As an art student, it takes diligence and a bit of carefulness when reading poetry, drama or prose so you can filter the striking points out from the text, reverse is the case, as many students prefer to read summary text. This and others have been the leading cause of student’s failure. This article will address the reason why candidates fail 2018 Literature in English WAEC – paper 2.
Candidate’s Weakness
The Chief Examiners reported the following as some of the candidates’ peculiar weaknesses
- Inability to meet the demands of the question
- Shallow knowledge/understanding of set texts.
- Wrong interpretation of questions.
- Violation of rubrics.
- Little or no knowledge of literary appreciation.
- Illegible handwriting.
- Writing of irrelevancies.
- Inability to express answers in good English.
- Dependency on summarized texts.
Suggested Remedies
To correct the observed weaknesses, the Chief Examiners recommended the following:
- Candidates should buy and read the set texts before examination.
- Candidates should not depend on key points and summary notes alone.
- Candidates should always read instructions before they start answering questions.
- Competent teachers should be employed to teach Literature-in-English.
- Teachers should attend workshops and seminars occasionally to familiarize themselves with the demands of the subject.
Candidate’s Strength
The Chief Examiners reported that some candidates demonstrated good knowledge of the set texts. This was evident in their references to the texts in their answers. Also, few of the candidates possessed the language skill to organize their thoughts in the required manner.
