, lexis and structure, listening comprehension and recognition of different aspects of spoken English.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The objective of the syllabus is to measure the extent to which the aims of the teaching syllabuses of member countries have been realized in candidates’ secondary school career. The examination sets out to examine candidates’ ability to
(i) use correct English;
(ii) write about incidents in English that are appropriate to specified audiences and situations;
(iii) organize material in paragraphs that are chronologically, spatially and logically coherent;
(iv) control sentence structures accurately;
(v) exhibit variety in the use of sentence patterns;
(vi) comply with the rules of grammar;
(vii) spell and punctuate correctly;
(viii) comprehend written and spoken English;
(ix) recognize implied meaning, tones and attitudes;
(x) use an acceptable pronunciation that can be comprehended by others;
(xi) recognize the physical characteristics of English sounds and the letters that represent them.
(xii) pick out and summarize relevant information from set passages.
SCHEME OF EXAMINATION
There will be three papers – Papers 1, 2 and 3, all of which must be taken. Papers 1 and 2 will be a composite paper to be taken at one sitting.
PAPER 1: Will consist of eighty multiple choice questions, all of which should be answered within 1 hour for 40 marks.
PAPER 2: Will consist of five essay topics and a passage each to test candidates’ comprehension and summary skills. Candidates will be expected to write an essay on one of the topics and answer all the questions on the comprehension and summary passages. The paper will last 2 hours and carry 100 marks.
PAPER 3: Will consist of sixty multiple choice items on Test of Orals for candidates in Nigeria and Liberia, and Listening Comprehension Test for candidates in the Gambia and Sierra Leone. All the questions should be answered in 45 minutes for 30 marks.
DETAILED SYLLABUS
PAPER 1: (For candidates in The Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia only)
This is an objective/multiple choice paper comprising eighty questions: forty lexical and forty structural questions. Each question will have four options lettered A to D.
A. LEXIS
In addition to items testing knowledge of the vocabulary of everyday usage (i.e home, social relationships, and common core school subjects) questions will be set to test candidates’ ability in the use of the general vocabulary associated with the following fields of human activity:
I. (a) Building and Building Construction;
(b) Agriculture;
(c) Fishing;
(d) Stock exchange;
(e) Health;
(f) Environment;
(g) Culture, Institutions and Ceremonies;
(h) Law and Order;
(i) Motor Vehicles and Travelling;
(j) Government and Administration;
(k) Sports;
(l) Religion;
(m) Science and Technology;
(n) Animal husbandry;
(o) Advertising;
(p) Human Internal Body system and function.
II. Idioms, i.e. idiomatic expressions and collocations (e.g. ‘hook, line and sinker’, ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry” etc.) the total meaning of which cannot be arrived at simply by consideration of the dictionary meanings of the words in the structures in which they appear.
III. Structural elements of English e.g. sequence of tenses, matching of pronouns with their antecedents, correct use of prepositions etc.
IV. Figurative Usage
The term ‘general’ vocabulary refers to those words and usage of words normally associated with the fields of human activity in A1 above which are generally known, used and understood by most educated people who, while not engaged in that field of activity may have occasion to read, speak or write about it. Thus, for example, in the vocabulary of transportation by road, one would expect knowledge of terms such as ‘pedestrian bridge’ and ‘traffic signs’ which most educated people understand, but not ‘berm’ or ‘camber’ which are specialized.
All items will be phrased in such a way as to test the use and understanding of the required lexis, rather than dictionary definitions and explanations. In practice, the test of lexis will be so designed as to explore, not merely the extent of the candidates’ vocabulary but more importantly their ability to respond to sense relations in the use of lexical items e.g. synonyms, antonyms and homonyms.
In the test of figurative language, candidates will be expected to recognize when an expression is used figuratively and not only when it is used literally.
B. STRUCTURE
Structure here includes:
(i) The patterns of changes in word-forms which indicate number, tense, degree, etc;
(ii) The patterns in which different categories of words regularly combine to form groups and these groups in turn combine to form sentences;
(iii) The use of structural words e.g. conjunctions, determiners, prepositions, etc.
PAPER 1: (For candidates in Ghana only)
This is a multiple choice objective paper comprising eighty questions which will be made up of two parts: Parts A and B. Part A will consist of thirty lexical and twenty structured questions, while Part B will have thirty objective questions on literature.
Each question will have four options lettered A to D.
A. LEXIS
In addition to items testing knowledge of the vocabulary of everyday usage (i.e. home, social relationships, common core school subjects) questions will be set to test the candidates’ ability in the use of the general vocabulary associated with the following fields of human activity:
I. (a) Building;
(b) Plumbing;
(c) Fishing;
(d) Finance – commerce, banking, stock exchange, insurance;
(e) Photography;
(f) Mineral exploration;
(g) Common manufacturing industries;
(h) Printing, publishing, the press and libraries;
(i) Sea, road, rail and air transport;
(j) Government and politics;
(k) Sports and entertainment;
(l) Religion;
(m) Science and Technology;
(n) Power production – hydro, thermal, solar;
(o) Education;
(p) Communication;
(q) Military;
(r) Journalism and Advertising.
The term ‘general vocabulary’ refers to those words and usage of words normally associated with the relevant field of human activity in (i) above which are generally known, used and understood by most educated people, who, while not engaged in that field of activity, may have occasion to read, speak or write about it. Thus, for example, in the vocabulary of transportation by sea, one would expect knowledge of terms such as “bridge” and “deck”, which most educated people understand but not “halyard”, “dodge”, “davit” or “thrust block”, which are specialized.
II. Idioms, i.e., idiomatic expressions and collocations (e.g. “hook, line and sinker”, “every Tom, Dick and Harry” etc) the total meaning of which cannot be arrived at simply by the consideration of the dictionary meanings of words in the structures in which they appear.
III. Structural elements of English e.g. sequence of tenses, concord and the use
of correct prepositions, matching of pronouns with their antecedents, etc.
IV. Figurative Usage
All items will be phrased in such a way as to test the use and understanding of the required lexis, rather than dictionary definitions and explanations. In practice, the test of lexis will be designed to explore, not merely the extent of the candidates’ vocabulary but more importantly their ability to respond to sense relations in the use of lexical items e.g. synonyms, antonyms and homonyms.
In the test of figurative language, candidates will be expected to recognize when an expression is used figuratively and not only when it is used.
B. STRUCTURE
Structure here includes:
(i) The patterns of changes in word-forms which indicate number, tense, degree, etc.
(ii) The patterns in which different categories of words regularly combine to form groups and these groups in turn combine to form sentences;
(iii) The use of structural words e.g. conjunctions, determiners, prepositions, etc.
C. LITERATURE
The objective questions on Literature will be as follows:
10 questions on Drama
10 questions on Prose
10 questions on Poetry
NOTE: For Prose and Drama the candidate is to study one prescribed text each.
PAPER 2: (For all candidates)
The paper will be divided into three sections: Sections A, B and C. Candidates will be required to spend 2 hours on this paper.
SECTION A: ESSAY WRITING (50 marks)
Candidates will be required to spend 50 minutes on this section. There will be five questions in all and candidates will be required to answer only one question.
The questions will test candidates’ ability to communicate in writing. The topics will demand the following kinds of writing:
(i) letter;
(ii) speech;
(iii) narration;
(iv) description;
(v) argument/debate;
(vi) report;
(vii) article;
(viii) exposition;
(ix) creative writing.
Marks will be awarded for:
(i) Content: relevance of ideas to the topic;
(ii) Organization: formal features (where applicable), good paragraphing, appropriate emphasis and arrangement of ideas;
(iii) Expression: effective control of vocabulary and sentence structure;
(iv) Mechanical Accuracy: correct grammar, punctuation, spelling etc.
The minimum length will be 450 words.
SECTION B: COMPREHENSION (20 marks)
Candidates will be required to spend 30 minutes on this section. The section will consist of one passage of at least three hundred and fifty (350) words. Candidates will be required to answer all the questions on the passage.
The questions will test candidates’ ability to
(i) find appropriate equivalents for selected words or phrases;
(ii) understand the factual content;
(iii) make inferences from the content of the passage;
(iv) understand the use of English expressions that reveal/reflect sentiments/emotions/attitudes;
(v) identify and label basic grammatical structures, words, phrases or clauses and explain their functions as they appear in the context;
(vi) identify and explain basic literary terms and expressions;
(vii) recast phrases or sentences into grammatical alternatives.
The passage will be chosen from a wide variety of sources all of which should be suitable for this level of examination in terms of theme and interest. The passage will be written in modern English that should be within the experience of candidates. The comprehension test will include at least four questions based on (ii) above.
SECTION C: SUMMARY (30 marks)
Candidates will be required to spend 40 minutes on this section. The section will consist of one prose passage of about five hundred (500) words and will test candidates’ ability to
(i) extract relevant information;
(ii) summarize the points demanded in clear concise English, avoiding repetition and redundancy;
(iii) present a summary of specific aspects or portions of the passage.
The passage will be selected from a wide variety of suitable sources, including excerpts from narratives, dialogues and expositions of social, cultural, economic and political issues in any part of the world.
PAPER 3: ORAL ENGLISH (30 marks)
This paper will test candidates’ knowledge of Oral English. There will be two alternatives for this paper: Candidates in Ghana, The Gambia and Sierra Leone will be tested in listening comprehension and those in Nigeria and Liberia will take a paper on test of oral.
Listening Comprehension Test (For candidates in Ghana, The Gambia and Sierra Leone)
This will be made up of sixty multiple choice objective questions on:
Consonants, consonant clusters, vowels, diphthongs, stress and intonation patterns, dialogues and narratives.
Section 1: Test of word final voiced-voiceless consonants in isolated words mainly, but other features such as consonant clusters may also be tested.
Section 2: Test of vowel quality in isolated words.
Section 3: Test of vowel quality and consonant contrasts in isolated words.
Section 4: One of three options below will be used in different years:
(i) test of vowel and/or consonant contrasts in sentence contexts;
(ii) test of vowel and consonant contrasts in isolated words- to be selected from a list of at least four-word contrasts;
(iii) test of vowel and consonant contrasts through rhymes.
Section 5: Test of rhymes
Section 6: Test of comprehension of emphatic stress
Section 7: Test of understanding of the content of longer dialogues and narratives
NOTE: CD players will be used for the administration of this Listening Comprehension Test.
Features to be tested
1. CONSONANTS
(a) Single Consonants – Candidates should be able to recognize and produce all significant sound contrasts in the consonantal system of English. For the guidance of candidates, a few examples of such contrasts are given below.
Initial Medial Final
they – day buzzes – buses boat – both
ship – chip parcel – partial breathe – breed
fan – van sopping – sobbing wash – watch
pit – fit written – ridden leaf – leave
pit – bit anger – anchor cup – cub
tuck – duck faces - phrases cart – card
card – guard prices – prizes
gear – jeer
(b) Consonant Clusters – Candidates should be able to produce and recognize consonant clusters which may occur both initially and finally in a syllable. They should also be able to recognize and produce the consonant sounds in a consonant cluster in the right order. For the guidance of candidates, a few examples are given below.
Initial Final
play – pray rains - range
sting – string felt – felled
scheme – scream sent – send
crime – climb nest – next
flee – free ask – axe
three – tree lift – lived
true – drew missed – mixed
blight – bright seats – seeds
tread – thread hens – hence
drift – thrift lisp – lips
glade – grade coast – coats
marks – masks
II. VOWELS
(a) Pure Vowels
(b) Diphthongs
(c) Triphthongs
Candidates should be able to recognize and produce all the significant sound contrasts in the vowel system of English. For the guidance of candidates, a few examples of such contrasts are given below.
seat - sit
sit - set
peck - pack
pack - park
cart - cat
load - lord
pair - purr
park - port
hard - heard
word - ward
let - late
cheer - chair
pet - pat - part - pate
hat - heart - height - hate - hut
caught - cot - cut - curt
pool - pull - pole
bird - bed - bared
but - bat
III. STRESS
(a) Word Stress - Candidates should be able to contrast stressed and unstressed syllables in words which are not otherwise distinguished. In addition, they should be aware of the possibility of shifting stress from one syllable to another in different derivations of the same word with consequent change in vowel quality. For the guidance of candidates, a few examples of changing word stress are given below.
‘increase (noun) in’crease (verb)
‘import “ im’port “
‘rebel “ re’bel “
‘convict “ con’vict “
‘extract “ ex’tract “
‘record “ re’cord “
‘subject “ sub’ject “
(b) Sentence Stress – Candidates should be aware that stress in sentences in English tends to occur at regular intervals in time. English is therefore called a stress-timed language. They should also be aware that in most sentences, unless some sort of emphasis is introduced, only nouns, main verbs (not auxiliaries), adjectives and adverbs are stressed. Final pronouns should not be stressed, unless some kind of contrast is intended: relative pronouns should not be stressed, nor should possessive pronouns. Thus, for example, the following sentences should be stressed as indicated:
He ‘went to the town and ‘bought some ‘oranges.
I ‘told him to ‘go to the ‘station to ‘ask when the train would ‘leave.
Did you ‘ask him?
I ‘read it but I did not understand it.
They ar’rived yesterday.
I ‘fetched his ‘book.
NOTE: There are a few words in English that are pronounced differently depending on whether or not they are stressed in the sentence. These are usually called strong and weak forms.
(c) Emphatic stress – Candidates should be aware of the use of emphatic stress, most commonly to indicate a contrast, which is realized partly as a change in pitch within the intonational pattern. This falling pitch illustrated below is one of the common ways of indicating this:
He borrowed ‘my newspaper. (i.e. not hers)
He’ borrowed my newspaper. (i.e. he did not steal it)
He borrowed my ‘newspaper.(i.e. not my book)
‘He borrowed my newspaper.(i.e. not someone else’s)
IV. INTONATION
Candidates should be made aware of the different forms that English intonation takes in relation to the grammar of the language and the attitudes conveyed by the speaker. There are two basic intonation patterns or tunes: the falling and rising patterns. They should also realize that whereas the normal place for the changing pitch in an intonation is the last stressed syllable of the utterance(as indicated below), placing the changing pitch elsewhere implies a contrast to the item on which this changing pitch falls. For example:
(a) Falling Pattern
They ar’rived to’day. - Statement
‘Where did he ‘go? - WH question
‘Come ‘here! - Command
(b) Rising Pattern
Did he ‘see the ‘principal? - Yes/No question
When the ‘train arrived. - Incomplete
They arrived to’day? - Question
Note that (i) the two patterns indicated above may be combined in longer sentences, e.g.
When the ‘train ar’rived, the passengers were on the platform. ( )
(ii) candidates should note, in addition, that any unstressed syllable following the last stressed syllable of the sentence is said on a low level pitch when the pattern is falling, but continues the rise if the pattern is rising. The same rule applies to tags following quoted speech.
Test Of Orals (For candidates in Nigeria and Liberia)
The test will also be of the multiple-choice objective type consisting of sixty questions on a wide range of areas or aspects of Orals as contained in the syllabus.
The test will cover the following areas:
1. Vowels – pure vowels and diphthongs;
2. Consonants and clusters;
3. Rhymes;
4. Word stress/Syllable Structure;
5. Emphatic Stress/Intonation Patterns;
6. Phonetic Symbols.
SYLLABUS (FULLY TREATED)
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
PAPER 1
This is the main English Language Paper and the most important of the three papers. It is divided into three sections: The Essay & Letter Writing, Comprehension and Summary.
This section contains questions on some specific areas, and this has remained very consistent to date. A study of the syllabus and an analysis of past questions from 1988 to date show that the areas listed in the outline, are the focus of this section.
A sample of each of these forms of writing will be provided in this book as a guide to writing them, while useful tips will be given on how to handle other questions, especially those areas where questions are frequently repeated. This is to give the candidates the chance to practise on their own in order to prepare them for the task ahead of them.
In this section, the candidate is expected to answer only one question (any other question answered will be disregarded). Answer to this section is marked in the following tradition:
C – Content (10 marks.)
O – Organization [10 marks]
E – Expression [20 marks]
M A – Mechanical Accuracy [10 marks]
Each essay carries 50 marks and the expectations are as follows:
Content: The points or ideas put forward in the essay.
Organization: How these points are organized or arranged, including the structure of letter writing i.e. Address, Date, Salutation and Closing.
Expression: Use of language and the development of each point into a paragraph. This carries the highest mark.
Mechanical Accuracy: The 10 marks awarded here is subject to deduction by ½ marks for every error committed in the following spheres, up to 20, after which the candidate is awarded Zero.
The areas of penalty on the essay are as follows:
1. Grammatical errors – wrong sentence order
2. Spelling mistakes - *occassion / occasion
3. Wrong tense – use to – used to
4. Misuse of modal auxiliaries – May / must /can etc.
5. Misuse / omission of article – A / An or the.
6. Confusion or ambiguity in the use of pronoun – He / him etc.
7. Confusion between countable and uncountable Nouns –*furnitures /furniture etc.
8. Wrong use of preposition – *stab at the back
/ stab in the back *with good faith / in good faith.
9. Misuse of subordinators and conjunctions – and / but/ while /when
10. Errors of concord – Many a man is /are etc.
11. Misrelated participles – burst / *bursted, split / *splitted.
12. Active & passive juxtaposition – He did it / *it was done by him.
13. Intransitive for transitive and vice – versa.
14. Wrong construction after a verb
15. Wrong use of punctuation / omission of punctuation.
16. Use of small letter for the personal pronoun ‘ I ‘ or proper Nouns and beginning of a sentence.
17. Wrong splitting of words –
.......alw
ays.......(wrong)
.......la
-dy (wrong)
.......always.......(right)
always
.......lady
Lady.....(right)
........al-
ways...(right)
18. Wrong amalgamation of words – in spite / Inspite, In case / Incase e.t.c.
If a candidate writes out of point, he scores zero for Content, Organization and not more than 8 marks will be awarded for Mechanical Accuracy [subject to deduction by errors].
Marks instruction on the award of marks for Essay
Content Organization Expression M. Accuracy
Excellent student 8 – 10 8 –10 16 – 20 Depending
Very good student 7 7 14 – 15 on the
Good student 6 6 11 – 13 number of
Average student 5 5 9 – 10 errors
Below Average 4 4 7 – 8 committed.
Weak or very weak 2 –3 2 –3 5 – 6
Illiterate student 0 –1 0 –1 0 – 4
LENGTH OF THE ESSAY (450 WORDS MINIMUM)
10 words per line - 45 lines - 2 ¼ pages
9 words per line - 50 lines - 2 ½ pages
8 words per line - 56 lines - 2 ¾ pages
7 words per line - 64 lines - 3 pages
6 words per line - 5lines - 3 ¼ pages
5 words per line - 90 lines - 3 ½ pages
The analysis above helps you to determine the length of your essay or letter writing.
Penalty: Shorter Essays — reduction in mark for Mechanical Accuracy.
Longer Essays — reduction of mark on Content, Organization and Expression.
PAPER 1
This is the main English Language Paper and the most important of the three papers. It is divided into three sections: The Essay & Letter Writing, Comprehension and Summary.
This section contains questions on some specific areas, and this has remained very consistent to date. A study of the syllabus and an analysis of past questions from 1988 to date show that the areas listed in the outline, are the focus of this section.
A sample of each of these forms of writing will be provided in this book as a guide to writing them, while useful tips will be given on how to handle other questions, especially those areas where questions are frequently repeated. This is to give the candidates the chance to practise on their own in order to prepare them for the task ahead of them.
In this section, the candidate is expected to answer only one question (any other question answered will be disregarded). Answer to this section is marked in the following tradition:
C – Content (10 marks.)
O – Organization [10 marks]
E – Expression [20 marks]
M A – Mechanical Accuracy [10 marks]
Each essay carries 50 marks and the expectations are as follows:
Content: The points or ideas put forward in the essay.
Organization: How these points are organized or arranged, including the structure of letter writing i.e. Address, Date, Salutation and Closing.
Expression: Use of language and the development of each point into a paragraph. This carries the highest mark.
Mechanical Accuracy: The 10 marks awarded here is subject to deduction by ½ marks for every error committed in the following spheres, up to 20, after which the candidate is awarded Zero.
The areas of penalty on the essay are as follows:
1. Grammatical errors – wrong sentence order
2. Spelling mistakes - *occassion / occasion
3. Wrong tense – use to – used to
4. Misuse of modal auxiliaries – May / must /can etc.
5. Misuse / omission of article – A / An or the.
6. Confusion or ambiguity in the use of pronoun – He / him etc.
7. Confusion between countable and uncountable Nouns –*furnitures /furniture etc.
8. Wrong use of preposition – *stab at the back
/ stab in the back *with good faith / in good faith.
9. Misuse of subordinators and conjunctions – and / but/ while /when
10. Errors of concord – Many a man is /are etc.
11. Misrelated participles – burst / *bursted, split / *splitted.
12. Active & passive juxtaposition – He did it / *it was done by him.
13. Intransitive for transitive and vice – versa.
14. Wrong construction after a verb
15. Wrong use of punctuation / omission of punctuation.
16. Use of small letter for the personal pronoun ‘ I ‘ or proper Nouns and beginning of a sentence.
17. Wrong splitting of words –
.......alw
ays.......(wrong)
.......la
-dy (wrong)
.......always.......(right)
always
.......lady
Lady.....(right)
........al-
ways...(right)
18. Wrong amalgamation of words – in spite / Inspite, In case / Incase e.t.c.
If a candidate writes out of point, he scores zero for Content, Organization and not more than 8 marks will be awarded for Mechanical Accuracy [subject to deduction by errors].
Marks instruction on the award of marks for Essay
Content Organization Expression M. Accuracy
Excellent student 8 – 10 8 –10 16 – 20 Depending
Very good student 7 7 14 – 15 on the
Good student 6 6 11 – 13 number of
Average student 5 5 9 – 10 errors
Below Average 4 4 7 – 8 committed.
Weak or very weak 2 –3 2 –3 5 – 6
Illiterate student 0 –1 0 –1 0 – 4
LENGTH OF THE ESSAY (450 WORDS MINIMUM)
10 words per line - 45 lines - 2 ¼ pages
9 words per line - 50 lines - 2 ½ pages
8 words per line - 56 lines - 2 ¾ pages
7 words per line - 64 lines - 3 pages
6 words per line - 5lines - 3 ¼ pages
5 words per line - 90 lines - 3 ½ pages
The analysis above helps you to determine the length of your essay or letter writing.
Penalty: Shorter Essays — reduction in mark for Mechanical Accuracy.
Longer Essays — reduction of mark on Content, Organization and Expression.
ESSAY WRITING
Essay and Letter Writing
ESSAY WRITING
Essays are basically divided into 4 categories
(a) Stories and histories (reports, commentaries, speeches and folktales)
(b) Minutes of meetings
(c) Autobiographies
(d) Biographies
Only (a) is relevant for examination purpose as evident in the analysis of the syllabus and past questions.
1. Narrative Essay
A narrative essay relates mainly, a sequence of events (it tells what happened and how it happened). There are usually elements of description in narration and vice-versa. Narrative essay could be on an incident that happened, one that is imagined or at times one that is happening under the writer’s nose, like in a football commentary.
How to Write a Narrative
The main task is to arrange events in the right order and then relate them simply and clearly.
1. Be clear about the story you are going to tell.
2. Write down the main events in the order in which they occur.
3. Decide at which point to introduce description if necessary.
4. Be consistent on the personality of your characters.
5. Each event or stage must be presented in a fresh paragraph.
6. The tense for a narration must be simple past tense and other aspects of the past as occasion demands.
7. Stories are more dramatic and emotional than ordinary narration. So, make it so.
Reports and Speeches
Reports and speeches are forms of narration. The objective report narrates what happened and leaves it up to the reader to form his own opinion or judgment.
The subjective or personal report includes the writer’s personal feelings and reaction to the event being narrated. Most narratives combine both, but it is important to be aware of which one is to dominate at the beginning.
2. Descriptive Essay
As the name implies, this consist predominantly of description, though there may be some elements of narration. For instance, if you are to describe the National Day Celebration, you will narrate how it began from the start to the end. It will not be complete if you do not include a description of the main features of the day and the series of events that add colour to the day. The main purpose of a descriptive essay is to produce a clear and accurate picture in the mind of the readers. You may describe scenes, landscape, buildings, machines and so on. The golden rule is to start from general to specific details. For instance, to describe a church, you begin from the outside to the inside.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
1. Use the power of close observation.
2. Be vivid in your description.
3. Use simple and familiar objects in your description.
4. Make a list of the general aspects, putting the general ones first.
5. Decide where to use narration (if necessary)
6. Take note of size, shape, weight, colour, composition, age, time, location, etc.
3. Expository Essay
Expositions are detailed explanation of how things are made, how certain processes are carried out, how mechanisms work, expression of an opinion (articles) and giving direction to others for getting to a particular destination. The aim of expository essay is to inform, instruct or bring someone else to see one’s point of view. Articles are the commonest examples of expository essay in examinations over the years and they are different from expository letters only in structure.
How to Write an Expository Essay
1. Define by giving an illustration.
2. Be exact in your description.
3. Be logical in your presentation of facts.
4. Be detailed in your explanation.
5. Avoid any omission that may render your essay useless. Writing an Article requires a high degree of conviction so that the reader can share your view about a particular topic.
6. Always have a heading for your article.
7. Your name and where you write from (not full address) is necessary at the end of your essay.
8. Be as objective as possible to lend credence to your essay.
4. Argumentative Essay
This is simply dispute. It implies that there are opposing positions on the topic and that doubt and conflict of ideas already exist.
The purpose of an argument is to convince someone or an audience to accept and act upon your ideas.
Arguments can be in three ways:
(a) Affirmative position – putting your points across.
(b) Adding further evidence to counter-balance the argument of our opponent.
(c) Pointing to fallacies in the argument of your opponent as a way of discrediting them.
An argumentative essay uses ordered reasoning to support arguments. The objective is either to prove a given proposition e.g. Female Teachers make the best housewives or to debate a proposition by setting out a set of arguments for it (pro) or against it (con).
How to Write an Argumentative Essay
1. Think of as many arguments as possible either FOR or AGAINST (Take one stand).
2. Arrange the arguments logically.
3. If the topic warrants it, you can take an impartial approach and leave the readers to decide.
4. Leave the strongest arguments till last. Push the weak arguments first.
5. Be consistent. Don’t mix the pro argument with the con argument. Take a definite stand.
6. Avoid verbosity. Use simple words and expressions instead of trying to impress with your ‘grammar’.
7. Always look out for faulty reasoning.
8. Avoid generalizations (all, always, everyone, etc), emotive words or expression of prejudices which add nothing to the reasoning (shylock landlords etc)
9. Do not attack personalities but issues, logic and argument e.g. *I disagree with my opponent – I disagree with the view of my opponent.
THEORY ANSWERS
Sample: Argumentative Essay. (June 1996) You are the chief speaker in a debate on the topic “ Female children are more beneficial to parents than male children” write your speech for or against the motion.
Good day to you Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, my co-debaters, distinguished listeners, Ladies and Gentlemen. I appear before you this afternoon as a chief speaker, to oppose the motion that “Female children are more beneficial to parents than male children”. My reasons are as follows:
First and foremost, the creation story established that man was created first (in the image of God). There is no dispute about the importance of a male child in the family. The African tradition also attaches lots of importance to a male child and a family is as good as having no children when all their children are female.
Secondly, the male child bears the family name forever and carries it to other generations. When a man has a male child, it is believed that his name is established and he has a feeling of fulfillment and achievement. This is why the desire for a male child has taken both men and women alike to great lengths, whereas, there has never been much noise about couples looking for a female child.
Thirdly, a male child takes care of the family when the head of the family gets old or dies. The family business or asset no matter how large or small is never left in the hands of a female child even when they are older. A female child belongs to another family. The moment they get married, they become part of a new family, having their separate responsibilities to take care of.
Also, the male child is of immense benefit to the parents by helping to take care of the home. If anything happens in the house, the question people ask is whether there is no ‘man’ in the house. When the head of the house is not around, the mother feels confident and protected with a male child than with ten female children. In times of distress, the male child is able to withstand more emotional stress than ten female children who easily break down and cry.
Furthermore, male children can be depended upon for financial support than female children, whose financial stand depends largely on their husbands. There is limit to the decision a female child can take without her husband’s consent and in case of an emergency, the male child becomes more useful to the parents.
My opponent has earlier said that female children help with house chores and cooking. In our society today, we see men who had won cooking competitions. If such men never learnt how to cook, I wonder how they would have achieved such exceptional feat. He went further to say that compound names are becoming popular. It is neither traditional nor biblical for a woman to retain her father’s name. Even when they do, it does not change their status as belonging to a new family.
Finally, female children are more difficult to manage than male children. Male children never get pregnant and they are better disciplined right from youth than female children who are believed to be weak. No wonder that rich men these days guard their houses with dogs, snakes and other dangerous animals to keep their daughters safe from sexual harassment even when it is evident that they too, harass men.
Ladies and gentlemen, panel of judges and the honourable chairman, I have no doubt that I have been able to convince you, that male children are more desirable, less stressful to manage, dependable and more supportive than female children can ever be.
Thank you.
Sola Agunbiade
Mind Builders High School,
Ikeja.
Sample Narrative Essay (ending with the expression)
June 2000.
Write a story ending with the expression “… indeed it was a blessing in disguise”.
Once upon a time, there lived a man whose name was Ileke. He had two wives and twelve children. He was a hard-working man who cared for his family and every one in his family lived in peace with the other. In the days of Ileke, the main occupation was farming and trading. Ileke was a renowned merchant, who trade in grains and livestock and he involved all his children in this trade.
The family was at peace until the eleventh child was born. The eleventh child being the first son of the younger wife was more handsome than all his brothers, and his father loved him more than the others. As Ileke began to show his preference for the little boy called Afe, his older brothers began to hate him. Ileke noticed this disaffection but thought it was natural for his grown-up sons to be envious of their brother because he got more gifts and attention than they did. So, he did not take the issue serious.
After the birth of the twelfth child (all of them male) Afe began to join his brothers in the farm for little participation as his strength allowed. His older brothers began to show their hatred for him in the distribution of food, and they usually subjected him to tasks beyond his strength. His father (Ileke) was told, by fellow farmers in their neighborhood, what usually happened whenever he was not on the farm.
Ileke decided to withdraw Afe from the farm and keep him at home with his little brother. This aggravated the anger of Afe’s older brothers and they submitted that their father was not being fair to them, after all, their mother was the first wife and they believed that they deserved better treatment from their father than anyone else.
They also planned to kill Afe, in order to punish their father for his favouritism but the eldest son advised them against it. They then agreed to sell him to a childless merchant who normally travels along their hacienda.
They planned to keep late in the farm one day so that Ileke would have no choice than to send Afe to see their welfare and they had already made arrangements with the merchant who was to buy him.
The plan worked and Afe was sold into a distant land. His older brothers however told their father that they never saw him, while Afe lived with the merchant and his barren wife. They treated him like a true son and he grew up to inherit everything the merchant ever lived and worked for. Twenty five years later, there was famine, and Ileke had to send his ten older children to buy food abroad, Afe had enough to sell and when his brothers came, he recognized them. Having given them more than they paid for, he introduced himself to them, they were shocked, but he told them that their evil was indeed a blessing in disguise.
