BECE 2018 English Language Past Question Paper Two
PART A
ESSAY WRITING
As School Prefect, write a letter to your District or Municipal or Metropolitan Chief Executive requesting the maintenance of the buildings in your school.
CONTENT: 10 marks
The candidate is required to describe the present state of the buildings and also state why maintenance is needed. Both parts should be treated well in sufficient detail.
Note: If a candidate writes on only one part, the content is marked out of 5, instead of 10
.
ORGANISATION: 5 marks
This is a formal letter and the following features should be present:
(i) Writer’s address (without name)
(ii) Date
(iii) Recipient’s designation and address
(iv) Salutation – (Dear) Sir / Madam
(v) The Heading / Title
(vi) Subscription – Yours faithfully / sincerely
(vii) Signature
(viii) Full name
(ix) Writer’s designation
It is expected that the ideas should be coherent and the paragraphs well-linked.
EXPRESSION: 10 marks
The language should be strictly formal – no slang or jargon or colloquial expression.
The candidate must use a good blend of varied sentence patterns and vivid idiomatic expressions.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY: 5 marks
Note: The candidate is penalised (half a mark deducted) for each of the following:
(i) each grammatical error
(ii) wrong spelling
(iii) faulty construction
(iv) punctuation error and the wrong use of the capital or small letter.
Write arguments for or against the topic: Life in the city is more dangerous than that in the village.
CONTENT: 10 marks
The candidate must take a stance (either FOR or AGAINST, not both) and advance at least two convincing arguments to support his/her stance.
Note: If a candidate writes on only one point, Content is marked out of 5, instead of 10
ORGANISATION: 5 marks
This is an argumentative essay, not a debate. The candidate may provide a title/heading. Paragraphs should be well developed, and the material should be logically presented.
If the candidate writes a letter or a debate, the Organisation is marked out of 3, instead of 5.
EXPRESSION: 10 marks
The language should be strictly formal. Slang, colloquialism and contracted forms are not accepted. The candidate is expected to use appropriate vocabulary and a good blend of sentence patterns.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY 5 marks
As in Question 1.
Write a report to the Headteacher of your school about how a senior girl beat up a junior boy.
CONTENT: 10 marks
The candidate is supposed to write a report to the Headteacher. As an eye-witness he/she is exprected to give a vivid description/account of the incident. As much as possible, the report should be very detailed and comprehensive.
ORGANISATION: 5 marks
This is a report and should have the following:
(i) Heading / Title
(ii) Signature
(iii) Full name
(iv) Date
If the candidate writes a letter, the Organisation is marked out of 3.
Paragraphs should be well developed, and ideas properly linked.
EXPRESSION: 10 marks
The candidate is expected to use vocabulary that is appropriate to the narrative. There should be variety of sentence types.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY: 5 marks
As in Question 1
PART B
COMPREHENSION
Read the following passage carefully and answer all the questions which follow
When Pozo adopted Abate and Ali, he vowed to take great care of them. And he did his best. But Abate and Ali did exactly as they were told not to. Their greatest passion was snail-hunting.
As he left home for an important meeting one afternoon, Pozo told the boys that he would be particularly pleased if they did not join any snail-hunting group or go snail-hunting by themselves. He even promised surprise presents if they abstained from snail-hunting for once It was quite obvious to everyone that there would be snail-hunting as there had been a heavy downpour that morning.
Pozo’s meeting was a marathon. When he arrived home at 8:30 that night, neither of the boys was at home. He felt that something grave might have happened. He stood still for some time confused. He switched on his radio and tuned in to his favourite station, Hiawa FM and the breaking news was: “Five snail-hunters have been run over at Yaaboi by the early evening in-coming Densuano-bound train”. As the dreadful news hit him, Pozo winced.
Pozo was so stupefied that he did not notice Ali enter the house, sweating and breathless, carrying a head-load of snails But where was Abate?
Furtively, the back door squeaked open. In stole the other boy, also sweating and breathless under the weight of the head-load of snails On seeing him, Pozo sighed, relieved. He shook his head. “These boys will surely be the death of me”, he murmured to himself. “When will they do exactly as they are told?”
(a) (i) Why was Pozo taking care of the boys?
(ii) Why do you think Pozo did not want the boys to go snail-hunting?
(b) State the two reasons why Pozo was sure that the boys would go snail-hunting.
(c) What is the meaning of the sentence, “Pozo’s meeting was a marathon”?
(d) (i) Why was Pozo so worried when he returned from the meeting?
