WAEC English Questions And Answers

Examples of WAEC English Essay Questions with Answers

2024 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

2023 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

Essay Questions from 2023 WAEC GCE Second Series

1998 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

1999 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

2000 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

2010 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

2022 WAEC English Essay and Letter Writing Questions

Download Past WAEC Essay Questions (PDF)

Narrative Essays

Past WAEC Multiple Choice (Objectives), Comprehension and Summary Questions

Important Points to Note in the WAEC English Examination

Here are some pointers on WAEC English Questions and Answers.

The WAEC English Language examination consists of three papers. They are:

Paper 1: objective questions

Paper 2: essay, comprehension and summary

Paper 3: test of orals.

Paper 1

In Paper 1 you must answer eighty multiple choice questions in one hour for a total of 40 marks. Some of the areas the questions will come from include; figures of speech such as metaphor, personification, rhymes, etc, synonyms (nearest in meaning), antonyms (opposite in meaning), idiomatic expressions, correct use of tenses, and others.

Paper 2

In Paper 2 you will be required to choose one out of five different forms of essay and letter writing. The questions are often on narrative, creative, article, argumentative essays, and formal and informal letters. Whichever you choose to write, note that you must not write less than 450 words.

Section B and C of Paper 2 will have one or two passages each to examine your comprehension and summary skills.  

Paper 2 has a time duration of 2 hours and the total obtainable marks is 100.

Paper 3

Paper 3 is like Paper 1 in the sense that the format is multiple choice questions, but it will test your understanding of oral English. The questions are sixty in number to be answered in 45 minutes for a total score of 30 marks.

Things to Bear in Mind When Answering Paper 1 (Objectives)

You have to stay alert when you are answering the objective questions in Paper 1. Sometimes you may forget that the question is asking for nearest in meaning and you are answering opposite in meaning. From time to time, you can pause and read the section’s instructions again.

Be on the lookout for questions such as the one below.

The sole occupant of the car was injured in the …….. accident.

(a)	fatal  (b) ghastly  (c) incredible  (d) trivial

The correct answer is (b) ghastly. You may think the right answer is (a) fatal. You would be wrong because fatal is only used when a death occurred in the accident.

And how do you know that no death occurred in this particular question? You know this because the question says the “sole occupant” of the car, which means that there was no other person in the car who could have died.

You have to be familiar with words and their meanings to answer Paper 1 successfully.

Your teacher is not going to teach you every single word there is. That is why you have to read books; novels, non-fiction, etc.

If you don’t you won’t be able to come across words such as genocide, fratricide, statute, etc, because they are not common in daily conversations.

Tips for Writing Paper 2, Section A

Every year, questions for Paper 2 are sourced from the same areas, namely;

Figures of speech

Clauses

Preposition

Synonyms

Antonyms

Lexis and Structure

Different types of essays and letter writing

You can easily pass the WAEC English language SSC examination if you master the above areas.

In addition, try and choose ahead of the examination, the type of writing you will undertake among the five different types of writing given in Section A of Paper 2.

This way, you can continuously practice writing your chosen type and understand the rules of writing that particular form. This will enable you to answer the question on the examination day with ease.

You will also avoid wasting time in the examination hall, debating within yourself about which question to answer.

Some students even start writing on a topic, only to cancel it and begin another one, thereby wasting precious minutes.

Always remember that whichever essay or letter writing question you choose, your answer must NOT BE LESS THAN 450 WORDS.

Check below for a sample of a WAEC Essay question with the answer.

West African Examinations Council (WAEC)

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is one of the examination bodies vested with the responsibility of conducting examinations for students at the end of their secondary education. WAEC also makes provision for private candidates who have left the school system but wish to retake the examinations to enable them obtain the necessary grades required for admission to tertiary education.

As mandated by the existing curriculum, English Language is a compulsory subject which must be written and passed for consideration in higher levels of education.

We shall be checking questions from the past WAEC English questions and providing guidelines and notes on correctly answering these questions. Answers to the essay and letter writing questions will also be given.

Let’s begin.

WAEC 1998 English Language Theory Question

1. You have been sent on an indefinite suspension for the part you played in a recent disturbance in which valuable school property was damaged. Write a letter to the principal of your school describing the part you played and apologizing for your involvement.

