KCSE ENG 101/3 REVIEW.

REVIEW OF KCSE PP3

Was the K.C.S.E. English paper three of 2021 fair? Was it at the level of students? Was it set within the confines of the syllabus requirements? To answer these questions, we will take a sneak peak at the questions and expected answers. This will assist teachers and the current candidates to better prepare, master and understand the requirements of this paper.

The general performance in this paper has been quite poor across the country; this is because many candidates have not mastered the full requirements of the questions. This review will show what the questions expected so that the current candidates can be predisposed to excel by doing what is essential. K.C.S.E marking and setting has taken a different highway and so should the candidates. Attention to detail is the integral ingredient that must be used to thwart and derail this unprecedented state.

 

Question

The compulsory set text

H. R. Olekulet, Blossoms of the Savannah

2. Misunderstandings in families can cause serious conflicts in relationships. Referring closely to the relationship between Ole Kaelo and his daughters in Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement.

All essays should have a relevant introduction; four well explained points and a relevant conclusion. It is important to underline the key words that will assist in writing the essays as shown above.

Every point must focus on Ole Kaelo and his daughters. The candidates were expected to clearly bring out the cause of the misunderstandings. Every misunderstanding is brought because the father’s desires and that of the daughters are different; and this brings out the confrontations. The following answers were expected: university education, F.G.M., desire for a baby boy, marriage and Taiyo’s desire to attend a music extravaganza.    

For example,

Ole Kaelo denies Taiyo the permission to attend a music extravaganza. This happens after Taiyo’s talent in music is noted by a radio station and trailed since she was young. When the station sponsors a trip to Mombasa, Taiyo asks for permission from her father to attend. Taiyo’s main desire is to travel to Mombasa and develop her talent and passion in music. She had excelled in music on numerous occasions and had been awarded and garlanded. The broadcasting station had encouraged her to take music as a career. When Taiyo broke the news, which she thought would delight her parents, her father was furious. He curtly refused to grant her permission and angrily disallowed any further discussions on the matter, effectively crushing any hopes she may have developed of making music her career. He stated categorically that no daughter of his would so demean herself as to perform in public in exchange for monetary gain. It was one thing to perform in a school festival, he reasoned, but to perform to a public gallery was one short step to harlotry. No amount of persuasion would change her father’s mind. Taiyo however knew without any doubt in her heart that she still loved music. This conflict caused a wound in her heart, too raw to probe. The rage was still seething in her. Her trust in her father was badly shaken. She recalled with bitterness how the refusal nearly damaged the father-daughter relationship. This serious emotional conflict between Ole Kaelo and his daughter is brought as a result of varying desires and point of view that escalate into misunderstandings. In the long run, the original trust and total commitment they had is shaken all because the two fail to have mutual understanding. 

Every point must clearly reveal what each individual wants. The passion of each individual, the exact conflict and the father-daughter relationship must be clearly brought out backed by sufficient background information as shown above. After this, the candidate must write a final statements that connects the point to the question. This should be applied on all the other points.

Can you now try applying the above concepts to the other points?

  

Question 3. The Optional Set Text.

Answer any one of the following question

3 (a.) Distance between parents and their children can be an obstacle to effective parenting. With reference to Lesley Nneka Arimah’s story “Light”, write an essay in support of this statement.

In such an essay, the candidates are expected to clearly bring out how distance thwarts effective parenting. The background information must include the efforts of the parents to take up their roles; what the mother does in an attempt to direct and instruct the girl and how distance makes it difficult or utterly impossible. The following are the points to consider: house girl issues, the girl’s moon time and an adult joke, grooming, how the girl takes sides when in bad terms with the mother, the cooking ‘affair’, the deteriorating communication and the boyfriend incident.

In order to score the full marks, the candidate has to identify a point, illustrate relevant examples from the text and vividly explain how the illustration is related to the question. All the details of one point must be put together without mixing it with other points, as illustrated in the previous example.

Or

3(b.) Even though some African countries have leadership challenges, they have a lot of potential for growth. Referring to Kutula republic in David Mulwa’s Inheritance, write an essay in support of this statement.

Most candidates seem to score minimal marks in this question. It is my view that the questions are manageable but during the teaching of this book, teachers must emphasize the points learned by using the episodic approach. This is because David Mulwa’s work is full of humor which at times corrodes the main points intended.

The main points include; loans given to Lacuna in the name of the people, local products, human resource (Sangoi, Lulu and Judah – mistreated despite their potential), water, mines and farmlands. Candidates are expected to show, explain and exploit the potential of these points mentioned and then tie them to the mistakes that leaders make in terms of decisions or the lack of it, moral character, vices and evil traits and how they fail to help fully utilize the available potential. It is important to categorically mention the potential, to earn full marks.

 

Or

3c. The Novel  

True friendship is difficult to find. Many people associate with us for what they stand to gain. With reference to John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl”, write an essay in support of this statement.

This is the darling question of most candidates. They were expected to identify the fake friends first, then, show with detail exactly what they intended to gain by their hypocrisy. The points include: the priest, the pearl buyers, the doctor, the beggars and the neighbors. All other friends of Kino should not be mentioned as points because theirs was true in nature. The background information must detail how the friends first treated Kino before he gets the pearl and how they behave towards him when they learn that he now has the pearl of the world. In the case of the priest, the details of his false annotations must be clearly illustrated to bring out his overt hypocrisy because of the pearl.

 

Always remember the following:

Merely narrating what happens in the book does not earn full marks.

Always underline the main or key points that the question is about.

Provide sufficient details and background information.

Always re-read the question to connect your point to the question in a specific way (be on point).

The questions were within the grasp of learners and any candidate who followed the expected manner of answering the questions would easily score full marks in this paper. The setting was done within the required guidelines of the syllabus.

For more tutorials on how to write excellent essays, log onto my youTube channel: Osarewilly literature.

Enough said.