WAEC Use Of English Syllabus (Sierra Leone & Liberia)

The WAEC Use Of English Syllabus here is used for both Sierra Leone students and Liberian students and that is why it is very important you carefully use it for your studies.

This exam tests how well you can use English in speaking and writing. It looks at how you understand what you hear and read, and how you express yourself. It covers reading, summarizing, vocabulary, grammar, listening, and recognizing different ways English is used.

Objectives

The goal of the exam is to see how much you’ve learned in secondary school about English. It checks if you can:

• Use English Correctly: Can you speak and write English correctly?
• Write Clearly: Can you write about things in English that make sense for different situations?
• Organize Ideas: Can you put your ideas in order when you write, making clear paragraphs?
• Use Grammar Well: Do you use grammar rules correctly, like tenses and word forms?
• Express Ideas Clearly: Can you say things in different ways using good sentences?
• Spell and Punctuate Correctly: Do you write words right and use commas and full stops correctly?
• Understand What You Read: Can you get the meaning from what you read in English?
• Listen and Understand: Can you hear spoken English and understand it well?
• Speak Clearly: Can you say English words so others understand you?
• Recognize Different English Sounds: Can you tell apart the different sounds in English words?

Scheme Of Examination

The exam has three parts:

PAPER 1: Multiple Choice Questions

• Time: 1 hour
• What You Do: Answer 80 questions about vocabulary and grammar.
• What It Checks: How well you know English words and grammar rules.

PAPER 2: Writing Essays, Understanding Passages, and Summarizing

• Time: 2 hours
• Section A – Writing Essays: Choose one topic to write about.
• What It Checks: Can you write well, organize your ideas, and use good language?
• Section B – Understanding Passages: Answer questions about a passage you read.
• What It Checks: How well you understand what you read in English.
• Section C – Summarizing: Write a short summary of a longer passage.
• What It Checks: Can you pick out the important points from what you read and write them clearly?

PAPER 3: Speaking English

• Time: 45 minutes
• What You Do:
• For Nigeria and Liberia: Speak and answer questions to show how well you talk in English.
• For The Gambia and Sierra Leone: Listen to recordings and answer questions to show how well you understand spoken English.

Detailed  Syllabus

This paper consists of 80 multiple-choice questions: 40 on lexis and 40 on structure. Each question has four options (A to D).

A. Lexis

Tests vocabulary knowledge in everyday contexts like home, social relationships, and core school subjects. Includes general vocabulary from various fields:

• Building and construction
• Agriculture
• Fishing
• Stock exchange
• Health
• Environment
• Culture, institutions, ceremonies
• Law and order
• Motor vehicles and travelling
• Government and administration
• Sports
• Religion
• Science and technology
• Animal husbandry
• Advertising
• Human internal body systems and functions

Tests idiomatic expressions and collocations (e.g., “hook, line, and sinker”).

• Evaluates structural elements of English such as sequence of tenses, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and prepositions.
• Assesses figurative language usage, distinguishing between literal and figurative expressions.

B. Structure

• Examines patterns of word-form changes indicating number, tense, degree, etc.
• Analyzes how different word categories combine to form groups and sentences.
• Tests the use of structural words like conjunctions, determiners, and prepositions.
• PAPER 2: Essay, Comprehension, Summary

SECTION A: Essay Writing (50 marks)

• Candidates choose one out of five topics (e.g., letter, speech, narration).
• Topics may include argument/debate, report, article, exposition, creative writing.
• Assesses content relevance, organizational skills, expression quality, and mechanical accuracy (grammar, punctuation, spelling).
• Minimum length requirement: 450 words.

SECTION B: Comprehension (20 marks)

• Duration: 30 minutes
• Description: Candidates will read a passage of at least 350 words and answer questions that assess:
  • Finding appropriate equivalents for selected words or phrases.
  • Understanding factual content.
  • Making inferences from the passage.
  • Understanding English expressions that reveal sentiments/emotions/attitudes.
  • Identifying and labeling basic grammatical structures, words, phrases, or clauses and explaining their functions.
  • Identifying and explaining basic literary terms and expressions.
  • Recasting phrases or sentences into grammatical alternatives.
• Format: The passage will be chosen from diverse sources suitable for the examination level, written in modern English relevant to candidates’ experience. At least four questions will focus on understanding factual content.

SECTION C: Summary (30 marks)

Duration: 40 minutes

Description: Candidates will summarize a prose passage of about 500 words, testing their ability to:

• Extract relevant information.
• Summarize points concisely in clear English, avoiding repetition.
• Present a summary of specific aspects or portions of the passage.

Source: The passage will be selected from a wide range of suitable sources, including narratives, dialogues, and expositions covering social, cultural, economic, and political issues worldwide.

PAPER 3: Oral English (30 marks)

This paper assesses candidates’ knowledge of Oral English through two alternatives:

ALTERNATIVE A: Listening Comprehension (For school and private candidates in The Gambia and Sierra Leone)

• Description: Candidates undertake a Listening Comprehension Test comprising 60 multiple-choice questions on:
• Consonants, consonant clusters, vowels, diphthongs, stress, and intonation patterns.
• Dialogues and narratives.

Sections:

• Test of word-final voiced-voiceless consonants and other features.
• Test of vowel quality in isolated words.
• Test of vowel quality and consonant contrasts in isolated words.
• Options may include tests of vowel and/or consonant contrasts in sentence contexts, isolated words, or through rhymes.
• Test of rhymes.
• Test of comprehension of emphatic stress.
• Test of understanding longer dialogues and narratives.

Equipment: CD players will be used for administering the Listening Comprehension Test.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are consonants in English language studies?

Consonants are speech sounds formed by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Candidates should recognize and produce distinct sounds like “ship” vs. “chip” or “fan” vs. “van” to understand differences in pronunciation.

What are vowels and diphthongs in English?

Vowels are speech sounds produced without obstruction in the vocal tract, like in words “seat” vs. “sit.” Diphthongs are complex vowel sounds that transition from one position to another within the same syllable, such as in “cheer” or “part.”

Why is stress important in English pronunciation?

Stress affects how we pronounce words and convey meaning. English is a stress-timed language where stressed syllables occur at regular intervals. Understanding word stress can alter meanings, like in “record” (noun) vs. “re?cord” (verb).

What is intonation and its role in English?

Intonation refers to the rise and fall of pitch in speech, conveying attitudes and grammatical nuances. A falling intonation typically ends statements (“They arrived today.”), while rising intonation signals questions (“Did he see the principal?”) or incompleteness (“When the train arrived…”).

Conclusion

If you are student of in Liberia and Sierra leone then this is the syllabus you should be looking because all the topics you are meant to study are all contained here. Share this with your friends and come back here at ExamDon for more update.