The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) JAMB 2023 Use of English Syllabus is intended to aid candidates in their examination preparation.
Its purpose is to gauge a candidate’s aptitude for: ( i) Effective communication in both written and spoken English; and (ii) using the English language for tertiary-level learning.
The syllabus is divided into three parts:
SECTION A: Understanding/Summarizing
Section B: Structure and Lexis
Section C: Oral English
A. Understanding/Summarizing
Topics include (a) description (b) narration (c) and (d) exposition.
(c) Persuasion and argument
I The two passages that will be assigned—one of them a cloze test—should each represent a different discipline and be about 200 words long.
(ii) The following will be tested through passage-based questions:
(a) Understanding all or a portion of each passage.
(b) Understanding of the words, phrases, clauses, sentences, idioms, and figures of speech utilized in the sections.
(b) Logical reasoning and coherence (deductions, inferences, etc).
(d) Khadija Abubakar Jalli’s The Life Changer
(e) Combining concepts from the passages.
NOTE: Synthesis of ideas refers to fusing distinctive or disparate bits of knowledge to create a comprehensive whole.
Objectives: Candidates must be able to: i. recognize topic sentences and main points in passages; ii. ascertain implied meaning; iii. recognize the grammatical functions of words, phrases, clauses, and figurative/idiomatic expressions; and iv. determine the writer’s intentions, including mood, attitude toward the topic, and opinion.
B. Lexis and Organization
Topics:
Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, clause patterns, and so forth
Word classes and their purposes are discussed in (e); mood, tense, aspect, number, agreement/concord, degree (positive, comparative, and superlative), and question tags are discussed in (f); and punctuation and spelling are discussed in (g) (h) There will be tests of common language, metaphorical usage, and idiomatic usage.
The idioms that will be examined must be official and written in formal British English.
Read also about JAMB 2022 Syllabus or about Jamb Economics Past Questions
Objectives: Candidates should be able to: i. recognize words and expressions in their common, symbolic, and idiomatic contexts; ii. ascertain words’ opposite and similar meanings; iii. tell the difference between proper and incorrect spelling and punctuation; iv. recognize different grammatical patterns in use; and v. interpret sentences’ meanings.
Oral Forms
Topics:
(Monothongs and diphthongs) Vowels
Consonants (including clusters)
Rhymes (including homophones)
Word stress (monosyllabic and polysyllabic)
Intonation (words emphatic stress)
Emphatic stress refers to the application of regular stress to words in an utterance in order to emphasize a point.
Candidates should be able to: i. distinguish between vowel types; ii. distinguish between consonant types; and iii. recognize the proper accent in individual words and related speech.
THE EXAMINATION’S STRUCTURE
SECTION A: Understanding/Summarizing
(a) One comprehension paragraph with five questions
(a) I provided 10 questions for the passage.
(b) One reading passage and ten questions
SECTION B: Lexis Structure
Topics:
(a) Five questions about how to analyze sentences
(a) Five questions on antonyms
(b) Five questions on synonyms
(d) Ten questions based on sentence completion
Oral Forms in Section C
Topics:
10 inquiries
60 questions in all