You may be wondering if there are types of BECE or JECE answer errors that will lead to easy failure. Well, there are indeed many instances where students write answers that cause them to fail. Sometimes, this isn’t due to a lack of knowledge but rather to omissions and poor answer-writing techniques. By the end of this post, you should be able to identify these critical issues and learn how to avoid them, ultimately improving your chances of success in your exams.
The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ghana is the equivalent of Nigeria’s Junior School Certificate Examination (JECE). This crucial examination must be passed by final-year junior high school students. However, many candidates who will ultimately receive low scores and poor grades inadvertently contribute to their own downfall. This often stems from the way they formulate answers to questions during their mock examinations. If these poor answer-writing habits are not corrected, students will carry the same approach into the actual BECE exam hall and fail subject-based examinations they are otherwise capable of passing.
If you are a BECE candidate, a parent, a teacher, a head teacher, or a school owner, please read this information carefully and implement the advice provided. Understanding the common types of BECE or JECE answers errors is the first step towards rectifying them.
Writing Abbreviated Answers for High-Mark Questions: A Major Error
One of the significant types of BECE or JECE answers errors is when students provide answers of less than 10 words for a question or sub-question worth 4 marks. If you’ve been doing this in your mock exams, your teachers have likely already addressed it. Such brief answers will inevitably lead to failure, and there’s no way to recover those lost marks. Let’s consider a Religious and Moral Education (RME) question to illustrate this point:
QUESTION: Kwame and his friends were discussing the rules in their school. Their teacher overheard them and explained that just as schools have rules to guide students, God also gave commandments to guide human behaviour. This made Kwame curious about the Ten Commandments and the moral lessons they teach.
(a) If you were the teacher, how would you explain what commandments are to Kwame and his friends? (4 marks)
Caution: This question is worth four marks. Writing a one-sentence answer will likely earn you no more than 1 mark, if any.
Your answer should resemble the following in terms of length and key information, spanning at least three lines:
If I were the teacher, I would explain to Kwame and his friends that commandments are sacred laws or divine instructions given by God to guide human behaviour and ensure that people live in a way that pleases Him. These commandments serve as moral and ethical principles that help individuals differentiate between right and wrong. Just as school rules help students maintain discipline, respect, and order, God’s commandments guide people in their relationship with Him and with others. The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai, are an example of such divine laws that teach people how to live righteously and maintain harmony in society.
Often, learners mistakenly believe that examiners will be lenient. This is rarely the case. Teachers must thoroughly educate their BECE candidates about this crucial aspect of answer writing. Learners must always pay close attention to the marks allocated to each question before attempting to answer.
Skipping Steps in Mathematics: A Costly Type of BECE Answer Error
Another common type of BECE answer error that leads to lower scores, particularly in Mathematics, is jumping steps when solving questions. While it might seem like a shortcut or a display of quick thinking, it ultimately results in lost marks and a poorer overall grade.
Always show your workings clearly for all questions in Section B. Write your final answers legibly and ensure that you include the correct units where required. Answering all parts of a question is also essential.
Each of the steps demonstrated typically earns you at least half a mark (0.5). Omitting two or three steps will result in the loss of those corresponding marks, significantly impacting your final score.
Neglecting to Proofread English Language Answers: A Self-Inflicted Wound
Poor performance in English Language is often evident in the papers of students who fail to read through their work after writing. This is a significant type of BECE answer error.
How can you write an essay or answer comprehension passage questions without taking the time to review your work in the exam hall? This practice almost guarantees a lower grade.
Furthermore, using incorrect letter formats is a serious error. If you include features of an informal letter while answering a formal letter essay question, your score will be negatively affected. Similarly, mixing features of speech writing with formal or informal letter conventions in any essay will lead to deductions and impact your final grade.
Specifically, a weak speech introduction, failing to include vocatives, and writing a speech in the style of an article for publication will undoubtedly result in poor marks.
Finally, one of the most detrimental types of BECE answer errors is copying directly from the comprehension passage as an answer to an essay question. This will earn you an outright zero for that question. Students are expected to demonstrate critical thinking, creativity, writing proficiency, and original thought in their essays, not simply replicate parts of the provided texts. Attempting this in the BECE is a sure path to a poor grade.
Stay tuned for more updates on common types of BECE or JECE answers errors as we will be updating this post periodically. Make a conscious effort to avoid the mistakes outlined in this article, and you will significantly improve your chances of achieving success in your BECE or JECE examinations.