WASSCE English Language · Paper 1 style

Lexis and structure

One sample question with the full working. 2 more in the app, with instant feedback and repair sessions for the traps below.

Choose the word opposite in meaning to the word in brackets: The road was very (narrow).

Athin
Bwide
Clong
Dstraight

Show the answer and working

Answer: B

narrow ↔ wide.

Trap A Picks a near neighbour of the right form: Name the exact category the stem needs (third conditional; /əʊ/; 'call off' = cancel; clause of concession) and check each option against that name, not against how close it looks.

Trap C Picks a meaning that fits the context but not the words: Test the option by substitution: does it mean the same as the underlined words, not just make sense in the story?

Trap D Goes by a surface cue instead of the grammar: Ask what the word is DOING in this sentence (subject? modifier? object?) and what the rule says, not what its ending or look suggests.

Traps in Lexis and structure

Picks a near neighbour of the right form
Name the exact category the stem needs (third conditional; /əʊ/; 'call off' = cancel; clause of concession) and check each option against that name, not against how close it looks.
Picks a meaning that fits the context but not the words
Test the option by substitution: does it mean the same as the underlined words, not just make sense in the story?
Goes by a surface cue instead of the grammar
Ask what the word is DOING in this sentence (subject? modifier? object?) and what the rule says, not what its ending or look suggests.
Picks the opposite meaning
Paraphrase the expression in your own words first, then look for the option with the same direction of meaning.

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