*Note that the essay is based on the story of Joseph and his brothers in the Bible, modified to suit the purpose of the narration.
Sample Narrative Essay (…to illustrate/ beginning with…). Write a story, real or imagined, which illustrates the saying “make hay while the sun shines” (June 2001).
MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES
Akin was a genius. He finished primary school within a few years and after primary five, he was admitted into the popular Ifako International School. This did not in any way affect his performance, he continued with his tradition of double promotion and in four years, he was already in the penultimate class (SS2). He sat for the November G.C.E and cleared all his papers.
At the age of twelve, he was offered admission into the Lagos State University to read Mathematics. His admission was a controversial issue as the minimum age limit for admission into any Nigerian University was sixteen years. But the University Senate gave him an exception after the interview which later became the talk of the campus that he surprised the senate with his intelligence, and the manner in which he answered all the questions put to him.
In his class, he became the ‘small doctor’ as they usually called him. He would teach his classmates virtually all the courses they offered. But that was short-lived as the rich students, whom he sometimes helped with their studies, influenced him, to join the secret cult.
The moment he joined them, he began to enjoy their company and the assumed air of authority surrounding them. At the age of thirteen, he was already soaked deep in different vices like smoking, drinking, gambling, etc. He stopped attending classes, and in no time, he began to record carry-overs in his courses.
When he became fourteen, he already had more than three girlfriends, who would always cluster around him on campus. This sudden degeneration became a concern to some people who knew him and they tried so many times to call him to order but he had gone too deep to beat a retreat. His cult members would even harass anyone who tried to advise him.
He continued like that for years until two weeks to his final examination. On that fateful night he had attended the ‘Miss Campus’ beauty contest in company of his girlfriends and other cult members, when another rival group struck. Six girls were raped to death and eight boys shot dead.
Akin managed to escape with several machete wounds and he went into hiding for some time. The incident became a thing of serious concern to the school authorities and the state. A panel was set up to investigate it, in order to bring the culprits to book and find a lasting solution to the problem of cultism on the campus.
The University was shut down while the panel conducted their investigation. At the end, everyone known or suspected to be a member of any secret cult in the university was expelled and Akin’s name was in the unit of over one hundred names pasted at the university gate alongside their passport photograph.
Akin could not continue his university education in any Nigerian University because the story was well circulated in the media and his case was specially treated in the news. He later decided to attend a local computer school to acquire the skill that could provide him with a daily bread. He had all the chance to have been one of the greatest scientists in this country but he blew it because he failed to make his hay while the sun was shining for him.
*This is based on a true-life story but written with some modifications.
Sample Narrative Essay (beginning with…)
“Make hay while the sun shines” is an expression which advises that one should make the best use of the opportunities that come one’s way or do things when it is right to do so.
Some years ago, there was a boy named Akin who was believed to be a genius….
• Continue the story with the previous content*
Sample Descriptive Essay (June 1997). A vehicle in which you were travelling was involved in an accident and several passengers including yourself were injured.
Describe to sympathizers, who have come to visit you in hospital, how the accident happened and what followed.
ACCIDENT ALONG SHAGAMU/ORE EXPRESSWAY
It was a Saturday morning at about 7.00am on the 1st of June, 2002 that the unfortunate journey began. I had boarded the vehicle, a Toyota Hiace 18-seater bus with registration number AT 968 EKY at the Ojota Motor Park. We were on our way to Akure in Ondo State and all seemed well when we started the journey.
When we got to the Texaco Petrol Station after the Redeemed Christian Church of God Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Express, the driver drove into the filling station to buy fuel. Some passengers alighted to ease themselves and the driver too went behind the filling station for a few minutes and we all believed that he had gone to ease himself.
The conductor packed the vehicle by the side to allow other vehicles to buy fuel. We were already complaining about the driver’s lateness when he came and apologized and we continue the journey. I only noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and his countenance no longer the same after we left that filling station.
The speed at which the driver was moving when we left Ijebu-Ode was between 140km/h to 160km/h and I was sitting directly behind him on the first row. I was excited that it won’t take too long before we get to Akure since I had a wedding to attend the same day and I was happy that I would be there on time for the church service. So, I did not caution the driver since I was about the only passenger in the bus who was still awake. All others had slept off including the bus conductor.
At about 8.30am at Oniparaga Junction, a cab, an old Mitsubishi Gallant with registration number AA 146
KTP loaded with passengers carelessly crossed the expressway. The driver of our vehicle saw him but it was too late. He slammed the brake and swerved to avoid a head-on collision but the driver of the car did not move fast enough. The bus hit the Gallant midway to the back and somersaulted. We ended up in a dish before sympathizers came to rescue us.
We were all trapped in the bus as the bus landed on the side of the main door. I came out through the driver’s door facing up and the other passengers were pulled out through the windows. Many of them had serious injuries from broken legs and arms to fractured skulls. I did not notice any visible injury on myself until we were brought to this place (Ore General Hospital). When the doctor examined me, he told me I had a dislocated left arm.
That was confirmed in the evening of that day when I began to feel serious pain on my left arm. I was told that no one survived in the other car and that our driver had a spinal cord injury. I thank God that I am the least injured of all the eighteen passengers, including the driver and the conductor. The doctor said I would be discharged in one week and that the driver’s union had come to settle the preliminary bills. Those with serious cases will be transferred to the specialist hospitals where they will receive further treatment.
If the driver had maintained an average speed of 100km/h, he would have been able to avoid that car and I also blame myself for not warning him against the risk involved in over speeding.
Sample Speech Writing (June 1990). You have been invited by a youth organization to speak on ‘indiscipline among youth’. Write your speech.
SPEECH DELIVERED BY MR AGUNBIADE AT A SYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY OYIN LIKES CLUB ON ‘INDISCIPLINE AMONG YOUTH’ HOLDING AT THE YOUTH CENTRE, OYIN-AKOKO ON THE 15TH OF JUNE, 2002.
The Chairman, President and member of Oyin Likes Club, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. I heartily welcome you all to the 3rd year anniversary of this dynamic club. I also thank you for making out time to honour the invitation sent to you. It is my honour and pleasure to be present here today to deliver a speech on the topic, “Indiscipline Among Youth”.
Indiscipline can be defined as any action, behaviour, utterance or belief that is contrary to the law, custom, convention and expectation of the society. Examples of these vices are disrespect for elders and constituted authorities, having no regard for the rule of law, indulgence in criminal activities such as : fraud, forgery, giving and receiving bribe, riots, violent demonstrations, looting, molestation and assault of other people.
Certain factors are responsible for indiscipline among our youths. Over-ambition is one of such factors. Though it is good to be ambitious, it is too much for a child of school age to be thinking of owning a flashy car, a house and large sums of money, when his basic needs are still being taken care of. It is an act of gross indiscipline for a child under the age of 25 to drink alcohol, smoke and womanize but what do we see in our society today? An exhibition of indiscipline, that western influence has brought on our culture.
Bad company, they say, corrupts good manners and an idle hand easily becomes the devil’s workshop. Bad friends today lead lots of our youth into crime. The girls prostitute and abuse their bodies in different kinds of ways. The boys under the influence of alcohol or drugs embark on armed robbery. The major cause of these is bad parental upbringing and/or lack of proper monitoring from parents. Children like these become problems first to their teachers, second to society and finally to their parents.
All holy books advocate proper and stern upbringing of a child but parents today over-pamper their children and allow them too much freedom without bothering to know what their children do, the company they keep, let alone scolding them when they go wrong. As they spare the rod, they spoil the children. What do we say about parents who buy indecent dresses for their daughters and who watch their daughters dress up and leave their homes half-naked? Are they not encouraging them to be prostitutes in the nearest possible time?
A religious book said ‘train a child the way he should go, when he grows up, he will not depart from it’. Ladies and gentlemen, if a child is not brought up in the fear of God, he/she is bound to go off the track. That is why the much expected leaders of tomorrow dominate the scenes of immorality, violent crimes and disregard for our cultural heritage, all in the name of civilization.
Youths must avoid all acts of indiscipline and help to propagate a tradition of discipline in our society. A nation dominated by undisciplined youths who later become undisciplined adults is doomed. Our leaders and elders should not spare the rod to shape and mould our youths into better citizens.
Ladies and gentlemen, all of us present here today must take decisive step towards the war against indiscipline by abandoning uncivilized, fraudulent, uncultured, criminal and immoral behaviour and channel our energy towards positive growth, as the holy book says ‘righteousness exalts a nation’. I thank you all for your attention. God bless you.
Sample Article (Expository Essay) for a National Newspaper (June 1997). You have noticed a general decline in the level of discipline and morality in your society. In an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper, discuss some instances of this decline and its probable causes, and suggest ways in which the trend can be reversed.
INDISCIPLINE AND IMMORALITY IN OUR SOCIETY
The major problem confronting our nation today is the general decline in the level of discipline and morality. Gone are the days when morality and discipline were virtues. Today, they are no longer appreciated and we now live in a decadent society where morality and discipline are thrown overboard. It is so unfortunate that our society that was once upright and just, whose moral values were standard has become totally decadent.
The problem is not limited to the secular aspect of our society, even the religious circle. Imagine a situation where a church pastor puts a female member in the family way and calls for extravagant ceremony when she gives birth to a baby! What about a school teacher who puts his own 16 year old female student in the family way because of undue assistance sought by her in a promotion examination? Bank loans are not granted to customers with good intentions but the bad ones whose intention is never to pay back. Some bank managers even collude with customers and criminals to steal millions of naira from our banks and financial institutions.
It is no longer a secret that the May/June and November/December SSCE is enveloped in malpractices, as university graduates and undergraduates write the examination as ‘expert mercenaries’ for or on behalf of the candidates. The University Matriculation Examination is worse. In most cases, the candidates see the questions some days to the examination itself. And these questions are kept in ‘safe’ custody of either the banks or the police. The examination officials, supervisors and invigilators aid and abet malpractice to make extra money.
The story is the same in employment cases. Jobs are not given to deserving and competent applicants, but to those who offer large bribes and women who can sleep with those in charge. It is the same with our law enforcement agents who turn justice upside down for the sake of money and even join robbery gangs to operate.
Most of our rich men are drug barons. The society has lost its sense of moral decency and people worship money without the fear of God in them.
The major cause of this general problem is poverty. Imagine a university graduate – teacher earning less than N =10,000. If he is married, with three children and a large number of dependant relatives, his salary alone can hardly take care of transportation and accommodation.
So, he devises a way, whether crooked or straight, to make ends meet. When he is offered bribe, he compromises. This has affected a lot of sectors in our society so much, that even now when thing are improving, it becomes difficult for people to desist from these negative acts.
Other causes of the bad trend are the unchecked inflation that has nearly ruined the economy, the devaluation of the naira, which results in the high cost of living, and the extravagant life styles of the rich, to the detriment of the poor, in their wasteful display of wealth.
The major solution to the problem is mass education of the citizen through the media about the dangers of indiscipline and immorality in our society. Also, salaries and wages of public servants should be reviewed periodically to meet up with economic upsurge. Our universities should be granted full autonomy to conduct qualifying examinations for all in-takes before admission so as to check examination malpractice. Extravagant lifestyles should be cautioned and illegal acquisition of wealth be discouraged. Our educational and religious institutions should preach moral values and finally, there should be ethics and moral codes and all those who fall short of the required standard should be punished.
In conclusion, the problem of indiscipline and immorality in our society will become a forgotten issue if my suggestions are well looked into and honestly implemented.
Agunbiade Favour,
Lagos.
ASSIGNMENT: Pick any recent past question and practise what you have read so far. Submit your write-up in MS Word Format by e-mail attachment to teacher@penwriteonline.com for marking and assessment. Continue to do this until you are satisfied that you are ready for the examination.
Do not be discouraged by your poor performance at first, keep on trying until you achieve an excellent result.
ESSAY WRITING
Essays are basically divided into 4 categories
(a) Stories and histories (reports, commentaries, speeches and folktales)
(b) Minutes of meetings
(c) Autobiographies
(d) Biographies
Only (a) is relevant for examination purpose as evident in the analysis of the syllabus and past questions.
1. Narrative Essay
A narrative essay relates mainly, a sequence of events (it tells what happened and how it happened). There are usually elements of description in narration and vice-versa. Narrative essay could be on an incident that happened, one that is imagined or at times one that is happening under the writer’s nose, like in a football commentary.
How to Write a Narrative
The main task is to arrange events in the right order and then relate them simply and clearly.
1. Be clear about the story you are going to tell.
2. Write down the main events in the order in which they occur.
3. Decide at which point to introduce description if necessary.
4. Be consistent on the personality of your characters.
5. Each event or stage must be presented in a fresh paragraph.
6. The tense for a narration must be simple past tense and other aspects of the past as occasion demands.
7. Stories are more dramatic and emotional than ordinary narration. So, make it so.
Reports and Speeches
Reports and speeches are forms of narration. The objective report narrates what happened and leaves it up to the reader to form his own opinion or judgment.
The subjective or personal report includes the writer’s personal feelings and reaction to the event being narrated. Most narratives combine both, but it is important to be aware of which one is to dominate at the beginning.
2. Descriptive Essay
As the name implies, this consist predominantly of description, though there may be some elements of narration. For instance, if you are to describe the National Day Celebration, you will narrate how it began from the start to the end. It will not be complete if you do not include a description of the main features of the day and the series of events that add colour to the day. The main purpose of a descriptive essay is to produce a clear and accurate picture in the mind of the readers. You may describe scenes, landscape, buildings, machines and so on. The golden rule is to start from general to specific details. For instance, to describe a church, you begin from the outside to the inside.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
1. Use the power of close observation.
2. Be vivid in your description.
3. Use simple and familiar objects in your description.
4. Make a list of the general aspects, putting the general ones first.
5. Decide where to use narration (if necessary)
6. Take note of size, shape, weight, colour, composition, age, time, location, etc.
3. Expository Essay
Expositions are detailed explanation of how things are made, how certain processes are carried out, how mechanisms work, expression of an opinion (articles) and giving direction to others for getting to a particular destination. The aim of expository essay is to inform, instruct or bring someone else to see one’s point of view. Articles are the commonest examples of expository essay in examinations over the years and they are different from expository letters only in structure.
How to Write an Expository Essay
1. Define by giving an illustration.
2. Be exact in your description.
3. Be logical in your presentation of facts.
4. Be detailed in your explanation.
5. Avoid any omission that may render your essay useless. Writing an Article requires a high degree of conviction so that the reader can share your view about a particular topic.
6. Always have a heading for your article.
7. Your name and where you write from (not full address) is necessary at the end of your essay.
8. Be as objective as possible to lend credence to your essay.
4. Argumentative Essay
This is simply dispute. It implies that there are opposing positions on the topic and that doubt and conflict of ideas already exist.
The purpose of an argument is to convince someone or an audience to accept and act upon your ideas.
Arguments can be in three ways:
(a) Affirmative position – putting your points across.
(b) Adding further evidence to counter-balance the argument of our opponent.
(c) Pointing to fallacies in the argument of your opponent as a way of discrediting them.
An argumentative essay uses ordered reasoning to support arguments. The objective is either to prove a given proposition e.g. Female Teachers make the best housewives or to debate a proposition by setting out a set of arguments for it (pro) or against it (con).
How to Write an Argumentative Essay
1. Think of as many arguments as possible either FOR or AGAINST (Take one stand).
2. Arrange the arguments logically.
3. If the topic warrants it, you can take an impartial approach and leave the readers to decide.
4. Leave the strongest arguments till last. Push the weak arguments first.
5. Be consistent. Don’t mix the pro argument with the con argument. Take a definite stand.
6. Avoid verbosity. Use simple words and expressions instead of trying to impress with your ‘grammar’.
7. Always look out for faulty reasoning.
8. Avoid generalizations (all, always, everyone, etc), emotive words or expression of prejudices which add nothing to the reasoning (shylock landlords etc)
9. Do not attack personalities but issues, logic and argument e.g. *I disagree with my opponent – I disagree with the view of my opponent.
THEORY ANSWERS
Sample: Argumentative Essay. (June 1996) You are the chief speaker in a debate on the topic “ Female children are more beneficial to parents than male children” write your speech for or against the motion.
Good day to you Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, my co-debaters, distinguished listeners, Ladies and Gentlemen. I appear before you this afternoon as a chief speaker, to oppose the motion that “Female children are more beneficial to parents than male children”. My reasons are as follows:
First and foremost, the creation story established that man was created first (in the image of God). There is no dispute about the importance of a male child in the family. The African tradition also attaches lots of importance to a male child and a family is as good as having no children when all their children are female.
Secondly, the male child bears the family name forever and carries it to other generations. When a man has a male child, it is believed that his name is established and he has a feeling of fulfillment and achievement. This is why the desire for a male child has taken both men and women alike to great lengths, whereas, there has never been much noise about couples looking for a female child.
Thirdly, a male child takes care of the family when the head of the family gets old or dies. The family business or asset no matter how large or small is never left in the hands of a female child even when they are older. A female child belongs to another family. The moment they get married, they become part of a new family, having their separate responsibilities to take care of.
Also, the male child is of immense benefit to the parents by helping to take care of the home. If anything happens in the house, the question people ask is whether there is no ‘man’ in the house. When the head of the house is not around, the mother feels confident and protected with a male child than with ten female children. In times of distress, the male child is able to withstand more emotional stress than ten female children who easily break down and cry.
Furthermore, male children can be depended upon for financial support than female children, whose financial stand depends largely on their husbands. There is limit to the decision a female child can take without her husband’s consent and in case of an emergency, the male child becomes more useful to the parents.
My opponent has earlier said that female children help with house chores and cooking. In our society today, we see men who had won cooking competitions. If such men never learnt how to cook, I wonder how they would have achieved such exceptional feat. He went further to say that compound names are becoming popular. It is neither traditional nor biblical for a woman to retain her father’s name. Even when they do, it does not change their status as belonging to a new family.
Finally, female children are more difficult to manage than male children. Male children never get pregnant and they are better disciplined right from youth than female children who are believed to be weak. No wonder that rich men these days guard their houses with dogs, snakes and other dangerous animals to keep their daughters safe from sexual harassment even when it is evident that they too, harass men.
Ladies and gentlemen, panel of judges and the honourable chairman, I have no doubt that I have been able to convince you, that male children are more desirable, less stressful to manage, dependable and more supportive than female children can ever be.
Thank you.
Sola Agunbiade
Mind Builders High School,
Ikeja.
Sample Narrative Essay (ending with the expression)
June 2000.
Write a story ending with the expression “… indeed it was a blessing in disguise”.
Once upon a time, there lived a man whose name was Ileke. He had two wives and twelve children. He was a hard-working man who cared for his family and every one in his family lived in peace with the other. In the days of Ileke, the main occupation was farming and trading. Ileke was a renowned merchant, who trade in grains and livestock and he involved all his children in this trade.
The family was at peace until the eleventh child was born. The eleventh child being the first son of the younger wife was more handsome than all his brothers, and his father loved him more than the others. As Ileke began to show his preference for the little boy called Afe, his older brothers began to hate him. Ileke noticed this disaffection but thought it was natural for his grown-up sons to be envious of their brother because he got more gifts and attention than they did. So, he did not take the issue serious.
After the birth of the twelfth child (all of them male) Afe began to join his brothers in the farm for little participation as his strength allowed. His older brothers began to show their hatred for him in the distribution of food, and they usually subjected him to tasks beyond his strength. His father (Ileke) was told, by fellow farmers in their neighborhood, what usually happened whenever he was not on the farm.
Ileke decided to withdraw Afe from the farm and keep him at home with his little brother. This aggravated the anger of Afe’s older brothers and they submitted that their father was not being fair to them, after all, their mother was the first wife and they believed that they deserved better treatment from their father than anyone else.
They also planned to kill Afe, in order to punish their father for his favouritism but the eldest son advised them against it. They then agreed to sell him to a childless merchant who normally travels along their hacienda.
They planned to keep late in the farm one day so that Ileke would have no choice than to send Afe to see their welfare and they had already made arrangements with the merchant who was to buy him.
The plan worked and Afe was sold into a distant land. His older brothers however told their father that they never saw him, while Afe lived with the merchant and his barren wife. They treated him like a true son and he grew up to inherit everything the merchant ever lived and worked for. Twenty five years later, there was famine, and Ileke had to send his ten older children to buy food abroad, Afe had enough to sell and when his brothers came, he recognized them. Having given them more than they paid for, he introduced himself to them, they were shocked, but he told them that their evil was indeed a blessing in disguise.
*Note that the essay is based on the story of Joseph and his brothers in the Bible, modified to suit the purpose of the narration.
Sample Narrative Essay (…to illustrate/ beginning with…). Write a story, real or imagined, which illustrates the saying “make hay while the sun shines” (June 2001).
MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES
Akin was a genius. He finished primary school within a few years and after primary five, he was admitted into the popular Ifako International School. This did not in any way affect his performance, he continued with his tradition of double promotion and in four years, he was already in the penultimate class (SS2). He sat for the November G.C.E and cleared all his papers.
At the age of twelve, he was offered admission into the Lagos State University to read Mathematics. His admission was a controversial issue as the minimum age limit for admission into any Nigerian University was sixteen years. But the University Senate gave him an exception after the interview which later became the talk of the campus that he surprised the senate with his intelligence, and the manner in which he answered all the questions put to him.
In his class, he became the ‘small doctor’ as they usually called him. He would teach his classmates virtually all the courses they offered. But that was short-lived as the rich students, whom he sometimes helped with their studies, influenced him, to join the secret cult.
The moment he joined them, he began to enjoy their company and the assumed air of authority surrounding them. At the age of thirteen, he was already soaked deep in different vices like smoking, drinking, gambling, etc. He stopped attending classes, and in no time, he began to record carry-overs in his courses.
When he became fourteen, he already had more than three girlfriends, who would always cluster around him on campus. This sudden degeneration became a concern to some people who knew him and they tried so many times to call him to order but he had gone too deep to beat a retreat. His cult members would even harass anyone who tried to advise him.
He continued like that for years until two weeks to his final examination. On that fateful night he had attended the ‘Miss Campus’ beauty contest in company of his girlfriends and other cult members, when another rival group struck. Six girls were raped to death and eight boys shot dead.
Akin managed to escape with several machete wounds and he went into hiding for some time. The incident became a thing of serious concern to the school authorities and the state. A panel was set up to investigate it, in order to bring the culprits to book and find a lasting solution to the problem of cultism on the campus.
The University was shut down while the panel conducted their investigation. At the end, everyone known or suspected to be a member of any secret cult in the university was expelled and Akin’s name was in the unit of over one hundred names pasted at the university gate alongside their passport photograph.
Akin could not continue his university education in any Nigerian University because the story was well circulated in the media and his case was specially treated in the news. He later decided to attend a local computer school to acquire the skill that could provide him with a daily bread. He had all the chance to have been one of the greatest scientists in this country but he blew it because he failed to make his hay while the sun was shining for him.
*This is based on a true-life story but written with some modifications.
Sample Narrative Essay (beginning with…)
“Make hay while the sun shines” is an expression which advises that one should make the best use of the opportunities that come one’s way or do things when it is right to do so.
Some years ago, there was a boy named Akin who was believed to be a genius….
• Continue the story with the previous content*
Sample Descriptive Essay (June 1997). A vehicle in which you were travelling was involved in an accident and several passengers including yourself were injured.
Describe to sympathizers, who have come to visit you in hospital, how the accident happened and what followed.
ACCIDENT ALONG SHAGAMU/ORE EXPRESSWAY
It was a Saturday morning at about 7.00am on the 1st of June, 2002 that the unfortunate journey began. I had boarded the vehicle, a Toyota Hiace 18-seater bus with registration number AT 968 EKY at the Ojota Motor Park. We were on our way to Akure in Ondo State and all seemed well when we started the journey.
When we got to the Texaco Petrol Station after the Redeemed Christian Church of God Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Express, the driver drove into the filling station to buy fuel. Some passengers alighted to ease themselves and the driver too went behind the filling station for a few minutes and we all believed that he had gone to ease himself.
The conductor packed the vehicle by the side to allow other vehicles to buy fuel. We were already complaining about the driver’s lateness when he came and apologized and we continue the journey. I only noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and his countenance no longer the same after we left that filling station.
The speed at which the driver was moving when we left Ijebu-Ode was between 140km/h to 160km/h and I was sitting directly behind him on the first row. I was excited that it won’t take too long before we get to Akure since I had a wedding to attend the same day and I was happy that I would be there on time for the church service. So, I did not caution the driver since I was about the only passenger in the bus who was still awake. All others had slept off including the bus conductor.
At about 8.30am at Oniparaga Junction, a cab, an old Mitsubishi Gallant with registration number AA 146
KTP loaded with passengers carelessly crossed the expressway. The driver of our vehicle saw him but it was too late. He slammed the brake and swerved to avoid a head-on collision but the driver of the car did not move fast enough. The bus hit the Gallant midway to the back and somersaulted. We ended up in a dish before sympathizers came to rescue us.
We were all trapped in the bus as the bus landed on the side of the main door. I came out through the driver’s door facing up and the other passengers were pulled out through the windows. Many of them had serious injuries from broken legs and arms to fractured skulls. I did not notice any visible injury on myself until we were brought to this place (Ore General Hospital). When the doctor examined me, he told me I had a dislocated left arm.
That was confirmed in the evening of that day when I began to feel serious pain on my left arm. I was told that no one survived in the other car and that our driver had a spinal cord injury. I thank God that I am the least injured of all the eighteen passengers, including the driver and the conductor. The doctor said I would be discharged in one week and that the driver’s union had come to settle the preliminary bills. Those with serious cases will be transferred to the specialist hospitals where they will receive further treatment.
If the driver had maintained an average speed of 100km/h, he would have been able to avoid that car and I also blame myself for not warning him against the risk involved in over speeding.
Sample Speech Writing (June 1990). You have been invited by a youth organization to speak on ‘indiscipline among youth’. Write your speech.
SPEECH DELIVERED BY MR AGUNBIADE AT A SYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY OYIN LIKES CLUB ON ‘INDISCIPLINE AMONG YOUTH’ HOLDING AT THE YOUTH CENTRE, OYIN-AKOKO ON THE 15TH OF JUNE, 2002.
The Chairman, President and member of Oyin Likes Club, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. I heartily welcome you all to the 3rd year anniversary of this dynamic club. I also thank you for making out time to honour the invitation sent to you. It is my honour and pleasure to be present here today to deliver a speech on the topic, “Indiscipline Among Youth”.
Indiscipline can be defined as any action, behaviour, utterance or belief that is contrary to the law, custom, convention and expectation of the society. Examples of these vices are disrespect for elders and constituted authorities, having no regard for the rule of law, indulgence in criminal activities such as : fraud, forgery, giving and receiving bribe, riots, violent demonstrations, looting, molestation and assault of other people.
Certain factors are responsible for indiscipline among our youths. Over-ambition is one of such factors. Though it is good to be ambitious, it is too much for a child of school age to be thinking of owning a flashy car, a house and large sums of money, when his basic needs are still being taken care of. It is an act of gross indiscipline for a child under the age of 25 to drink alcohol, smoke and womanize but what do we see in our society today? An exhibition of indiscipline, that western influence has brought on our culture.
Bad company, they say, corrupts good manners and an idle hand easily becomes the devil’s workshop. Bad friends today lead lots of our youth into crime. The girls prostitute and abuse their bodies in different kinds of ways. The boys under the influence of alcohol or drugs embark on armed robbery. The major cause of these is bad parental upbringing and/or lack of proper monitoring from parents. Children like these become problems first to their teachers, second to society and finally to their parents.
All holy books advocate proper and stern upbringing of a child but parents today over-pamper their children and allow them too much freedom without bothering to know what their children do, the company they keep, let alone scolding them when they go wrong. As they spare the rod, they spoil the children. What do we say about parents who buy indecent dresses for their daughters and who watch their daughters dress up and leave their homes half-naked? Are they not encouraging them to be prostitutes in the nearest possible time?
A religious book said ‘train a child the way he should go, when he grows up, he will not depart from it’. Ladies and gentlemen, if a child is not brought up in the fear of God, he/she is bound to go off the track. That is why the much expected leaders of tomorrow dominate the scenes of immorality, violent crimes and disregard for our cultural heritage, all in the name of civilization.
Youths must avoid all acts of indiscipline and help to propagate a tradition of discipline in our society. A nation dominated by undisciplined youths who later become undisciplined adults is doomed. Our leaders and elders should not spare the rod to shape and mould our youths into better citizens.
Ladies and gentlemen, all of us present here today must take decisive step towards the war against indiscipline by abandoning uncivilized, fraudulent, uncultured, criminal and immoral behaviour and channel our energy towards positive growth, as the holy book says ‘righteousness exalts a nation’. I thank you all for your attention. God bless you.
Sample Article (Expository Essay) for a National Newspaper (June 1997). You have noticed a general decline in the level of discipline and morality in your society. In an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper, discuss some instances of this decline and its probable causes, and suggest ways in which the trend can be reversed.
INDISCIPLINE AND IMMORALITY IN OUR SOCIETY
The major problem confronting our nation today is the general decline in the level of discipline and morality. Gone are the days when morality and discipline were virtues. Today, they are no longer appreciated and we now live in a decadent society where morality and discipline are thrown overboard. It is so unfortunate that our society that was once upright and just, whose moral values were standard has become totally decadent.
The problem is not limited to the secular aspect of our society, even the religious circle. Imagine a situation where a church pastor puts a female member in the family way and calls for extravagant ceremony when she gives birth to a baby! What about a school teacher who puts his own 16 year old female student in the family way because of undue assistance sought by her in a promotion examination? Bank loans are not granted to customers with good intentions but the bad ones whose intention is never to pay back. Some bank managers even collude with customers and criminals to steal millions of naira from our banks and financial institutions.
It is no longer a secret that the May/June and November/December SSCE is enveloped in malpractices, as university graduates and undergraduates write the examination as ‘expert mercenaries’ for or on behalf of the candidates. The University Matriculation Examination is worse. In most cases, the candidates see the questions some days to the examination itself. And these questions are kept in ‘safe’ custody of either the banks or the police. The examination officials, supervisors and invigilators aid and abet malpractice to make extra money.
The story is the same in employment cases. Jobs are not given to deserving and competent applicants, but to those who offer large bribes and women who can sleep with those in charge. It is the same with our law enforcement agents who turn justice upside down for the sake of money and even join robbery gangs to operate.
Most of our rich men are drug barons. The society has lost its sense of moral decency and people worship money without the fear of God in them.
The major cause of this general problem is poverty. Imagine a university graduate – teacher earning less than N =10,000. If he is married, with three children and a large number of dependant relatives, his salary alone can hardly take care of transportation and accommodation.
So, he devises a way, whether crooked or straight, to make ends meet. When he is offered bribe, he compromises. This has affected a lot of sectors in our society so much, that even now when thing are improving, it becomes difficult for people to desist from these negative acts.
Other causes of the bad trend are the unchecked inflation that has nearly ruined the economy, the devaluation of the naira, which results in the high cost of living, and the extravagant life styles of the rich, to the detriment of the poor, in their wasteful display of wealth.
