SSS3 Mock English Essay Past Question: Continuous Writing Practice

SSS3 MOCK 

2023/2024 SESSION 

SUBJECT: ENGLISH LANGUAGE TIME: 1 HOUR 45 MINUTES 

ESSAY 

CONTINOUS WRITING 

(50 Marks) 

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 45 minutes on this section. 

1. Your school had just concluded her 12th biennial Inter-house Sport Competition. Write a letter to the Sport Committee Chairman narrating your experience and also suggest three possible practical ways to improve inter-house sporting activities in your school.
2. Of recent, there has been a rush by youths to leave your country in search of greener pastures. Write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper stating the causes and effects of this move. Also, suggest some remedies. 
3. Write a letter to a close friend of yours who resides abroad intimating him/her on your career choice, reasons for your chosen career and what is expected of you to achieve your goal.
4. You are the main speaker in a debate on the topic: ‘Parents and not the teachers are to be blamed for the indecent behaviour and the lackadaisical attitudes of students towards academics. Write your arguments for or against the proposition. 
5. Write a story ending with the statement: ‘I wish I had managed my time well.’

COMPREHENSION 

(20 Marks) 

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it. You are advised to spend about 30 minutes on  this section. 

A candidate in an examination hall is a close cousin of the boxer in the ring. Both are fighting for a prize or,  at least, for some commendation. Their goal is to win, and victory brings fame while failure leads to disaster and  frustration. Each victory paves the way for a promotion up the ladder, and the higher one climbs the more exposed to  the public glare one gets. A world boxing champion is like a Nobel Prize winner among academics; each is at  the apex of his career, but the route to that position can be tortuous and rough.  

The examination candidate is not a very normal person for the simple reason that he is under severe pressure. Although  he is alert and his pulse is fast, he is liable to commit elementary errors without knowing it. Thus, he may repeat or omit one word, miss the spelling of another, or interchange the positions of two words.  If he reads over, which he hardly ever does, he may see what was originally in his brain rather than what is on paper.  So, most errors escape him.  

More alert than at ordinary times though his brain maybe, it can play funny tricks, he may suddenly recall an  odd joke or a long forgotten and obscure incident. Right there in the examination hall, while his pen is dancing  furiously on the paper, the candidate may remember a beautiful tune as if his mind is saying: “Forget this task, enjoy  some music.” Happily, these do not usually disrupt the exercise at hand: the task goes on while the candidate may  smile to himself at the strange recall of the joke or music. 

The brain can play a different type of trick. A fact long stored up and remembered a short while before the  examination can suddenly evaporate. All attempts to recall it may prove unsuccessful. Usually, till the paper ends, the  fact remains elusive only to resurface much later when not needed. 

The candidate does not fare better in an oral examination. His problems are heightened by the fact that his fate  depends entirely on the examiner’s assessment of him rather than what he writes down himself. The facial appearance  of the examiner is also a strong factor since a stern, unsmiling examiner can be intimidating. 

Yes, an examination candidate need not be frightened. He needs all the calmness he can muster. He should  sleep soundly before the exercise, trusting that all the preparations he made earlier will not fail him at the hour of  need. The fact is that one forgets more when one is tired, especially when one panics unnecessarily. 

Questions: 

(a) In what two ways is an examination candidate similar to a boxer? 

(b) Identify two direct results of pressure on the candidate.

(c) Give two examples of the funny tricks the brain can play on the candidate. 

(d) Give two reasons why a candidate may have a greater problem at an oral examination than at a written paper. (e) “… while his pen is dancing furiously on the paper…’’ 

(i) What figure of speech is this? 

(ii) What does it mean? 

(f) “A candidate in an examination hall…” 

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

(g) 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) paves (ii) apex (iii) severe (iv) elusive (v) stern (vi) calmness. 

SUMMARY 

(30 Marks) 

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it. You are advised to spend about 30 minutes on  this section. 

From whatever angle one looks at the continent of Africa today, one sees nothing but problems. These  problems seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate. Of course, every continent has its own problems, some probably  as serious as Africa’s. Still there are critical differences. A few of Africa’s problems and how to tackle them are  examined in the following paragraphs. 

There is no denying the fact that Africa has its own fair share of natural resources; such as arable land and  mineral deposits. However, one major factor has made it impossible for these resources to be of maximum benefit to  Africans. This is the uneven distribution of both population and the resources themselves throughout the continent.  Where resources are available, the rapidly growing population places immense pressure on them; and where the  population is sparse or average, there are hardly enough resources to sustain it. The overall consequence is thus the  impossibility of satisfying the basic human needs of Africans in either situation. 

The first problem is compounded by the second, which is created by none other than Africans themselves. The  common problems of hunger or malnutrition, poverty or want are not there only because there is insufficient food and  natural resources in Africa. They are there also because of lack of political and patriotic will on the part of Africa’s  largely corrupt political and business leadership. 

As if these problems are not enough, there is a third and no less serious one. In developed countries, ready and  well-defined mechanisms are usually in place to contain existing or likely problems. In Africa, such mechanisms are  either non-existent or, where they are available at all, are often hindered by political considerations, red tape and sheer  mismanagement. 

If permanent solutions are not found and implemented now, Africa’s rapidly worsening situation may reach  the point of no return. How can such a crisis be prevented? First, the citizens must choose their own leaders through  a free and fair ballot-election in which candidates of more than one political party must participate. In other words,  political power must and should rest with the citizens through democratic processes, and not with the rulers, the armed  forces, the police and security services. 

Again, the practice of African leaders and diplomats roving the world’s capitals cap in hand begging for aid  and loans should cease. Many Africans are now aware that the so-called foreign assistance actually worsens rather  than lessens their problems. The conditions are usually too unfavourable to the economy of the borrowing nation, and  sometimes the monies actually never leave the shores of the donor or lending nations. This is because the same sums  of money find their way into some private bank accounts in foreign countries or are disbursed on ornaments and  luxury goods. 

Finally, the causes of poverty, hunger, malnutrition and illiteracy are also causes of the social conflicts such  as tribalism, nepotism and corruption. It is important to eradicate these social conflicts along with the former problems  for progress to be made. Africa’s problems are indeed not insoluble. It takes only the right political atmosphere and  moral responsibility on the part of Africans to tackle them. 

Questions: 

1. In three sentences, one for each, summarise the problems of Africa as presented in the passage. 2. In three sentences, one for each, summarise the solutions offered by the writer.

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