(ii) How did the news of the rail accident affect Pozo?
(e) Explain in your own words the following expressions as used in the passage:
(i) have been run over;
(ii) in stole the other boy;
(iii) be the death of me.
(f) For each of the following words, give another word or phrase that means the same, and can fit into the passage:
(i) vowed;
(ii) passion;
(iii) abstained;
(iv) grave;
4.
NOTE
The candidate:
• Must ensure that there are no grammatical / expression errors, otherwise, he/she may lose marks.
• Must provide only one answer to any given question. If he/she provides two options and one of them is wrong, he/she loses all the marks for that question
• Must ensure that all spellings are correct
• May decide not to answer in complete sentences
(a) (i) Why was Pozo taking care of the boys?
He had adopted them/
He had taken them as his children
They were his adopted children
He had vowed / promised to take care of them.
(ii) He did not want them to be exposed to danger/ to get hurt
(b)
The boys loved/liked snail-hunting.
The boys had a passion for snail-hunting
They had a liking for snail hunting.
It had rained that morning / day.
(c)
The meeting took a long.
The meeting lasted a long time.
The meeting was long
The meeting was unending
(d)
The boys were not at home.
The boys had gone out
(e) (i)
were killed /
have been killed
have been knocked down / over
(e) (ii)
the other boy sneaked / crept in
the other boy entered quietly / secretly / stealthily
the other boy came in quietly / secretly / stealthily
the other boy tiptoed in
(e) (iii)
worry / annoy / upset him/me/Pozo very much.
will make me/him/Pozo crazy
Note: “Kill me” is wrong
(e) (f)
(i) vowed; promised / pledged / swore
(ii) passion; love / desire / interest
(iii) abstained; stayed away / held themselves / refrained / kept away
(iv) grave; serious / of great concern / terrible / worrying / dreadful / very unpleasant / grievous / fearful / frightening / frightful / very bad
PART C
LITERATURE
Question 5(a) to 5(c) are based on the abridged and simplified version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist
NOTE
The candidate:
• Must ensure that there are no grammatical / expression errors, otherwise, he/she may lose marks.
• Must provide only one answer to any given question. If he/she provides two options and one of them is wrong, he/she loses all the marks for that question.
• Must ensure that all spellings are correct.
• May decide not to answer in complete sentences.
CHARLES DICKENS: Oliver Twist
“Oliver walked 70 miles to London. In such a big city, no one would ever find him!
It was chilly and his feet hurt but he was happy to leave his old, miserable life behind”
(a) Two of the people who treated Oliver badly, making him run away to London are
(b) An example of the use of contrast in the extract is ………
(c) “ ……the one item she had” was
MERRILL CORNEY: Debbie, Sandy and Pepe
“Well, we’ll just have to look after him ourselves then”, she said.
“We’ll make a soft nest for him and feed him and when he grows up, he will stay in our garden.”
(d) What did they choose for a nest for Pepe?
(e) Which figure of speech is mainly used in the extract?
The Dilemma of a Ghost
AMA ATA AIDOO:
My spirit Mother ought to have come for me earlier.
Now, what shall I tell them who are gone?
The daughter of slaves who come from the white man’s land.
Someone should advise me on how to tell my story.
My children, I am dreading my arrival there.
Where they will ask me news of home.
Shall I tell them or shall I not?
(f) Who is the speaker?
(g) What do the following expressions in the extract refer to?
(i) “……..who are gone?”
(ii) “………….there”.
LAWRENCE DARMANI: Scribbler’s Dream
Scribbler,
The dream in your mind fills the shelf.
When upon the shelf you gaze,
5 vacuum stares at you.
There is your quill and parchment
but heavy are your hands.
Why?
Because disuse numbs the wrist.
(h) What does “Scribbler” refer to?
(i) What does “The dream in your mind” refer to?
(a) Mr Sowerberry, Mrs Sowerberry, Charlotte and Noah (Claypole)
(b) It was chilly and his feet hurt but he was happy to leave his old, miserable life behind.
(c) gold / pure gold /
a necklace with a gold locket
(d)
the old letter box (in the hedge),
the old mail box
(e)personification
(f) Nana / Ato’s grandmother
(g) (i) the dead / departed / ancestors / forebearers / the dead relatives
(g) (ii) the land/place of the departed/dead
the spirit world
the ancestral world
(h) A poet / writer / an author
Someone who writes
(h) (i) Ideas / the skill of writing / their thoughts
End Of Paper
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