The major solution to the problem is mass education of the citizen through the media about the dangers of indiscipline and immorality in our society. Also, salaries and wages of public servants should be reviewed periodically to meet up with economic upsurge. Our universities should be granted full autonomy to conduct qualifying examinations for all in-takes before admission so as to check examination malpractice. Extravagant lifestyles should be cautioned and illegal acquisition of wealth be discouraged. Our educational and religious institutions should preach moral values and finally, there should be ethics and moral codes and all those who fall short of the required standard should be punished.
In conclusion, the problem of indiscipline and immorality in our society will become a forgotten issue if my suggestions are well looked into and honestly implemented.
Agunbiade Favour,
Lagos.
ASSIGNMENT: Pick any recent past question and practise what you have read so far. Submit your write-up in MS Word Format by e-mail attachment to teacher@penwriteonline.com for marking and assessment. Continue to do this until you are satisfied that you are ready for the examination.
Do not be discouraged by your poor performance at first, keep on trying until you achieve an excellent result.
LETTER WRITING
Sample Expository Writing (June 1988) Informal letter to a friend.
One of your pen friends has written asking you to describe your favorite Nigerian dish to enable her to prepare it. Write back to her, explaining how the dish is cooked.
-----------------------------------------Ajuwa Grammar School,
-----------------------------------------Okeagbe –Akoko,
-----------------------------------------Ondo State,
-----------------------------------------Nigeria,
-----------------------------------------West Africa.
-----------------------------------------10th June, 2002.
Dear Jane,
I received your letter yesterday 9th June 2002 and I was happy to hear from you after such a long time. I have written two different letters to you in the past one month but I have not received a reply to any of them.
Nothing in your letter states whether you received them or not, if you do, please endeavor to send a reply. I am glad to know that you like African dishes especially Nigerian delicacies. My favourite dish is pounded yam with vegetable soup. To prepare this dish, you need the following items.
1. Yam tuber
2. Pestle and mortar
3. Meat (of your choice)
4. Vegetable (of your choice)
5. Salt, pepper and other seasonings
6. Egusi (melon)
Pounded yam is prepared this way. Peel the yam, cut them into small pieces, put them in the cooking pot and add water to boil it. When it’s done, put the yams gradually (one after the other) in the mortar and use the pestle to pound it into smooth paste. Add hot water to soften it and when it is good enough to eat you serve it.
You can cook your vegetable soup whichever way you like it best but I prefer mine with Egusi i.e. melon seeds.
Pour the palm oil in a clean dry pot on the fire, leave to heat up for about two minutes. Mix the ground melon seeds with water and, drop it little by little like bean cake and leave for one minute.
When the melon paste turns brown, pour the ground pepper and tomatoes into the pot, mix together with the melon on the fire, leave to boil for another one minute, add salt and other seasoning to taste and pour the already boiled meat into the pot. Mix everything together and leave to boil for five minutes.
After five minutes, when it is boiled and it is good enough Egusi soup, pour the already chopped and washed vegetable into the Egusi soup on the fire and leave to boil for another five minutes. It is then ready for eating.
Serve the pounded yam hot with the soup warm and when you taste it you won’t want to eat anything else. If you want to eat pounded yam, eat it in the afternoon or early evening when you are not doing any rigorous work or exercise. It is a heavy food and you must give it time to digest before you go to bed.
Try this dish as soon as you receive this letter and write me to tell me how it turns out. I will be glad to read from you soon. If you get this one right, I will send another menu and in no time, you will become an expert in African/Nigerian dishes.
I expect your reply soonest.
Yours,
Ogidi.
1. FORMAL / OFFICIAL / BUSINESS LETTERS
Conventions
(a) Addresses
(b) Date
(c) Salutation
(d) Subscription / Complimentary Close
(e) Signature.
1. Addresses: These include the heading and inside address.The heading/ writer’s address and the inside/ addressee’s address must be consistent in form (block or indented) and punctuation.
e.g
-----------------------------------Pen-Write Private School,
-----------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
-----------------------------------Aguda,
-----------------------------------Surulere,
-----------------------------------Lagos.
-----------------------------------8th June, 2002.
The Chairman,
Surulere Local Government,
Baruwa Area Office,
Ijeshatedo,
Lagos.
OR
-----------------------------------Pen-Write Private School,
------------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
-------------------------------------Aguda,
--------------------------------------Surulere,
---------------------------------------Lagos State.
----------------------------------------23rd June, 2002.
The Chairman,
-Surulere Local Government,
--Baruwa Area Office,
---Ijeshatedo,
----Lagos.
N.B: Put a comma after every number and at the end of every line of completed information. Then put a full stop at the end i.e. the last line.
2. Date: Date is written immediately below the writer’s address to the right.
(a) Do not write October 7 for October 7th or 7th October.
(b) Do not use figures for month e.g. (7/10/2002).
(c) Do not abbreviate the year e.g. (June 15th, ’88)
(d) Do not superscript the day e.g.(June 15th 2002)
(e) Always put a comma after the second item
e.g. (15th June, 2002 or June 15,2002)
(f) Do not include preposition in the date
e.g *15th of June, 2002.
(You can only use this in the body of the essay/letter)
3. Salutation: This is the same as greetings. It is written immediately below the addressee’s address on the left side. A comma normally follows it. The salutation for a Formal Letter is: e.g.
Dear Sir, OR Dear Madam, / Sir OR Madam, (where familiar) when the letter is addressed to a particular individual we can use the individual’s name after Dear.
e.g.
Dear Mr. Mensah
Dear Dr. Smith
Dear Chief Giwa etc.
You may put the full stop after the abbreviations of Dr., Mr. etc or remove them.
4. Complimentary Close and Signature:
The closing of a Formal Letter should be placed on a separate line in the middle or to the right of the page.
Only the first letter of the complimentary close should be in capital and it must be followed by a comma before the signature and name, which is the surname and initials of the writer.
e.g. Yours faithfully, OR
Faithfully yours,
Yours truly, OR
Truly yours,
THE CONTENT:
The content of a formal letter follows a conventional pattern. Because such letters must be clear, direct as well as provide action, we limit our subject or topic to one per letter and write in short paragraphs.
The content of a Formal Letter is divided into three.
1. The Opening: In the 1st paragraph, we announce the subject or topic and attract the addressee’s/receiver’s attention. We acknowledge briefly any previous correspondence and state our response. The opening paragraph establishes the tone of the entire letter.
2. The Body: Here we supply the information required or requested, solve the problem, show evidence or logical reasoning for our suggestions, explain our decision and so on. The body of a formal letter consists of any pattern of ideas to accomplish our purpose. The audience and purpose determine the content and style.
3. The Closing: The last/closing paragraph suggests concrete action. We also affirm the position established in the first paragraph here in the last paragraph.
TYPES OF FORMAL LETTERS ARE:
(a) Application for jobs
(b) Complaints
(c) Business inquiries
(d) Order and Remittance
(e) Booking and Travels
(f) References and Testimonials
(g) Goodwill messages and expression of opinion.
The most relevant of all these to examination purpose are (b) and (g).
THE COMPONENTS OF AN APPLICATION LETTER
1. An introductory statement, stating the source of information.
2. Personal data (which may be contained in the (C.V)
3. Record of education
4. Record of experience (if any)
5. References
6. Request for an interview.
1. Categories of Formal Letters
(a) Letters to organizations, business firms or government offices.
(b) Letters to the press.
(c) Some letters to adults who you do not know personally.
(d) Application for employment.
2. Categories of Semi-Formal Letters
(a) Letters to adult friends who could be family friends.
(b) Letters to adult relations – father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or nephew.
(c) Letters to your former Headmaster or Principal asking for reference.
(d) Letters to adults whom you do not know personally but you know about their personality or reputation.
3. Categories of Informal Letters
(a) Letters to close friends who are your contemporaries.
(b) Letters to older relatives as in
(2b) but where respect has disappeared.
(c) Letters to close relatives of your age group.
(d) Letters to pen-friends in other countries.
FEATURES OF THE THREE TYPES OF LETTERS
The features for writing any type of letter are:
1. Conventions
2. Tone
3. Language
4. Content
1. Conventions: This includes, how to set out the address and date, salutation and complimentary close.
(a) Your own address (the writer’s address): This is same for all types of letters. It could be written in two ways clearly on the top right hand corner of the page and there may be a comma at the end of each line (except the last line, which has a full stop).
The commas and full stop may also be omitted outright. It is unacceptable to put your name before / with the address. The name of the country is included in the address only when the letters is being sent abroad.
(b) The addressee’s address: This comes at the left hand corner of the page on the next line immediately below your date and very close to the margin. It also contains the name and designation of the addressee on the first line. This is strictly for official or formal letters.
(c) Salutation: This differ from letter to letter for Informal
Letters, the following are acceptable.
------------A ----------------B
-----------Yemi------------brother
-----------Chuks-----------sister
Dear-------Isah----My dear cousin
-----------John------------nephew
-----------Anesu-----------aunt / niece
Column A is for friends of your own age group.
Column B is for relations who are your contemporaries. In column B, you can also use the first names of your relations. For either of the two, “Dear friend” is not acceptable. If the fellow is actually your friend, you will know his / her name.
Use “My Dear …” Instead of “Dear …” if you want to show more closeness and affection to the person. You could also use a nickname or pet name after “Dear” or “My Dear”.
e.g “Dear Joe” or “ My Dear Joe”.
For Formal Letters, the salutation is formal/official and it is usually “Dear Sir” or “Dear Madam”. “Sir” is more formal and acceptable but “Madam” is not acceptable.
For semi-formal letters, it could be any of the following.
Dear Father
Dear Mother
Dear Daddy
Dear Mummy
Dear Brother
Dear Uncle
Dear Uncle Jimoh
Dear Mr. Oji
Dear Alhaji Bello etc
NB: “Dearest” is acceptable to indicate intimacy
e.g
My dearest father / My Dearest Father
Dearest Uncle Jide / My dearest uncle Jide
*Always remember to put a comma after salutations.
Complimentary Close: In Informal Letters, this has the same degree of intimacy or familiarity as the salutation. The commonest ending is “Yours sincerely”, (which the American now accept as ending for formal letters).
Then you write your short name, pet name or nickname (not your full name or signature)
e.g
Yours sincerely,
Bisi.
The closing for an Informal Letter is not different from that of semiformal letters. It can assume the dimension above or any of the following forms:
Yours affectionately,
Your affectionate son/daughter / cousin / nephew etc.
Yours ever,
Love from,
With love from,
Love,
Yours,
As ever,
Simply, etc plus your short name, nickname or pet name.
In formal Letters, the commonest ending is
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
(Name in full or Name and initials)
A few other expressions are also acceptable for Formal Closing. They are:
Yours truly,
Truly yours,
Very truly yours,
But these can be used when the parties concerned have had some relationship for some time.
2. Tone: This is perhaps the most important aspect of the features of letter writing.
You can tell from the tone of a person’s voice whether he is speaking to a familiar friend, a distant acquaintance or a complete stranger.
A letter also has tone and it is from this that we can tell what sort of relationship exists between the writer and his correspondent. Tone is essentially a matter of words, the way they are used and the way they are arranged in sentences. If the tone of a letter is informal or familiar, we would expect a lot of personal detail.
But if it is formal or distant we expect little or none of these personal details.
In Informal Letters, we expect all forms of informal expressions such as colloquialism, slang, contractions (don’t, won’t etc), Americanism etc. as in real life conversation but they should be used appropriately. For instance, a slang should be put in inverted comma in an informal letter, likewise Americanism and special usage.
In formal Letters, the tone is formal and this is achieved if the writer ensures that everything he writes is directly concerned with the subject. The writer also does not include inquiries about the health or a personal affair of the person he thinks is likely to receive the letter.
He should keep to the subject of the letter and be business-like. He should say whatever he wants to say as clearly as possible and as concisely, courteously and politely as the subject matter permits.
In Semi-Formal Letters, the tone is usually respectful since these are letters to adult friends and relations.
It is not acceptable to get to the formality of the formal letter or the informality or familiarity of informal letters. It is a balance, midway between the two.
3. Language: In any type of letters, language is tied up with tone because it is through language that we achieve Tone. In Informal Letters, words used are conversational in nature.
Abbreviations and short forms are acceptable as used in real life conversation (“I’ll” instead of “I will” or “I’d” instead of “I had” or “I’ve” instead of “I have”). The writer should use simple words and phrases along with straightforward sentences.
In Formal Letters, words used must be clear and to the point. To be clear, you need to avoid bombastic expressions. Use simple words and phrases, change passive to active forms. For instance, use letter instead of missive / epistle / communication etc.
4. Content: The content is the body of the letter. It is here that we see evidence of effective language used to create the appropriate tone.
In Informal Letters, formality is not expected and such letters should be formless. The ideas should be given proper sequence and should be arranged in suitable paragraphs in the order below:
(a) Reference to a previously received letter or reason for writing.
(b) Discuss any issues in previous letter (if any).
(c) Your own current news including your plans for the future.
(d) Furnish your correspondence with your personal details and make inquiries about his.
In Formal Letters, do not include more than one topic in a single letter unless otherwise dictated. In this kind of letter, plan beforehand what you want say and how to say it. Think of your purpose and your audience, then start off with a reference to a previous letter (if any) or simply state your purpose for writing. After this, state the details of what you want to say and this should be followed by your suggestion for action. When you finish, go through and ensure that the letter says what you want it to say in the way it is supposed to say it.
In semi-formal letters, organize your content as for Formal letters. First, make reference to a previous letter (if any) or state clearly why you are writing.
If any apology is needed, it should be dealt with first.
SOME SPECIAL SALUTATIONS FOR FORMAL LETTERS
Designation-----Official Salutation-------Social Salutation
1. President-----Mr. President------------Dear + title + surname
2. Governor------Your Excellency----------Dear + title + surname
3. Minister /
Commissioner-----Sir----------------------Dear + title +surname
4. Professor-----Dear Sir-----------------Dear + Professor + surname
5. Bishop--------My Lord------------------Dear + Bishop + surname
6. Magistrate----My Lord------------------Dear + Magistrate + surname
7. Judge---------Your honour--------------Dear + Justice + surname.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR FORMAL LETTERS
Beginning
1. I write to inform you …
2. Your letter …
3. I wish to bring to your notice …
4. I consider it a duty to let you know...
5. I refer to …
6. I am very sorry …
Ending
7. I should be most grateful if …
8. I will appreciate if …
A COMPLETE SAMPLE FORMAT
Block Form
......................................Graceland Academy,
......................................18, Ogunmuyiwa Street,
......................................Itire-Ijesha,
......................................Lagos State.
......................................24th May, 2003.
The Chairman,
Surulere Local Government,
Baruwa Area Office,
Ijeshatedo,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
THE DEPLORABLE STATE OF IJESHA ROAD.
OR
The Deplorable State of Ijesha Road.
NOTE: A formal letter must always carry a heading, which states what the writer is writing about. If written in block (capital) letters, you may not underline but if written in small letters you must underline boldly.
I write to notify you………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
................................................................
while looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
( sign )
AGUNBIADE, O. J.
Indented / Slant Form
...............................Green House Private School,
................................29, Enitan Street,
.................................Aguda,
..................................Surulere,
...................................Lagos State.
....................................8th June, 2002.
The Chairman,
.Surulere Local Government,
..Baruwa Area Office,
...Ijeshatedo,
....Lagos.
Dear Sir,
-------------THE DEPLORABLE STATE OF IJESHA ROAD.
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
while looking forward to hearing from you.
Faithfully yours,
( sign )
AGUNBIADE, O. J.
SAMPLE APPLICATION LETTERS
This may not be relevant for examination purpose but it will be very useful at one time or the other after graduation.
Sample 1: Secondary School Graduate
--------------------------------21, Irapada Church Street,
--------------------------------Itire / Ijesha,
--------------------------------Surulere,
--------------------------------Lagos State.
The Manager,
Pen-Write Communications,
Itire,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
Application As An Office Clerk.
With reference to the advertisement on your notice board, I write to apply as an office clerk in your reputable organization.
I am young girl of 18 year’s old, single and of good parentage. I have just finished my Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and I am currently awaiting my result.
I believe I will benefit immensely by working in your organization since I have the intention of pursuing my education to the higher level.
I will be glad if I am invited for an interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
You may consult the following for any further information about me.
Mr. Agunbiade O.J.
Principal
Mind Builders High School,
Ikeja – Lagos.
Telephone 08034055164
or
Miss Kumuyi G.O.
Managing Director,
Pen-Write Commodities
1, Daramola Lane,
Ijeshatedo – Lagos.
Telephone 08056282023
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Akinyanmi Dorcas.
Sample 2: Secondary School Graduate.
-----------------------------------21, Ijesha Road,
-----------------------------------Itire / Ijesha,
-----------------------------------Surulere,
-----------------------------------Lagos State.
The Proprietress,
Pen-Write Nursery & Primary School,
44, Erelu Danisa Street,
Ijeshatedo,
Lagos.
Dear Madam,
Application As An Assistant Classroom Teacher
With reference to the advertisement on your notice board, I write to apply as an assistant classroom teacher in your reputable school.
I am young boy of 20 year’s old, single and of good parentage. I have just finished my Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and I have in my result, 2 distinctions, 4 credit passes and 2 ordinary passes. Attached herewith is a photocopy of the result for your perusal.
I will be glad if I am invited for an interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I promise to be of good behaviour if given the opportunity to be of service to your institution.
You may consult the following for any further information about me.
Mr Agunbiade O.J.
Principal
Mind Builders High School,
Ikeja – Lagos.
Telephone 08034055164
or
Miss Adigun N.O.
Lagos State University,
Ojo, Lagos.
Telephone 08023072023
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Adeyemi Patrick
Sample 3: Post Secondary School Graduate
---------------------------------213, Ijesha Road,
---------------------------------Agunlejika,Ijesha,
---------------------------------Surulere,
---------------------------------Lagos State.
The Principal,
Queensland Academy,
Apapa-Oshodi Expressway,
Lagos.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Application As An English Language Teacher
With reference to your advertisement in the Guardian Newspaper of Thursday 20th August 2004, I write to apply as an English Language teacher in your reputable school.
I am a young man of 25 years, single and of good parentage. I am a graduate of Adeniran Ogunsanya
College of Education, Ijanikin, where I obtained the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) in
2003. I studied English Language and Yoruba and I have teaching experience in both subjects in reputable tutorial schools in Lagos before my graduation. Attached herewith is a photocopy of my result and other necessary credentials for your perusal.
I will be glad if I am invited for an interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I promise to be of good behaviour if given the opportunity to be of service to your institution.
You may consult the following for any further information about me.
Dr Adebiyi O.A
HOD, English Dept.
Adeniran Ogunsanya College of
Education,
Ijanikin – Lagos.
Telephone 08034055164
or
Miss Johnson D.O.
WEMA Bank PLC,
Abimbola Way,
Isolo Lagos.
Telephone 08023377423
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Bello Adedayo.
Sample 4: Post Secondary School Graduate.
------------------------------------Plot 5, Johnson Street,
------------------------------------Ire-Akari Estate,
------------------------------------Isolo,
------------------------------------Lagos State.
------------------------------------25th June, 2003.
The Personnel Manager,
First Bank of Nigeria,
Marina Head Office,
Lagos.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Application As A Management Trainee
With reference to your advertisement in the Guardian Newspaper of Tuesday 17th August 2004, I write to apply as a Management Trainee in your reputable bank.
I am a young man of 25 years, single and of good parentage. I am a graduate of the Lagos State University, where I obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc) in Economics in 2003 with a Second Class Honours, upper division. Attached herewith is a photocopy of my C.V and other necessary credentials for your perusal.
I will be glad to be considered for interview and appointment. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I promise to be of good behaviour if given the opportunity to be of service to your organization.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Amaechi Nduka.
Most school leavers do not know how to prepare a C.V and it is a very important tool in search of a job. There are different styles and format of C.V or Resume as the case may be but the simplest format is given below followed by a more professional style.
Simple format.
CURRICULUM VITAE
SURNAME: AMAECHI
OTHER NAMES: UDUKA GODWIN
CONTACT ADDRESS: P.O.BOX 2197, MARINA LAGOS.
TELEPHONE 08056282023
DATE OF BIRTH: 4TH MAY, 1973.
MARITAL STATUS: SINGLE
SEX: MALE
RELIGION: CHRISTIANITY
NATIONALITY: NIGERIAN
STATE OF ORIGIN: ABIA
HOME - TOWN: UMUAMACHA
LOCAL GOVT. AREA: OSISIOMA LGA
HOME ADDRESS: 87, RANDLE AVENUE, SURULERE, LAGOS.
INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED WITH DATES
1. IRE-AKARI PRIMARY SCHOOL, ILASAMAJA, LAGOS (1985 – 1990)
2. MUSHIN HIGH SCHOOL, OKOTA – ISOLO, LAGOS (1990 – 1996)
3. THE LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO – LAGOS (1998 – 2003)
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
1. WEST AFRICAN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE O / LEVEL (MAY / JUNE 1996.)
2. GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (G.C.E) (NOV. / DEC. 1997.)
3. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.SC ECONOMICS ) SECOND CLASS UPPER 2003.
WORKING EXPERIENCE
1. EMMANUEL AFRICAN CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL
41, OSHOGBO STREET, ITIRE / IKATE, LAGOS
POST HELD: PART-TIME TEACHER
DURATION: SEPTEMBER 2002 – SEPTEMBER 2003
2. ST BRIDGET’S COLLEGE,
ABAYI – ABA,
ABIA STATE.
POST HELD: CLASSROOM TEACHER
DURATION: NOVEMBER 2003 – DATE
(NYSC PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT)
HOBBIES: SINGING, DANCING AND READING.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: ENGLISH AND IGBO.
REFEREES:
1. MR. ADESANYA O. A
HOD, ECONOMICS DEPT.,
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE,
LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY,
OJO - LAGOS.
TELEPHONE: 08034055164
2. REV. DR. J. A. AKINYANMI
GENERAL OVERSEER,
CHRIST APOSTOLIC REDEMPTION CHURCH,
21, IRAPADA CHURCH STREET, ITIRE/IKATE,
LAGOS. TELEPHONE: 08023626002, 08055213695.
PROFESSIONAL FORMAT.
AGUNBIADE, Olusola Justus
Address: 44 ERELU DANISA STREET,IJESHATEDO,SURULERE,LAGOS.
Phone: 08058822093, 08034055164 08053325159. E-mail: justusola@yahoo.com
Date of Birth 17th August,1969
Marital Status Married
Objective To influence my working environment in a positive way and contribute my youthful quota towards the goals of the organization in which I find myself.
To accept greater challenges as a test of my real abilities.
Work a. Experience
b.
c.
d.
e.
May 1996 – June 1997. St Bridget’s College, Abayi-Aba, Abia State
Position: Graduate English & Lit Teacher ( NYSC PRY. ASSIGNMENT)
• Teaching English Language & Literature in English
Sept. 1997 – Feb. 1998. Cherubim & Seraphim College, KM 4 Apapa/Oshodi Exp., Sanya, Surulere – Lagos.
Position: Subject teacher
Teaching English Language & Lit. in English.
Feb. 1998 – July. 2002. Cherubim & Seraphim College. KM 4 Apapa/Oshodi Exp., Sanya, Surulere – Lagos.
Position: Subject teacher / Head of department
Teaching English Language
Marking of teachers lesson plan for each week
Planning the conduct of both internal & external examinations
Reporting to the Principal on issues affecting my department
Assigning responsibilities to teachers in my dept. as directed by the principal
July 2002 – July 2005 AP College. 59, Chris Ladipo Street, Ori-Oke, Ejigbo – Lagos
Position: Principal (Pioneer)
Students admission & protocol
Staff recruitment & placement
Staff discipline & welfare
Liaison with LED and state Ministry of Education
Processing and securing Govt., WAEC & NECO approval
Registering students for all external exams (WASC & NECO)
Maintaining a good relationship between the school and other parastatals
Reporting to the Proprietor
July 2005 – Sept. 2009 Christ College (of The Royal Master’s School. 8 – 10, IPM Rd, Alausa, Ikeja – Lagos)
Position: Head of School / Administrator
In addition to (d) above
Design & executing an agenda for the take-off of the college
Anchor publicity, advertisement and public relations
Determining and recruiting the entire workforce of the college
Administer the College as Acting Principal
Oversee the affairs of the school (Nursery / Primary & College)
Manage human, material and financial resources of the school
Reporting to the Chairman of the Board
f.
Education Sept. 2009 – Date Mind Builders High School, Plot 4, Otunba Jobi Fele Way, Alausa, Ikeja – Lagos
Position: principal
1990 - 1995 The Lagos State University Ojo – Lagos
2001 – 2002 The University of Lagos Akoka - Lagos
[ Degree/Major ]
B.A Ed. English Language
M.A English Language
Extracurricular activities Driving, Reading, Writing & listening to inspirational music.
Accreditations
References Pioneer Principal, AP College, Ejigbo-Lagos ( 2002-2005)
Pioneer Staff, Christ College, Alausa – Ikeja, Lagos (2005 to Date)
Mr S.O Olatunji (Chairman)
The Royal Master’s Schools Trust
1, IPM Rd, Alausa - Ikeja
Lagos
Tel: 08134051955, 09022908274
Mr Jobi Taiwo (Managing Director)
Hicad Systems Ltd
Allen Avenue, Lagos
Tel: 07033325828
Personal Attributes Computer literate, versed in Microsoft Office applications
Good leadership qualities and team spirit
Ability to work under pressure and produce brilliant results
Remarkable inter-personal relationship with colleagues and friends
Sample Formal Letter: (June 2000)
Write a letter to the Director of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in your country, complaining about the environmental pollution of your area and requesting that urgent action be taken to improve the situation.
--------------------------------------Graceland Private School,
-------------------------------------29, Agunbiade Street,
-------------------------------------Aguda,
-------------------------------------Surulere,
-------------------------------------Lagos State.
-------------------------------------24th July, 2002.
The Executive Director,
Federal Environmental Protection Agency(FEPA),
Wuse Zone II,
Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
Dear Sir,
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN LAGOS
With a deep sense of concern and responsibility, I write to intimate the authority about the deploring state of environmental pollution in Lagos State.
Lagos State is the most densely populated state in the country and the hazard is causing serious health problems and discomfort to vast majority of the populace in the state.
The first of these is the problem of heavy industrial smoke that pervades the atmosphere. This is caused by the localization of industries in most parts of the state, especially during power outages, when the industries depend on the use of generators. The emission of carbon monoxide from these generators and heavy duty vehicles is causing lung cancer because of the toxic components contained in it.
Statistics show that over twelve thousand people in Lagos State alone are treated for this disease weekly and the number is increasing by the day. The thick smoke from the burning of waste in sawmills and refuses sites, pose serious threat to lives on Lagos roads because of poor visibility. It was reported last month that the smoke from the Adekunle sawmill covered about one kilometre of the Third Mainland Bridge, which resulted in the fatal accident that claimed over one hundred lives. A good number of people have lost their lives in similar situations in other parts of Lagos where sawmills are located near major roads.
Another source of environmental pollution in Lagos State is the poor handling of refuse and wastes. As a result of over population in the state, there is always huge amount of wastes and refuse but the disposal is badly managed. ‘Pure water’ nylons fill the gutters and block drainage channels so that water no longer flows freely. The road are taken over by refuse and motorists spend long hours in traffic hold-ups simply because a half of the road is covered by refuse and they have to manage a single out of about four lanes. Even the streets are littered with refuse and this act as an agent of spreading varieties of diseases especially during the raining seasons.
To overcome this environmental problem, all industrial establishments should be made to treat their wastes in order to reduce their toxic nature. The government should establish a recycle factory, especially for nylon, plastics, cans and bottles so that less waste is generated.
Waste management should be decentralized and private participation encouraged. Individuals and corporate bodies should be compelled to clear their refuse through agents appointed by the state. Finally, both the National and State Assemblies should enact laws to put environmental pollution in check.
In conclusion, I have no doubt that the case of environmental pollution in Lagos State, which has become a thing of serious concern to residents and is causing a lot of health hazards to the people, will become a forgotten issue if my suggestions are taken serious and effectively implemented.
Yours faithfully,
(sign )
Oloruntoba Dapo.
Sample formal letter to the editor (June 1996)
The performance of your country in a recent international sports competition has generated a lot of comments. Write a letter to the editor of one of your
National Newspapers discussing the factors responsible for the level of performance and the lessons that should be learnt.
-----------------------------------------------P.O. Box 100,
-----------------------------------------------Okeagbe—Akoko,
-----------------------------------------------Ondo state.
------------------------------------------------11th June, 2002.
The Editor,
The Guardian Newspaper,
Rutam House, Isolo,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
PERFORMANCE OF THE SUPER EAGLES AT THE 2002 KOREA/ JAPAN WORLD CUP
The world soccer championship for the year 2002 was a spectacular one. Apart from the fact that it fostered unity between the two hosting nations (Korea and Japan), it was the first time in world soccer history that the championship was played on Asian soil.
Nigerian National team, the Super Eagles, qualified as one of the four African nations to participate in the championship, having won all their qualifying matches at home.
The coach selected the best 23 players that he considered the dream-team for the future and the Super Eagles of Nigeria became the team to watch out for, at the world cup, considering their performance in the friendly matches played before the world cup began.
Unfortunately, the team did not go beyond the first round of the tournament, having lost two of their preliminary matches, first to Sweden and second to Argentina.
The reason for their woeful performance was not farfetched.
Firstly, the team did not spend enough time together in camp for adequate preparation for the world cup. They did not train together long enough to understand one another on the field of play and they played individual games at the world cup instead of a teamwork that would have given them success.
Secondly, most of the players were not disciplined enough, as they felt too big to obey instructions. Majority of the players play professional football in Europe, America and so on and most of them reported late to camp for the preparation towards the world cup. The players also lacked a sense of patriotism, as they did not play with seriousness.
Thirdly, some of the players that had key roles to play in the team came from their clubs with injuries. Players like Kanu Nwankwo and Celestine Babayaro reported to camp with injuries and they were not at their best in the matches.
Finally, most of these players were older than they claimed to be and age was no longer on their side. The younger players, on the other hand, were inexperienced. Some of them were playing international matches for the first time and their lack of exposure affected their performance.
Nigeria, therefore, has many lessons to learn from the outcome of the 2002 World Cup. One of this is that dedication and will power is needed to achieve excellence in sports. Also, adequate preparation and discipline is necessary for better performance.
In conclusion, Nigeria should go back to the drawing board and begin to build a formidable team against the next world cup, which comes up in four years time, instead of waiting till very late to select players.
We should also check our over-dependent on foreign-based players who may either disappoint us or will be unfit when the nation needs them.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
AGUNBIADE, O.J.
Sample Report Writing (Nov. 1989)
There has been a violent demonstration in your School, in which damage was done to school property. Write a report for the Principal, stating the causes of the demonstration, and what you think should be done to prevent a recurrence of such an incidence.
---------------------------------Eyo – Oke Comp. High School,
---------------------------------1,College Road,
---------------------------------Oyin Akoko,
---------------------------------Ondo State.
---------------------------------10th August, 2002.
The Principal,
Eyo-Oke Comp. High School,
Oyin Akoko,
Ondo State.
