Examinations are here with us

09 Oct, 2018 - 09:10 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Morris Mtisi Post Correspondent
This is time for parents to support children. Do not create anxious or difficult moments for them if you can avoid it. Tell them you trust them, believe in them and know they will make it (even if you know they are struggling with their school work).

Give them enough time at home to revise their work and prepare for every paper they are writing each examination day. If you are with the child at home let him or her hear you talk to God about them and their exams in prayer. This can work miracles even to those parents who rarely talk about God at home or do not have the word ‘‘God’’ in their vocabulary.

The child will be pleasantly shocked to hear you for the first time trusting God. (I am whispering in your ear) . . . ‘‘Please don’t speak your ancestors or some Neanderthal god only you understand. Ancestors and n’angas, diviners and prophets know nothing about examinations and going to school.’’ Education and examinations is not their business!

To the candidates, this is time to exercise extreme discipline. Discipline here involves a proper revision timetable subject area by subject area which you will strictly adhere to. Organise your facts and knowledge guided by specific questions . . . may be past examination papers. If you are sure you have inadequate facts or knowledge, read the specific areas or straight away consult your teacher or your study friend.

And talking about a ‘‘study friend’’! Every smart candidate has a friend who is equally serious about examinations and success. Usually and ideally such a friend must have academic strength you know. Let him or her be your guiding star or examination mentor. As he or she does personal revision and preparation he/ she ‘‘teaches’’ you in the process.

A good study friend knows he or she is better than the friend but does not feel exploited. He or she feels honoured to be selected as a study ‘‘mentor’’ or friend. You are studying or revising the same topics at the same time. You are discussing and sharing knowledge. You have one agenda and one purpose. It is important to share or volunteer ‘‘the little’’ you know about a certain topic with the teaching friend.

For ‘O’ level English candidates in Paper 2, first and foremost make sure you have mastered summary skills thoroughly. This is one question in which you can score extremely high marks. It is not impossible to get all the marks (20). Second, make sure you understand what each question or section wants you to do.

For example, if the question wants you to use your own word or expression with the same meaning, do just that. Do not give meanings here. That is not what the marker or examiner wants to see even if you may be correct.  In this type of question keep to the same tense! Simply replace the word in question with yours and it must make grammatical sense, not nonsense.

Example: The teacher remained solemn though the student was making a joke. Use another word with the same meaning with ‘‘solemn’’ in line-whatever. You cannot say the word is ‘‘seriousness’’ here. It does not fit in the space grammatically.

Though there is no doubt you know the meaning of the word ‘‘solemn,’’ the word that grammatically fits here is ‘serious’, not ‘‘seriousness’’. Bother your teacher about this before examinations if you are not sure you have grasped this point. It is very important. I will give you more tips and guidelines in the English Language examination as the examinations proceed. Let us enjoy writing these ‘‘written interviews’’. Panicking is terribly old-fashioned and unnecessary. Until next week, have fun!

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