LET me begin by reiterating that Paper One which we examined last week tests purely linguistic ability at the expense of content.
That is as far as the current examination set-up is concerned.
Take note: I did not refer to the current syllabus which obviously provides for both linguistic and communicative skills.
I wish to stress that the current Paper One examination assessment objectives focus on grammatical (linguistic) competence at the expense of other skills for good or bad reasons depending on where you are standing philosophically and pedagogically.
The mismatch is, however, an observation of fact even at law.
If the mismatch above is anything to make you lose sleep, then you can find solace in the other Paper.
Paper Two is the one which tests for both grammatical and communicative functions of language.
It covers interpretive skills in responding to comprehension, summary and appropriate register questions.
Reading and comprehension of what is read are essential elements of this paper and these require a great deal of discipline, concentration, speed and accuracy.
The approach to reading a comprehension passage for exam purposes is different from that of reading, say, for entertainment.
In class, teachers usually apply the ‘SQ3R’ method for reading for mastery. This entails surveying the passage (s) asking questions about what you have read (Q), re-reading, reciting and revising, but in the examination situation, the candidate does not have such time for indulgence because of the constraints of time.
It is therefore advised that candidates begin by reading the passage fast, but closely, then reading through the questions follows (A), and it is simultaneously accompanied by close re-reading of designated sections of the passage in search of clues to the answers.
This is the ‘SQ3R’ method.
Remember every answer must have a clue from the passage.
Points to remember include: There is no compulsive need of complete sentences although the answers should definitely be complete i.e. cover all aspects of the questions.
Where you are not asked to use your own words, make use of passage words. Where you are asked to use your own words, explain all the key words in the question.
Where you are asked to quote a word or phrase, do as asked.
Do not try to impress by doing what you have not been asked to do.
Be guided by the principles of sufficiency, effectiveness and efficiency.
Writing more than enough has obvious diminishing returns which militate against maximising scores for different questions.
This is as far as comprehension questions are concerned.
Vocabulary questions require inferential skills.
It is important first to grasp the context in which the word or expression is used. This refers to the semantic environment where the expression is found. Grasping the tone of this context helps the candidate guess intellectually the contextual meaning of the expression.
I need to stress that the meaning you give must be consistent with what it replaces.
‘Consistency’ means that the part of speech of the replaced word or expression and the tense (if it is a verb) should not be altered.
As for the summary, the most important skill is interpretation.
The candidates should identify the key focus or ‘foci’ of the question.
The focus is what the candidate uses to identify the relevant parts of the designated section of the passage.
If, for instance, you are looking for ‘causes’ and ‘effects’, yet every line by literally asking, “Are you a cause or effect?”
If the line answers ‘Yes’, underline it; if it says ‘No’, ignore it very quickly and ask the next line until you get to the end of the designated section of the passage.
You have no time to jot down the ‘affirmative’ points which should be not less than 15.
Proceed to write your first draft using the points you have underlined.
Do not trouble yourself with trying to use your own words as there is neither special condition nor punishment for using words as they are used in the passage.
If anything there is obvious benefit in using the passage words such as avoidance of spelling and grammatical errors.
You are, however, expected to avoid the following: flowery language — unnecessary explanatory detail — examples — similes etc.
After drafting the first write-up, edit it.
This means check for spelling, punctuation, omission, grammar and length.
If the length exceeds the recommended by more than 10 words, visit the longer sentences and prune them structurally without destroying their essence.
After the corrections, make a fair copy of the rough draft into the final copy. Remember to revise even this to check for omission.
You are through with your summary.
The section on use of appropriate register is the bonus of the whole assessment. So easy, but not necessarily on a fool’s silver platter.
Remember as fortune favours the brave, a bumper harvest of marks avails itself to the conscientious.
In this section skills of empathy are critical.
Candidates normally rush to answer questions they have pre-meditated.
You require patience to read and understand the situation, put yourself into the situation imaginatively, consider yourself culturally in relation to the status and role of your other interlocutor and then read and understand what the question demands.
Then answer appropriately.
Questions on register usually ask for reaction/response, feelings, attitudes and reasons.
The rubric is that answers for a (i) and a (ii) should normally be ‘antonymous’, but not necessarily opposites.
Part of the rubric is also that candidates should use direct opposites such as ‘impolite’, never, ‘not polite’ where you are in doubt about different possibilities, present all of them in series, but they should not exceed seven. Simple!
Very simple.