4 high-yield, syllabus-aligned questions on Essay writing, covering 13 individually creditable mark points. Each one shows the answer that scores full marks under our guide, which phrase earns which mark, and a common incomplete answer — so you can see the difference rather than guess at it.
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Every question and solution is reviewed by examiners versed in WAEC and JAMB, each with more than thirty years of experience.
Mark allocations are TopMarks’ own, written against the published syllabus and Chief Examiners’ reports. They are a guide to how these answers are usually credited, not an official marking scheme.
State4 marks
State four features that must appear before the body of a formal letter.
TopMarks model answer
The writer’s address, written at the top right-hand corner, followed by the date. The recipient’s address, written on the left, below the writer’s address. The salutation, which in a formal letter is Dear Sir or Dear Madam. The heading or title of the letter, written in capital letters or underlined, stating the subject of the letter.
Suggested marking guide
1Writer’s address and the date
2Recipient’s address
3Salutation
4Heading or title of the letter
Why it scores
Format is marked separately from content in a WAEC letter, which means these four marks are available before you have written a single sentence of argument. They are the most certain marks on the whole paper — nothing here depends on how well you write.
A common incomplete answer
“The address, the date and Dear Sir.”
What it costs: Two marks of four. The writer’s address with the date, and the salutation, are credited. The recipient’s address and the heading are both missing. A missing heading does not make the letter INFORMAL — register, recipient, address structure and purpose decide that — but it is a format omission, and format carries its own marks.
Explain what is meant by the topic sentence of a paragraph and state where it is usually placed.
TopMarks model answer
The topic sentence is the sentence that states the central idea of the paragraph, which the other sentences in that paragraph then explain, illustrate or support. It is usually placed at the beginning of the paragraph, so that the reader knows immediately what the paragraph is about.
Suggested marking guide
1It states the central idea of the paragraph
2It usually comes first
Why it scores
The Organisation mark in an essay is largely a test of paragraphing, and a paragraph with a clear topic sentence is one the examiner can follow at a glance. Writing one deliberately at the head of every paragraph is the fastest way to raise that mark.
A common incomplete answer
“It is the most important sentence in the paragraph.”
What it costs: Both marks. “Most important” does not say what the sentence does — state the central idea that the rest of the paragraph develops — and its position is not given.
Key ideas to include: topic sentence, central idea, supporting sentences, paragraph unity.
State3 marks
State three differences between a formal and an informal letter.
TopMarks model answer
A formal letter carries both the writer’s and the recipient’s addresses, while an informal letter carries only the writer’s address. A formal letter has a heading stating its subject, whereas an informal letter has none. A formal letter uses formal, impersonal language with no contractions or slang and ends with a complimentary close chosen by how it opened — Yours faithfully after Dear Sir or Dear Madam, Yours sincerely after a named recipient, while an informal letter uses relaxed, personal language and ends with an expression such as Yours affectionately.
Suggested marking guide
1Addresses: both versus one
2Heading present versus absent
3Language and complimentary close
Why it scores
Register is the difference that costs most marks in practice. Writing “I wanna tell you” or “don’t” in a letter to a Commissioner is not a grammatical error, so candidates do not notice it — but it makes the letter informal, and the format mark for register goes with it.
A common incomplete answer
“A formal letter has a heading but an informal letter does not have one.”
What it costs: Two marks of three. A correctly paired difference, but nothing about the addresses and nothing about the language or the closing expression.
State four common mistakes that lower the mark for Expression in an essay.
TopMarks model answer
Wrong tense sequence, such as shifting between past and present within the same narrative. Faulty concord, where the verb does not agree with its subject in number. Poor punctuation, especially the comma splice, in which two complete sentences are joined by a comma instead of a full stop or a conjunction. Wrong register, such as slang, text-message abbreviations or contractions in a formal essay, together with repetition of the same simple sentence pattern instead of varied structures.
Expression carries the largest single block of marks in the essay, and these four faults account for most of what is lost. Notice that none of them is about ideas — a candidate with excellent content and inconsistent tenses will still be marked down, which is why proof-reading for these four specifically is worth more than writing another paragraph.
A common incomplete answer
“Bad spelling and bad grammar.”
What it costs: All four marks. Both are true but far too general to be credited. The examiner wants the specific, nameable faults: tense, concord, punctuation, register.
Reading a full-mark answer is the first half. Writing one under time is the other. A free account opens exam-standard practice in English Language with the full solution on every question.