Earlyface

As an eye-opener for all candidates
preparing for the CBT of the Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination
(UTME), here is official JAMB Syllabus
For English Language 2016. If you are
sitting for this subject, kindly go
through this article and print it for
reference, if possible. If you can’t print,
feel free to always come back here
(www.earlyface.com.n g)  to read it again.
It is expected to guide you in your
revision for JAMB 2016.
Uses/Importance of JAMB Syllabus For English Language
1. communicate effectively in both written and spoken English;
2. have a sound linguistic basis for learning at the tertiary level. The syllabus consists
of two sections:
I. Comprehension/Summary
II. Lexis, Structure and Oral Forms

1. Comprehension/Summary(a) description
(b) narration
(c) exposition
(d) argumentation/persuasion
(i) Each of the four passages to be set (one
will be a cloze test) should reflect various
disciplines and be about 400 words long.
(ii) Questions on passages will test the;
following:
The general novel to read this year is titled;
“ The Last Days at Forcados High School “ by
A.H. Mohammed will test the following:
(a) Comprehension of the whole or part of
each passage.
Candidates should be able to:i. identify main
points in passages;
ii. determine implied meaning;
iii. identify the grammatical functions of
words, phrases and clauses and figurative /
idiomatic expression;
iv. deduce or infer the writer’s opinion, mood,
attitude to the subject matter, etc.
(b) Comprehension of words, phrases,
clauses, sentences, figures of speech and
idioms as used in the passages.
(c) Coherence and logical reasoning
(deductions, inferences, etc)
(d) Synthesis of ideas from the passages.[/b]
NOTE[/b]:By synthesis of ideas is meant the art
of combining distinct or separate pieces of
information to form a complex whole, that
is, the ability to make generalizations from
specific ideas mentioned in the passages.
Such generalizations involve identifying the
mood or tone of the writer, his attitude to
the subject matter, his point of view, etc. In
this regard, synthesis is a higher-level skill
than summary.
2. Lexis, Structural and Oral
Forms
2.1 Lexis and Structure
(a) synonyms
(b) antonyms
(c) homonyms
(d) clause and sentence patterns
(e) word classes and their functions
(f) mood, tense, aspect, number,
agreement/concord, degree (positive,
comparative and superlative) and question
tags
(g) punctuation and spelling
(h) ordinary usage (words in their denotative
or dictionary sense), figurative usage
(expressions used in ways other than literal)
and idiomatic usage (expressions whose
meanings cannot be determined through a
mere combination of individual words) are to
be tested.
2.2 Oral Forms
(a) Vowels (monophthongs and diphthongs
(b) Consonants (including clusters)
(c) Rhymes (homophones)
(d) Stress (word, sentence and emphatic)
(e) Intonation
Candidates should be able to:i. use words and
expressions in their ordinary, figurative and
idiomatic contexts;
ii. determine similar and opposite meanings;
iii. differentiate between correct and incorrect
punctuation and spelling;
iv. identify various grammatical pattern in use;
v. interpret information conveyed in
sentences.
Candidates should be able to:
i. distinguish correct from incorrect vowels;
ii. differentiate correct from incorrect
consonants;
iii. identify silent letters, vowel length;
consonant clusters, etc.
iv. determine appropriate uses of stress in
words (monosyllabic, disyllabic and
polysyllabie) and in sentences (emphatic/
contrastive);
v. detect partial and complete rhymes.[/b]
NOTE:[/b]
Sentence stress should not be mistaken for
emphatic or contrastive stress. It involves the
placement of normal stress on content words
(nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs)
in an utterance.
Here, no emphasis or contrast is intended. For
example, the words ‘see’ and ‘soon’ would
normally be stressed in the sentence, I’ll see
you soon’.[/b]
NOTE :[/b]
Idioms to be tested will be those expressed in
standard British English (i.e those with
universal acceptability)
As an eye-opener for all candidates
preparing for the CBT of the Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination
(UTME), here is official JAMB Syllabus
For English Language 2016. If you are
sitting for this subject, kindly go
through this article and print it for
reference, if possible. If you can’t print,
feel free to always come back here(www.earlyface.com.n g ) to read it again.
It is expected to guide you in your
revision for JAMB 2016.
Uses/Importance of JAMB Syllabus For English Language
1. communicate effectively in both written and spoken English;
2. have a sound linguistic basis for learning at the tertiary level. The syllabus consists
of two sections:
I. Comprehension/Summary
II. Lexis, Structure and Oral Forms
SECTION A: Comprehension/Summary
(a) 3 comprehension passages (15 questions in all, 3 marks each) = 45 marks
(b) I cloze passage (10 questions in all, 2 marks each) = 20 marks
SECTION B: Lexis, Structure and Oral Forms
(a) Sentence interpretation (10 questions in all, 2 marks each) = 20 marks
(b) Antonyms (opposite in meaning -15 questions in all, 1 mark each) = 15 marks
(c) Synonyms (same in meaning – 15 questions in all, 1 mark each) = 15 marks
(d) Sentence completion (filling in the gaps – 20 questions in all, 1 mark each) = 20 marks
(e) Oral forms (15 questions in all, 1 mark each) = 15 marks Total: 100 questions = 150
marks
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