Notes on Question

After reading the question, you must understand that:

1. This is a formal letter.
2. A formal letter must have two addresses (you can use your school’s address for you, the writer, and also use it for the recipient, the principal).
3. It should have the title or name of the recipient.
4. You should include a date of writing.
5. You should identify the different areas to be addressed in the question. In this particular question:
   • Narrate the back story to the disturbance; a disturbance cannot happen without a reason.
   • Describe the part you played in the disturbance
   • Apologize for your involvement
6. As a general rule, always be precise and go straight to the point.

Sample Answer to A Past WAEC Letter Writing Question

Conclusion

And that’s an example of how to write a letter of apology and also answers one of the past WAEC English questions, specifically for the June 1998 examination for school candidates.

We welcome questions, suggestions and corrections in the comment section, or you can email or WhatsApp.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

You may like to read the answer to this narrative essay question from the 2023 WAEC GCE second series: Write a story about an event that changed the course of your life.

A Comprehension Passage from 1998 WAEC English Examination

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

A candidate in an examination hall is a close cousin of the boxer in the ring. Both are fighting for a prize or, at least, for some commendation. Their goal is to win, and victory brings fame while failure leads to disaster and frustration. Each victory paves the way for a promotion up the ladder, and the higher one climbs the more exposed to the public glare one gets. A world boxing champion is like a Nobel Prize winner among academics, each is at the apex of his career, but the route to that position can be tortuous and rough.

The examination candidate is not a very normal person for the simple reason that he is under severe pressure. Although he is alert and his pulse is fast, he is liable to commit elementary errors without knowing.

Thus, he may repeat or omit one word, miss the spelling of another, or interchange the positions of two words. If he reads over, which he hardly ever does, he may see what was originally in his brain rather than what is on paper. So, most errors escape him.

More alert than at ordinary times though his brain maybe, it can play funny tricks in the examination hall. Thus, while struggling with the question, he may suddenly recall an old joke or a long forgotten and obscure incident. Right there in the examination hall, while his pen is dancing furiously on the paper, the candidate may remember a beautiful tune as if his mind is saying “Forget this task, enjoy some music.”

Happily, these do not usually disrupt the exercise at hand, the task goes on while the candidate may smile to himself at the strange recall of the joke or music.

The brain can play a different type of trick. A fact long stored up and remembered a short while before the examination can suddenly evaporate. All attempts to recall it may prove unsuccessful. Usually, till the paper ends, the fact remains elusive only to resurface much later when not needed.

The candidate does not fare better in an oral examination. His problems are heightened by the fact that his fate depends entirely on the examiner’s assessment of him rather than what he writes down himself. The facial appearance of the examiner is also a strong factor since a stern, unsmiling examiner can be intimidating.

Yet, an examination candidate need not be frightened. He needs all the calmness he can muster. He should sleep soundly before the exercise trusting that all the preparations he made earlier will not fail him at the hour of need. The fact is that one forgets more when one is tired, especially when one panics unnecessarily.

Comprehension Questions

(a) In what two ways is an examination candidate similar to a boxer?

Ans: The examination candidate is similar to a boxer because both are

(i) fighting for a prize or commendation

(ii) have same goal which is to win

(b) Identify two direct results of pressure on the candidate.

Ans: (i) He is liable to commit elementary errors without knowing.

(ii) If he re-reads his answers, he may see only what was originally in his brain and not the errors.

(ii) He can forget information which he used had long stored and remembered before the exam.

(c) Give two examples of the funny tricks the brain can play on the candidate.

(i) The mind can recollect and old joke or funny incident and cause the candidate to feel he should not concentrate on the examination.

(ii) The brain can trick the candidate into forgetting some of the things he learned and used to remember before the exam.

(d) Give two reasons why a candidate may have a greater problem at an oral examination than at a written paper.

(i) His fate depends on the assessment of the examiner and not his written work.

(ii) The facial appearance of the examiner can be intimidating or otherwise and may impact the candidate’s performance negatively or positively.

(e) “…..while his pen is dancing furiously on the paper.”

(i) What figure of speech is this?

Ans: Personification

(ii) What does it mean?

Ans: It means he was writing very fast.

(f) “A candidate in an examination hall….”

(i) What is the grammatical name given to the expression above as it is used in the passage?

Ans: Noun phrase

(ii) What is its function in the sentence?

Ans: subject of the verb is

(g) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage:

(i) paves  – clears

(ii) apex –  top

(iii) severe –  serious

(iv) elusive – hard to get

(v) stern  – harsh

(vi) calmness – confidence, quietness

Lexis Questions

Answers to Lexis Questions

1. E
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. D
6. D
7. E
8. A
9. C
10. B
11. E
12. D
13. A
14. E
15. C