Essay: what the examiner actually ticks
English Studies · BECE · JSS (BECE)
Content, organisation, expression, mechanical accuracy. Four pots of marks. Feed all four.
What you need to know
- Narrative: beginning, middle, end, and a point. A story that just stops is not an ending.
- Descriptive: five senses, not a list. “The market was noisy” is weak; name the sounds.
- Argumentative: one side, three reasons, a short opposite view, then your close. Do not sit on the fence unless asked.
- Letter: informal has a heading, greeting, body, closing, first name. Formal has address, date, title, sir/madam, full name.
- Paragraphs: one idea each. Indent or skip a line, and stay consistent.
- Spend five minutes planning. The plan is not wasted time; it is the organisation mark.
The mistake to avoid
A formal letter closed with “Your friend” is an easy mechanical-accuracy wound. Yours faithfully (when you wrote Dear Sir) or Yours sincerely (when you used a name).