Sir,
REPORT ON THE VIOLENT DEMONSTRATION IN THE SCHOOL.
The violent and destructive students’ demonstration which took place on Tuesday 4th of June 2002 was the first of its kind in the history of this institution and it was an explosion of the bottled anger of students as a result of prolonged neglect and lack of concern for their welfare. It is however unfortunate that the students had to demonstrate to drive home their points.
The boarding students have complained many times in the past that the quality and quantity of food served them were bad and inadequate. The food prefect and I had complained to the matron who controls the cooks, on behalf of the students. Promises were made towards improvement but nothing positive happened.
The day students also complained many times about the arbitrary increase in transport fare from the town to the school, especially during periods of fuel scarcity. They even suggested in our last executive meeting with you that the school bus be refurbished and put back on the road and I remember you said that the PTA was doing something in that regard.
The demonstration was triggered off that Tuesday morning when the boarding students rejected the rice and beans cooked for breakfast and the SS 2 and 3 students began to sing solidarity songs. The day students that had paid double the normal fare to school that morning and the day before, joined in the demonstration. I immediately called an emergency executive meeting. All the prefects were in attendance in the library and we resolved to call for a congress in order to address the students and possibly calm them down while we wait for your arrival.
In the congress, which was held in the auditorium, we spoke to the students but they insisted on a peaceful demonstration within the school and to the king’s palace.
As we were about to round off the congress, I was making my final appeal when the Vice-Principal (Mr. Ojo) came into the auditorium with two policemen and ordered them to arrest all the prefects on the stage. The students revolted and prevented the policemen from arresting us. Out of annoyance,
Mr. Ojo was beaten to a state of unconsciousness. The two police officers were mobbed and later locked up in the toilet behind the auditorium.
The students then went out, breaking louvre blades, shattering vehicle windscreens, beating up any member of staff in sight, including the matron and the cooks. The worst of it all, they burnt down the vice-principal’s house and car. Thank God his wife and children had fled out of the house before the students arrived.
I sincerely hope that you will use your good office to institute an investigative panel to find out other remote causes of the demonstration. They should also assess the extent of damage done and proffer solutions so that such an incident will not recur.
Olupinla Funmilayo,
Senior Prefect.
SEMI – FORMAL LETTERS (SAMPLE STRUCTURE)
A semi-formal letter will have a similar structure as an informal letter if it is a letter to the following categories of people i.e the writer’s address, salutation and closing.
1. Letters to adult friends
2. Letters to adult relations
But the structure takes almost a formal shape if it is:
1. Letters to an adult whom you do not know personally but you know by reputation or personality e.g A family doctor.
2. A letter to your former Principal or Headmaster.
In this case, it will have one address like an Informal Letter. But the closing will be “Yours sincerely”, plus Full name. And the salutation will be “Dear” + title + surname.
Example A:
-----------------------------------------Quarters 24,
-----------------------------------------Alagbaka Estate,
-----------------------------------------State G R A,
-----------------------------------------Akure,
-----------------------------------------Ondo State.
-----------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
Dear Uncle Lekan,
•For the closing, any of 1, 2 and 3 or others as in informal letters would suffice.
1. Bye for now,
2. God bless,
3. Yours ever, ( + short name)
Example B:
-----------------------------------------18, Wharf Road,
-----------------------------------------Apapa,
-----------------------------------------Lagos.
-----------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
(Dear + title + surname)
1. Dear Professor Oshin,
2. Dear Alhaji Usman,
3. Dear Dr. David,
4. Dear Mr. Oniororo,
5. Dear Evangelist Onifade,
Yours sincerely,
(surname + first name)
1. Mohammed Isah
2. Adesanya Ahmed
3. Nwanna Emeka
OR
------------------------------------Lagos State University,
------------------------------------P.M.B. 1087, Apapa,
------------------------------------Km 10, Badagry Expressway,
------------------------------------Ojo, Lagos.
------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
Dear Professor Adejare,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely,
Agunbiade Olusola.
Note that when writing a closing for any letter at all, the first item begins with capital letter and others with small letters.
For instance,
Formal
Yours faithfully,
Faithfully yours,
Yours truly,
Truly yours,
Semi-Formal
Yours sincerely,
Sincerely yours,
Informal
Your loving brother,
Yours affectionately,
Your affectionate son,
Affectionately yours,
With love,
As ever,
Yours ever,
Bye for now,
God bless,
Love from, etc.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR SEMI-FORMAL LETTERS
Beginning
1. I am pleased to inform you
2. This is to inform you…
3. It was good to hear from you …
4. Thanks for your letter and the …
5. I received your letter and the …
Ending
6. I pray that God will reward you…
7. Give my regards to …
8. I hope to hear from you soon
9. My regards to ...
10. Extend my greetings to ...
11. Remain blessed
12. Looking forward to hearing from you
INFORMAL/PERSONAL/FRIENDLY LETTER (SAMPLE)
BLOCK
--------------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
--------------------------------------Aguda,
--------------------------------------Surulere Local Govt.,
--------------------------------------Lagos State.
--------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
1. Dear Sola,
2. Dear Vic,
3. My dear sister,
4. My dearest cousin,
5. My Dear Brother
•Consistency is expected in salutation. If you use capital ‘D’ for Dear after ‘My’ use capital ‘B’ (or other letters) for the next item as in (5) above. If you use small letter for ‘dear’ use small letter for the next item as in (3) and (4) above.
Your loving brother,
With love,
Simply,
From,
Yours,
Your sister,
+ short name/pet name/nickname
The writer’s address can also be written without punctuation as follows.
-----------------------------------------29 Enitan Street
-----------------------------------------Aguda
-----------------------------------------Surulere Local Govt
-----------------------------------------Lagos State
-----------------------------------------20 June 2002
•The day is written as 20 instead of 20th because of zero punctuation.
INDENTED
---------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
----------------------------------Aguda,
-----------------------------------Surulere Local Government,
------------------------------------Lagos State.
-------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
OR
-------------------------------------June 20th, 2002.
1. Dearest Dupe,
2. Dear Chioma,
3. My dearest Sola,
4. Yours,
5. Yours affectionately,
6. Your brother,
•Note that “yours” is written in all cases for closing without apostrophe (your’s). If you write YOUR’S it means either “YOUR IS” or “YOUR HAS” which is ungrammatical. If you are putting any other word after YOUR, do not add ‘S’. it is wrong to write Yours sister or Yours brother. Instead, write “Your brother” or
“Your sister” (see 6 above)
•If you are writing to a pen friend abroad, every information that is not universal (that your friend might not understand because it is peculiar to your country alone) should be adequately explained.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR INFORMAL LETTERS
BEGINNING
1. Many thanks for your letter …
2. I’m very sorry not to have written before now
3. I apologize for the delay in writing
4. I received you letter …
ENDING
5. Give my regards to …
6. I look forward to hearing from you …
7. I should be grateful if you would …
8. I will be glad to hear from you soon.
Sample semi-formal letter (June 1998)
Write a letter to your elder brother working abroad describing the hardship you and your parents are facing at home and requesting him to give some financial assistance.
------------------------------------5,Olufemi Kolawole Street,
------------------------------------Okota Layout,
------------------------------------Isolo,
------------------------------------Lagos, Nigeria,
------------------------------------West Africa.
------------------------------------6th June, 2002.
Dear brother Mike,
It is quite unfortunate that we haven’t heard from you in the last four months. I have written more than three letters within this period but none of them has been replied. The letters might have been lost in transit anyway, considering the deplorable condition of our postal system in Nigeria. That is the more reason why I send this one by registered mail and I am sure it will get to you.
Our condition at home has become so bad that we can no longer withstand the hardship imposed on us by the nation’s economy. The greatest of our problem now is accommodation. Our landlord has sold the house and our new landlord has issued quit notice to all tenants to vacate the house latest by the end of August. We have no money for a new accommodation and to get another one is difficult as well as expensive. We would be expected to pay two years in advance and the agent will have to be paid some
percentage.
This has become a thing of serious worry to all of us and time is running out. Daddy has developed high blood pressure as a result of too much anxiety and he was last week admitted into the Ikeja General Hospital for treatment. He has spent a week already and the doctor said he has three more weeks to stay before he can be discharged. The drugs recommended for him are very expensive and we can no longer afford to buy them. His life depends on these drugs, we cannot afford to take chances and there will be medical bills to be settled later.
The rent for Mummy's shop is due. The proceeds from the shop for the past months has been spent on feeding and the upkeep of the family. She had tried to pay the school fees of Yemi and Bukky before Daddy’s sickness took away her running capital. She cannot even replenish her stock for lack of funds and it will be a disaster if she forfeits the shop.
I tried to help by raising some money through menial jobs to pay my own school fees. I went to Daleko market and I was helping to
load and offload bags of rice from trucks and trailers but it was of no use. Out of the N 3000 I saved, I spent N 2,500 in the
hospital for treatment of sprain in the waist. I then decided to stop because the stress was too much for me. Right now I cannot go back to school and there is no one to turn to for help.
Brother, the situation has become unbearable and it is telling on every member of the family both physically and psychologically. We can no longer eat more than once a day. This is why I am sending an SOS to you for financial assistance to take care of a new accommodation, Daddy’s medical expenses, mummy’s business, my school fees and other needs. The entire family will appreciate if you can send between 8,000 and 10,000
dollars through UBA MoneyGram before the of the month.
I hope your family is doing fine. Extend my greetings to them and remain blessed.
Your brother,
David.
One of your pen friends has written asking you to describe your favorite Nigerian dish to enable her to prepare it. Write back to her, explaining how the dish is cooked.
-----------------------------------------Ajuwa Grammar School,
-----------------------------------------Okeagbe –Akoko,
-----------------------------------------Ondo State,
-----------------------------------------Nigeria,
-----------------------------------------West Africa.
-----------------------------------------10th June, 2002.
Dear Jane,
I received your letter yesterday 9th June 2002 and I was happy to hear from you after such a long time. I have written two different letters to you in the past one month but I have not received a reply to any of them.
Nothing in your letter states whether you received them or not, if you do, please endeavor to send a reply. I am glad to know that you like African dishes especially Nigerian delicacies. My favourite dish is pounded yam with vegetable soup. To prepare this dish, you need the following items.
1. Yam tuber
2. Pestle and mortar
3. Meat (of your choice)
4. Vegetable (of your choice)
5. Salt, pepper and other seasonings
6. Egusi (melon)
Pounded yam is prepared this way. Peel the yam, cut them into small pieces, put them in the cooking pot and add water to boil it. When it’s done, put the yams gradually (one after the other) in the mortar and use the pestle to pound it into smooth paste. Add hot water to soften it and when it is good enough to eat you serve it.
You can cook your vegetable soup whichever way you like it best but I prefer mine with Egusi i.e. melon seeds.
Pour the palm oil in a clean dry pot on the fire, leave to heat up for about two minutes. Mix the ground melon seeds with water and, drop it little by little like bean cake and leave for one minute.
When the melon paste turns brown, pour the ground pepper and tomatoes into the pot, mix together with the melon on the fire, leave to boil for another one minute, add salt and other seasoning to taste and pour the already boiled meat into the pot. Mix everything together and leave to boil for five minutes.
After five minutes, when it is boiled and it is good enough Egusi soup, pour the already chopped and washed vegetable into the Egusi soup on the fire and leave to boil for another five minutes. It is then ready for eating.
Serve the pounded yam hot with the soup warm and when you taste it you won’t want to eat anything else. If you want to eat pounded yam, eat it in the afternoon or early evening when you are not doing any rigorous work or exercise. It is a heavy food and you must give it time to digest before you go to bed.
Try this dish as soon as you receive this letter and write me to tell me how it turns out. I will be glad to read from you soon. If you get this one right, I will send another menu and in no time, you will become an expert in African/Nigerian dishes.
I expect your reply soonest.
Yours,
Ogidi.
1. FORMAL / OFFICIAL / BUSINESS LETTERS
Conventions
(a) Addresses
(b) Date
(c) Salutation
(d) Subscription / Complimentary Close
(e) Signature.
1. Addresses: These include the heading and inside address.The heading/ writer’s address and the inside/ addressee’s address must be consistent in form (block or indented) and punctuation.
e.g
-----------------------------------Pen-Write Private School,
-----------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
-----------------------------------Aguda,
-----------------------------------Surulere,
-----------------------------------Lagos.
-----------------------------------8th June, 2002.
The Chairman,
Surulere Local Government,
Baruwa Area Office,
Ijeshatedo,
Lagos.
OR
-----------------------------------Pen-Write Private School,
------------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
-------------------------------------Aguda,
--------------------------------------Surulere,
---------------------------------------Lagos State.
----------------------------------------23rd June, 2002.
The Chairman,
-Surulere Local Government,
--Baruwa Area Office,
---Ijeshatedo,
----Lagos.
N.B: Put a comma after every number and at the end of every line of completed information. Then put a full stop at the end i.e. the last line.
2. Date: Date is written immediately below the writer’s address to the right.
(a) Do not write October 7 for October 7th or 7th October.
(b) Do not use figures for month e.g. (7/10/2002).
(c) Do not abbreviate the year e.g. (June 15th, ’88)
(d) Do not superscript the day e.g.(June 15th 2002)
(e) Always put a comma after the second item
e.g. (15th June, 2002 or June 15,2002)
(f) Do not include preposition in the date
e.g *15th of June, 2002.
(You can only use this in the body of the essay/letter)
3. Salutation: This is the same as greetings. It is written immediately below the addressee’s address on the left side. A comma normally follows it. The salutation for a Formal Letter is: e.g.
Dear Sir, OR Dear Madam, / Sir OR Madam, (where familiar) when the letter is addressed to a particular individual we can use the individual’s name after Dear.
e.g.
Dear Mr. Mensah
Dear Dr. Smith
Dear Chief Giwa etc.
You may put the full stop after the abbreviations of Dr., Mr. etc or remove them.
4. Complimentary Close and Signature:
The closing of a Formal Letter should be placed on a separate line in the middle or to the right of the page.
Only the first letter of the complimentary close should be in capital and it must be followed by a comma before the signature and name, which is the surname and initials of the writer.
e.g. Yours faithfully, OR
Faithfully yours,
Yours truly, OR
Truly yours,
THE CONTENT:
The content of a formal letter follows a conventional pattern. Because such letters must be clear, direct as well as provide action, we limit our subject or topic to one per letter and write in short paragraphs.
The content of a Formal Letter is divided into three.
1. The Opening: In the 1st paragraph, we announce the subject or topic and attract the addressee’s/receiver’s attention. We acknowledge briefly any previous correspondence and state our response. The opening paragraph establishes the tone of the entire letter.
2. The Body: Here we supply the information required or requested, solve the problem, show evidence or logical reasoning for our suggestions, explain our decision and so on. The body of a formal letter consists of any pattern of ideas to accomplish our purpose. The audience and purpose determine the content and style.
3. The Closing: The last/closing paragraph suggests concrete action. We also affirm the position established in the first paragraph here in the last paragraph.
TYPES OF FORMAL LETTERS ARE:
(a) Application for jobs
(b) Complaints
(c) Business inquiries
(d) Order and Remittance
(e) Booking and Travels
(f) References and Testimonials
(g) Goodwill messages and expression of opinion.
The most relevant of all these to examination purpose are (b) and (g).
THE COMPONENTS OF AN APPLICATION LETTER
1. An introductory statement, stating the source of information.
2. Personal data (which may be contained in the (C.V)
3. Record of education
4. Record of experience (if any)
5. References
6. Request for an interview.
1. Categories of Formal Letters
(a) Letters to organizations, business firms or government offices.
(b) Letters to the press.
(c) Some letters to adults who you do not know personally.
(d) Application for employment.
2. Categories of Semi-Formal Letters
(a) Letters to adult friends who could be family friends.
(b) Letters to adult relations – father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or nephew.
(c) Letters to your former Headmaster or Principal asking for reference.
(d) Letters to adults whom you do not know personally but you know about their personality or reputation.
3. Categories of Informal Letters
(a) Letters to close friends who are your contemporaries.
(b) Letters to older relatives as in
(2b) but where respect has disappeared.
(c) Letters to close relatives of your age group.
(d) Letters to pen-friends in other countries.
FEATURES OF THE THREE TYPES OF LETTERS
The features for writing any type of letter are:
1. Conventions
2. Tone
3. Language
4. Content
1. Conventions: This includes, how to set out the address and date, salutation and complimentary close.
(a) Your own address (the writer’s address): This is same for all types of letters. It could be written in two ways clearly on the top right hand corner of the page and there may be a comma at the end of each line (except the last line, which has a full stop).
The commas and full stop may also be omitted outright. It is unacceptable to put your name before / with the address. The name of the country is included in the address only when the letters is being sent abroad.
(b) The addressee’s address: This comes at the left hand corner of the page on the next line immediately below your date and very close to the margin. It also contains the name and designation of the addressee on the first line. This is strictly for official or formal letters.
(c) Salutation: This differ from letter to letter for Informal
Letters, the following are acceptable.
------------A ----------------B
-----------Yemi------------brother
-----------Chuks-----------sister
Dear-------Isah----My dear cousin
-----------John------------nephew
-----------Anesu-----------aunt / niece
Column A is for friends of your own age group.
Column B is for relations who are your contemporaries. In column B, you can also use the first names of your relations. For either of the two, “Dear friend” is not acceptable. If the fellow is actually your friend, you will know his / her name.
Use “My Dear …” Instead of “Dear …” if you want to show more closeness and affection to the person. You could also use a nickname or pet name after “Dear” or “My Dear”.
e.g “Dear Joe” or “ My Dear Joe”.
For Formal Letters, the salutation is formal/official and it is usually “Dear Sir” or “Dear Madam”. “Sir” is more formal and acceptable but “Madam” is not acceptable.
For semi-formal letters, it could be any of the following.
Dear Father
Dear Mother
Dear Daddy
Dear Mummy
Dear Brother
Dear Uncle
Dear Uncle Jimoh
Dear Mr. Oji
Dear Alhaji Bello etc
NB: “Dearest” is acceptable to indicate intimacy
e.g
My dearest father / My Dearest Father
Dearest Uncle Jide / My dearest uncle Jide
*Always remember to put a comma after salutations.
Complimentary Close: In Informal Letters, this has the same degree of intimacy or familiarity as the salutation. The commonest ending is “Yours sincerely”, (which the American now accept as ending for formal letters).
Then you write your short name, pet name or nickname (not your full name or signature)
e.g
Yours sincerely,
Bisi.
The closing for an Informal Letter is not different from that of semiformal letters. It can assume the dimension above or any of the following forms:
Yours affectionately,
Your affectionate son/daughter / cousin / nephew etc.
Yours ever,
Love from,
With love from,
Love,
Yours,
As ever,
Simply, etc plus your short name, nickname or pet name.
In formal Letters, the commonest ending is
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
(Name in full or Name and initials)
A few other expressions are also acceptable for Formal Closing. They are:
Yours truly,
Truly yours,
Very truly yours,
But these can be used when the parties concerned have had some relationship for some time.
2. Tone: This is perhaps the most important aspect of the features of letter writing.
You can tell from the tone of a person’s voice whether he is speaking to a familiar friend, a distant acquaintance or a complete stranger.
A letter also has tone and it is from this that we can tell what sort of relationship exists between the writer and his correspondent. Tone is essentially a matter of words, the way they are used and the way they are arranged in sentences. If the tone of a letter is informal or familiar, we would expect a lot of personal detail.
But if it is formal or distant we expect little or none of these personal details.
In Informal Letters, we expect all forms of informal expressions such as colloquialism, slang, contractions (don’t, won’t etc), Americanism etc. as in real life conversation but they should be used appropriately. For instance, a slang should be put in inverted comma in an informal letter, likewise Americanism and special usage.
In formal Letters, the tone is formal and this is achieved if the writer ensures that everything he writes is directly concerned with the subject. The writer also does not include inquiries about the health or a personal affair of the person he thinks is likely to receive the letter.
He should keep to the subject of the letter and be business-like. He should say whatever he wants to say as clearly as possible and as concisely, courteously and politely as the subject matter permits.
In Semi-Formal Letters, the tone is usually respectful since these are letters to adult friends and relations.
It is not acceptable to get to the formality of the formal letter or the informality or familiarity of informal letters. It is a balance, midway between the two.
3. Language: In any type of letters, language is tied up with tone because it is through language that we achieve Tone. In Informal Letters, words used are conversational in nature.
Abbreviations and short forms are acceptable as used in real life conversation (“I’ll” instead of “I will” or “I’d” instead of “I had” or “I’ve” instead of “I have”). The writer should use simple words and phrases along with straightforward sentences.
In Formal Letters, words used must be clear and to the point. To be clear, you need to avoid bombastic expressions. Use simple words and phrases, change passive to active forms. For instance, use letter instead of missive / epistle / communication etc.
4. Content: The content is the body of the letter. It is here that we see evidence of effective language used to create the appropriate tone.
In Informal Letters, formality is not expected and such letters should be formless. The ideas should be given proper sequence and should be arranged in suitable paragraphs in the order below:
(a) Reference to a previously received letter or reason for writing.
(b) Discuss any issues in previous letter (if any).
(c) Your own current news including your plans for the future.
(d) Furnish your correspondence with your personal details and make inquiries about his.
In Formal Letters, do not include more than one topic in a single letter unless otherwise dictated. In this kind of letter, plan beforehand what you want say and how to say it. Think of your purpose and your audience, then start off with a reference to a previous letter (if any) or simply state your purpose for writing. After this, state the details of what you want to say and this should be followed by your suggestion for action. When you finish, go through and ensure that the letter says what you want it to say in the way it is supposed to say it.
In semi-formal letters, organize your content as for Formal letters. First, make reference to a previous letter (if any) or state clearly why you are writing.
If any apology is needed, it should be dealt with first.
SOME SPECIAL SALUTATIONS FOR FORMAL LETTERS
Designation-----Official Salutation-------Social Salutation
1. President-----Mr. President------------Dear + title + surname
2. Governor------Your Excellency----------Dear + title + surname
3. Minister /
Commissioner-----Sir----------------------Dear + title +surname
4. Professor-----Dear Sir-----------------Dear + Professor + surname
5. Bishop--------My Lord------------------Dear + Bishop + surname
6. Magistrate----My Lord------------------Dear + Magistrate + surname
7. Judge---------Your honour--------------Dear + Justice + surname.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR FORMAL LETTERS
Beginning
1. I write to inform you …
2. Your letter …
3. I wish to bring to your notice …
4. I consider it a duty to let you know...
5. I refer to …
6. I am very sorry …
Ending
7. I should be most grateful if …
8. I will appreciate if …
A COMPLETE SAMPLE FORMAT
Block Form
......................................Graceland Academy,
......................................18, Ogunmuyiwa Street,
......................................Itire-Ijesha,
......................................Lagos State.
......................................24th May, 2003.
The Chairman,
Surulere Local Government,
Baruwa Area Office,
Ijeshatedo,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
THE DEPLORABLE STATE OF IJESHA ROAD.
OR
The Deplorable State of Ijesha Road.
NOTE: A formal letter must always carry a heading, which states what the writer is writing about. If written in block (capital) letters, you may not underline but if written in small letters you must underline boldly.
I write to notify you………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
................................................................
while looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully,
( sign )
AGUNBIADE, O. J.
Indented / Slant Form
...............................Green House Private School,
................................29, Enitan Street,
.................................Aguda,
..................................Surulere,
...................................Lagos State.
....................................8th June, 2002.
The Chairman,
.Surulere Local Government,
..Baruwa Area Office,
...Ijeshatedo,
....Lagos.
Dear Sir,
-------------THE DEPLORABLE STATE OF IJESHA ROAD.
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
while looking forward to hearing from you.
Faithfully yours,
( sign )
AGUNBIADE, O. J.
SAMPLE APPLICATION LETTERS
This may not be relevant for examination purpose but it will be very useful at one time or the other after graduation.
Sample 1: Secondary School Graduate
--------------------------------21, Irapada Church Street,
--------------------------------Itire / Ijesha,
--------------------------------Surulere,
--------------------------------Lagos State.
The Manager,
Pen-Write Communications,
Itire,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
Application As An Office Clerk.
With reference to the advertisement on your notice board, I write to apply as an office clerk in your reputable organization.
I am young girl of 18 year’s old, single and of good parentage. I have just finished my Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and I am currently awaiting my result.
I believe I will benefit immensely by working in your organization since I have the intention of pursuing my education to the higher level.
I will be glad if I am invited for an interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
You may consult the following for any further information about me.
Mr. Agunbiade O.J.
Principal
Mind Builders High School,
Ikeja – Lagos.
Telephone 08034055164
or
Miss Kumuyi G.O.
Managing Director,
Pen-Write Commodities
1, Daramola Lane,
Ijeshatedo – Lagos.
Telephone 08056282023
Thank you
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Akinyanmi Dorcas.
Sample 2: Secondary School Graduate.
-----------------------------------21, Ijesha Road,
-----------------------------------Itire / Ijesha,
-----------------------------------Surulere,
-----------------------------------Lagos State.
The Proprietress,
Pen-Write Nursery & Primary School,
44, Erelu Danisa Street,
Ijeshatedo,
Lagos.
Dear Madam,
Application As An Assistant Classroom Teacher
With reference to the advertisement on your notice board, I write to apply as an assistant classroom teacher in your reputable school.
I am young boy of 20 year’s old, single and of good parentage. I have just finished my Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and I have in my result, 2 distinctions, 4 credit passes and 2 ordinary passes. Attached herewith is a photocopy of the result for your perusal.
I will be glad if I am invited for an interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I promise to be of good behaviour if given the opportunity to be of service to your institution.
You may consult the following for any further information about me.
Mr Agunbiade O.J.
Principal
Mind Builders High School,
Ikeja – Lagos.
Telephone 08034055164
or
Miss Adigun N.O.
Lagos State University,
Ojo, Lagos.
Telephone 08023072023
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Adeyemi Patrick
Sample 3: Post Secondary School Graduate
---------------------------------213, Ijesha Road,
---------------------------------Agunlejika,Ijesha,
---------------------------------Surulere,
---------------------------------Lagos State.
The Principal,
Queensland Academy,
Apapa-Oshodi Expressway,
Lagos.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Application As An English Language Teacher
With reference to your advertisement in the Guardian Newspaper of Thursday 20th August 2004, I write to apply as an English Language teacher in your reputable school.
I am a young man of 25 years, single and of good parentage. I am a graduate of Adeniran Ogunsanya
College of Education, Ijanikin, where I obtained the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) in
2003. I studied English Language and Yoruba and I have teaching experience in both subjects in reputable tutorial schools in Lagos before my graduation. Attached herewith is a photocopy of my result and other necessary credentials for your perusal.
I will be glad if I am invited for an interview. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I promise to be of good behaviour if given the opportunity to be of service to your institution.
You may consult the following for any further information about me.
Dr Adebiyi O.A
HOD, English Dept.
Adeniran Ogunsanya College of
Education,
Ijanikin – Lagos.
Telephone 08034055164
or
Miss Johnson D.O.
WEMA Bank PLC,
Abimbola Way,
Isolo Lagos.
Telephone 08023377423
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Bello Adedayo.
Sample 4: Post Secondary School Graduate.
------------------------------------Plot 5, Johnson Street,
------------------------------------Ire-Akari Estate,
------------------------------------Isolo,
------------------------------------Lagos State.
------------------------------------25th June, 2003.
The Personnel Manager,
First Bank of Nigeria,
Marina Head Office,
Lagos.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Application As A Management Trainee
With reference to your advertisement in the Guardian Newspaper of Tuesday 17th August 2004, I write to apply as a Management Trainee in your reputable bank.
I am a young man of 25 years, single and of good parentage. I am a graduate of the Lagos State University, where I obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc) in Economics in 2003 with a Second Class Honours, upper division. Attached herewith is a photocopy of my C.V and other necessary credentials for your perusal.
I will be glad to be considered for interview and appointment. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I promise to be of good behaviour if given the opportunity to be of service to your organization.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
Amaechi Nduka.
Most school leavers do not know how to prepare a C.V and it is a very important tool in search of a job. There are different styles and format of C.V or Resume as the case may be but the simplest format is given below followed by a more professional style.
Simple format.
CURRICULUM VITAE
SURNAME: AMAECHI
OTHER NAMES: UDUKA GODWIN
CONTACT ADDRESS: P.O.BOX 2197, MARINA LAGOS.
TELEPHONE 08056282023
DATE OF BIRTH: 4TH MAY, 1973.
MARITAL STATUS: SINGLE
SEX: MALE
RELIGION: CHRISTIANITY
NATIONALITY: NIGERIAN
STATE OF ORIGIN: ABIA
HOME - TOWN: UMUAMACHA
LOCAL GOVT. AREA: OSISIOMA LGA
HOME ADDRESS: 87, RANDLE AVENUE, SURULERE, LAGOS.
INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED WITH DATES
1. IRE-AKARI PRIMARY SCHOOL, ILASAMAJA, LAGOS (1985 – 1990)
2. MUSHIN HIGH SCHOOL, OKOTA – ISOLO, LAGOS (1990 – 1996)
3. THE LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO – LAGOS (1998 – 2003)
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
1. WEST AFRICAN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE O / LEVEL (MAY / JUNE 1996.)
2. GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (G.C.E) (NOV. / DEC. 1997.)
3. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.SC ECONOMICS ) SECOND CLASS UPPER 2003.
WORKING EXPERIENCE
1. EMMANUEL AFRICAN CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL
41, OSHOGBO STREET, ITIRE / IKATE, LAGOS
POST HELD: PART-TIME TEACHER
DURATION: SEPTEMBER 2002 – SEPTEMBER 2003
2. ST BRIDGET’S COLLEGE,
ABAYI – ABA,
ABIA STATE.
POST HELD: CLASSROOM TEACHER
DURATION: NOVEMBER 2003 – DATE
(NYSC PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT)
HOBBIES: SINGING, DANCING AND READING.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: ENGLISH AND IGBO.
REFEREES:
1. MR. ADESANYA O. A
HOD, ECONOMICS DEPT.,
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE,
LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY,
OJO - LAGOS.
TELEPHONE: 08034055164
2. REV. DR. J. A. AKINYANMI
GENERAL OVERSEER,
CHRIST APOSTOLIC REDEMPTION CHURCH,
21, IRAPADA CHURCH STREET, ITIRE/IKATE,
LAGOS. TELEPHONE: 08023626002, 08055213695.
PROFESSIONAL FORMAT.
AGUNBIADE, Olusola Justus
Address: 44 ERELU DANISA STREET,IJESHATEDO,SURULERE,LAGOS.
Phone: 08058822093, 08034055164 08053325159. E-mail: justusola@yahoo.com
Date of Birth 17th August,1969
Marital Status Married
Objective To influence my working environment in a positive way and contribute my youthful quota towards the goals of the organization in which I find myself.
To accept greater challenges as a test of my real abilities.
Work a. Experience
b.
c.
d.
e.
May 1996 – June 1997. St Bridget’s College, Abayi-Aba, Abia State
Position: Graduate English & Lit Teacher ( NYSC PRY. ASSIGNMENT)
• Teaching English Language & Literature in English
Sept. 1997 – Feb. 1998. Cherubim & Seraphim College, KM 4 Apapa/Oshodi Exp., Sanya, Surulere – Lagos.
