2019 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. You are about to graduate from secondary school and you held the position of a Library Prefect. Write a letter to your friend telling him/her your experiences and how they have contributed to your life in a positive way.

2. Write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper in a national newspaper on the growing incidence of drug abuse among the youth, stating the causes and suggesting ways it can be curbed.

3. A friend of yours was involved in a fight that took place in school and has been expelled by the school authorities. In a letter to our Principal, give an account of the fight and why you think your friend should not have been expelled.

4. As one of the outgoing prefects in your school, write a speech you would deliver at the send-off ceremony for prefects, on the topic: The challenges of prefectship.

5. Write a story that ends with the statement. I wished I had listened to my parents.

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

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

I had always thought that he was under a spell to be such a workaholic. Daily, after returning from school, he would promptly head for the bush. There, he would engage in fashioning out something that could fetch him some money. He would engage sometimes with baskets and brooms made from palm fronds and at other times, two or three pestles beautifully crafted to please any housewife. Occasionally, he would work till late evening as a labourer on someone’s farmland. Returning, he would bring home pepper, vegetables and firewood. During the holidays, he would spend more time working from cockcrow till dusk on large commercial farmlands. Interestingly, he had a father, who had his own farm, but was too poor to finance his education. Once in a while, he would go to his father’s farm to help the old man out.

However, towards the end of his first year in senior secondary school, he obtained a piece of farm land from his father. He worked on the land as if his life depended on it! That year, he planted maize and all sorts of vegetables. The harvest gave him enough money to pay his fees, procure some planks and several carpenter’s tools. With his knowledge of woodwork, he started making simple kitchen stools, tables and chairs which attracted a lot of customers. Yet, his education did not suffer; indeed, he was always in the top position in class.

Once when I remarked in class that Adamu was like a person pursued by a demon pushing him to work so hard, everybody laughed, including him. When the laughter subsided, he looked at me intently and said, “Kola, you can’t understand. I pray you’ll never have that demon after you. I guess if you were in my shoes, without a mother since age three, you would have such a demon after you too. I only vaguely remember my mother because I was too young when she passed on. When my father remarried, the woman excluded me from her care; I had to find a solution. I got myself enrolled in school at age eight. I had to take care of my feeding, pay my way through school, and buy uniforms and books. At first, an uncle introduced me to working on other people’s farms. But when I discovered that I could take care of myself, I worked even harder. When there was no work anywhere, I took to the bush to make objects like brooms, baskets, pestles and hoe handles. Today, I have as many pairs of shoes, clothes and books as any of you. Now, I have graduated from making simple home items to making doors. Nobody taught me these, nobody, except, perhaps the demon you referred to”.

Complete silence followed. Since then, I have had the utmostUtmost means the greatest or most extreme extent or amount. More respect for him.

Questions:

a. Why did the writer think Adamu was under a spell?

b. Give two reasons why Adamu had to take care of himself.

c. State two major types of jobs Adamu engaged in to support himself.

d. What does the reference to Adamu’s academic performance tell us about him?

e. What is the writer’s attitude towards Adamu?

f. What tells us that Adamu was determined to be educated?

g. …like a person pursued by a demon… What figure of speech is used in this expression?

h. …that could take care of myself…

(i) What is the grammatical name 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 is used in the passage.

(i)       A spell
(ii)      Crafted
(ii)      Procure
(iv)     Attracted
(v)      Vaguely
(vi)     Simple

You are advised to spend about 40 minutes on this section.

          The issue of youth delinquency has become a major concern to everyone. Hardly a day passes by without reports of some youth being involved in one act of lawlessness or the other. In view of the fact that the youth of today will take over the mantle of leadership in future, the multimillion-dollar question is: Are we guaranteed a safe future? We often wonder what has changed, what has happened to the respectful, obedient and studious youth of the not too distant past?

          At a ceremony held recently, a renowned religious leader was very worried about the youth. He asked parents to be careful of “the new armed robbers and carriers of immorality” they had introduced into their homes. In his opinion, to protect their children, parents have done well by building high walls around their houses and fencing them with electric barbed wire. But the new “robbers” they should look out for are the television and the internet they leave their children with all the time without supervision. These modern technologies offer sites where children pick up some unsavoury habits and behaviour.

          Gradually, consciously or unconsciously, the television and the internet have assumed a central role in the lives of many children. They hardly miss their parents whether they are at home or not because they are engrossed in watching television or browsing the internet. There is rarely any interaction between parents and their children. Some children forgo their meals in order to watch particular programmes on television or browse the internet. Continuous struggle among siblings for the possession of the remote control is a constant sight in most homes. Parents who can afford it solve this problem by acquiring additional television sets.

          Some children sit in front of the television with textbooks and notebooks before them, pretending to study. They know every programme at any given time on almost all the channels. Ask them to do any academic work and their countenance immediately shows a complete lack of interest. As they watch one programme after the other on the various channels, children may absorb materials that are unsuitable for their formative years.

          Thanks to the television and the internet, their active way of life has been reduced to the minimum. Some children sit for hours watching television or browsing the internet while they stuff themselves with popcorn, cookies and sweets. This sedentary lifestyle affects their health. No wonder we now have obese teenagers.

          However, the television and the internet have their positive sides. They are great sources of information, learning and entertainment. They help in the development of our social roles and behaviour and kill boredom. If only parents could find time to participate in what their children do and watch and guide them, the future may not seem so bleak. When children are encouraged and guided to watch child-friendly programmes, a healthy balance can be created between watching the television, browsing the internet and engaging in other household and community activities. Above all, parents should be more assertive and wrench their parental responsibilities from the mass media.

Questions

a. In four sentences, one for each, summarize the effects of the excessive use of the television and the internet on children.

b. In two sentences, one for each, summarize how the dangers posed by the television and the internet can be overcome.