LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH EXAMINATION SCHEME
There will be three papers – Papers 1, 2 and 3. Papers 1 and 2 will be combined in a 1 hour 15 minutes composite paper and will be taken at one sitting
Paper 1 will be a multiple choice objective test. It will contain fifty questions distributed as follows:
(a) Twenty questions on General Knowledge of Literature;
(b) Five questions on an unseen prose passage;
(c) Five questions on an unseen poem;
(d) Twenty context questions on the prescribed Shakespearean text.
Candidates will be required to answer all the questions within 1 hour for 50 marks.
Paper 2 will be an essay test with two sections, Sections A and B. Section A will be on African Prose and Section B on Non African Prose.
Two essay questions will be set on each of the novels prescribed for study. Candidates shall be required to answer one question only from each section within 1 hour 15 minutes for 50 marks.
Paper 3 will be on the Drama and Poetry components of the syllabus. It will be put into four sections, Sections A, B. C and D as follows:
Section A: African Drama
Section B: Non-African Drama
Section C: African Poetry
Section D: Non-African Poetry
There shall be two questions on each of the prescribed texts for each section.
Candidates shall be required to answer one question from each of the sections, making a total of four questions. The paper will take 2 hours 30 minutes to complete and will carry 50 marks.
Note:
(i) The Unseen Prose passage for Paper 1 shall be about 120 – 150 words long.
(ii) Only context questions shall be set on the Shakespearean text. The context questions will test such items as theme, characterization, style and setting in the Shakespearean text.
(iii) No essay question shall be set on the Shakespearean text.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
PAPER 1
(OBJECTIVES)
[General Knowledge on Literature]
1. ____________ is sung to put a child to sleep.
A. A ballad
B. A lullaby
C. A dirge
D. A pastoral
2. In drama the purposeful use of gestures and actions is
A. soliloquy.
B. mime.
C. eulogy.
D. aside.
3. Imagery in a literary work
A. creates suspense.
B. accentuates humour.
C. heightens the dramatic atmosphere.
D. appeals to the senses.
4. All the world’s a stage, is an example of
A. metaphor.
B. paradox.
C. allusion.
D. personification.
5. _________ is the time and place in which the action of a narrative takes place.
A. Denouement
B. Mood
C. Setting
D. Plot
6. A tale in which the characters are often animals is
A. a fable.
B. an epic.
C. a ballad.
D. an ode.
7. Love indeed is anything,
Yet indeed is nothing
illustrates the use of
A. apostrophe.
B. antithesis.
C. oxymoron.
D. parody.
8. A reader’s curiosity is sustained through
A. suspense.
B. conflict.
C. flashback.
D. climax.
9. A hilarious and absurd play can be referred to as
A. a farce.
B. a pantomime.
C. an ode.
D. a comedy.
.
10. It is a bitter sweet experience is an example of
A. metonymy.
B. pun.
C. onomatopoeia.
D. oxymoron.
PAPER 2
SECTION A
AFRICAN PROSE
ASARE KONADU: A Woman in her Prime
1. Discuss the relationship between Pokuwaa and Koramoa.
ADICHIE CHIMAMANDA NGOZI: Purple Hibiscus
2. Comment on the significance of the Palm Sunday clash.
SECTION B
NON-AFRICAN PROSE
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
3. Discuss three symbols used in the novel.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: The Old Man and the Sea
4. What are the consequences of Santiago’s pride in the novel?
PAPER 3
(DRAMA & POETRY)
SECTION A
AFRICAN DRAMA
KOBINA SEKYI: The Blinkards
1. To what extend is Mrs.Borofosem a blind imitator of the English ways of life?
FEMI OSOFISAN: Women of Owu
2. Discuss the plight of women in the play.
SECTION B
NON- AFRICAN DRAMA
BERNARD SHAW: Arms and the Man
3. Comment on the relationship between the Petkoffs and their servants.
OSCAR WILDE: The Importance of Being Earnest
4. Analyse the deceptive nature of Algernon.
SECTION C
AFRICAN POETRY
5. Discuss the poet’s diction in the “The Fenceâ€.
SECTION D
NON-AFRICAN POETRY
6. Examine the theme of loneliness in “Daffodilsâ€.