Position: Subject teacher
Teaching English Language & Lit. in English.
Feb. 1998 – July. 2002. Cherubim & Seraphim College. KM 4 Apapa/Oshodi Exp., Sanya, Surulere – Lagos.
Position: Subject teacher / Head of department
Teaching English Language
Marking of teachers lesson plan for each week
Planning the conduct of both internal & external examinations
Reporting to the Principal on issues affecting my department
Assigning responsibilities to teachers in my dept. as directed by the principal
July 2002 – July 2005 AP College. 59, Chris Ladipo Street, Ori-Oke, Ejigbo – Lagos
Position: Principal (Pioneer)
Students admission & protocol
Staff recruitment & placement
Staff discipline & welfare
Liaison with LED and state Ministry of Education
Processing and securing Govt., WAEC & NECO approval
Registering students for all external exams (WASC & NECO)
Maintaining a good relationship between the school and other parastatals
Reporting to the Proprietor
July 2005 – Sept. 2009 Christ College (of The Royal Master’s School. 8 – 10, IPM Rd, Alausa, Ikeja – Lagos)
Position: Head of School / Administrator
In addition to (d) above
Design & executing an agenda for the take-off of the college
Anchor publicity, advertisement and public relations
Determining and recruiting the entire workforce of the college
Administer the College as Acting Principal
Oversee the affairs of the school (Nursery / Primary & College)
Manage human, material and financial resources of the school
Reporting to the Chairman of the Board
f.
Education Sept. 2009 – Date Mind Builders High School, Plot 4, Otunba Jobi Fele Way, Alausa, Ikeja – Lagos
Position: principal
1990 - 1995 The Lagos State University Ojo – Lagos
2001 – 2002 The University of Lagos Akoka - Lagos
[ Degree/Major ]
B.A Ed. English Language
M.A English Language
Extracurricular activities Driving, Reading, Writing & listening to inspirational music.
Accreditations
References Pioneer Principal, AP College, Ejigbo-Lagos ( 2002-2005)
Pioneer Staff, Christ College, Alausa – Ikeja, Lagos (2005 to Date)
Mr S.O Olatunji (Chairman)
The Royal Master’s Schools Trust
1, IPM Rd, Alausa - Ikeja
Lagos
Tel: 08134051955, 09022908274
Mr Jobi Taiwo (Managing Director)
Hicad Systems Ltd
Allen Avenue, Lagos
Tel: 07033325828
Personal Attributes Computer literate, versed in Microsoft Office applications
Good leadership qualities and team spirit
Ability to work under pressure and produce brilliant results
Remarkable inter-personal relationship with colleagues and friends
Sample Formal Letter: (June 2000)
Write a letter to the Director of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in your country, complaining about the environmental pollution of your area and requesting that urgent action be taken to improve the situation.
--------------------------------------Graceland Private School,
-------------------------------------29, Agunbiade Street,
-------------------------------------Aguda,
-------------------------------------Surulere,
-------------------------------------Lagos State.
-------------------------------------24th July, 2002.
The Executive Director,
Federal Environmental Protection Agency(FEPA),
Wuse Zone II,
Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
Dear Sir,
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN LAGOS
With a deep sense of concern and responsibility, I write to intimate the authority about the deploring state of environmental pollution in Lagos State.
Lagos State is the most densely populated state in the country and the hazard is causing serious health problems and discomfort to vast majority of the populace in the state.
The first of these is the problem of heavy industrial smoke that pervades the atmosphere. This is caused by the localization of industries in most parts of the state, especially during power outages, when the industries depend on the use of generators. The emission of carbon monoxide from these generators and heavy duty vehicles is causing lung cancer because of the toxic components contained in it.
Statistics show that over twelve thousand people in Lagos State alone are treated for this disease weekly and the number is increasing by the day. The thick smoke from the burning of waste in sawmills and refuses sites, pose serious threat to lives on Lagos roads because of poor visibility. It was reported last month that the smoke from the Adekunle sawmill covered about one kilometre of the Third Mainland Bridge, which resulted in the fatal accident that claimed over one hundred lives. A good number of people have lost their lives in similar situations in other parts of Lagos where sawmills are located near major roads.
Another source of environmental pollution in Lagos State is the poor handling of refuse and wastes. As a result of over population in the state, there is always huge amount of wastes and refuse but the disposal is badly managed. ‘Pure water’ nylons fill the gutters and block drainage channels so that water no longer flows freely. The road are taken over by refuse and motorists spend long hours in traffic hold-ups simply because a half of the road is covered by refuse and they have to manage a single out of about four lanes. Even the streets are littered with refuse and this act as an agent of spreading varieties of diseases especially during the raining seasons.
To overcome this environmental problem, all industrial establishments should be made to treat their wastes in order to reduce their toxic nature. The government should establish a recycle factory, especially for nylon, plastics, cans and bottles so that less waste is generated.
Waste management should be decentralized and private participation encouraged. Individuals and corporate bodies should be compelled to clear their refuse through agents appointed by the state. Finally, both the National and State Assemblies should enact laws to put environmental pollution in check.
In conclusion, I have no doubt that the case of environmental pollution in Lagos State, which has become a thing of serious concern to residents and is causing a lot of health hazards to the people, will become a forgotten issue if my suggestions are taken serious and effectively implemented.
Yours faithfully,
(sign )
Oloruntoba Dapo.
Sample formal letter to the editor (June 1996)
The performance of your country in a recent international sports competition has generated a lot of comments. Write a letter to the editor of one of your
National Newspapers discussing the factors responsible for the level of performance and the lessons that should be learnt.
-----------------------------------------------P.O. Box 100,
-----------------------------------------------Okeagbe—Akoko,
-----------------------------------------------Ondo state.
------------------------------------------------11th June, 2002.
The Editor,
The Guardian Newspaper,
Rutam House, Isolo,
Lagos.
Dear Sir,
PERFORMANCE OF THE SUPER EAGLES AT THE 2002 KOREA/ JAPAN WORLD CUP
The world soccer championship for the year 2002 was a spectacular one. Apart from the fact that it fostered unity between the two hosting nations (Korea and Japan), it was the first time in world soccer history that the championship was played on Asian soil.
Nigerian National team, the Super Eagles, qualified as one of the four African nations to participate in the championship, having won all their qualifying matches at home.
The coach selected the best 23 players that he considered the dream-team for the future and the Super Eagles of Nigeria became the team to watch out for, at the world cup, considering their performance in the friendly matches played before the world cup began.
Unfortunately, the team did not go beyond the first round of the tournament, having lost two of their preliminary matches, first to Sweden and second to Argentina.
The reason for their woeful performance was not farfetched.
Firstly, the team did not spend enough time together in camp for adequate preparation for the world cup. They did not train together long enough to understand one another on the field of play and they played individual games at the world cup instead of a teamwork that would have given them success.
Secondly, most of the players were not disciplined enough, as they felt too big to obey instructions. Majority of the players play professional football in Europe, America and so on and most of them reported late to camp for the preparation towards the world cup. The players also lacked a sense of patriotism, as they did not play with seriousness.
Thirdly, some of the players that had key roles to play in the team came from their clubs with injuries. Players like Kanu Nwankwo and Celestine Babayaro reported to camp with injuries and they were not at their best in the matches.
Finally, most of these players were older than they claimed to be and age was no longer on their side. The younger players, on the other hand, were inexperienced. Some of them were playing international matches for the first time and their lack of exposure affected their performance.
Nigeria, therefore, has many lessons to learn from the outcome of the 2002 World Cup. One of this is that dedication and will power is needed to achieve excellence in sports. Also, adequate preparation and discipline is necessary for better performance.
In conclusion, Nigeria should go back to the drawing board and begin to build a formidable team against the next world cup, which comes up in four years time, instead of waiting till very late to select players.
We should also check our over-dependent on foreign-based players who may either disappoint us or will be unfit when the nation needs them.
Yours faithfully,
(Sign)
AGUNBIADE, O.J.
Sample Report Writing (Nov. 1989)
There has been a violent demonstration in your School, in which damage was done to school property. Write a report for the Principal, stating the causes of the demonstration, and what you think should be done to prevent a recurrence of such an incidence.
---------------------------------Eyo – Oke Comp. High School,
---------------------------------1,College Road,
---------------------------------Oyin Akoko,
---------------------------------Ondo State.
---------------------------------10th August, 2002.
The Principal,
Eyo-Oke Comp. High School,
Oyin Akoko,
Ondo State.
Sir,
REPORT ON THE VIOLENT DEMONSTRATION IN THE SCHOOL.
The violent and destructive students’ demonstration which took place on Tuesday 4th of June 2002 was the first of its kind in the history of this institution and it was an explosion of the bottled anger of students as a result of prolonged neglect and lack of concern for their welfare. It is however unfortunate that the students had to demonstrate to drive home their points.
The boarding students have complained many times in the past that the quality and quantity of food served them were bad and inadequate. The food prefect and I had complained to the matron who controls the cooks, on behalf of the students. Promises were made towards improvement but nothing positive happened.
The day students also complained many times about the arbitrary increase in transport fare from the town to the school, especially during periods of fuel scarcity. They even suggested in our last executive meeting with you that the school bus be refurbished and put back on the road and I remember you said that the PTA was doing something in that regard.
The demonstration was triggered off that Tuesday morning when the boarding students rejected the rice and beans cooked for breakfast and the SS 2 and 3 students began to sing solidarity songs. The day students that had paid double the normal fare to school that morning and the day before, joined in the demonstration. I immediately called an emergency executive meeting. All the prefects were in attendance in the library and we resolved to call for a congress in order to address the students and possibly calm them down while we wait for your arrival.
In the congress, which was held in the auditorium, we spoke to the students but they insisted on a peaceful demonstration within the school and to the king’s palace.
As we were about to round off the congress, I was making my final appeal when the Vice-Principal (Mr. Ojo) came into the auditorium with two policemen and ordered them to arrest all the prefects on the stage. The students revolted and prevented the policemen from arresting us. Out of annoyance,
Mr. Ojo was beaten to a state of unconsciousness. The two police officers were mobbed and later locked up in the toilet behind the auditorium.
The students then went out, breaking louvre blades, shattering vehicle windscreens, beating up any member of staff in sight, including the matron and the cooks. The worst of it all, they burnt down the vice-principal’s house and car. Thank God his wife and children had fled out of the house before the students arrived.
I sincerely hope that you will use your good office to institute an investigative panel to find out other remote causes of the demonstration. They should also assess the extent of damage done and proffer solutions so that such an incident will not recur.
Olupinla Funmilayo,
Senior Prefect.
SEMI – FORMAL LETTERS (SAMPLE STRUCTURE)
A semi-formal letter will have a similar structure as an informal letter if it is a letter to the following categories of people i.e the writer’s address, salutation and closing.
1. Letters to adult friends
2. Letters to adult relations
But the structure takes almost a formal shape if it is:
1. Letters to an adult whom you do not know personally but you know by reputation or personality e.g A family doctor.
2. A letter to your former Principal or Headmaster.
In this case, it will have one address like an Informal Letter. But the closing will be “Yours sincerely”, plus Full name. And the salutation will be “Dear” + title + surname.
Example A:
-----------------------------------------Quarters 24,
-----------------------------------------Alagbaka Estate,
-----------------------------------------State G R A,
-----------------------------------------Akure,
-----------------------------------------Ondo State.
-----------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
Dear Uncle Lekan,
•For the closing, any of 1, 2 and 3 or others as in informal letters would suffice.
1. Bye for now,
2. God bless,
3. Yours ever, ( + short name)
Example B:
-----------------------------------------18, Wharf Road,
-----------------------------------------Apapa,
-----------------------------------------Lagos.
-----------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
(Dear + title + surname)
1. Dear Professor Oshin,
2. Dear Alhaji Usman,
3. Dear Dr. David,
4. Dear Mr. Oniororo,
5. Dear Evangelist Onifade,
Yours sincerely,
(surname + first name)
1. Mohammed Isah
2. Adesanya Ahmed
3. Nwanna Emeka
OR
------------------------------------Lagos State University,
------------------------------------P.M.B. 1087, Apapa,
------------------------------------Km 10, Badagry Expressway,
------------------------------------Ojo, Lagos.
------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
Dear Professor Adejare,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yours sincerely,
Agunbiade Olusola.
Note that when writing a closing for any letter at all, the first item begins with capital letter and others with small letters.
For instance,
Formal
Yours faithfully,
Faithfully yours,
Yours truly,
Truly yours,
Semi-Formal
Yours sincerely,
Sincerely yours,
Informal
Your loving brother,
Yours affectionately,
Your affectionate son,
Affectionately yours,
With love,
As ever,
Yours ever,
Bye for now,
God bless,
Love from, etc.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR SEMI-FORMAL LETTERS
Beginning
1. I am pleased to inform you
2. This is to inform you…
3. It was good to hear from you …
4. Thanks for your letter and the …
5. I received your letter and the …
Ending
6. I pray that God will reward you…
7. Give my regards to …
8. I hope to hear from you soon
9. My regards to ...
10. Extend my greetings to ...
11. Remain blessed
12. Looking forward to hearing from you
INFORMAL/PERSONAL/FRIENDLY LETTER (SAMPLE)
BLOCK
--------------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
--------------------------------------Aguda,
--------------------------------------Surulere Local Govt.,
--------------------------------------Lagos State.
--------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
1. Dear Sola,
2. Dear Vic,
3. My dear sister,
4. My dearest cousin,
5. My Dear Brother
•Consistency is expected in salutation. If you use capital ‘D’ for Dear after ‘My’ use capital ‘B’ (or other letters) for the next item as in (5) above. If you use small letter for ‘dear’ use small letter for the next item as in (3) and (4) above.
Your loving brother,
With love,
Simply,
From,
Yours,
Your sister,
+ short name/pet name/nickname
The writer’s address can also be written without punctuation as follows.
-----------------------------------------29 Enitan Street
-----------------------------------------Aguda
-----------------------------------------Surulere Local Govt
-----------------------------------------Lagos State
-----------------------------------------20 June 2002
•The day is written as 20 instead of 20th because of zero punctuation.
INDENTED
---------------------------------29, Enitan Street,
----------------------------------Aguda,
-----------------------------------Surulere Local Government,
------------------------------------Lagos State.
-------------------------------------20th June, 2002.
OR
-------------------------------------June 20th, 2002.
1. Dearest Dupe,
2. Dear Chioma,
3. My dearest Sola,
4. Yours,
5. Yours affectionately,
6. Your brother,
•Note that “yours” is written in all cases for closing without apostrophe (your’s). If you write YOUR’S it means either “YOUR IS” or “YOUR HAS” which is ungrammatical. If you are putting any other word after YOUR, do not add ‘S’. it is wrong to write Yours sister or Yours brother. Instead, write “Your brother” or
“Your sister” (see 6 above)
•If you are writing to a pen friend abroad, every information that is not universal (that your friend might not understand because it is peculiar to your country alone) should be adequately explained.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR INFORMAL LETTERS
BEGINNING
1. Many thanks for your letter …
2. I’m very sorry not to have written before now
3. I apologize for the delay in writing
4. I received you letter …
ENDING
5. Give my regards to …
6. I look forward to hearing from you …
7. I should be grateful if you would …
8. I will be glad to hear from you soon.
Sample semi-formal letter (June 1998)
Write a letter to your elder brother working abroad describing the hardship you and your parents are facing at home and requesting him to give some financial assistance.
------------------------------------5,Olufemi Kolawole Street,
------------------------------------Okota Layout,
------------------------------------Isolo,
------------------------------------Lagos, Nigeria,
------------------------------------West Africa.
------------------------------------6th June, 2002.
Dear brother Mike,
It is quite unfortunate that we haven’t heard from you in the last four months. I have written more than three letters within this period but none of them has been replied. The letters might have been lost in transit anyway, considering the deplorable condition of our postal system in Nigeria. That is the more reason why I send this one by registered mail and I am sure it will get to you.
Our condition at home has become so bad that we can no longer withstand the hardship imposed on us by the nation’s economy. The greatest of our problem now is accommodation. Our landlord has sold the house and our new landlord has issued quit notice to all tenants to vacate the house latest by the end of August. We have no money for a new accommodation and to get another one is difficult as well as expensive. We would be expected to pay two years in advance and the agent will have to be paid some
percentage.
This has become a thing of serious worry to all of us and time is running out. Daddy has developed high blood pressure as a result of too much anxiety and he was last week admitted into the Ikeja General Hospital for treatment. He has spent a week already and the doctor said he has three more weeks to stay before he can be discharged. The drugs recommended for him are very expensive and we can no longer afford to buy them. His life depends on these drugs, we cannot afford to take chances and there will be medical bills to be settled later.
The rent for Mummy's shop is due. The proceeds from the shop for the past months has been spent on feeding and the upkeep of the family. She had tried to pay the school fees of Yemi and Bukky before Daddy’s sickness took away her running capital. She cannot even replenish her stock for lack of funds and it will be a disaster if she forfeits the shop.
I tried to help by raising some money through menial jobs to pay my own school fees. I went to Daleko market and I was helping to
load and offload bags of rice from trucks and trailers but it was of no use. Out of the N 3000 I saved, I spent N 2,500 in the
hospital for treatment of sprain in the waist. I then decided to stop because the stress was too much for me. Right now I cannot go back to school and there is no one to turn to for help.
Brother, the situation has become unbearable and it is telling on every member of the family both physically and psychologically. We can no longer eat more than once a day. This is why I am sending an SOS to you for financial assistance to take care of a new accommodation, Daddy’s medical expenses, mummy’s business, my school fees and other needs. The entire family will appreciate if you can send between 8,000 and 10,000
dollars through UBA MoneyGram before the of the month.
I hope your family is doing fine. Extend my greetings to them and remain blessed.
Your brother,
David.
COMPREHENSION
Comprehension
Each comprehension passage carries 20marks. ½ mark is deducted for every grammatical or expression error. Where two answers are given and one is wrong, the candidate scores zero. But if both answers are correct, a full mark is awarded for the question (no extra/additional score).
Where equivalent of words is not as used in the passage, the candidate scores zero.
All your answers in this section does not necessarily have to be in complete sentence.
There are 2 comprehension passages in this section for WAEC and 1 for NECO, both of which are compulsory. One cannot predict
the areas where the passages will be taken from except the suggested list in the syllabus, but what is sure from observations over the years, is the manner of questioning.
1. Direct Questions: These are questions whose answers can be found on the surface i.e directly in the passage. You may
write them the way they are in the passage but it is advisable to change them into your own words.
Another form of direct question is that which requires you to quote from the passage. Here, you find the quotation and write it down as it is – No stress.
2. Indirect Questions: These are questions whose answers are not written directly in the passage. You use the idea presented in the passage to arrive at such answer. Your deep understanding
of the passage is required to answer such questions. For instance, if a question says “what is the feeling of the writer about... OR How does the writer feel about...”. You were not there when the writer wrote, but the tone of the passage and the diction will tell you the mood of the writer, which is either Pleasant / Happy or Unpleasant /Sad.
3. Logical Questions: These are questions that require some critical reasoning.
You will use a premise from the passage to arrive at the answer.
(a) Induction: This reasoning proceeds from a specific premise to a general conclusion.
e.g. Ade is brilliant – Specific premise
Pen-Write School Students are brilliant – Further argument
Ade is a Pen-Write School Student – General Conclusion
(b) Deduction: This reasoning proceeds from a general premise to a specific conclusion.
e.g. Ade is a Pen-Write School student – General premise
Pen-Write School students are brilliant – Further argument
Ade is brilliant – Specific conclusion
4. Literary Question: These are questions that bother on literary or figurative expression (what you know as figures of speech). Majority of WAEC/NECO candidates are not literature students but you are expected to know a considerable number of figurative use of language, such as:
(a) Simile
(b) Metaphor
(c) Personification
(d) Irony
(e) Paradox
(f) Oxymoron
(g) Euphemism
(h) Synecdoche
(i) Metonymy
(j) Hyperbole
Out of these ten (10), b, c, and j have been mostly used and are still being used widely by WAEC and NECO.
It might be any of the others that you will have in your own time. Therefore, do some work on your own and prepare for all of them and even more.
5. Semantic Questions: These are questions asking the candidates to provide another word or phrase to replace the given one(s) as used in the passage.
To handle this part, you need a complete understanding of each paragraph or the entire passage to be able to figure out the exact equivalent meaning of the word(s) used by the writer. For instance, in the sentence
– He asked the man for change.
The word CHANGE in this context may mean the reverse of a situation or an amount left from the initial money
given for a purchase. The exact meaning therefore will be found in the relationship that existed between the writer/speaker and the man.
5. Grammatical Questions: This is the only part where syntax i.e. the structure of English language is directly tested. It is a dreadful area to students simply because they do not have a good grasp of it.
Questions on grammatical names and functions over the years have not gone beyond the following areas and this is not expected to change for a long time.
(a) Noun phrases and Noun clauses
(b) Adjectival phrases and Adjectival clauses
(c) Adverbial phrases and Adverbial clauses
The basic terms that bring confusion are PHRASES and CLAUSES and definitions in most of our textbooks have not helped matters in any way. Very few students can say with confidence that they know the difference between a phrase and a clause. For this
reason, an operational definition like the ones below will suffice.
Phrase: A Phrase is a group of words having no verb/finite verb and which does not express a complete thought. This can be broken down as follows:
(a) It must be a group of words i.e. 2 or more elements
(b) It may have no verb at all or when it has, the verb will be nonfinite.
(c) It does not express a complete thought.
e.g. (i)
A man – 2 elements
A man in the garden – 5 elements
A man in the garden at the backyard – 8 elements
A man in the garden at the backyard of the house –11 elements
In (i) above, all the examples satisfy criteria (a), (b) and (c) of the definition. But none of them contains a verb.
e.g. (ii)
To see the man – 4 elements
Frightened by thunder – 3 elements
Seeing the man in the garden – 6 elements
An attempt to see the man in the garden – 9 elements
In (ii), the conditions (a), (b) and (c) are also satisfied but they all contain verbs which are non-finite i.e. verbs which do not express a state or signify the completeness of an action or a process.
Note however, that ‘see’ is a finite verb in other cases
e.g. I can see you OR I see you.
But when any verb is preceded by the infinitive “TO”, it becomes non-finite. ‘Frightened’ on the other hand is a participial phrase while ‘seeing’ is gerundive.
Finally (i) and (ii) put together do not express a complete thought.
TYPES OF PHRASES:
(Phrases are equivalents of Group in Systemic Grammar)
1. Noun Phrase/Nominal Group
2. Adjectival Phrase/Adjectival Group
3. Adverbial Phrase/ Adverbial Group
4. Prepositional Phrase/ Prepositional Group
Phrases are identified by their functions relating to specific grammatical elements.
For instance, many phrases are prepositional in structure but adjectival or adverbial in function.
e.g.
(1) With surprise – Prep. + Noun = Prepositional Phrase
(2) She looked up with surprise – Prep. + Noun= Adverbial Phrase (of manner)
(3) The girl with a scar – Prep + Noun Phrase= Adjectival Phrase
(1) above explains the constituents of the group of words headed by a preposition.
In (2), the same group of words now perform the function of an adverb and (3) is a similar component performing the function of an adjective.
Therefore, Noun Phrases/Nominal groups perform the function of Nouns,
Adjectival Phrases/groups perform the function of Adjectives (i.e. describing nouns and their equivalents) while Adverbial Phrases/groups perform the same function as Adverbs, no matter
the component part of its elements.
EXAMPLES ON NOUN PHRASES
1. An attempt has failed – Noun Phrase functioning as subject
2. An attempt to impeach the president has failed – Noun Phrase functioning as subject
3. It is an attempt to impeach the president -Noun Phrase as complement
4. They made an attempt to impeach the president – Noun Phrase as Object
CLASSES OF NON – FINITE VERBS IN PHRASES
The Phrase may contain kind of verbs that are non-finite in nature. It can always do without a subject although in some cases, it may have an optional subject. All main verbs, however, have their finite and nonfinite forms. The structural characteristics of the non- finite forms of verbs are expressed in the four main classes below.
1. Infinitive with ‘To’
(a) Without subject
– The only reaction would be to call him to order.
— The worst Punishment would be to send him to jail.
— The best thing would be to tell the king
(b) With subject
– The best thing would be for you to tell the king.
— The worst punishment would be for the judge to send him to
jail.
— The only reaction would be for you to call him to order.
We should note here that for a nonfinite clause with ‘TO’ to have a subject, it characteristically begins with ‘FOR’ before the subject.
2. Infinitive without ‘To’
(a) Without subject – All I need is pass my exam
— What I did was kiss her in the open.
(b) With subject – Rather than me do
it, I’ll hired someone to do the job.
— Rather than the school punish John, I'd prefer to suffer in his stead.
In (a) above, there seems to be an invisible ‘To’ that is deliberately omitted which is why the verbs ‘pass’ and ‘kiss’ remain in the infinitive state.
In (b), the use of ‘rather than’ in the introduction of the subject ‘me’ and the school’ is to register the invisible presence of ‘TO’ before the verb.
3. ING or Present Participle
(a) Without subject
– Leaving the office, he went to the club
— Walking on the road, she saw a snake
(b) With subject
– My father having left home, I went to the cinema.
— Her mother having left the room, I told her the truth.
In (a) above, we must note that verbs in the continuous / progressive form without auxiliary are non- finite.
In (b), the combination of the progressive (have in) and participle (left) does not signify finiteness as it has the equivalent meaning of ‘out of’.
4. -ED or Past Participle
(a) Without subject
– Covered with sweat, he toiled in the sun
— Filled with shame, he started to cry
(b) With subject — They left the stadium and went home, the match over
— With the tree growing tall, we have more shade.
STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OF NON-FINITE VERB POSITION IN PHRASES
1. They fail to make the distinction necessary among person, number or modal auxiliary.
2. Most of the time, ambiguity occurs as to which nearby nominal element is notionally the subject.
e.g. We saw her leaving the room – ‘ing’ participle.
There is ambiguity in whether it is ‘we’ that saw ‘him’ on our way out of the room or ‘we’ saw ‘him’ as he was going out of the room. The only virtue in such cases is that they can tighten or compact a prose writing style and make it flexible.
e.g.
To be candid – ‘To’ infinitive form.
If I am to be candid – Dependent clause.
In negative phrases, the ‘NOT’ is placed before the verb or before the ‘TO’ in the infinitive form.
e.g. it was a mistake for not arresting him at once
The noblest thing is not to lie.
INTERJECTIONS
Interjection is a word or group of words used to express strong feeling, anger, surprise, joy, etc. in exclamation. They have no referential content and they are, most of the time, used to initiate utterances.
They are also considered as a form of ‘verbless’ phrase in their structural occurrence, though they belong to a class of their own.
The interjection has no grammatical relation to the other parts of a sentence.
It can stand alone, as in the example below.
Oh dear! I am so tired
Hooray! The cheque came in the mail.
When it does, it is usually followed by an exclamation mark (!). and if it is part of a sentence as in the example below, it is set off by a comma.
For heaven’s sake, take off those dirty shoes.
For crying out loud, pay up your debts.
ADJECTIVAL PHRASES
1. Prepositional: These type of Adjectival phrases are introduced by prepositions e.g.
(i) The boy with the book under his arm is my brother
(ii) She married a man of great wealth.
(iii) The man in the garden has been arrested
(iv) With the war now over, the government has the job of reconstruction in its hands.
2. Participial: They are introduced by participles.
Though the participles are verbal forms, they are not finite.
(i) The antelope frightened by the noise plunged into the bush.
(ii) The man bitten by the snake died in the hospital.
3. Infinitive: These forms of adjectival phrases are infinitive verb forms made to function as adjectives.
(i) The attempt to impeach the President did not succeed.
(ii) The desire to pass your exam made you read this book.
(iii) Too anxious to start the exam, she began to hiss (being too anxious to start the exam)
Adjectival phrases and clauses perform the functions of adjectives i.e. qualifying, describing and supplying additional information about nouns and their equivalent.
ADVERBIAL PHRASES
Adverbial phrases and clauses perform the function of Adverb i.e. they modify (restrict the scope of operation or monitor) verb/verbal groups at the primary degree of delicacy.
e.g.
1. She came yesterday – Adverb (of time)
2. She came on time – Adverbial Phrase (of time)
3. She came last year – Adverbial Phrase (of time)
4. She came when her father died - Adverbial Clause (of time)
The functions of the underlined expressions in examples 1- 4 are the same.
They all supply answer to the question WHEN, as the time when the action CAME took place. In essence, each of them is said to
modify the verb ‘came’.
At the secondary degree of delicacy, adverb modify other word classes, like;
1. Adjective – She was extremely angry
2. Adverb – She walks quite slowly
3. Pronouns – Almost everybody was present
4. Determiners – Only five students were present.
SOME CLASSES OF ADVERBIAL PHRASES
Time:
(a) She came home in the night – Adverbial Phrase of time.
(b) He arrived in the early hours of Sunday–Adv. Phrase of time.
Place:
(a) I saw him at the market junction– Adverbial Phrase of Place.
(b) We lived in a three bedroom bungalow –Adv. Phrase of place.
Manner:
(a) She looked up with surprise – Adv. Phrase of manner.
(b) He did it in annoyance – Adv. Phrase of manner.
Affirmation:
(a) He will come no matter what – Adv. Phrase of affirmation.
(b) We shall win without any trouble - Adv. Phrase of affirmation.
Frequency:
(a) They come here once in a while – Adv. Phrase of frequency.
(b) He comes here all the time - Adv. Phrase of frequency.
Result:
(a) He stole and was arrested as a result – Adv. Phrase of result.
(b) She fought and was injured in the process – Adv. Phrase of result.
CLAUSES:
The English clause has no definite definition. But it is so important within the framework of English Grammar that different schools of thought accord it recognition as one, if not the most important topic in English syntax.
In the hierarchy of the Grammatical Units of English, Chomsky’s TGG did not recognize it as a unit but subsumed it under the sentence, which is the largest unit under its complex sentence structure. The Systemic Grammar on the other hand gave it a rightful place as the unit above the group and immediately below the sentence.
GRAMMATICAL GRAMMATICAL
UNITS (TGG) UNIT (SFG)
Sentence--------Sentence
Phrase----------Clause
Word------------Group
Morpheme--------Word
* --------------Morpheme
Whether as a major or a sub-unit, the importance of CLAUSE in English cannot be underestimated.
A definition says a clause “is a group of words expressing a thought but forming part of a sentence”. Based on the Traditional Concepts, the constituents of this will be a Subject and a Predicate.
The argument here is that a clause is not necessarily “a group of words” because a word (usually a finite verb) can stand as a clause. Another area of disagreement is a clause”… forming part of sentence” A clause that has a subject and a finite verb is in itself a simple sentence and not part of it. e.g.
Run – 1 element (finite verb) Dependent Clause
Run away – 2 elements Dependent clause
Run away immediately – 3 elements Dependent clause
He ran away immediately – 4 elements independent clause/simple sentence
When the thought expressed is complete, we say the verb is finite and when the thought is not complete, the verb is said to be non-finite as in Phrases.
