2017 WAEC (WASSCE) English Language Theory Past Questions

NOTE: The essay section of this paper is scored under the following aspects:

Answer one question only from this section. All questions carry equal marks. Your answer should not be less than 450 words.

You are advised to spend about 50 minutes on this section.

1. Your father has just built a new house for the family. Write a letter to your elder brother who lives abroad, describing the new house and the prestige it has accorded your family.

2. Write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper, discussing two major problems facing your country and suggesting ways of solving them.

3. The electricity supply in your school has been irregular. As the Senior Prefect, write a letter to the Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) telling him about the effect of this on the school and the need to provide a standby generator for the school.

4. Your principal is due for retirement at the end of the academic year As the senior prefect, write a speech which you would deliver to honour him/her at a send-off party.

5. Write a story ending with the expression At last, we arrived safely.

You are advised to spend about 30 minutes on this section.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

When I was in primary four, thirty-five years ago, schools closed for the day at 1:30 pm. My two friends and I would then proceed for ‘full’ recreation as we either played football in hidden neighbourhoods or went downstream to swim till dusk. The reprimands and occasional spankings we got from our mothers could not deter us. Our youthful adventurous spirit would not be suppressed. We were resolute in our desire to be free of what we thought were too many chores. As far as we were concerned, that should be the preserve of the female gender.

One day we went fishing in a stream on the outskirts of the village after we had had our fill of entertainment playing football. We each caught some fish but were not satisfied: we wanted crabs which we could sell on our way back home to augment the meagre money for recess’ that each of us got when going off to school every day. We caught two big crabs from the first two holes we dug before going for a third. Convinced that we had dug deep enough. the eldest of us dipped his right hand into the hole that was about three-quarters filled with water, and soon reported excitedly that he had made a big catch As he dragged it to the surface, we screamed in sudden terror. The ‘big catch’ was the fleshly middle part of a shimmering black snake! No one waited for the other as we scrambled for safety, leaving our other catch behind. The boy splashed frantically through the water, falling over twice before reaching us on the bank of the stream None of us ventured back, more for fear of the snake than the dusk that had suddenly descended on the village.

When I got home, I met Mother. my two siblings and some anxious relations at the doorstep. They were about setting out to comb the entire village since their previous search to my school, my mates’ homes and the few playgrounds n the village had been futile. The concerned look on Mother’s face told me I had stirred up a hornets’ nest and should be prepared for the sting. My muddy legs and hands betrayed the lie I had hurriedly cooked up. I got the beating of my life, first from Mother and then Father who came into the house and upon being told what had happened went straight for the thick rubber he had wound around his bicycle carrier for tying loads.

Questions:

(a) State two reasons why the writer and his friends always came home late.

(b) Why did the boys get home late on that fateful day?

(c) Why did the boys not realize that it was getting dark?

(d) In what two ways was the writer unlucky on that day?

(e) How does the writer’s mother usually demonstrate her disapproval of his behaviour?

(f)…. I had stirred up a hornets’ nest and should be prepared for the sting”

(i) What figure of speech is used in this expression?
(ii) What does it mean?

(g) “As he dragged it to the surface. “

(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function?

(i) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it’s used in the passage:

(i) deter;
(ii) preserve;
(iii) augment:
(iv) ventured;
(v) concerned.

Young people are usually faced with several challenges as they grow up. These challenges have increased dramatically as a result of the present impressive advances in science. The Internet and the mobile phone, for instance, have indeed reduced the whole world to a global village and given birth to social media. Social media itself has made it possible for anyone to instantly keep abreast with happenings all around the world.

But many people are worried that a lot of youths use social media in various negative ways that tend to ultimately increase the challenges they face in life. First, Internet chatting and dating have become common among youths, They spend valuable time in Internet cafes or glued to their smartphones with the hope that through Skype or Facebook “luck” would come their way. The time wasted in this way could have been spent on studying and helping their parents with household chores.

Another downside of social media is the easy access to pornography that it offers. Attracted like gnats to bright light at night, many youths spend hours watching pornography. This has the inevitable effect of corrupting their minds. in the fantasy world, that pornography plunges them into, they care little for anything else. In the end, the casualties are their studies and their morals.

Again, youths are often driven by the “get rich quick” syndrome as they observe successful and affluent members of the societyThe term society is derived from the Latin word 'socius' meaning friendship or companionship. Society is a community, nation or group of people who share the same traditions, institutions, rules and... More all around them who flaunt their wealth by driving expensive cars and living ostentatious lifestyles. Because many youths are seized by the irresistible desire to become like these people overnight, they readily resort to any available means to succeed, including cybercrime. Since face-to-face contact is not involved, it is easy for these misguided youths to plan and execute all manner of scams on social media.

What can be done to rescue the youths from these influences? First, parents have a crucial role to play. Many youths have improper home training and most parents leave their children to learn life’s lessons on their own. They allow them to find solutions to their problems with minimal guidance. The reality is that the sooner parents change their method of raising children, the better.

Teachers also have to play a crucial role. Teachers should realize that just as parents take over the responsibility of teaching when their children are at home, they, in turn, become the youth’s parents at school. They should, therefore, ensure not only that the right skills are taught to the youth, but also that the right attitudes are instilled in them.

The society at large should also realize that at their impressionable age, youths are simply influenced by what they observe happening around them, whether good or bad. So, instead of emphasizing materialism and flaunting of wealth, the society’s responsibility towards the youths should be mainly to instil in them its normsA norm is a rule, standard, or pattern for action. Social norm refers to shared standards of acceptable behaviour by a group of people. The norms in any society are based... More, customs and values through proper role modelling. Then the world will become a better place for the youth because they will be able to control their own destiny.

Questions:

(a) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the negative influences of social media on youths.

(b) In three sentences, one for each, summarize what must be done to rescue the youths from these influences.