The ManicaPost
Morris Mtisi
I DEDICATE this week’s column to students on school holiday now especially in the spirit of our Heroes Holiday which we are celebrating this week. I have you in mind as you prepare for your final examinations in October-November. I feel obliged to expose the areas that need extra attention and revision.
These are examination guidelines and tips that could make all the difference between making it and blowing it during your June or November examinations. No one must find English Language a hard nut to crack. No candidate must find it too tough to pass.
PAPER 1 (SECTION A.) FREE COMPOSITION:
CHOOSING THE TOPIC.(Spend a good one to two minutes to do this.)
This is where it all begins. Many candidates fail because they have no good reasons to choose one question and not another. It is important to ask yourself the following questions as you strive to make a choice:
What is my favourite composition type? Is it Narrative, Descriptive, Argument or Factual? If all your favourites are disappointingly difficult; say because there is or are one or two unfamiliar words or a tricky idiomatic expression, quickly opt for the second favourite type.
Do I have something unusual / unique to write about? Something interesting?
It must be an original story, one you read in a recent newspaper or magazine or some fast-moving gossip making rounds in your town, suburb or neighbourhood. Or a summarized Hollywood thriller or African Movie feature film! Create your own story. The examiner can always tell if you are composing a story or re-telling one. Remember you gain impression marks for being original.
PLANNING:
Spend some good 4 to 5 minutes jotting down useful ideas at random. This is the brainstorming stage. Remember writing Introduction: Where it happened: What happened: Conclusion: is not planning. A good plan has the opening sentence . . . exactly as you want it; short and to the point, captivating (catchy and interesting) and displaying a suitable identifiable skill. The beginning should not be long and winding. Dive straight into the swimming pool. Don’t hesitate and write irrelevant matter or detail. That becomes an INTRODUCTION. Don’t use one. An Introduction is an irrelevant waste of time. It will cost you precious marks.
EXAMPLE: A QUARREL AT HOME
My mom and dad were now living like a cat and a rat in one cage. Dad had suddenly become a vicious animal and mom a loud foul-mouthed non-stop chatterbox. Not one day passed without these two quarrelling. It was sickening to say the least.
COMMENT:
The language is very good. Look at the suitable comparison (like a cat and rat). The vocabulary is apt . . . very suitable and effective (vicious, loud, foul-mouthed non-stop chatterbox, sickening). You are tempted to think this is an excellent beginning, are you not? It is not. This is a beautiful time-wasting effort.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING OPTION:
My mom took her torn handbag and walked out. Dad heaved up and down the lounge room and vowed he would kill someone.
“March out of my house! In one piece! Do you hear? And march out of my life!” Dad shouted angrily.
“Over my dead body — this is your house as much as it is mine. Kill yourself first before you kill me,” my mother shouted back, apparently more furious than the man of the house.
She was determined to put up a fierce fight no matter what nature it took.
COMMENT:
Notice the excitement, the drama and the liveliness brought about by vivid descriptive detail and the direct speech. Be careful not to allow characters to speak in the same line. Each speaker has his or her own line unless the speaker continues to speak in the same paragraph.
Do you see how after the actual words spoken, the writer (you) supports the words . . . my mother shouted back . . . /She was determined to put up a fierce fight etc in order to give a clearer, more vivid description of what is happening?
