Comprehension tests your ability to understand a written passage and answer questions based on it. WAEC Paper 2 provides a passage of 400–600 words with questions. JAMB provides three shorter passages (~200 words each) including one cloze test. Both test the same core skills.

In WAEC, comprehension is worth 40 marks in Paper 2. In JAMB, comprehension questions make up about 30 of the 60 Use of English questions.

• Literal understanding — Answers directly stated in the passage
• Vocabulary in context — What does a word/phrase mean as used in the passage?
• Inference and deduction — What can you conclude from the passage?
• Writer's purpose and tone — Why did the writer write this? What is their attitude?
• Figurative language — Identifying similes, metaphors and idioms in the passage
• Reference questions — What does a pronoun (he/she/it/they) refer to?
• Main idea — What is the central message of the passage or a paragraph?

1. Read the questions first — Skim questions before reading the passage. This tells you what to look for.
2. Read the passage carefully — Pay attention to the first and last sentence of each paragraph — they usually carry the main idea.
3. Underline key phrases — Mark words or phrases that could answer questions.
4. Answer in your own words — For WAEC Paper 2, paraphrase (do not copy) from the passage.
5. Check vocabulary in context — When asked what a word means, substitute each option back into the sentence to find the best fit.

JAMB includes one cloze test — a passage with 10 numbered gaps. You select the correct word to fill each gap from four options. The cloze test tests vocabulary, grammar, and logical flow of ideas.

• Read the entire sentence before choosing — not just the gap
• Read the sentence before and after the gap for context
• Eliminate options that are grammatically wrong first
• Then choose the option that best fits the meaning and tone of the passage

Summary writing requires you to read a passage and present its key points in a shorter, clearer form. In WAEC Paper 2, you are given a passage and asked to summarise a specific aspect — usually in not more than 50–80 words. Summary writing carries 25 marks in WAEC Paper 2.

A typical WAEC instruction: "In not more than 60 words, summarise the THREE main causes of flooding discussed in the passage."

• Use your own words — Do not copy sentences directly from the passage. Examiners penalise lifting.
• Be concise — Remove examples, repetitions, and irrelevant details
• Stay within the word limit — WAEC deducts marks for exceeding the limit
• Write in complete sentences — Bullet points are NOT accepted in WAEC
• Only include what was asked — If asked for causes, do not include effects
• Count your words — Note the word count in brackets at the end: (57 words)

1. Read the passage and identify the topic sentence of each paragraph (usually the first sentence)
2. Underline only the specific information the question asks for
3. List the key points in rough form in your own words
4. Combine closely related points to save words
5. Write your final summary in connected, flowing sentences
6. Count words and note the count at the end

Inference means reading between the lines — understanding what the writer implies but does not directly state. Deduction is drawing a logical conclusion from information given.

Questions like: "What can be inferred from paragraph 3?" or "What does the writer suggest about...?" are inference questions. You will NOT find the answer stated directly — you must reason from clues in the text.

• Go back to the specific paragraph the question refers to
• Look for what is implied — not what is stated directly
• Eliminate options that are directly stated in the passage (those are literal, not inference)
• Eliminate options not supported by any evidence in the passage
• Choose the option that is a reasonable, logical conclusion from the text

Quick test: if you see "like" or "as" comparing two unlike things → Simile. If it says one thing IS another without like/as → Metaphor.

WAEC and JAMB will ask: "The writer's tone in this passage is best described as..."

Concord (Subject-Verb Agreement) means the verb must agree in number with its subject. Singular subject → singular verb. Plural subject → plural verb.

