5 Proven Secrets to Scoring A1 in WAEC English Theory (That Most Students Ignore)

You open the question paper. You see the essay topics. You smile because you think, “Na English be this, I go tear am.”

But when the results come out, you see a C6 or, God forbid, a D7.

It’s painful. It’s confusing. You speak English every day, you tweet in English, so why did WAEC grade you like you just started learning the language yesterday?

Here is the hard truth: WAEC English is not about how well you speak; it is about how well you follow rules.

Many intelligent Nigerian students miss admission into University of Lagos (UNILAG) or UI simply because they messed up their English paper. The theory section (Paper 2) is where the real battle is fought.

I’ve graded enough scripts and tutored enough students to tell you that there is a secret to scoring A1 in WAEC English Theory. It’s not magic, and you don’t need to swallow a dictionary. You just need to stop making the same mistakes your seniors made.

Table of Contents

1. The “Format” Over “Big Grammar” Rule

Let’s talk about the essay section. This is usually where students try to impress the marker with “Patrick Obahiagbon” type of grammar.

Please, stop it.

You might think using words like “gargantuan” and “flabbergasted” will fetch you marks, but if you use them wrongly, you lose marks for “Mechanical Accuracy.”

The real secret here is Structure.

If you pick a Formal Letter, do you have two addresses? Is the date in the right place? Did you use “Yours faithfully” (with a small ‘f’)? These technical details carry more weight than your vocabulary.

A major mistake I see? Mixing up tone. You cannot be writing a letter to the Minister of Education about the ASUU strike and asking, “How is the family?” That’s a fast way to lose marks. Keep it official.

According to the WAEC Chief Examiner’s Reports, poor organization is the number one reason students fail the essay part. Stick to simple, correct English. A correct simple sentence is worth more than a wrong complex one.

2. The “Lift and Dump” Mistake in Comprehension

This one is painful to watch.

In the Comprehension section, the examiner asks a question based on the passage. What do 90% of students do? They go to the passage, look for the sentence containing the answer, copy it exactly as it is, and paste it into their answer booklet.

We call this “Lifting.” And WAEC hates it.

When you lift an answer verbatim, you are telling the examiner, “I don’t really understand this, I just found the matching words.”

The Fix: Read the sentence in the passage, understand the meaning, and rewrite it in your own words.

For example:

Passage: “Emeka was extremely exhausted after the marathon.”
Question: Why did Emeka go to sleep early?
Don’t write: “Emeka was extremely exhausted after the marathon.”
Do write: “He went to sleep early because he was very tired from the race.”

See the difference? You showed understanding.

3. The Golden Rule of Summary Writing

If you want to throw away free marks, mess up your Summary section.

This part is usually the easiest to pass, yet students fail it because they try to be too creative. The instructions usually say: “In three sentences, summarize…”

Here is the secret: If you don’t write in full sentences, you get ZERO.

I’ve seen students write:

Lack of electricity.
Poor road network.
Corruption.

That is a list, not a summary. You just scored zero.

You must write:

There is a lack of electricity in the country.
The road network is in a poor state.
Corruption is affecting the economy.

Also, do not combine two points in one sentence. One point, one sentence. Keep it short. If the answer is too long, you might make a grammatical error, and for every grammatical error in Summary, you lose marks.

4. British vs. American Spelling (The Silent Killer)

Your phone’s autocorrect is your enemy.

Most of us are used to typing “Color,” “Honor,” or “Center” because that’s how our Android and iPhones correct us. But WAEC uses British English.

If you write “Program” instead of “Programme,” or “Neighbor” instead of “Neighbour,” you are bleeding marks.

You need to switch your brain to “British Mode” the moment you enter that exam hall. Consistency is key. You can’t write “Colour” in paragraph one and “Favorite” in paragraph two. Pick a struggle and stick to the British standard.

Educational platforms like the British Council Nigeria often emphasize these differences for students preparing for international exams, but it applies strictly to WAEC too.

5. Time Management Strategy

Imagine this: You spend 1 hour and 30 minutes writing the “perfect” essay. You polish it, you admire your handwriting. Then you look at the clock.

You have 15 minutes left for Comprehension and Summary.

Panic sets in. You start rushing. Your handwriting becomes chicken scratch. You make silly mistakes.

This is how people fail.

The Strategy:

Essay (50 marks): Spend 50 minutes maximum.
Comprehension (20 marks): Spend 30 minutes.
Summary (30 marks): Spend 30 minutes.
Review: Use the remaining 10 minutes to check for spelling errors.

Don’t spend too much time on a question you don’t know. Move on. As highlighted by Punch Newspaper’s education column, poor time management is a recurring theme in mass failure during national exams.

Final Verdict

Scoring A1 in WAEC English isn’t reserved for those students who speak with a “phoné” accent. It is for the students who follow instructions.

Read the question twice. Check your spellings. Don’t be lazy with your summary sentences.

If you can discipline yourself to follow these rules, that A1 is yours. Now, go and study the past questions—not just to answer them, but to understand how they want you to answer. You’ve got this.