Clauses therefore are expressed basically under the formal criteria of Dependency and finiteness.
MAJOR
Major Clauses are clauses with a Predicator, i.e. verb or verbal groups. In essence, Independent Clauses, Dependent Clauses, Finite clauses are all major classes of English clause because they have predicators.
MINOR
Minor clauses are clauses without visible Predicators. They occur frequently in dialogue and creative writings. Though they
lack an essential element of clause structure, they nonetheless function as clauses. e.g. (a) verbless clauses.
ELEMENTS OF ENGLISH CLAUSE STRUCTURE
The structure of the English clause and its elements has generated a lot of controversies over the years. The 20th century witnessed four (4) different structural formulae for the English clause with each one claiming to be an improvement
over the other.
Traditional Grammar structure of the English clauses according to Jesperson,1933 has the age-old Subject and Predicate – S + P
Christopherson and Sandved, 1969 also supported the S + P formula. But Chomsky substituted it with the S – NP + VP in 1957
before Quirk et al 1972 and Leech and Svartvik 1975 came up with their neo – traditional four (4) slot formula S V O A which became widely acceptable and seemed unblemished. Halliday in 1961 found the S V O A formula deficient in some regards and his Systemic Grammar produced the latest formula, the (S) P (C) (A).
The S + P formula assumed a binary division, the first part (subject) usually a nominal group and the second part (predicate) consisting any or all of verbal, nominal, Adverbial, adjectival and prepositional groups. When it will be sufficient for simple structures such as:
The man died – S------P
-------------The man died.
It will not be adequate to compact multiple classes of words together in the same position where the structure becomes more complex. e.g.
The man died while still in the hospital bed receiving treatment for diabetes.
The second formula S NP + VP is guilty of the same inadequacy because it is more or less a rename of the S + P formula and other theoretical problems.
The SVOA formula was more acceptable as it took care of more naturally occurring structures within the English clause and it reduces the number of elements functioning under each slot. But the formula does not state whether they all have to be present in a particular structure. It also puts together both lower and higher meta-theoretical categories in its choice of label for the four slots.
The subject position is a higher levels under which nouns, pronouns and nominal function while the Adjunct position is also
a higher level under which Adverbs, Nominal, Adverbials and Prepositional function.
But the position of the Verb itself is a lower level and has itself functioning its own slot. The use of Object in the third position is also an error considering the fact that nouns and pronouns as well as Adjectives function in this position.
---------S ------V ----O -----A
e.g. the girl / is / nice / today.
The Adjective NICE cannot be called an Object but a Complement.
The use of Complement ( SVOCA) in Quirk and Greenbaum 1975 is an admittance of the need for a modification but there was no ‘C’ in the original formula.
The (S) P (C) (A) formula seems to have taken care of all these inadequacies and it may stand the test of time better than the other formulae as far as the English clause structure is concerned.
THE FINITE VERB IN CLAUSES.
Quirk and Greenbaum (1987) in A university Grammar of English states that:
“The main feature of the finite clause … is that it contains a subject and a predicate with the possible exception of commands and ellipsis”.
Therefore, all independent clauses are finite clauses because they all contain a subject and finite verb in their predicate
positions.
e.g.
The man died.
The teacher gave a lecture.
I am speaking to the class.
But it failed to account for dependent clauses introduced by clause markers and subordinators and which also contain finite
verbs
e.g
…Before the man died
…While the teacher gave a lecture
…If I am speaking to the class.
We can say therefore, that all clauses, whether independent or dependent, containing finite verb with or without subject are
finite clauses
e.g
Love your neighbour — finite clause without subject
Eat good food — f i n i t e clause without subject
Look up to God — f i n i t e clause without subject
Finite verb in this case being, that which signifies the completeness of an action, a process or establishes a state of being. In essence, all independent clauses are finite clauses but not all finite clauses are independent clauses.
VERBLESS CLAUSES
(This may seem contradictory since it has been established that there can be no clause without a Finite Verb)
Verbless clauses have neither visible verbs nor subjects. The omitted finite verb is always felt to be a form of the verb BE and when the subject is omitted it can often be recovered from the context of the sentence.
e.g.
(a) Many people were killed in the riot, some of them women (some of the ‘many people’ are women).
(b) Whether beautiful or ugly, she wins the respect of most men. (whether ‘she’ is beautiful or ugly)
Verbless clauses are treated as reductions of Finite Clauses
e.g.
(a) The teacher walked slowly into the class, his cap on his head (his cap put on his head)
(b) When hungry, the dog barks angrily (when it is hungry).
(a) and (b) – as reduction of finite clauses
CLAUSE
For the purpose of explanation, a Clause can be described as a word or group of words having a finite verb ( predicator) and which expresses a complete thought. This can be broken down as follows:
(a) It could be a word
(b) It could be a group of words
(c) It must contain a Finite verb (the obligatory element)
(d) It must express a complete thought
e.g.
1. Come
2. Come here
3. Come here right away
4. They come here everyday
5. They are expected to have come here earlier
6. Because they come here everyday
7. As soon as they come here.
8. If they come here.
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: An independent clause is a clause which can function alone without support mostly because they have a subject and they qualify to be simple sentences. 4 & 5 above are examples of Independent Clause. It is also called a super -ordinate clause, a main clause, a major clause, a primary clause and an alpha clause among others.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE: This is a clause that has no subject and cannot function alone without support or a clause that has all
its component part complete but is introduced by a subordinate marker. Examples 1,2 & 3 fall in the 1st category of Dependent Clauses i.e. clauses without subjects while examples 6, 7 & 8 fall in the 2nd category i.e. clauses introduced by subordinate markers.
Dependent clauses are also called subordinate clauses, minor clauses, secondary clauses and beta clauses.
EXAMPLES ON CLAUSES
1. The attempt that was meant to remove the President has failed – Noun Clause/Nominal Clause in Subject Position
2. They made an attempt that was meant to remove the president
– Noun clause/ Nominal clause in object position
3. There was an attempt that was aimed at removing the president – Noun Clause/Nominal clause in complement position.
NB: The difference between Phrases and Clauses is that the former does not have finite verbs while the later has finite verbal position– was meant, was aimed.
TYPES OF CLAUSES
Like phrases, clauses differ from each other depending on the grammatical elements they relate to.
1. Noun Clauses
2. Adjectival Clauses
3. Adverbial Clauses
Since Noun Phrases and noun Clauses perform the functions of Nouns, you may want to know what those functions are.
1. As subject
2. As object
3. As complement
4. As element of prepositional group/ phrase
5. As apposition
For instance,
An attempt to impeach the president has failed – Noun phrase
An attempt to impeach the president has failed – Adjectival Phrase
The man who stole the money was arrested – Noun clause
The man who stole the money was arrested – Adjectival clause
When a noun phrase or noun clause is headed by a preposition it becomes an element under such preposition and when there is more than a single reference to a subject, we call that Apposition.
e.g. (a) Mr. Peter, the Director is here
(b) He is Mr. Peter, the Director
(c) He called Mr. Peter, the Director
(a) - Is an appositive subject
(b) - Is an appositive complement
(c) - Is an appositive object
The point to note therefore is the difference between the Object and Complement.
Object: When the Nominal Position is preceded by an action verb
Complement: When the Nominal Position is preceded by a verb of state / process i:e non-action verbs.
e:g He is Mr. Peter — Complement
He called Mr. Peter — Object
NOUN CLAUSES/NOMINAL CLAUSES
1. When you want him is another issue – subject
2. What I am searching for is the joy of fatherhood – subject
3. We do not know whether they want him – direct complement
4. The issue is if they want him – subject complement
5. The issue, that they need him has not been resolved – apposition
6. The agreement depends on whether they want him – Prepositional complement
7. I cannot understand why he behaves like that – Object
8. Taiwo hates everyone who easily gets angry – Object
9. An accident which occurs like that requires a critical evaluation – subject
10. How he made the trip was a surprise – subject
ADJECTIVAL CLAUSE
Adjectival clauses are introduced by the following relative pronouns [which is why they are sometimes referred to as relative clause]
Who: He is the man who stole the money
Whom: We saw the boy whom we sent on an errand
Whose: This is the baker in our street whose bread is the best
Which: I cannot remember the film, which I watched last night
That: Show the item that you bought in the supermarket
Where: I saw a place where fresh water was available
NB: Adjectival Phrases are integral parts of Noun Phrases while Adjectival clauses are integral part of Noun/Nominal clauses.
Care must be taken not to confuse Adjectival Clauses introduced by WHERE with Adverbial Clauses of Place. The former relates to
Nouns while the latter relates to Verbs.
e:g *I saw him where fresh water was available – Adverbial Clause of Place
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
1. Adverbial Clause of Time: Adverbial clauses of time supply answers to the question WHEN which expresses time and they are most frequently introduced by the following conjunction among others. Once, since, immediately, etc.
Immediately: He came immediately we arrived
Once: I will recognize him once I see him
Since: She has been moody since her husband died
When: He came here when you travelled
After: I will see you after I finish this discussion
As: I saw him as I was alighting from the bus
As soon as: He came as soon as the chairman arrived
Before: The man died before we got to the hospital
Till or Until: You will wait till/ until I am ready to see you
Whenever: You may come whenever you want to see me
While: He copied his note while others were writing a test
2. Adverbial Clause of Place: Adverbial Clause of Place express place relations and supply answer to the question WHERE.
They are introduced by the conjunctions:
Where: I saw him where the accident occurred
Wherever: I will follow you wherever you go
3. Adverbial Clause of Manner: This supplies answer to the question HOW and it is signaled by the subordinating conjunction such as:
As (exactly as, just as): Do the job as you were told
As if: she behaves as if she was a thief
As though: He acted as though he were the boss
4. Adverbial Clause of Degree: This supplies answer to the question TO WHAT EXTENT and is commonly introduced by the following conjunctions:
As… as…: we did not suffer as much as we thought
*Than: she is older than we expected
*So… That…: The ice cubes were so cold that I dropped them
* Note that the two examples above have Adverbial Clauses modifying Adjectives cold and older respectively. This is a secondary degree of operation and the verb in the main clause is usually a non-action verb as in is and were.
5. Adverbial Clause of Condition: This states the reliance of one reason on another i:e a condition is required before an action is possible. The possibility of action depends on a given condition.
Adverbial clauses of condition are introduced by the conjunctions ‘IF’ and ‘ UNLESS’ ‘IF NOT’ or some words or phrase
having the equivalent meaning of ‘IF’ and ‘UNLESS’. Such substitutes are
Provided :
Provided that : I will go to the market provided [ that ] it does not rain.
In case that: He will repeat the class in case In case: (that) he fails the examination.
Supposing:
Supposing that: He would have committed suicide supposing (that) I did not get there on time
If: I will accept the money if it is complete.
Unless: I will not accept the money unless it is complete
6. Adverbial Clause of Reason or Cause:
This supplies answer to the question WHY and such clauses are introduced by the conjunction BECAUSE and other words or phrase having the equivalent meaning of “because”
BECAUSE: I came back because I did not meet him
Since: We kept quiet since he did not listen to us.
As: As he was ill, he could not play in the match.
For: She travelled abroad for the pressure at home was too much
In as much as: Go ahead and write your point, in as much as ...
7. Adverbial Clause of Purpose: This is closer to Reason in orientation and it states the purpose for an action. Such adverbial clauses are introduced by the following conjunctions.
That: I go that I may prepare a place for you
So that: I go so that I may prepare a place for you
In order that: She warned him in order that he may be on his guard.
For-as-much as: For as much as you are sure of your facts (for-as-much) as...
8. Adverbial Clause of Result or Effect: This is similar to adverbial clauses of purpose and reason because they are introduced by similar conjunctions, but the difference is in the meaning they carry. Such conjunctions are:
That: She spoke in such whisper that no one heard her
So: The entrance was blocked so that it was impossible to reach her
So that: The door was locked so that it was impossible to leave the room.
Such… that… She spoke in such a whisper that no one heard her.
So… that… She cried so bitterly that she lost her voice.
Adverbial clauses of Result or Effect tell us about things that really happened rather than the purpose of any action unlike adverbial clauses of purpose. They often contain an ordinary verb form without a modal auxiliary.
9. Adverbial Clause of Concession or Contrast: This has the tendency of usually occurring at initial position, though sometimes end position is possible. It always implies that the main statement is true (concession) in spite of (contrast) the opposing circumstance. Adverbial clauses of concession or contrast are introduced by the conjunctions THOUGH and ALTHOUGH
or other words or phrases having the equivalent meaning of “though” and “although”.
Though: though he is tall he is not handsome
Although: although he is rich, I cannot marry him
Whatever: whatever wealth he may have, he will not enjoy it
However much: However much children hate their parent, they must not show it.
Even if: Even if he comes, I will not travel with him.
Adverbial clauses of concession or contrast concede a fact while accepting the contrary result.
SAMPLE COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (WASSCE June 2000) QUESTION 6
Read the following passage carefully and answer the question on it.
It seemed that Joe had just about had it with his wife of three years. He no longer thought her attractive or interesting: he
considered her a poor housekeeper who was overweight, someone he no longer wanted to live with. Joe was so upset that he finally
decided on divorce. But before he served her the papers, he made an appointment with a psychologist for the specific purpose of
finding out how to make life as difficult as possible for his wife.
The psychologist listened to Joe’s story and then gave his advice: “Well, Joe I think I ‘ve got the perfect solution for
you. From tonight when you get home, I want you to start treating your wife as if she were a goddess. That’s right, a goddess. I want you to change your attitude towards her completely. Start doing everything in your power to please her. Listen intently to her when she talks about her problems, help around the house, take her out to dinner on weekends, I want you to pretend that she’s a goddess. Then after two months of this wonderful behaviour, just pack your bags and leave her. That should get to her!”
Joe thought it was a tremendous idea. That night he started treating his wife as if she were the goddess. He couldn’t wait
to do things for her. He brought her breakfast in bed and had flowers delivered to her for no apparent reason. They read books to each other at night and Joe listened to her as never before. It was incredible what Joe was doing for his wife. He kept it up for the two full months.
After the allotted time, the psychologist gave Joe a call at home. “ Joe”, he asked, “How is it going? Did you file for divorce? Are you a happy bachelor once again?” he asked Joe in surprise. “You must be kidding! I ‘m married to a goddess. I ‘ve never been happier in my life. I ‘d never leave my wife in a million years. In fact I’m discovering new, wonderful things about her every single day. Divorce? Not on your life!” The psychologist hung up wearing a knowing smile.
(a) Why did Joe consult the psychologist?
(b) What did Joe think he would achieve by following the psychologist’s advice?
(c) What is ironical about Joe’s answer to the psychologist’s question towards the end of the passage?
(d) From this episode, what do you think had really been wrong with Joe’s marriage?
(e) “… It was a tremendous idea.”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function in the sentence?
(f) “I’d never leave my wife in a million years”.
What figure of speech is contained in the sentence above?
(g) Why do you think the psychologist “wore a knowing smile”?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage.
(i) Attractive;
(ii) Upset;
(iv) Wonderful;
(v) Apparent
(vi) Allotted
ANSWER JUNE 2000
Q (6)
(a) To find a way of making his wife unhappy.
(b) He intends to break her heart with a divorce.
(c) Joe had wanted a divorce but now he no longer wanted to talk about it.
(d) Joe has not been good to his wife.
(e) (i) Noun clause
(ii) Object of the verb ‘thought’
(f) Hyperbole or Exaggeration
(g) He knew what the result would be (saving the marriage).
(h) (i) Attractive_________beautiful / lovely / good-looking
(ii) Upset________ worried / disturbed / agitated
(iii) Solution ________ answer/ remedy/a way out
(iv) Wonderful_____amazing/strange/surprising
(v) Apparent_________clear / obvious / evident
(vi) Allotted________appointed / g i v e n / s p e c i f i e d
(iii)Solution
7. Read the following passage carefully
and answer the questions on it.
I vividly remember that Thursday morning, some twenty-two years ago, when I was operated upon to have an abnormality corrected. For months, the doctors had combated the ailment with drugs of various kinds, many of which sent me long excursions into Slumberland. Yet the ailment had seemed to defy all medical entreaties. Then a few days later, two senior surgeons called on
me to discuss their decision. They made it clear that only a surgical operation held any hope, otherwise the downward trend was sure to continue until the inevitable quiet end. So, they sought my consent which I promptly gave, stating that at my age I was old enough to accept any eventuality.
For days, I was gradually prepared for the event. I took various drugs to build me up physical, and I was encourage to eat well. Besides, a clergyman came regularly to talk to, and pray for me. He assured me that I would sail through the operation safely as God, the greatest of surgeons, would join the medical team.
Gradually I steeled myself to face the exercise.
Then the day came. My wife came very early into the ward, looking as if she bore the burdens of all the world. I told her to be a good girl and cheer up. But all my jokes fell flat. So, when a senior nursing sister came, and I told my wife to go and buy one of the drugs needed, I was somehow relieved. Moments later, my eldest son came, and I told him to brace up for any eventuality.
I said I was proud of his achievement as a young engineer, and of his immediate younger brother as a pharmacist. So, if the end should come, they should both rise to the occasion and steer their other brother and sister to good careers. I had not quite concluded when the stretcher was wheeled in and I was helped on to it.
As the journey to the theatre commenced, with my son by my side, I held his hand firmly and smiled. This was the only way I could reassure him that all was going to be well. The stretcher moved on. Then, suddenly, I saw my wife hurrying to catch up with us. As she came along, I told the ward attendants to slow down so that she could catch up with us. I took her hand and put it in my son’s. Apparently, this gesture disturbed rather than strengthened her. She burst into tears. Before I could say anything else, to mother and son, the theatre doors were flung open, and the stretcher was wheeled in.
(a) What did the surgeon seek from the patient?
(b) In what 2 major ways was the man prepared for the operation?
(c) What do the man’s words to his eldest son suggest about his state of mind?
(d) (i) What message did the man intend to convey to his wife by putting her hand in his son’s?
(d) (ii) What was his wife’s reaction.
(e) (i) Before I could say anything else…”
(ii) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the p a s s a g e ?
(iii) What is its function in the sentence?
(f) “… the inevitable quiet end”
(i) What figure of speech is used in the expression above.
(ii) What does it mean?
(g) How do you know that the patient survived the operation?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase, which can replace it as it is used in the passage?
(i) Combated;
(ii) Entreaties;
(iii)Eventuality;
(iv) Steeled;
(v) Steer;
(vi) Gesture;
ANSWER
(a) The consent of the patient to carry out an operation.
(b) (i) Mentally, by making up his mind
(ii) Physical, by taking the drugs
(c) He was prepared for the worst
(d) (i) To build her confidence in her son/To tell her she was not alone.
(ii) She burst into tears/she broke down emotionally.
(e) (i) Adverbial clause of time
(ii) Modifies the verb phrase were flung open
(f) (i) Euphemism
(ii) Death
(g) He lived to tell the story
(h) (i) Treated / tackled / fought
(ii) Efforts / attempts / treatments
(iii) Result / consequence / outcome
(iv) Toughened / encouraged / braced
(v) Guide / aid / help
(vi) Step / action / measure.
WASSCE JUNE 2001 (Q7)
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
In the 1960s undergraduates did not need to apply for employment. Employers usually wooed them by depositing offers of jobs in their halls of residence for those interested to pick and choose from as soon as they finished writing their degree
examinations. How things have changed! We have since “progressed” from this age of abundance in which unemployment was hardly heard of to one of economic recession and widespread unemployment. The problem is so acute nowadays that one finds unemployment even among engineers and doctors.
What are the causes of this phenomenon? For one thing, our educational system does not train products for self-employment.
Everybody expects the government or the private sector to provide them with a job at the end of their studies. As we have
now realized, the government and the private sector combined cannot create enough jobs to go round the army of graduates turned out annually by our universities. For another, many parents encourage their children to enroll in courses leading to
prestigious and lucrative professions for which they may be intellectually unsuited.
They end up obtaining poor degrees or none at all. Such graduates cannot compete on the job market, so they swell the ranks of the unemployable and the unemployed.
Perhaps the most important single cause of unemployment is economic recession. During periods of boom, economic activities
are generated in abundance and these make plenty of jobs available. But the reverse is the case in times of economic recession.
There is no simple solution to the problem. Everyone in the society has a role to play here. The government has a duty to ensure that the economy is buoyant, thus providing the right environment for the creation of jobs. The educational authorities have to orientate the process of education towards the production of job creators rather than job seekers. Guidance
and counseling services should be made available in all secondary institutions.
Parents, too, should stop misdirecting their children into choosing careers for which they are ill-suited.
(a) (i) What was the employment situation like in the 1960’s and 1970’s?
(ii) What is the situation now?
(b) In what ways do the educational system, the parents and the students contribute to the unemployment situation?
(c) Mention three suggestions given in the last paragraph for solving the problem.
(d) Why does the writer enclose the word progressed (first paragraph) in quotation marks?
(e) “…for which they may be intellectually unsuited.”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression?
(ii) What is its function as it is used in the sentence?
(f) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the passage:
(j) (i) Recession;
(ii) acute;
(iii)army;
(iv) lucrative;
(v) boom;
(vi) orientate
ANSWER
(a) (i) Unemployment was unheard of in the 1960s and 1970s.
(ii) Unemployment has become common place.
(b) (i) Schools fail to train self – employed graduates.
(ii) Parents force courses on their children, even when they are not suited for such.
(iii) Poor performance on the part of the students lead to unemployment.
(c) (i) The government should work towards improving the economy.
(ii) The educational authorities should train more self – employed people.
(iii) Parents and schools should guide their children towards courses they are suited for instead of forcing courses on them.
(d) Because it is an irony
(e) (i) Adjectival clause
(ii) Qualifying the noun ‘professions’
(f) (i) Decline / backwardness / slump
(ii) Severe / serious / great.
(iii) Legion / multitude / large number
(iv) Worthwhile / profitable / rewarding
(v) Explosion / abundance / buoyancy
(vi) Guide / direct / steer.
ASSIGNMENT:
PICK AS MANY RECENT PAST QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN GET, AND ANSWER THEM ACCORDINGLY. SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS BY MAIL ATTACHMENT IN MS WORD FORMAT TO teacher@penwriteonline.com FOR MARKING AND ASSESSMENT.DO THIS REPEATEDLY UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE.
Each comprehension passage carries 20marks. ½ mark is deducted for every grammatical or expression error. Where two answers are given and one is wrong, the candidate scores zero. But if both answers are correct, a full mark is awarded for the question (no extra/additional score).
Where equivalent of words is not as used in the passage, the candidate scores zero.
All your answers in this section does not necessarily have to be in complete sentence.
There are 2 comprehension passages in this section for WAEC and 1 for NECO, both of which are compulsory. One cannot predict
the areas where the passages will be taken from except the suggested list in the syllabus, but what is sure from observations over the years, is the manner of questioning.
1. Direct Questions: These are questions whose answers can be found on the surface i.e directly in the passage. You may
write them the way they are in the passage but it is advisable to change them into your own words.
Another form of direct question is that which requires you to quote from the passage. Here, you find the quotation and write it down as it is – No stress.
2. Indirect Questions: These are questions whose answers are not written directly in the passage. You use the idea presented in the passage to arrive at such answer. Your deep understanding
of the passage is required to answer such questions. For instance, if a question says “what is the feeling of the writer about... OR How does the writer feel about...”. You were not there when the writer wrote, but the tone of the passage and the diction will tell you the mood of the writer, which is either Pleasant / Happy or Unpleasant /Sad.
3. Logical Questions: These are questions that require some critical reasoning.
You will use a premise from the passage to arrive at the answer.
(a) Induction: This reasoning proceeds from a specific premise to a general conclusion.
e.g. Ade is brilliant – Specific premise
Pen-Write School Students are brilliant – Further argument
Ade is a Pen-Write School Student – General Conclusion
(b) Deduction: This reasoning proceeds from a general premise to a specific conclusion.
e.g. Ade is a Pen-Write School student – General premise
Pen-Write School students are brilliant – Further argument
Ade is brilliant – Specific conclusion
4. Literary Question: These are questions that bother on literary or figurative expression (what you know as figures of speech). Majority of WAEC/NECO candidates are not literature students but you are expected to know a considerable number of figurative use of language, such as:
(a) Simile
(b) Metaphor
(c) Personification
(d) Irony
(e) Paradox
(f) Oxymoron
(g) Euphemism
(h) Synecdoche
(i) Metonymy
(j) Hyperbole
Out of these ten (10), b, c, and j have been mostly used and are still being used widely by WAEC and NECO.
It might be any of the others that you will have in your own time. Therefore, do some work on your own and prepare for all of them and even more.
5. Semantic Questions: These are questions asking the candidates to provide another word or phrase to replace the given one(s) as used in the passage.
To handle this part, you need a complete understanding of each paragraph or the entire passage to be able to figure out the exact equivalent meaning of the word(s) used by the writer. For instance, in the sentence
– He asked the man for change.
The word CHANGE in this context may mean the reverse of a situation or an amount left from the initial money
given for a purchase. The exact meaning therefore will be found in the relationship that existed between the writer/speaker and the man.
5. Grammatical Questions: This is the only part where syntax i.e. the structure of English language is directly tested. It is a dreadful area to students simply because they do not have a good grasp of it.
Questions on grammatical names and functions over the years have not gone beyond the following areas and this is not expected to change for a long time.
(a) Noun phrases and Noun clauses
(b) Adjectival phrases and Adjectival clauses
(c) Adverbial phrases and Adverbial clauses
The basic terms that bring confusion are PHRASES and CLAUSES and definitions in most of our textbooks have not helped matters in any way. Very few students can say with confidence that they know the difference between a phrase and a clause. For this
reason, an operational definition like the ones below will suffice.
Phrase: A Phrase is a group of words having no verb/finite verb and which does not express a complete thought. This can be broken down as follows:
(a) It must be a group of words i.e. 2 or more elements
(b) It may have no verb at all or when it has, the verb will be nonfinite.
(c) It does not express a complete thought.
e.g. (i)
A man – 2 elements
A man in the garden – 5 elements
A man in the garden at the backyard – 8 elements
A man in the garden at the backyard of the house –11 elements
In (i) above, all the examples satisfy criteria (a), (b) and (c) of the definition. But none of them contains a verb.
e.g. (ii)
To see the man – 4 elements
Frightened by thunder – 3 elements
Seeing the man in the garden – 6 elements
An attempt to see the man in the garden – 9 elements
In (ii), the conditions (a), (b) and (c) are also satisfied but they all contain verbs which are non-finite i.e. verbs which do not express a state or signify the completeness of an action or a process.
Note however, that ‘see’ is a finite verb in other cases
e.g. I can see you OR I see you.
But when any verb is preceded by the infinitive “TO”, it becomes non-finite. ‘Frightened’ on the other hand is a participial phrase while ‘seeing’ is gerundive.
Finally (i) and (ii) put together do not express a complete thought.
TYPES OF PHRASES:
(Phrases are equivalents of Group in Systemic Grammar)
1. Noun Phrase/Nominal Group
2. Adjectival Phrase/Adjectival Group
3. Adverbial Phrase/ Adverbial Group
4. Prepositional Phrase/ Prepositional Group
Phrases are identified by their functions relating to specific grammatical elements.
For instance, many phrases are prepositional in structure but adjectival or adverbial in function.
e.g.
(1) With surprise – Prep. + Noun = Prepositional Phrase
(2) She looked up with surprise – Prep. + Noun= Adverbial Phrase (of manner)
(3) The girl with a scar – Prep + Noun Phrase= Adjectival Phrase
(1) above explains the constituents of the group of words headed by a preposition.
In (2), the same group of words now perform the function of an adverb and (3) is a similar component performing the function of an adjective.
Therefore, Noun Phrases/Nominal groups perform the function of Nouns,
Adjectival Phrases/groups perform the function of Adjectives (i.e. describing nouns and their equivalents) while Adverbial Phrases/groups perform the same function as Adverbs, no matter
the component part of its elements.
EXAMPLES ON NOUN PHRASES
1. An attempt has failed – Noun Phrase functioning as subject
2. An attempt to impeach the president has failed – Noun Phrase functioning as subject
3. It is an attempt to impeach the president -Noun Phrase as complement
4. They made an attempt to impeach the president – Noun Phrase as Object
CLASSES OF NON – FINITE VERBS IN PHRASES
The Phrase may contain kind of verbs that are non-finite in nature. It can always do without a subject although in some cases, it may have an optional subject. All main verbs, however, have their finite and nonfinite forms. The structural characteristics of the non- finite forms of verbs are expressed in the four main classes below.
1. Infinitive with ‘To’
(a) Without subject
– The only reaction would be to call him to order.
— The worst Punishment would be to send him to jail.
— The best thing would be to tell the king
(b) With subject
– The best thing would be for you to tell the king.
— The worst punishment would be for the judge to send him to
jail.
— The only reaction would be for you to call him to order.
We should note here that for a nonfinite clause with ‘TO’ to have a subject, it characteristically begins with ‘FOR’ before the subject.
2. Infinitive without ‘To’
(a) Without subject – All I need is pass my exam
— What I did was kiss her in the open.
(b) With subject – Rather than me do
it, I’ll hired someone to do the job.
— Rather than the school punish John, I'd prefer to suffer in his stead.
In (a) above, there seems to be an invisible ‘To’ that is deliberately omitted which is why the verbs ‘pass’ and ‘kiss’ remain in the infinitive state.
In (b), the use of ‘rather than’ in the introduction of the subject ‘me’ and the school’ is to register the invisible presence of ‘TO’ before the verb.
3. ING or Present Participle
(a) Without subject
– Leaving the office, he went to the club
— Walking on the road, she saw a snake
(b) With subject
– My father having left home, I went to the cinema.
— Her mother having left the room, I told her the truth.
In (a) above, we must note that verbs in the continuous / progressive form without auxiliary are non- finite.
In (b), the combination of the progressive (have in) and participle (left) does not signify finiteness as it has the equivalent meaning of ‘out of’.
4. -ED or Past Participle
(a) Without subject
– Covered with sweat, he toiled in the sun
— Filled with shame, he started to cry
(b) With subject — They left the stadium and went home, the match over
— With the tree growing tall, we have more shade.
STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OF NON-FINITE VERB POSITION IN PHRASES
1. They fail to make the distinction necessary among person, number or modal auxiliary.
2. Most of the time, ambiguity occurs as to which nearby nominal element is notionally the subject.
e.g. We saw her leaving the room – ‘ing’ participle.
There is ambiguity in whether it is ‘we’ that saw ‘him’ on our way out of the room or ‘we’ saw ‘him’ as he was going out of the room. The only virtue in such cases is that they can tighten or compact a prose writing style and make it flexible.
e.g.
To be candid – ‘To’ infinitive form.
If I am to be candid – Dependent clause.
In negative phrases, the ‘NOT’ is placed before the verb or before the ‘TO’ in the infinitive form.
e.g. it was a mistake for not arresting him at once
The noblest thing is not to lie.
INTERJECTIONS
Interjection is a word or group of words used to express strong feeling, anger, surprise, joy, etc. in exclamation. They have no referential content and they are, most of the time, used to initiate utterances.
They are also considered as a form of ‘verbless’ phrase in their structural occurrence, though they belong to a class of their own.