1. Neither…nor / Either…or — The verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
   ✓ "Neither the students nor the teacher was ready."
   ✓ "Either the manager or the staff are responsible."
2. Collective nouns — Treated as singular: committee, government, staff, family, jury, class.
   ✓ "The committee has made its decision." ✓ "The jury is divided."
3. Indefinite pronouns (each, every, either, neither, someone, anyone, nobody, everybody) — Always singular.
   ✓ "Each of the boys was given a prize." ✓ "Everybody is welcome."
4. "As well as", "together with", "along with", "in addition to" — Verb agrees with the first/main subject only.
   ✓ "The principal, together with his teachers, was at the event."
5. News, Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Civics, Statistics — Plural-looking but singular.
   ✓ "The news is shocking." ✓ "Mathematics is important."
6. "A number of" vs "The number of" — "A number of" = plural; "The number of" = singular.
   ✓ "A number of students were absent." ✓ "The number of students is large."
7. Fractions and percentages — Agree with the noun after "of".
   ✓ "Two-thirds of the water is gone." ✓ "Two-thirds of the students are absent."
8. Titles of books, films, plays — Always singular, even if plural-sounding.
   ✓ "Things Fall Apart is a great novel." ✓ "The Three Musketeers is a classic."
9. Subjects separated from their verb — Agreement is with the true subject, not the closest noun.
   ✓ "The bag of oranges is on the table." (bag = subject, not oranges)
10. Words that look plural but are singular — Means, works, species, series, whereabouts, politics.
    ✓ "This species is endangered." ✓ "His whereabouts is unknown."
11. Inverted sentences — Find the real subject even when it comes after the verb.
    ✓ "There are many students here." (students = subject)
12. Relative clauses — The verb in the relative clause agrees with its antecedent.
    ✓ "She is one of those students who work hard." (who refers to students — plural)

Formula: Object + to be (correct tense) + past participle + by + agent

Key tense changes in reported speech:

• Present simple → Past simple: "I go" → he said he went
• Present continuous → Past continuous: "I am going" → he said he was going
• Past simple → Past perfect: "I went" → he said he had gone
• Will → Would: "I will come" → he said he would come

• Apostrophe for possession: "The boy's bag" (one boy) · "The boys' bags" (many boys) · "The children's books" (irregular plural)
• Apostrophe for contraction: it's = it is · don't = do not · can't = cannot · I've = I have
• Quotation marks for direct speech: He said, "I am tired."
• Comma after introductory clause/phrase: "Despite the rain, they continued."
• Semicolon between independent clauses: "She studied hard; she passed."
• Colon to introduce a list or explanation: "He bought three things: bread, eggs and milk."
• Hyphen in compound adjectives: "a well-known doctor" · "a five-year-old child"

• Use "Yours faithfully" when you do NOT know the recipient's name (Dear Sir/Madam)
• Use "Yours sincerely" when you DO know the recipient's name (Dear Mr. Johnson)
• The subject line is written in CAPITALS and underlined
• Never write your name in the address block — just the address

English has 20 vowel sounds — 12 pure vowels (monophthongs) and 8 diphthongs. WAEC tests 2–3 vowel questions per paper; JAMB tests 2 questions. You are given a target sound and must identify which word from four options contains that same sound.

Word stress means one syllable in a word is pronounced more loudly, longer and with higher pitch than the others. In written tests, the stressed syllable is shown in CAPITALS. E.g. PHOto·graph, phoTO·gra·phy, pho·to·GRA·phic.

JAMB gives 2 word stress questions. WAEC Paper 3 gives 4–5 questions. The most common trap is the noun/verb pair — same spelling, different stress.

Emphatic stress means placing extra stress on a particular word in a sentence to change or highlight its meaning. The same sentence with stress on different words can communicate different ideas.

A sentence is given with one word in CAPITALS. You must choose which response best matches that emphasis — the correct response will always contradict or contrast the stressed word.

Rhyming words share the same ending sound — not necessarily the same spelling. This is a common WAEC and JAMB trap.

Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. WAEC and JAMB test two main patterns:

You've now covered all the major WAEC and JAMB English Language topics. Take the 60-question timed practice quiz to see your score — and get a personalised breakdown of which topics need more work.