adminMorris Mtisi
TODAY is October 17, 2014. Only 11 days to the 28th – D Day! Soon it will be countdown in hours: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . and we have a lift off into exam space; into examination orbit! Soon it will be blood, sweat and tears; in the thick of business to display our knowledge and skills in black and white; calculating, remembering, reflecting and applying.
No one enjoys examinations, quite frankly. It is the time we all dread but accept must come. We all go to school for many years but when the time to be assessed comes, we all panic instead of celebrate. That is understandable.
English Language is the educational visa which we use to cross the borders that separate us from where we are and where we want to go. Our education system in Zimbabwe demands a pass in English for our children to freely explore career prospects or qualify to attempt higher levels of study.
English makes or breaks dreams. Without winning the English Learning Battle, there are no hopes, wishes and aspirations. You cannot cross the River Jordan into dreamland on the other side. It is English Language that determines your passage into heaven or hell.
We therefore fully understand why candidates panic.
Examination time, as it is now, is, however, not the time to teach. Those who learnt have no reason to panic. This is their time to display the knowledge and skills mastered over the years of serious learning.
Those who concentrated on the joys of Facebook and Whatsapp, abuse of drugs and consumption of narcotic substances, even specialising in physical exchanges of youthful lust, it is time to reap what you sowed.
Examinations know no prophet or prophetess. Vabati veminana vose vamunoziva kunyange vakaungana – Even if all your prophets and prophetesses come together, they cannot produce a miracle of passing examinations. They can only pray for mental and physical energy to swot, to read hard and understand.
The answer to passing examinations lies in thorough preparation. Nothing else! Those who refused to take swimming lessons cannot be taught swimming now, when they are drowning. I do, however hope that those who took time to read my columns gained enough to add onto their preparations.
I want us to remind each other of what is possible to remember and master at this stage:
1. VOCABULARY/CHOICE OF WORDS
Think about your composition writing, one word and one sentence at a time. Choose words that are appropriate (suitable) and accurate. Is your character WALKING or hurrying/advancing/ marching/ storming/ heaving/ hobbling/ staggering? Is he or she SAYING things or announcing/ declaring/ mumbling/ shouting/ whispering/ instructing/ ordering/ commanding/ emphasising/ stressing/ exclaiming?
Is he or she wearing NICE clothes or attractive/ expensive/ stylish/ fashionable/ trendy/ casual/ tasteful clothes? Did they eat NICE food or delectable/ scrumptious/mouth watering /flavoursome/appetising/delicious food? Is your character NICE or affable/ wonderful/ gracious/ pleasant/companionable/ charming/ interesting/ outstanding/ cordial/ delightful/ fascinating?
2. VARYING SENTENCE LENGTH AND PARAGRAPHS
Long winding sentences may give you a sense of continuity and flow, but they can become too stretchy and boring. You have come across too many of these monotonous sentences in your reading for pleasure, especially newspapers. Some journalists are chronically addicted to this disease and think it is a sign of sophistication. They will stretch a simple sentence forever until it makes interesting nonsense by the time you come to a full stop.
- Look at this: In response to calls by the Organ for a paradigm shift from viewing the national healing process to an African process meant to bring sustainable healing, the civic society noted that given that perpetrators had violated the same African values, the national healing process should be seen to bring justice and deal decisively and deterrently with a culture of violence and conflict.
- Despite failing to meet as the churches in Manicaland since there had been no prior advice to this effect, the observation from the sector was that given that Zimbabwe had been borne out of conflict and had witnessed close to three decades of conflict, the sentiment on the national healing process was a very vital one, not only for this generation but the future as well.
No one is better at this. It was and because since it was and therefore which whose and therefore but it will bla bla bla. (wobva watoshaya kuti zvinhu zvacho zvirikufamba sei zvirikunyorwa apa.)
Use short sentences for emphasis. That is the point.
- Remember, even more emphatic than the short sentence is the short paragraph. Consider the following: I woke up early that Monday morning. drew the curtains and looked out through the window. The weather was fine. I took a quick shower, dressed up and waited. Waited for a miracle!
This is an effective way of building a tense atmosphere. Keeping to the short sentence! (These are called darting sentences). This is excellent in story-writing (narrative) to show fear or building up dramatic tension. Long winding sentences cannot achieve this. They water down the drama or weaken dramatic effect, in turn weakening narrative command.
Look at this: I woke up early that Monday morning and the weather was fine. I drew the curtains and looked out through the window and than took a quick shower before I dressed up and waited for a miracle to happen.
Well, not a pathetic paragraph really, but remove the first ‘and’, second and third; remove ‘before’…and you have an excellent build-up of dramatic tension. Perfect style!
3. VARYING SENTENCE STRUCTURES
(a) ‘Bang’ went off the point 43 pistol as the policeman tried to handcuff the robber.
Cf. As the policeman tried to handcuff the robber, the point 43 pistol went off ‘bang’.
(b) She swam across the river with her baby tightly strapped onto her back.
Cf. With her baby tightly strapped onto her back, she swam across the river.
(c) With deliberate emphasis, Judge Thoko Masipa handed down her judgment to the famous paralympic, Oscar Pistorius.
Cf. Judge Thoko Masipa handed down her judgment to the famous paralympic, Oscar Pistorius, with deliberate emphasis.
Make choices with placement of these adverbial phrases. They tell us about time, mood and manner.
Examiners look for ‘‘control’’ in your writing. Apply most of these ideas and you are likely to win the battle of English Language Learning with greater control.
AVOID:
1. Use of big words. This does not show sophistication or learnedness. The purpose of communication (writing or speaking) is to be as clear as possible and to be understood.
2. Padding and circumlocution: (Using too many unnecessary words to say very little-also called waffling going round saying something): eg. (i) ‘At the end of the day’ instead of simply ‘Eventually/ Ultimately / Finally.’ (ii) ‘In the even that’ instead of ‘If’. (iii) ‘Few in number’ instead of ‘Few’. (iv) ‘Blue/ yellow/ red in colour’ instead of simply ‘red/ blue/ yellow’. (v) ‘On the grounds that’ instead of ‘Because.’
3. Overworked words: They are overused and tired: eg. Got/ get/ nice/ good/ totally/ said/ bad/ fat/ thin/ happy/ big/ sad/ clever/ small/ right/ wrong
Finally, keep what you write brief, simple and clear but flavoursome and interesting.
Neymar, the legendary Brazilian-born and world class football icon, displayed all the tricks in the book on the field of play but failed to unlock the German juggernauts’ tightly organised and impenetrable defence.
Try this: The legendary Neymar tried in vain to break through the German defence.
Online Reporter