The interjection has no grammatical relation to the other parts of a sentence.
It can stand alone, as in the example below.
Oh dear! I am so tired
Hooray! The cheque came in the mail.
When it does, it is usually followed by an exclamation mark (!). and if it is part of a sentence as in the example below, it is set off by a comma.
For heaven’s sake, take off those dirty shoes.
For crying out loud, pay up your debts.
ADJECTIVAL PHRASES
1. Prepositional: These type of Adjectival phrases are introduced by prepositions e.g.
(i) The boy with the book under his arm is my brother
(ii) She married a man of great wealth.
(iii) The man in the garden has been arrested
(iv) With the war now over, the government has the job of reconstruction in its hands.
2. Participial: They are introduced by participles.
Though the participles are verbal forms, they are not finite.
(i) The antelope frightened by the noise plunged into the bush.
(ii) The man bitten by the snake died in the hospital.
3. Infinitive: These forms of adjectival phrases are infinitive verb forms made to function as adjectives.
(i) The attempt to impeach the President did not succeed.
(ii) The desire to pass your exam made you read this book.
(iii) Too anxious to start the exam, she began to hiss (being too anxious to start the exam)
Adjectival phrases and clauses perform the functions of adjectives i.e. qualifying, describing and supplying additional information about nouns and their equivalent.
ADVERBIAL PHRASES
Adverbial phrases and clauses perform the function of Adverb i.e. they modify (restrict the scope of operation or monitor) verb/verbal groups at the primary degree of delicacy.
e.g.
1. She came yesterday – Adverb (of time)
2. She came on time – Adverbial Phrase (of time)
3. She came last year – Adverbial Phrase (of time)
4. She came when her father died - Adverbial Clause (of time)
The functions of the underlined expressions in examples 1- 4 are the same.
They all supply answer to the question WHEN, as the time when the action CAME took place. In essence, each of them is said to
modify the verb ‘came’.
At the secondary degree of delicacy, adverb modify other word classes, like;
1. Adjective – She was extremely angry
2. Adverb – She walks quite slowly
3. Pronouns – Almost everybody was present
4. Determiners – Only five students were present.
SOME CLASSES OF ADVERBIAL PHRASES
Time:
(a) She came home in the night – Adverbial Phrase of time.
(b) He arrived in the early hours of Sunday–Adv. Phrase of time.
Place:
(a) I saw him at the market junction– Adverbial Phrase of Place.
(b) We lived in a three bedroom bungalow –Adv. Phrase of place.
Manner:
(a) She looked up with surprise – Adv. Phrase of manner.
(b) He did it in annoyance – Adv. Phrase of manner.
Affirmation:
(a) He will come no matter what – Adv. Phrase of affirmation.
(b) We shall win without any trouble - Adv. Phrase of affirmation.
Frequency:
(a) They come here once in a while – Adv. Phrase of frequency.
(b) He comes here all the time - Adv. Phrase of frequency.
Result:
(a) He stole and was arrested as a result – Adv. Phrase of result.
(b) She fought and was injured in the process – Adv. Phrase of result.
CLAUSES:
The English clause has no definite definition. But it is so important within the framework of English Grammar that different schools of thought accord it recognition as one, if not the most important topic in English syntax.
In the hierarchy of the Grammatical Units of English, Chomsky’s TGG did not recognize it as a unit but subsumed it under the sentence, which is the largest unit under its complex sentence structure. The Systemic Grammar on the other hand gave it a rightful place as the unit above the group and immediately below the sentence.
GRAMMATICAL GRAMMATICAL
UNITS (TGG) UNIT (SFG)
Sentence--------Sentence
Phrase----------Clause
Word------------Group
Morpheme--------Word
* --------------Morpheme
Whether as a major or a sub-unit, the importance of CLAUSE in English cannot be underestimated.
A definition says a clause “is a group of words expressing a thought but forming part of a sentence”. Based on the Traditional Concepts, the constituents of this will be a Subject and a Predicate.
The argument here is that a clause is not necessarily “a group of words” because a word (usually a finite verb) can stand as a clause. Another area of disagreement is a clause”… forming part of sentence” A clause that has a subject and a finite verb is in itself a simple sentence and not part of it. e.g.
Run – 1 element (finite verb) Dependent Clause
Run away – 2 elements Dependent clause
Run away immediately – 3 elements Dependent clause
He ran away immediately – 4 elements independent clause/simple sentence
When the thought expressed is complete, we say the verb is finite and when the thought is not complete, the verb is said to be non-finite as in Phrases.
Clauses therefore are expressed basically under the formal criteria of Dependency and finiteness.
MAJOR
Major Clauses are clauses with a Predicator, i.e. verb or verbal groups. In essence, Independent Clauses, Dependent Clauses, Finite clauses are all major classes of English clause because they have predicators.
MINOR
Minor clauses are clauses without visible Predicators. They occur frequently in dialogue and creative writings. Though they
lack an essential element of clause structure, they nonetheless function as clauses. e.g. (a) verbless clauses.
ELEMENTS OF ENGLISH CLAUSE STRUCTURE
The structure of the English clause and its elements has generated a lot of controversies over the years. The 20th century witnessed four (4) different structural formulae for the English clause with each one claiming to be an improvement
over the other.
Traditional Grammar structure of the English clauses according to Jesperson,1933 has the age-old Subject and Predicate – S + P
Christopherson and Sandved, 1969 also supported the S + P formula. But Chomsky substituted it with the S – NP + VP in 1957
before Quirk et al 1972 and Leech and Svartvik 1975 came up with their neo – traditional four (4) slot formula S V O A which became widely acceptable and seemed unblemished. Halliday in 1961 found the S V O A formula deficient in some regards and his Systemic Grammar produced the latest formula, the (S) P (C) (A).
The S + P formula assumed a binary division, the first part (subject) usually a nominal group and the second part (predicate) consisting any or all of verbal, nominal, Adverbial, adjectival and prepositional groups. When it will be sufficient for simple structures such as:
The man died – S------P
-------------The man died.
It will not be adequate to compact multiple classes of words together in the same position where the structure becomes more complex. e.g.
The man died while still in the hospital bed receiving treatment for diabetes.
The second formula S NP + VP is guilty of the same inadequacy because it is more or less a rename of the S + P formula and other theoretical problems.
The SVOA formula was more acceptable as it took care of more naturally occurring structures within the English clause and it reduces the number of elements functioning under each slot. But the formula does not state whether they all have to be present in a particular structure. It also puts together both lower and higher meta-theoretical categories in its choice of label for the four slots.
The subject position is a higher levels under which nouns, pronouns and nominal function while the Adjunct position is also
a higher level under which Adverbs, Nominal, Adverbials and Prepositional function.
But the position of the Verb itself is a lower level and has itself functioning its own slot. The use of Object in the third position is also an error considering the fact that nouns and pronouns as well as Adjectives function in this position.
---------S ------V ----O -----A
e.g. the girl / is / nice / today.
The Adjective NICE cannot be called an Object but a Complement.
The use of Complement ( SVOCA) in Quirk and Greenbaum 1975 is an admittance of the need for a modification but there was no ‘C’ in the original formula.
The (S) P (C) (A) formula seems to have taken care of all these inadequacies and it may stand the test of time better than the other formulae as far as the English clause structure is concerned.
THE FINITE VERB IN CLAUSES.
Quirk and Greenbaum (1987) in A university Grammar of English states that:
“The main feature of the finite clause … is that it contains a subject and a predicate with the possible exception of commands and ellipsis”.
Therefore, all independent clauses are finite clauses because they all contain a subject and finite verb in their predicate
positions.
e.g.
The man died.
The teacher gave a lecture.
I am speaking to the class.
But it failed to account for dependent clauses introduced by clause markers and subordinators and which also contain finite
verbs
e.g
…Before the man died
…While the teacher gave a lecture
…If I am speaking to the class.
We can say therefore, that all clauses, whether independent or dependent, containing finite verb with or without subject are
finite clauses
e.g
Love your neighbour — finite clause without subject
Eat good food — f i n i t e clause without subject
Look up to God — f i n i t e clause without subject
Finite verb in this case being, that which signifies the completeness of an action, a process or establishes a state of being. In essence, all independent clauses are finite clauses but not all finite clauses are independent clauses.
VERBLESS CLAUSES
(This may seem contradictory since it has been established that there can be no clause without a Finite Verb)
Verbless clauses have neither visible verbs nor subjects. The omitted finite verb is always felt to be a form of the verb BE and when the subject is omitted it can often be recovered from the context of the sentence.
e.g.
(a) Many people were killed in the riot, some of them women (some of the ‘many people’ are women).
(b) Whether beautiful or ugly, she wins the respect of most men. (whether ‘she’ is beautiful or ugly)
Verbless clauses are treated as reductions of Finite Clauses
e.g.
(a) The teacher walked slowly into the class, his cap on his head (his cap put on his head)
(b) When hungry, the dog barks angrily (when it is hungry).
(a) and (b) – as reduction of finite clauses
CLAUSE
For the purpose of explanation, a Clause can be described as a word or group of words having a finite verb ( predicator) and which expresses a complete thought. This can be broken down as follows:
(a) It could be a word
(b) It could be a group of words
(c) It must contain a Finite verb (the obligatory element)
(d) It must express a complete thought
e.g.
1. Come
2. Come here
3. Come here right away
4. They come here everyday
5. They are expected to have come here earlier
6. Because they come here everyday
7. As soon as they come here.
8. If they come here.
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: An independent clause is a clause which can function alone without support mostly because they have a subject and they qualify to be simple sentences. 4 & 5 above are examples of Independent Clause. It is also called a super -ordinate clause, a main clause, a major clause, a primary clause and an alpha clause among others.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE: This is a clause that has no subject and cannot function alone without support or a clause that has all
its component part complete but is introduced by a subordinate marker. Examples 1,2 & 3 fall in the 1st category of Dependent Clauses i.e. clauses without subjects while examples 6, 7 & 8 fall in the 2nd category i.e. clauses introduced by subordinate markers.
Dependent clauses are also called subordinate clauses, minor clauses, secondary clauses and beta clauses.
EXAMPLES ON CLAUSES
1. The attempt that was meant to remove the President has failed – Noun Clause/Nominal Clause in Subject Position
2. They made an attempt that was meant to remove the president
– Noun clause/ Nominal clause in object position
3. There was an attempt that was aimed at removing the president – Noun Clause/Nominal clause in complement position.
NB: The difference between Phrases and Clauses is that the former does not have finite verbs while the later has finite verbal position– was meant, was aimed.
TYPES OF CLAUSES
Like phrases, clauses differ from each other depending on the grammatical elements they relate to.
1. Noun Clauses
2. Adjectival Clauses
3. Adverbial Clauses
Since Noun Phrases and noun Clauses perform the functions of Nouns, you may want to know what those functions are.
1. As subject
2. As object
3. As complement
4. As element of prepositional group/ phrase
5. As apposition
For instance,
An attempt to impeach the president has failed – Noun phrase
An attempt to impeach the president has failed – Adjectival Phrase
The man who stole the money was arrested – Noun clause
The man who stole the money was arrested – Adjectival clause
When a noun phrase or noun clause is headed by a preposition it becomes an element under such preposition and when there is more than a single reference to a subject, we call that Apposition.
e.g. (a) Mr. Peter, the Director is here
(b) He is Mr. Peter, the Director
(c) He called Mr. Peter, the Director
(a) - Is an appositive subject
(b) - Is an appositive complement
(c) - Is an appositive object
The point to note therefore is the difference between the Object and Complement.
Object: When the Nominal Position is preceded by an action verb
Complement: When the Nominal Position is preceded by a verb of state / process i:e non-action verbs.
e:g He is Mr. Peter — Complement
He called Mr. Peter — Object
NOUN CLAUSES/NOMINAL CLAUSES
1. When you want him is another issue – subject
2. What I am searching for is the joy of fatherhood – subject
3. We do not know whether they want him – direct complement
4. The issue is if they want him – subject complement
5. The issue, that they need him has not been resolved – apposition
6. The agreement depends on whether they want him – Prepositional complement
7. I cannot understand why he behaves like that – Object
8. Taiwo hates everyone who easily gets angry – Object
9. An accident which occurs like that requires a critical evaluation – subject
10. How he made the trip was a surprise – subject
ADJECTIVAL CLAUSE
Adjectival clauses are introduced by the following relative pronouns [which is why they are sometimes referred to as relative clause]
Who: He is the man who stole the money
Whom: We saw the boy whom we sent on an errand
Whose: This is the baker in our street whose bread is the best
Which: I cannot remember the film, which I watched last night
That: Show the item that you bought in the supermarket
Where: I saw a place where fresh water was available
NB: Adjectival Phrases are integral parts of Noun Phrases while Adjectival clauses are integral part of Noun/Nominal clauses.
Care must be taken not to confuse Adjectival Clauses introduced by WHERE with Adverbial Clauses of Place. The former relates to
Nouns while the latter relates to Verbs.
e:g *I saw him where fresh water was available – Adverbial Clause of Place
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
1. Adverbial Clause of Time: Adverbial clauses of time supply answers to the question WHEN which expresses time and they are most frequently introduced by the following conjunction among others. Once, since, immediately, etc.
Immediately: He came immediately we arrived
Once: I will recognize him once I see him
Since: She has been moody since her husband died
When: He came here when you travelled
After: I will see you after I finish this discussion
As: I saw him as I was alighting from the bus
As soon as: He came as soon as the chairman arrived
Before: The man died before we got to the hospital
Till or Until: You will wait till/ until I am ready to see you
Whenever: You may come whenever you want to see me
While: He copied his note while others were writing a test
2. Adverbial Clause of Place: Adverbial Clause of Place express place relations and supply answer to the question WHERE.
They are introduced by the conjunctions:
Where: I saw him where the accident occurred
Wherever: I will follow you wherever you go
3. Adverbial Clause of Manner: This supplies answer to the question HOW and it is signaled by the subordinating conjunction such as:
As (exactly as, just as): Do the job as you were told
As if: she behaves as if she was a thief
As though: He acted as though he were the boss
4. Adverbial Clause of Degree: This supplies answer to the question TO WHAT EXTENT and is commonly introduced by the following conjunctions:
As… as…: we did not suffer as much as we thought
*Than: she is older than we expected
*So… That…: The ice cubes were so cold that I dropped them
* Note that the two examples above have Adverbial Clauses modifying Adjectives cold and older respectively. This is a secondary degree of operation and the verb in the main clause is usually a non-action verb as in is and were.
5. Adverbial Clause of Condition: This states the reliance of one reason on another i:e a condition is required before an action is possible. The possibility of action depends on a given condition.
Adverbial clauses of condition are introduced by the conjunctions ‘IF’ and ‘ UNLESS’ ‘IF NOT’ or some words or phrase
having the equivalent meaning of ‘IF’ and ‘UNLESS’. Such substitutes are
Provided :
Provided that : I will go to the market provided [ that ] it does not rain.
In case that: He will repeat the class in case In case: (that) he fails the examination.
Supposing:
Supposing that: He would have committed suicide supposing (that) I did not get there on time
If: I will accept the money if it is complete.
Unless: I will not accept the money unless it is complete
6. Adverbial Clause of Reason or Cause:
This supplies answer to the question WHY and such clauses are introduced by the conjunction BECAUSE and other words or phrase having the equivalent meaning of “because”
BECAUSE: I came back because I did not meet him
Since: We kept quiet since he did not listen to us.
As: As he was ill, he could not play in the match.
For: She travelled abroad for the pressure at home was too much
In as much as: Go ahead and write your point, in as much as ...
7. Adverbial Clause of Purpose: This is closer to Reason in orientation and it states the purpose for an action. Such adverbial clauses are introduced by the following conjunctions.
That: I go that I may prepare a place for you
So that: I go so that I may prepare a place for you
In order that: She warned him in order that he may be on his guard.
For-as-much as: For as much as you are sure of your facts (for-as-much) as...
8. Adverbial Clause of Result or Effect: This is similar to adverbial clauses of purpose and reason because they are introduced by similar conjunctions, but the difference is in the meaning they carry. Such conjunctions are:
That: She spoke in such whisper that no one heard her
So: The entrance was blocked so that it was impossible to reach her
So that: The door was locked so that it was impossible to leave the room.
Such… that… She spoke in such a whisper that no one heard her.
So… that… She cried so bitterly that she lost her voice.
Adverbial clauses of Result or Effect tell us about things that really happened rather than the purpose of any action unlike adverbial clauses of purpose. They often contain an ordinary verb form without a modal auxiliary.
9. Adverbial Clause of Concession or Contrast: This has the tendency of usually occurring at initial position, though sometimes end position is possible. It always implies that the main statement is true (concession) in spite of (contrast) the opposing circumstance. Adverbial clauses of concession or contrast are introduced by the conjunctions THOUGH and ALTHOUGH
or other words or phrases having the equivalent meaning of “though” and “although”.
Though: though he is tall he is not handsome
Although: although he is rich, I cannot marry him
Whatever: whatever wealth he may have, he will not enjoy it
However much: However much children hate their parent, they must not show it.
Even if: Even if he comes, I will not travel with him.
Adverbial clauses of concession or contrast concede a fact while accepting the contrary result.
SAMPLE COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (WASSCE June 2000) QUESTION 6
Read the following passage carefully and answer the question on it.
It seemed that Joe had just about had it with his wife of three years. He no longer thought her attractive or interesting: he
considered her a poor housekeeper who was overweight, someone he no longer wanted to live with. Joe was so upset that he finally
decided on divorce. But before he served her the papers, he made an appointment with a psychologist for the specific purpose of
finding out how to make life as difficult as possible for his wife.
The psychologist listened to Joe’s story and then gave his advice: “Well, Joe I think I ‘ve got the perfect solution for
you. From tonight when you get home, I want you to start treating your wife as if she were a goddess. That’s right, a goddess. I want you to change your attitude towards her completely. Start doing everything in your power to please her. Listen intently to her when she talks about her problems, help around the house, take her out to dinner on weekends, I want you to pretend that she’s a goddess. Then after two months of this wonderful behaviour, just pack your bags and leave her. That should get to her!”
Joe thought it was a tremendous idea. That night he started treating his wife as if she were the goddess. He couldn’t wait
to do things for her. He brought her breakfast in bed and had flowers delivered to her for no apparent reason. They read books to each other at night and Joe listened to her as never before. It was incredible what Joe was doing for his wife. He kept it up for the two full months.
After the allotted time, the psychologist gave Joe a call at home. “ Joe”, he asked, “How is it going? Did you file for divorce? Are you a happy bachelor once again?” he asked Joe in surprise. “You must be kidding! I ‘m married to a goddess. I ‘ve never been happier in my life. I ‘d never leave my wife in a million years. In fact I’m discovering new, wonderful things about her every single day. Divorce? Not on your life!” The psychologist hung up wearing a knowing smile.
(a) Why did Joe consult the psychologist?
(b) What did Joe think he would achieve by following the psychologist’s advice?
(c) What is ironical about Joe’s answer to the psychologist’s question towards the end of the passage?
(d) From this episode, what do you think had really been wrong with Joe’s marriage?
(e) “… It was a tremendous idea.”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function in the sentence?
(f) “I’d never leave my wife in a million years”.
What figure of speech is contained in the sentence above?
(g) Why do you think the psychologist “wore a knowing smile”?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage.
(i) Attractive;
(ii) Upset;
(iv) Wonderful;
(v) Apparent
(vi) Allotted
ANSWER JUNE 2000
Q (6)
(a) To find a way of making his wife unhappy.
(b) He intends to break her heart with a divorce.
(c) Joe had wanted a divorce but now he no longer wanted to talk about it.
(d) Joe has not been good to his wife.
(e) (i) Noun clause
(ii) Object of the verb ‘thought’
(f) Hyperbole or Exaggeration
(g) He knew what the result would be (saving the marriage).
(h) (i) Attractive_________beautiful / lovely / good-looking
(ii) Upset________ worried / disturbed / agitated
(iii) Solution ________ answer/ remedy/a way out
(iv) Wonderful_____amazing/strange/surprising
(v) Apparent_________clear / obvious / evident
(vi) Allotted________appointed / g i v e n / s p e c i f i e d
(iii)Solution
7. Read the following passage carefully
and answer the questions on it.
I vividly remember that Thursday morning, some twenty-two years ago, when I was operated upon to have an abnormality corrected. For months, the doctors had combated the ailment with drugs of various kinds, many of which sent me long excursions into Slumberland. Yet the ailment had seemed to defy all medical entreaties. Then a few days later, two senior surgeons called on
me to discuss their decision. They made it clear that only a surgical operation held any hope, otherwise the downward trend was sure to continue until the inevitable quiet end. So, they sought my consent which I promptly gave, stating that at my age I was old enough to accept any eventuality.
For days, I was gradually prepared for the event. I took various drugs to build me up physical, and I was encourage to eat well. Besides, a clergyman came regularly to talk to, and pray for me. He assured me that I would sail through the operation safely as God, the greatest of surgeons, would join the medical team.
Gradually I steeled myself to face the exercise.
Then the day came. My wife came very early into the ward, looking as if she bore the burdens of all the world. I told her to be a good girl and cheer up. But all my jokes fell flat. So, when a senior nursing sister came, and I told my wife to go and buy one of the drugs needed, I was somehow relieved. Moments later, my eldest son came, and I told him to brace up for any eventuality.
I said I was proud of his achievement as a young engineer, and of his immediate younger brother as a pharmacist. So, if the end should come, they should both rise to the occasion and steer their other brother and sister to good careers. I had not quite concluded when the stretcher was wheeled in and I was helped on to it.
As the journey to the theatre commenced, with my son by my side, I held his hand firmly and smiled. This was the only way I could reassure him that all was going to be well. The stretcher moved on. Then, suddenly, I saw my wife hurrying to catch up with us. As she came along, I told the ward attendants to slow down so that she could catch up with us. I took her hand and put it in my son’s. Apparently, this gesture disturbed rather than strengthened her. She burst into tears. Before I could say anything else, to mother and son, the theatre doors were flung open, and the stretcher was wheeled in.
(a) What did the surgeon seek from the patient?
(b) In what 2 major ways was the man prepared for the operation?
(c) What do the man’s words to his eldest son suggest about his state of mind?
(d) (i) What message did the man intend to convey to his wife by putting her hand in his son’s?
(d) (ii) What was his wife’s reaction.
(e) (i) Before I could say anything else…”
(ii) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the p a s s a g e ?
(iii) What is its function in the sentence?
(f) “… the inevitable quiet end”
(i) What figure of speech is used in the expression above.
(ii) What does it mean?
(g) How do you know that the patient survived the operation?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase, which can replace it as it is used in the passage?
(i) Combated;
(ii) Entreaties;
(iii)Eventuality;
(iv) Steeled;
(v) Steer;
(vi) Gesture;
ANSWER
(a) The consent of the patient to carry out an operation.
(b) (i) Mentally, by making up his mind
(ii) Physical, by taking the drugs
(c) He was prepared for the worst
(d) (i) To build her confidence in her son/To tell her she was not alone.
(ii) She burst into tears/she broke down emotionally.
(e) (i) Adverbial clause of time
(ii) Modifies the verb phrase were flung open
(f) (i) Euphemism
(ii) Death
(g) He lived to tell the story
(h) (i) Treated / tackled / fought
(ii) Efforts / attempts / treatments
(iii) Result / consequence / outcome
(iv) Toughened / encouraged / braced
(v) Guide / aid / help
(vi) Step / action / measure.
WASSCE JUNE 2001 (Q7)
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
In the 1960s undergraduates did not need to apply for employment. Employers usually wooed them by depositing offers of jobs in their halls of residence for those interested to pick and choose from as soon as they finished writing their degree
examinations. How things have changed! We have since “progressed” from this age of abundance in which unemployment was hardly heard of to one of economic recession and widespread unemployment. The problem is so acute nowadays that one finds unemployment even among engineers and doctors.
What are the causes of this phenomenon? For one thing, our educational system does not train products for self-employment.
Everybody expects the government or the private sector to provide them with a job at the end of their studies. As we have
now realized, the government and the private sector combined cannot create enough jobs to go round the army of graduates turned out annually by our universities. For another, many parents encourage their children to enroll in courses leading to
prestigious and lucrative professions for which they may be intellectually unsuited.
They end up obtaining poor degrees or none at all. Such graduates cannot compete on the job market, so they swell the ranks of the unemployable and the unemployed.
Perhaps the most important single cause of unemployment is economic recession. During periods of boom, economic activities
are generated in abundance and these make plenty of jobs available. But the reverse is the case in times of economic recession.
There is no simple solution to the problem. Everyone in the society has a role to play here. The government has a duty to ensure that the economy is buoyant, thus providing the right environment for the creation of jobs. The educational authorities have to orientate the process of education towards the production of job creators rather than job seekers. Guidance
and counseling services should be made available in all secondary institutions.
Parents, too, should stop misdirecting their children into choosing careers for which they are ill-suited.
(a) (i) What was the employment situation like in the 1960’s and 1970’s?
(ii) What is the situation now?
(b) In what ways do the educational system, the parents and the students contribute to the unemployment situation?
(c) Mention three suggestions given in the last paragraph for solving the problem.
(d) Why does the writer enclose the word progressed (first paragraph) in quotation marks?
(e) “…for which they may be intellectually unsuited.”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression?
(ii) What is its function as it is used in the sentence?
(f) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the passage:
(j) (i) Recession;
(ii) acute;
(iii)army;
(iv) lucrative;
(v) boom;
(vi) orientate
ANSWER
(a) (i) Unemployment was unheard of in the 1960s and 1970s.
(ii) Unemployment has become common place.
(b) (i) Schools fail to train self – employed graduates.
(ii) Parents force courses on their children, even when they are not suited for such.
(iii) Poor performance on the part of the students lead to unemployment.
(c) (i) The government should work towards improving the economy.
(ii) The educational authorities should train more self – employed people.
(iii) Parents and schools should guide their children towards courses they are suited for instead of forcing courses on them.
(d) Because it is an irony
(e) (i) Adjectival clause
(ii) Qualifying the noun ‘professions’
(f) (i) Decline / backwardness / slump
(ii) Severe / serious / great.
(iii) Legion / multitude / large number
(iv) Worthwhile / profitable / rewarding
(v) Explosion / abundance / buoyancy
(vi) Guide / direct / steer.
ASSIGNMENT:
PICK AS MANY RECENT PAST QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN GET, AND ANSWER THEM ACCORDINGLY. SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS BY MAIL ATTACHMENT IN MS WORD FORMAT TO teacher@penwriteonline.com FOR MARKING AND ASSESSMENT.DO THIS REPEATEDLY UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE.
SUMMARY WRITING
Summary
This section carries 30 marks. All answers must be in complete sentences (with or without preamble).
Penalties:
1. ½mark is deducted for any error in each answer.
2. 1mark is deducted for any irrelevant material in each answer.
3. ½ of the mark for an answer is given where a correct answer is not written in a complete sentence.
4. Where a preamble plus the correct answer does not make a complete sentence, half of the mark is given.
5. You score zero for mindless/whole lifting of answers from the passage.
6. Two points for one sentence (where not stated) does not attract extra marks.
Most students dread this section and it carries a high mark. It is advanced comprehension because you have to read and understand the passage better than the ordinary comprehension passage for you to be able to answer the questions. You need the understanding of the whole passage (not part of it) to be able to summarize. This is where summary passages are different from comprehension passages though they are sometimes simpler.
Useful Tips
1. Read the passage through the first time
2. Read the question(s) and digest them
3. Read the passage the second time, taking note or underlining the part(s) that can be useful in your answer.
4. Read the questions again one after the other and jot out useful points from the passage
5. Reframe each point into your own sentence as much as you can before putting them down as your answer.
6. Remember that all answers must be in complete sentence or independent clause.
7. Ensure that you do what the question says. For instance:
• If the question says ‘in one sentence’ do not write
two
• If the question says ‘in three sentences’ do not write one.
SAMPLE SUMMARY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WASSCE JUNE 2000
8. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Are you scared of speaking before a large audience or even making a few suggestions in public? This need not be. You can make effective speeches in public. Here are a few pointers.
Perhaps the most important step is to be sure of what you are going to say. This sounds obvious enough, but it is amazing how many people get up to speak when, in fact, they have very little to say. After one inconsequential point, they discover they have run out of steam. So to ensure you can speak well, get enough points to speak about, examine them in depth and digest them thoroughly. The more points you have, the more conversant you are with them, the more confident you will be.
How do you present your speech? Certainly before you begin, you will be a little uneasy. Even the most experienced speaker feels the same way before beginning his speech. This is not bad; in fact, it is a good tonic for a successful speech. To overcome this, do not rush headlong into the task. Rather, it pays to breathe in and out, heavily, deeply, and calmly. Then begin the speech, slowly, calmly, carefully, with a clear, confident voice.
This is when you are going through the situation. “The Chairman, Honourable Guests of Honour, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen…? By the time you finish this and go through the usual ritual of stating that it gives you “great pleasure to stand before this august gathering to discuss a few points…”, you have reached a point of emotional equilibrium. You should now be sufficiently calm to go on with the speech.
Somewhere at the beginning, and at strategic points in your speech, you should introduce flavour into what you are saying. You would not want to serve tea without sugar after all. So, you should inject some humorous remarks once in a while. But this calls for skill. To start with, you cannot introduce humour indiscriminately; otherwise you might sound like a jester. Experience speakers most often introduce humour early in their
speeches, presumably to ease the tension in the hall. Butthese jokes must be brief, purposeful and closely related to the point.
Many speakers are scared by the countenances of the listeners. Not all their looks are friendly. However, there are bound to be a few friendly ones, and it is advisable to pick them out, look at them from time to time, and ignore the hostile ones. Looking at the friendly faces keeps you at ease.
You are advised to write out your speech in full after which you should read it several times before the day. You could get a willing listener to criticize your delivery. Do this several times until you can almost recite it. Notice that we are not advising you to memorize it, because you could forget vital areas due to anxiety. Writing out and practicing the speeches, would make you much familiar with the content, indeed with every word.
Speech making is an art. While it is true that some are gifted in speech making, it is more correct that anyone who doesn’t suffer from speech handicaps can learn to deliver effective speeches. And you can become a master in this art.
(a) In one sentence, state the intention of the writer.
(b) In five sentences, one for each, summarize the five
steps for making a good speech and the reason for each step.
JUNE 2000 ANSWER 8
(a) The writer’s intention is to teach how to be a good speaker or The writer’s intention is to give guidelines for effective speech making.
(b) (i) The speaker should get sufficient information on the topic so as to build his confidence.
(ii) The speaker should start the speech slowly in order to overcome anxiety.
(iii) The speaker should introduce humour into the speech to ease tension.
(iv) He should look at friendly faces at intervals to make him feel at ease or at home.
(v) He should rehearse the content well in order to be familiar with it.
WASSCE JUNE 2001.
8. Read the following passage carefully and answer the question on it.
Poverty! Can anyone who has not really been poor know what poverty is? I really doubt it. How can anyone who enjoys three square meals a day explain what poverty means? Indeed, can someone who has two full meals a day claim to know poverty? Perhaps, one begins to grasp the real meaning of poverty when one struggles really hard to have one miserable meal in twenty-four hours. Poverty and hunger are cousins, the former always
dragging along the latter wherever he chooses to go.
