This is how to write a winning essay

PHOTO | FILE Students of Moi Girls High School in Eldoret town tackle their English Paper One exams, during the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations that kicked off on October 18, 2011.

What you need to know:

Reading of the texts and constant practice in writing these essays will put you in a good position to tackle English Paper Three

Essay writing has often been cited as one of the challenges that KCSE candidates face in their quest to score good grades in English. Problems faced in this area chiefly emanate from poor grasp of the texts.

Therefore, you cannot avoid a thorough reading and rereading of the text. You, the candidate, are expected to present essay answers that portray coherent thinking and a mature approach to issues.

You should demonstrate your ability to write neatly, legibly, and effectively. In the course of your English classes, I am sure you have had opportunities not only to engage in critical analysis of various literary texts but also to write essays on that analysis.

My dear KCSE candidates, only thorough reading of the texts and constant practice in writing these essays will put you in a good position to tackle English Paper Three. Cramming the study guides will not help you.

In this paper, you will be required to write two essays on set texts, each of which accounts for 20 marks. The first essay is on one of the compulsory set texts while the second essay is written on the optional text that a candidate has prepared on.

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS

As an examiner of long standing, it has always pained me to see candidates waste their time attempting more than one optional question. You should know that the examiner only marks the first optional essay presented.

It is imperative that you read the question carefully, noting any key words in the question as they will guide you in writing a relevant answer. Use the spaces found on the question paper to note down points that you will use to compose your essay.

These points help you to remain focused on the subject of the essay. Candidates often lose marks by wandering off the topic in the body of their essays.

My dear students, it will help if you keep glancing at the question as you write your essay just to ensure that what you are writing actually answers the given question.

The first paragraph carries the introduction and is awarded two marks. In my experience, I have seen some candidates failing to introduce their essay, needlessly losing these crucial marks. You can write this introductory paragraph by beginning with a general statement and then narrowing down to the issue at hand by echoing the question. 

Look at the following sample introduction as a response to the following question:

Using illustrations from Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s The River Between, write a composition on the causes of conflict in society.    (20mks)

Conflict is a disagreement or a clash between ideas. In many parts of the world, conflict stalks various communities and influences the way these communities conduct their daily activities.

This antagonism is caused be various factors. In The River Between, the ridges of Kameno and Makuyu are engaged in a perpetual dispute over which ridge is superior. This conflict is further amplified by religion, culture and individuals who take the centre stage in this unfolding story of rivalry.

In the main part of your essay, you discuss between four to six points. Write your essay in prose, not in point form. Carefully paragraph your work. You can decide to either indent or block your paragraphs. Each paragraph discusses only one point. In composing the paragraph, introduce a point and explain using illustrations and facts from the text. Then make a comment on that issue you have explored in that paragraph. Look at the following sample.

First, adherence to different faiths leads to conflict between the two ridges.  Kameno residents followed the traditional Kikuyu religion and can not see eye to eye with the people of Makuyu, who are staunch followers of the white man’s religion. Each group holds onto their beliefs and fail to accommodate the other.

Joshua considers himself and other Christians holy and sees the traditionalists as children of darkness, who are still languishing in Egypt. After Muthoni’s death, the two ridges can no longer accommodate each other. Children of the converts are kicked out of Siriana and the traditionalists form the Kiama to preserve the purity of the tribe. This heightens the antagonism even further.

For every well explained point, you will be awarded a maximum of three marks. Four points will therefore give you a total of twelve marks. Arrange your paragraphs in the body of your essay in a suitable order.

NOTE

Every candidate must avoid the temptation to narrate events without giving the necessary analysis of the issue at hand. The following paragraph just narrates events.

The two ridges followed different religions. When the white man came and build Siriana mission, Joshua, Kabonyi and others were converted. Kinuthia was beaten by Kamau for calling him a son of a convert. Joshua preached with vigour and even impressed Waiyaki, who went to listen to his sermon.

You are required to show how events are related to each other and how they contribute to the development of particular issues of concern that the author advances. In this case, you should prove that religious differences cause conflict in society.

When writing a concluding paragraph, restate the main idea and make a comment on the subject under discussion. You can do this by making reference to the question. Here is a sample.

In conclusion, conflict in The River Between, arises from differences of religion, culture and personal convictions. The life of the people of Kameno and Makuyu is characterised by antagonism that is seemingly unending, no wonder the two ridges follow separate paths. Because of this, it becomes hard for them to act as one in their quest to kick the white man from their land.

Writing the conclusion of your essay is not a chance to tell us a moral lesson learnt as some candidates do. Such candidates preach instead of winding up their essay. Following is a sample of such a conclusion.

In conclusion, we realise that conflict is bad and should be avoided at all costs. We should eliminate all factors that lead to conflict in our communities so that we may enjoy peace and live in harmony.
When providing illustrations avoid quoting from the book word for word.  Paraphrase instead. Moreover, any time you quote the title of the book, underline it.

You should write your essay in correct grammar. Obey spelling rules, punctuation, word choice and sentence construction rules. Use the present simple tense. You will be awarded a maximum of four marks for your linguistic ability.

Also, use a legible handwriting as it is an indication of an organised student. When you write illegibly, you force the examiner to guess what you are trying to say. This is not safe for you. When you make an error, cancel neatly and avoid smudges and untidy erasures.

SAMPLE QUESTION
The River Between – Ngugi wa Thiong’o

1. Christians are supposed to live an exemplary life but Joshua fails this test. With illustrations from Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s The River Between, show the truth of this statement drawing.

Those of us who are religious are expected to live exemplary life by following the teachings of the holy book. The society places particular expectations on such people and any behaviour to the contrary is frowned upon. In The River Between, Joshua, though a staunch Christian convert, fails in various ways to live an exemplary Christian life.

Joshua is hypocritical as he condemns his wife for having undergone the circumcision rite. He forgets that both of them had been steeped deep in traditions before the advent of Christianity and were therefore not in control of what had happened before conversion.

He asks God to forgive him for marrying her. This self-righteous attitude brings out his hypocritical self, a trait that is obviously unchristian.

Joshua is authoritarian. He forces his wife to go out in the night in search of Muthoni after blaming her for Muthoni’s disobedience. When Miriam returns without Muthoni, Joshua flies at her and commands her to go back and find her. Joshua should have shared this responsibility of looking for Muthoni with Miriam since she is equally his daughter and passing blame is unchristian.

He is unforgiving for he disowns his own daughter for travelling to Kameno to get circumcised. A Christian should be forgiving, a virtue that we find lacking in Joshua. After Muthoni’s death, Joshua shows no emotion at all. He declares that Muthoni’s death was a punishment for turning back to sin.

Joshua is hot-tempered. When he asks for Muthoni after she has disappeared, Nyambura has to literally run away from her father’s fury. Before she can run away, he is on her, glaring at her shaking her all the time. Christians are supposed to have self-control and slow to anger but Joshua breaks this cardinal rule.

He is unable to love his enemies in accordance with the Christian teachings. He warns Nyambura when he suspects he has been seeing the young devil (Waiyaki). He also curses Waiyaki when he comes to warn of the impending attack by the kiama. When Nyambura stands up to defend Waiyaki, he condemns her and declares that she would not be called his daughter again.

Therefore, Joshua does not satisfy the basic expectation of a Christian of his stature. As a lay leader and a prominent Christian convert, he is expected to act in accordance with the Christian teachings and ideals. His is not an example of what ‘a Christian home should be’.

QUESTION FOR FURTHER PRACTICE

With illustrations from Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s The River Between, discuss how the author employs irony in developing certain characters.