If you are wearing a suit, or a complete traditional attire, and you look naturally rotund in your apparel, you cannot understand what poverty entails. Nor can you have a true feel of poverty if you have some good shirts and pairs of trousers, never mind that all these are casual wear. Indeed, if you can change from one dress into another, and these are all you can boast of, you are
not really poor. A person begins to have a true feel of what poverty means when, apart from the tattered clothes on his body, he doesn’t have any other, not even a calico sheet to keep away the cold at night.
Let us face it, how can anyone who has never slept outside, in the open, appreciate the full, harsh impact of homelessness? Yet that is what real, naked poverty, is.
He, who can lay claim to a house, however humble, cannot claim to be poor. Indeed, if he can afford to rent a flat, or a room in a town or city, without the landlord having cause to eject him, he cannot honestly claim him to be poor. The really poor man has no roof over his head, and this is why you find him under a bridge, in a tent or simply in the vast open air.
But that is hardly all. The poor man faces the world as a hopeless underdog. In every bargain, every discussion, every event involving him and others, the poor man is constantly reminded of his failure in life.
Nobody listens attentively when he makes a point; nobody accepts that his opinion merits consideration. So, in most cases, he learns to accept that he has either wisdom or opinion.
The pauper’s lot naturally rubs off on his child who is subject not only to hunger of the body but also of the mind. The pauper lacks the resources to send his child to school. And even in communities where education is free, the pauper’s child still faces an uphill task because the hunger of the body impedes the proper nourishment of the mind. Denied access to modern communications media, the poor child has very little opportunity to understand the concepts taught him. His mind is a rocky soil on which the teacher’s seeds cannot easily germinate.
Thus embattled at home and then at school, the pauper’s child soon has very little option but to drop out of the school.
This is still not all. Weakened by hunger, embattled by cold and exposure to the elements, feeding on poor water and poor food, the pauper is an easy target for disease. This is precisely why the poorest countries have the shortest life expectations while the longest life expectations are recorded among the richest countries.
Poverty is really a disease that shortens life.
QUESTION
In 6 sentences, one for each, summarize the problems of the poor man.
JUNE 2001 ANSWER Q (8)
(i) The poor man suffers from hunger.
(ii) The poor man has no cloth to put on.
(iii) The poor man has no shelter.
(iv) The poor man is not given any attention.
(v) The poor man has no means to educate his children.
(vi) The poor man has a short life span.
ASSIGNMENT:
READ AS MANY SUMMARY PASSAGES AS YOU CAN LAY YOUR HANDS ON. PICK AS MANY RECENT PAST QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN GET, AND ANSWER THEM ACCORDINGLY. SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS BY MAIL ATTACHMENT IN MS WORD FORMAT TO teacher@penwriteonline.com FOR MARKING AND ASSESSMENT. CONTINUE THIS PROCESS UNTIL YOU GET SUMMARY UNDER CONTROL.
This section carries 30 marks. All answers must be in complete sentences (with or without preamble).
Penalties:
1. ½mark is deducted for any error in each answer.
2. 1mark is deducted for any irrelevant material in each answer.
3. ½ of the mark for an answer is given where a correct answer is not written in a complete sentence.
4. Where a preamble plus the correct answer does not make a complete sentence, half of the mark is given.
5. You score zero for mindless/whole lifting of answers from the passage.
6. Two points for one sentence (where not stated) does not attract extra marks.
Most students dread this section and it carries a high mark. It is advanced comprehension because you have to read and understand the passage better than the ordinary comprehension passage for you to be able to answer the questions. You need the understanding of the whole passage (not part of it) to be able to summarize. This is where summary passages are different from comprehension passages though they are sometimes simpler.
Useful Tips
1. Read the passage through the first time
2. Read the question(s) and digest them
3. Read the passage the second time, taking note or underlining the part(s) that can be useful in your answer.
4. Read the questions again one after the other and jot out useful points from the passage
5. Reframe each point into your own sentence as much as you can before putting them down as your answer.
6. Remember that all answers must be in complete sentence or independent clause.
7. Ensure that you do what the question says. For instance:
• If the question says ‘in one sentence’ do not write
two
• If the question says ‘in three sentences’ do not write one.
SAMPLE SUMMARY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WASSCE JUNE 2000
8. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Are you scared of speaking before a large audience or even making a few suggestions in public? This need not be. You can make effective speeches in public. Here are a few pointers.
Perhaps the most important step is to be sure of what you are going to say. This sounds obvious enough, but it is amazing how many people get up to speak when, in fact, they have very little to say. After one inconsequential point, they discover they have run out of steam. So to ensure you can speak well, get enough points to speak about, examine them in depth and digest them thoroughly. The more points you have, the more conversant you are with them, the more confident you will be.
How do you present your speech? Certainly before you begin, you will be a little uneasy. Even the most experienced speaker feels the same way before beginning his speech. This is not bad; in fact, it is a good tonic for a successful speech. To overcome this, do not rush headlong into the task. Rather, it pays to breathe in and out, heavily, deeply, and calmly. Then begin the speech, slowly, calmly, carefully, with a clear, confident voice.
This is when you are going through the situation. “The Chairman, Honourable Guests of Honour, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen…? By the time you finish this and go through the usual ritual of stating that it gives you “great pleasure to stand before this august gathering to discuss a few points…”, you have reached a point of emotional equilibrium. You should now be sufficiently calm to go on with the speech.
Somewhere at the beginning, and at strategic points in your speech, you should introduce flavour into what you are saying. You would not want to serve tea without sugar after all. So, you should inject some humorous remarks once in a while. But this calls for skill. To start with, you cannot introduce humour indiscriminately; otherwise you might sound like a jester. Experience speakers most often introduce humour early in their
speeches, presumably to ease the tension in the hall. Butthese jokes must be brief, purposeful and closely related to the point.
Many speakers are scared by the countenances of the listeners. Not all their looks are friendly. However, there are bound to be a few friendly ones, and it is advisable to pick them out, look at them from time to time, and ignore the hostile ones. Looking at the friendly faces keeps you at ease.
You are advised to write out your speech in full after which you should read it several times before the day. You could get a willing listener to criticize your delivery. Do this several times until you can almost recite it. Notice that we are not advising you to memorize it, because you could forget vital areas due to anxiety. Writing out and practicing the speeches, would make you much familiar with the content, indeed with every word.
Speech making is an art. While it is true that some are gifted in speech making, it is more correct that anyone who doesn’t suffer from speech handicaps can learn to deliver effective speeches. And you can become a master in this art.
(a) In one sentence, state the intention of the writer.
(b) In five sentences, one for each, summarize the five
steps for making a good speech and the reason for each step.
JUNE 2000 ANSWER 8
(a) The writer’s intention is to teach how to be a good speaker or The writer’s intention is to give guidelines for effective speech making.
(b) (i) The speaker should get sufficient information on the topic so as to build his confidence.
(ii) The speaker should start the speech slowly in order to overcome anxiety.
(iii) The speaker should introduce humour into the speech to ease tension.
(iv) He should look at friendly faces at intervals to make him feel at ease or at home.
(v) He should rehearse the content well in order to be familiar with it.
WASSCE JUNE 2001.
8. Read the following passage carefully and answer the question on it.
Poverty! Can anyone who has not really been poor know what poverty is? I really doubt it. How can anyone who enjoys three square meals a day explain what poverty means? Indeed, can someone who has two full meals a day claim to know poverty? Perhaps, one begins to grasp the real meaning of poverty when one struggles really hard to have one miserable meal in twenty-four hours. Poverty and hunger are cousins, the former always
dragging along the latter wherever he chooses to go.
If you are wearing a suit, or a complete traditional attire, and you look naturally rotund in your apparel, you cannot understand what poverty entails. Nor can you have a true feel of poverty if you have some good shirts and pairs of trousers, never mind that all these are casual wear. Indeed, if you can change from one dress into another, and these are all you can boast of, you are
not really poor. A person begins to have a true feel of what poverty means when, apart from the tattered clothes on his body, he doesn’t have any other, not even a calico sheet to keep away the cold at night.
Let us face it, how can anyone who has never slept outside, in the open, appreciate the full, harsh impact of homelessness? Yet that is what real, naked poverty, is.
He, who can lay claim to a house, however humble, cannot claim to be poor. Indeed, if he can afford to rent a flat, or a room in a town or city, without the landlord having cause to eject him, he cannot honestly claim him to be poor. The really poor man has no roof over his head, and this is why you find him under a bridge, in a tent or simply in the vast open air.
But that is hardly all. The poor man faces the world as a hopeless underdog. In every bargain, every discussion, every event involving him and others, the poor man is constantly reminded of his failure in life.
Nobody listens attentively when he makes a point; nobody accepts that his opinion merits consideration. So, in most cases, he learns to accept that he has either wisdom or opinion.
The pauper’s lot naturally rubs off on his child who is subject not only to hunger of the body but also of the mind. The pauper lacks the resources to send his child to school. And even in communities where education is free, the pauper’s child still faces an uphill task because the hunger of the body impedes the proper nourishment of the mind. Denied access to modern communications media, the poor child has very little opportunity to understand the concepts taught him. His mind is a rocky soil on which the teacher’s seeds cannot easily germinate.
Thus embattled at home and then at school, the pauper’s child soon has very little option but to drop out of the school.
This is still not all. Weakened by hunger, embattled by cold and exposure to the elements, feeding on poor water and poor food, the pauper is an easy target for disease. This is precisely why the poorest countries have the shortest life expectations while the longest life expectations are recorded among the richest countries.
Poverty is really a disease that shortens life.
QUESTION
In 6 sentences, one for each, summarize the problems of the poor man.
JUNE 2001 ANSWER Q (8)
(i) The poor man suffers from hunger.
(ii) The poor man has no cloth to put on.
(iii) The poor man has no shelter.
(iv) The poor man is not given any attention.
(v) The poor man has no means to educate his children.
(vi) The poor man has a short life span.
ASSIGNMENT:
READ AS MANY SUMMARY PASSAGES AS YOU CAN LAY YOUR HANDS ON. PICK AS MANY RECENT PAST QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN GET, AND ANSWER THEM ACCORDINGLY. SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS BY MAIL ATTACHMENT IN MS WORD FORMAT TO teacher@penwriteonline.com FOR MARKING AND ASSESSMENT. CONTINUE THIS PROCESS UNTIL YOU GET SUMMARY UNDER CONTROL.
OBJECTIVES (MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS)
Objectives
1. Synonyms and Antonyms
2. Contextual use of Words
3. Idiomatic use of Words
4. Use of Prepositions
5. Phrasal Verbs
6. The use of Pronouns
7. Concord
8. Conjunctions, Clause Markers and Sentence Connectors
9. Adjectives and their Usage/Order
10. Adverbs and their Usage
11. Nouns and Nominal
12. Verbs, Tense and Aspects
13. Primary and Modal Auxiliaries
14. Question Tags
15. The Articles as Determiners
16. Lexis and Registers
INTRODUCTION:
This paper is divided into 6 sections covering the areas listed in the introduction. Over the years, these aspects of English Grammar has been and is still being tested, yet students cannot get a good grasp of them because they do not understand the fundamental principle(s) guiding their usage. They might know the answer to a particular question for instance, but why such answer is correct and what makes the other options wrong, they do not know.
In the analysis in this part therefore, an insight will be given into the guiding principles of each topic and suggest codes for easy accessibility. A wise student should then utilize the knowledge of the process leading to a correct choice and apply it to any similar context.
Explanations will also be given for every wrong option, but remember that a wrong option in this context could be a correct
option in another context.
1. Synonyms and Antonyms
2. Contextual use of Words
3. Idiomatic use of Words
4. Use of Prepositions
5. Phrasal Verbs
6. The use of Pronouns
7. Concord
8. Conjunctions, Clause Markers and Sentence Connectors
9. Adjectives and their Usage/Order
10. Adverbs and their Usage
11. Nouns and Nominal
12. Verbs, Tense and Aspects
13. Primary and Modal Auxiliaries
14. Question Tags
15. The Articles as Determiners
16. Lexis and Registers
INTRODUCTION:
This paper is divided into 6 sections covering the areas listed in the introduction. Over the years, these aspects of English Grammar has been and is still being tested, yet students cannot get a good grasp of them because they do not understand the fundamental principle(s) guiding their usage. They might know the answer to a particular question for instance, but why such answer is correct and what makes the other options wrong, they do not know.
In the analysis in this part therefore, an insight will be given into the guiding principles of each topic and suggest codes for easy accessibility. A wise student should then utilize the knowledge of the process leading to a correct choice and apply it to any similar context.
Explanations will also be given for every wrong option, but remember that a wrong option in this context could be a correct
option in another context.
SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS
1.1 SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS:
Usually, in sections 1 and 4 of your objective paper, you find these as opposite in meaning/most nearly opposite in meaning and nearest in meaning.
There is very little any teacher can do to help candidates in this regard. You are the one who can help yourself. This part
requires the knowledge of the vocabularies you have acquired over the years and your performance is highly dependent on how rich your reservoir of vocabulary is.
You can enrich your vocabulary bank by reading. Read at least 10,000 words per day in articles, novels, plays, magazines, newspapers, etc. and you will discover that the more you read, the more words you come across. When you make the dictionary your companion as you read, you become richer by the day and when you get to a level where you read because you enjoy doing so (not out of compulsion), then will your problems and fear regarding the English Language be taken care of.
Another way of tackling this aspect is by dissecting words i.e. dividing them into smaller units, using the knowledge of affixation (prefix, infix and suffix).
— Affixation is the addition of other elements (morphemes) to a word to form another.
— When this addition comes before the word, it is PREFIX
— When this addition comes in the middle, it is INFIX
— When this addition comes at the end, it is SUFFIX
You may not note that the three words above have a part in common i.e. FIX which means to tie or fasten something to another.
PRE = before,
IN = middle and
SUF = after.
You can apply this logic to other words e.g.
(i) Unfortunately = un + fortune + ate + ly
(ii) Inadequacy = in + adequate + cy
in (i), the root word is FORTUNE which means LUCK
“Un” usually means NOT
“ly” is a suffix that changes the class of the word into adverb.
The overall meaning that is suggestive of this word will be NOT LUCKY
In (ii), the root word is adequate which means enough “in” usually means NOT “cy” is a suffix that changes the word into a Noun. The word can therefore mean NOT ENOUGH.
The analysis of each of the following past SSCE questions can also be of help in handling synonyms and antonyms.
A. “Most nearly opposite in meaning”
1. Mr. Obi is very enthusiastic about his new job but
his wife is ______________
(a)interested (b) apathetic (c) keen
(d) sympathetic (SSCE NOV.1999 : 7)
The word is ENTHUSIASTIC. In the sentence, a mention of New Job will tell you that Obi’s reaction is positive i.e. happy. Therefore, whatever option opposite that must be negative. Any positive option should be knocked off first.
Option A is positive, so it cannot be opposite happy
Option C is related to A because it is also positive
Option D is negative, but it is taken from sympathy, which means sorry for. It does not fit the context of a new job either positively or negatively.
The correct answer is therefore B (apathetic)
2. None of the heroes of the revolution was divine; they were all_____________, after all.
(a) Evil (b) Human (c) Spiritual (d) Angelic (SSCE NOV. 2002 : 6)
The word is DIVINE. The common meaning attached to it is heavenly or from heaven. Since we want the opposite of this, options (c) and (d) should be knocked off because they are related to the root-word. Option (A) is out of context because, the fact that the heroes of the revolution were not from heaven does not make them evil. They simply are from the earth i.e. they are human beings (not angels or spirits). The correct answer is therefore B.
B. “Nearest in meaning”
1. The smugglers were arrested for importing contraband goods (a) foreign (b)forbidden (c) expired (d) expensive (SSCE NOV.
1999 : 32)
The word is CONTRABAND. Whatever causes the arrest of the importers must be unlawful (against the law).
Option A and D should be knocked off because foreign goods can be imported if they are allowed. If the goods are expensive, it is not the business of anybody but the importer. If the traders
brought in goods that are acceptable into the country but were arrested because the goods have expired, they will not be called smugglers. So, option C is out, the only option left is B and it is the correct answer.
2. Finidi expressed his anxiety for news about Bomah’s condition.
(a) sympathy (b) satisfaction (c) concern (d) fear (SSCE NOV. 2002:22)
The word anxiety emerges from ‘anxious’ which means “to worry about something”. It is a negative feeling or emotion. Therefore, option A and B are out of place because they are positive. Option D is a little on the far negative side. So, option C is the correct option.
Usually, in sections 1 and 4 of your objective paper, you find these as opposite in meaning/most nearly opposite in meaning and nearest in meaning.
There is very little any teacher can do to help candidates in this regard. You are the one who can help yourself. This part
requires the knowledge of the vocabularies you have acquired over the years and your performance is highly dependent on how rich your reservoir of vocabulary is.
You can enrich your vocabulary bank by reading. Read at least 10,000 words per day in articles, novels, plays, magazines, newspapers, etc. and you will discover that the more you read, the more words you come across. When you make the dictionary your companion as you read, you become richer by the day and when you get to a level where you read because you enjoy doing so (not out of compulsion), then will your problems and fear regarding the English Language be taken care of.
Another way of tackling this aspect is by dissecting words i.e. dividing them into smaller units, using the knowledge of affixation (prefix, infix and suffix).
— Affixation is the addition of other elements (morphemes) to a word to form another.
— When this addition comes before the word, it is PREFIX
— When this addition comes in the middle, it is INFIX
— When this addition comes at the end, it is SUFFIX
You may not note that the three words above have a part in common i.e. FIX which means to tie or fasten something to another.
PRE = before,
IN = middle and
SUF = after.
You can apply this logic to other words e.g.
(i) Unfortunately = un + fortune + ate + ly
(ii) Inadequacy = in + adequate + cy
in (i), the root word is FORTUNE which means LUCK
“Un” usually means NOT
“ly” is a suffix that changes the class of the word into adverb.
The overall meaning that is suggestive of this word will be NOT LUCKY
In (ii), the root word is adequate which means enough “in” usually means NOT “cy” is a suffix that changes the word into a Noun. The word can therefore mean NOT ENOUGH.
The analysis of each of the following past SSCE questions can also be of help in handling synonyms and antonyms.
A. “Most nearly opposite in meaning”
1. Mr. Obi is very enthusiastic about his new job but
his wife is ______________
(a)interested (b) apathetic (c) keen
(d) sympathetic (SSCE NOV.1999 : 7)
The word is ENTHUSIASTIC. In the sentence, a mention of New Job will tell you that Obi’s reaction is positive i.e. happy. Therefore, whatever option opposite that must be negative. Any positive option should be knocked off first.
Option A is positive, so it cannot be opposite happy
Option C is related to A because it is also positive
Option D is negative, but it is taken from sympathy, which means sorry for. It does not fit the context of a new job either positively or negatively.
The correct answer is therefore B (apathetic)
2. None of the heroes of the revolution was divine; they were all_____________, after all.
(a) Evil (b) Human (c) Spiritual (d) Angelic (SSCE NOV. 2002 : 6)
The word is DIVINE. The common meaning attached to it is heavenly or from heaven. Since we want the opposite of this, options (c) and (d) should be knocked off because they are related to the root-word. Option (A) is out of context because, the fact that the heroes of the revolution were not from heaven does not make them evil. They simply are from the earth i.e. they are human beings (not angels or spirits). The correct answer is therefore B.
B. “Nearest in meaning”
1. The smugglers were arrested for importing contraband goods (a) foreign (b)forbidden (c) expired (d) expensive (SSCE NOV.
1999 : 32)
The word is CONTRABAND. Whatever causes the arrest of the importers must be unlawful (against the law).
Option A and D should be knocked off because foreign goods can be imported if they are allowed. If the goods are expensive, it is not the business of anybody but the importer. If the traders
brought in goods that are acceptable into the country but were arrested because the goods have expired, they will not be called smugglers. So, option C is out, the only option left is B and it is the correct answer.
2. Finidi expressed his anxiety for news about Bomah’s condition.
(a) sympathy (b) satisfaction (c) concern (d) fear (SSCE NOV. 2002:22)
The word anxiety emerges from ‘anxious’ which means “to worry about something”. It is a negative feeling or emotion. Therefore, option A and B are out of place because they are positive. Option D is a little on the far negative side. So, option C is the correct option.
CONTEXTUAL USE OF WORDS
2.0 CONTEXTUAL USE OF WORDS:
This aspect can also be handle by following the procedures in 1.1 above because it has to do with vocabulary development. It is found in section 2 of paper 2 under the logo”… BEST COMPLETES…” * Choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences.
1. The volcano _______________ and caused a lot of damage in the city.(SSCE NOV. 2002 :12)
(a) erupted (b) blasted (c) boomed (d) exploded
Each of the options A – D fits the gap in the question but only one is most appropriate for this context and therefore best completes the sentences.
If one is conversant with the word VOLCANO, one will know that it happens through eruption i.e. spring up suddenly with an explosion. The sound of the explosion is boom. So, option C and D should be knocked off. Option B (blasted) is the result of an intended action carried out on an object through explosion. But volcanic eruption is usually accidental and sudden. So, B is wrong. The correct answer is erupted (A)
2. Many dignitaries attended the______________ of the new king (a) Inauguration (b)commendation (c) investigation (d)Coronation
(SSCE NOV. 1999 :19)
Option B and C are out of place because we do not need dignitaries to commend someone or investigate anything. Option A would have been perfect but the dignitaries did not come for the opening of a new club (inauguration). Since the occasion surrounds the installation of a new king, the right word is coronation and option D satisfied the condition.
3. Inadequate food supply can be a natural_________of over-population (a) occurrence (b) Consequence (c) Contribution
(d)Necessity (SSCE NOV. 1999 : 20)
Inadequate food supply is an effect of overpopulation. Therefore option A and D are completely out of context.
Option C is correct but it does not collocate with the preposition ‘of’ in the question and the best option is B.
You need to be familiar with most of the words either used in the sentence/question or the options in order to be able to handle this aspect properly. Your performance in the regard therefore depends on your how rich your reservoir of vocabulary is and how familiar you are with these words. This feat can only be attained through regular reading.
This aspect can also be handle by following the procedures in 1.1 above because it has to do with vocabulary development. It is found in section 2 of paper 2 under the logo”… BEST COMPLETES…” * Choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences.
1. The volcano _______________ and caused a lot of damage in the city.(SSCE NOV. 2002 :12)
(a) erupted (b) blasted (c) boomed (d) exploded
Each of the options A – D fits the gap in the question but only one is most appropriate for this context and therefore best completes the sentences.
If one is conversant with the word VOLCANO, one will know that it happens through eruption i.e. spring up suddenly with an explosion. The sound of the explosion is boom. So, option C and D should be knocked off. Option B (blasted) is the result of an intended action carried out on an object through explosion. But volcanic eruption is usually accidental and sudden. So, B is wrong. The correct answer is erupted (A)
2. Many dignitaries attended the______________ of the new king (a) Inauguration (b)commendation (c) investigation (d)Coronation
(SSCE NOV. 1999 :19)
Option B and C are out of place because we do not need dignitaries to commend someone or investigate anything. Option A would have been perfect but the dignitaries did not come for the opening of a new club (inauguration). Since the occasion surrounds the installation of a new king, the right word is coronation and option D satisfied the condition.
3. Inadequate food supply can be a natural_________of over-population (a) occurrence (b) Consequence (c) Contribution
(d)Necessity (SSCE NOV. 1999 : 20)
Inadequate food supply is an effect of overpopulation. Therefore option A and D are completely out of context.
Option C is correct but it does not collocate with the preposition ‘of’ in the question and the best option is B.
You need to be familiar with most of the words either used in the sentence/question or the options in order to be able to handle this aspect properly. Your performance in the regard therefore depends on your how rich your reservoir of vocabulary is and how familiar you are with these words. This feat can only be attained through regular reading.
IDIOMATIC USE OF WORDS & EXPRESSIONS
3.0 IDIOMATIC USE OF WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS:
Idioms are peculiar expressions to particular languages, which in most cases, cannot be translated into another language. Idiomatic expressions seem difficult to understand because the word, objects and symbols they employ has little or no relationship with the meaning they desire. The expression then becomes ambiguous and difficult to interpret.
However, there are ways of handling this aspect and one of those ways is by using the key of Denotation and Connotation.
Denotation is the literary, surface or ordinary meaning of an expression.
Connotation is the hidden or implied meaning of an expression. Most ambiguous expressions can be decoded by careful and intelligent use of these keys.
For instance, the expression “the man kicked the bucket” means that the man died, but the word kicked and bucket or the expression kicked the bucket when looked at from the meaning of the words chosen, has no relationship with the meaning desired.
Now, let’s use the key of denotation and connotation to decode it.
Denotation:
— What are the key words (kicked and bucket)
— What do we use bucket for (to fetch water)
— What is the usefulness of water (to sustain life)
— What happens to whoever kicks the bucket (he/ she needs the content no more)
Connotation: If someone needs not the bucket nor its content, which sustains life and then kicks it away, it means the person is through with life and has therefore gone out of it (died).
Let us use these keys to decode another expression
Denotation: “the patient dog eats the fattest bone”
— The key words (patient dog and fattest bone)
— Dogs like bones (and they get it only when man has taken the meat)
— What happens if 2 impatient dogs fight over a bone (a patient dog takes it away)
Connotation: if you are too anxious about anything, you are not likely to get it. If you are patient, luck will always come your way.
Denotation: “Let the sleeping dog lie”
— What are the key words (sleeping dog and lie)
— What is dog (a domestic animal but dangerous)
— What happens when it is asleep (it is quiet and harmless)
— What happens to whoever troubles it (it bites the person)
Connotation: The sleeping dog represents trouble at rest. If you are advised to let the dog sleep quietly, that is telling you to keep out of trouble. If you don’t, you pay the price.
Idioms originate from different sources and it depends on how familiar you are with the sources, which determines how easy it
will be for you to decode.
1. Biblical or Religious
These are taken from the bible or other religious background. e.g.
(i) His salary is only enough to keep body and soul together (body and soul), one housing the other. If the body dies, the soul leaves. So, it means staying alive.
(ii) I have watched my hands off the issue
* This is to say I have freed myself from involvement in the
issue like Pontius Pilate who washed his hands after releasing
Jesus to the Jews for crucifixion.
2. Games – taken from the context of sports
e.g. (i) He hits the boy below the belt
* In boxing, it is a foul to hit the opponent below the belt (it
houses the testes). It is therefore unfair to hit anyone there because the pain will be severe. To hit below the belt means an unfair attack that may bring the victim down.
(ii) With my preparation, I will have an upper hand in this examination
* The winner’s hand is normally raised in a context. Having an
upper hand is to be a winner.
3. Parts of the body
e.g. (i) I have a soft spot for her (love)
(ii) Why do you poke your nose into my affair (dig/find out about)
4. Animal behaviour
e.g. (i) He behaves like a fish out of water (out of place/uncomfortable)
(ii) He is a toothless bull dog (unable to back his threat with action)
5. Technology or craftsmanship
e.g. (i) Strike when the iron is hot (do things when it is easier)
(ii) She is the live-wire of the club (the most active)
6. Food and nutrition
e.g. (i) They bite the finger that feeds them (ungrateful)
(ii) Do not cry over spilled milk (waste time on irreparable loss)
7. Phrasal verb – Phrasal verbs are idiomatic
They have their meaning outside themselves. That is, one cannot get their meaning by simply combining the words that make them up.
e.g. (i) Laid down (established)
(ii) Take in (conceive, pregnant, assimilates)
Idioms are peculiar expressions to particular languages, which in most cases, cannot be translated into another language. Idiomatic expressions seem difficult to understand because the word, objects and symbols they employ has little or no relationship with the meaning they desire. The expression then becomes ambiguous and difficult to interpret.
However, there are ways of handling this aspect and one of those ways is by using the key of Denotation and Connotation.
Denotation is the literary, surface or ordinary meaning of an expression.
Connotation is the hidden or implied meaning of an expression. Most ambiguous expressions can be decoded by careful and intelligent use of these keys.
For instance, the expression “the man kicked the bucket” means that the man died, but the word kicked and bucket or the expression kicked the bucket when looked at from the meaning of the words chosen, has no relationship with the meaning desired.
Now, let’s use the key of denotation and connotation to decode it.
Denotation:
— What are the key words (kicked and bucket)
— What do we use bucket for (to fetch water)
— What is the usefulness of water (to sustain life)
— What happens to whoever kicks the bucket (he/ she needs the content no more)
Connotation: If someone needs not the bucket nor its content, which sustains life and then kicks it away, it means the person is through with life and has therefore gone out of it (died).
Let us use these keys to decode another expression
Denotation: “the patient dog eats the fattest bone”
— The key words (patient dog and fattest bone)
— Dogs like bones (and they get it only when man has taken the meat)
— What happens if 2 impatient dogs fight over a bone (a patient dog takes it away)
Connotation: if you are too anxious about anything, you are not likely to get it. If you are patient, luck will always come your way.
Denotation: “Let the sleeping dog lie”
— What are the key words (sleeping dog and lie)
— What is dog (a domestic animal but dangerous)
— What happens when it is asleep (it is quiet and harmless)
— What happens to whoever troubles it (it bites the person)
Connotation: The sleeping dog represents trouble at rest. If you are advised to let the dog sleep quietly, that is telling you to keep out of trouble. If you don’t, you pay the price.
Idioms originate from different sources and it depends on how familiar you are with the sources, which determines how easy it
will be for you to decode.
1. Biblical or Religious
These are taken from the bible or other religious background. e.g.
(i) His salary is only enough to keep body and soul together (body and soul), one housing the other. If the body dies, the soul leaves. So, it means staying alive.
(ii) I have watched my hands off the issue
* This is to say I have freed myself from involvement in the
issue like Pontius Pilate who washed his hands after releasing
Jesus to the Jews for crucifixion.
2. Games – taken from the context of sports
e.g. (i) He hits the boy below the belt
* In boxing, it is a foul to hit the opponent below the belt (it
houses the testes). It is therefore unfair to hit anyone there because the pain will be severe. To hit below the belt means an unfair attack that may bring the victim down.
(ii) With my preparation, I will have an upper hand in this examination
* The winner’s hand is normally raised in a context. Having an
upper hand is to be a winner.
3. Parts of the body
e.g. (i) I have a soft spot for her (love)
(ii) Why do you poke your nose into my affair (dig/find out about)
4. Animal behaviour
e.g. (i) He behaves like a fish out of water (out of place/uncomfortable)
(ii) He is a toothless bull dog (unable to back his threat with action)
5. Technology or craftsmanship
e.g. (i) Strike when the iron is hot (do things when it is easier)
(ii) She is the live-wire of the club (the most active)
6. Food and nutrition
e.g. (i) They bite the finger that feeds them (ungrateful)
(ii) Do not cry over spilled milk (waste time on irreparable loss)
7. Phrasal verb – Phrasal verbs are idiomatic
They have their meaning outside themselves. That is, one cannot get their meaning by simply combining the words that make them up.
e.g. (i) Laid down (established)
(ii) Take in (conceive, pregnant, assimilates)