gce model questions vol1 2025 literature_in_english | Essay

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Question 1 View Details
Literary genres provide a framework for writers and readers to understand the conventions, purposes and expectations of a work. Discuss the role of literary genres in shaping both the creation and reception of texts.
Question Parts
(a)
Define the term ‘literary genre’ and outline three major functions it serves for writers.
(b)
Select two contrasting genres (e.g., tragedy and comedy) and compare how their structural conventions influence the development of characters and plot.
(c)
Evaluate the extent to which contemporary writers adhere to, adapt or subvert traditional genre conventions, giving two specific modern examples.
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Question 2 View Details
Literary devices enrich a text by shaping meaning, tone and reader response. Using the excerpt below, analyse the writer’s deployment of literary devices and assess their overall effect on the passage’s theme.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify three distinct literary devices employed in the excerpt and provide a brief textual illustration for each.
(b)
Explain how each identified device contributes to the development of the passage’s central theme.
(c)
Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the writer’s use of these devices in shaping the reader’s emotional response.
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Question 3 View Details
Read the following poem carefully. *The city’s heartbeat slows at dusk,* *When lanterns flicker, shadows husk.* *Streets that sang with hurried feet* *Now whisper soft in amber heat.* *The market’s clamor, once a roar,* *Turns to a lull, a quiet lore.* *In every window, lives a tale,* *Of hopes that rise and dreams that pale.* *Yet in the hush, a promise glows,* *Tomorrow’s song the night bestows.*
Question Parts
(a)
Identify two poetic devices employed in the poem and explain how each contributes to the overall effect.
(b)
Discuss how the poet develops the central theme of transition from bustle to calm through imagery and tone.
(c)
Evaluate the effectiveness of the poem’s structure (stanza form, line length, rhyme scheme) in reinforcing its message.
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Question 4 View Details
Read the following prose excerpt. *The rain had been relentless for three days, turning the narrow lane behind the school into a shallow river. Amara stood at the cracked wooden gate, her shoes soaked, watching the water rise inch by inch. She thought of the exam she was to take the next morning – a chance to lift her family out of the cramped one‑room house they called home. Yet the sky seemed determined to drown her hopes. As the water lapped against her ankles, a distant voice called, “Come inside, Amara, the flood is rising.” She hesitated, torn between the safety of the shelter and the promise of a future that lay beyond the flood‑filled path.* Answer the questions that follow.
Question Parts
(a)
Analyse how the narrator’s limited third‑person perspective shapes the reader’s understanding of Amara’s internal conflict.
(b)
Examine how the setting – the flooded lane and the looming exam – reflects Amara’s broader social and personal struggles.
(c)
Discuss the moral or message the author conveys through Amara’s decision at the end of the excerpt.
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Question 5 View Details
The following is an original excerpt from the play *The River's Whisper*: *Scene: A dimly lit riverside at dusk. The water murmurs softly. ELARA, a young fisherwoman, stands clutching a net. JORAN, the village elder, approaches, his lantern casting long shadows.* ELARA: (voice trembling) The river has turned sour, Joran. The fish are gone, and the tide pulls at my hope. JORAN: (placing a hand on her shoulder) The river remembers its own grief, child. It does not betray us; we have forgotten how to listen. ELARA: (looking away) Then what shall we do? Let the village starve? JORAN: (softly) We must return the river's song. Bring the old drum to the water's edge and beat the rhythm of the currents. *Stage directions: A faint glow appears on the water, as if the river itself is listening.* Answer the following: (a) Identify the central conflict in the scene and discuss how the playwright uses dialogue and stage directions to develop it. (b) Evaluate the effectiveness of the dramatic technique of irony employed in the interaction between Elara and Joran. (c) Explain how the setting contributes to the overall mood of the scene.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify the central conflict in the scene and discuss how the playwright uses dialogue and stage directions to develop it.
(b)
Evaluate the effectiveness of the dramatic technique of irony employed in the interaction between Elara and Joran.
(c)
Explain how the setting contributes to the overall mood of the scene.
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Question 6 View Details
Read the following original passage from the novel *Shadows of the Market*: *The market thrummed with the clatter of carts, the shouts of sellers, and the rustle of silk. Amidst the bustle, Amina moved like a shadow, her eyes darting from stall to stall, cataloguing every price, every haggler’s tone. She spoke little, but when she did, her words were measured, each syllable weighed as if she were balancing a ledger. Beside her, her brother Tariq laughed loudly, bartering flamboyantly, his gestures grand, his confidence unrestrained. The narrator, an omniscient observer, notes, “Amina’s silence was not emptiness; it was a shield, forged in years of watching men count fortunes while she counted possibilities.” Answer the following: (a) Analyse the methods of direct and indirect characterization used to portray Amina. (b) Discuss how the author’s choice of third‑person omniscient narrative perspective influences the reader’s perception of Amina. (c) Compare Amina’s characterization with that of Tariq as presented in the same passage.
Question Parts
(a)
Analyse the methods of direct and indirect characterization used to portray Amina.
(b)
Discuss how the author’s choice of third‑person omniscient narrative perspective influences the reader’s perception of Amina.
(c)
Compare Amina’s characterization with that of Tariq as presented in the same passage.
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Question 7 View Details
Read the following excerpt taken from a contemporary short story: "The rain had stopped just as Aisha stepped onto the cracked pavement, her heart still racing from the argument she had left behind. She glanced at the old, rusted gate that marked the boundary between the bustling market and the quiet suburb. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the sign above the bakery – ‘Fresh Bread, Fresh Start’. In that instant, she remembered her mother's words: ‘Every ending is a new beginning.’ She pushed the gate open, feeling the cool night air brush against her face, and walked toward the dimly lit doorway, unaware that the decision she was about to make would change the course of her life forever." Answer the following questions:
Question Parts
(a)
Provide a concise chronological summary of the events described in the excerpt, highlighting the key actions of the protagonist.
(b)
Identify the climax of the passage and explain why it functions as the climax in terms of tension and narrative focus.
(c)
Discuss how the author employs foreshadowing in the excerpt to develop the plot, giving at least two specific examples.
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Question 8 View Details
The following passage is taken from a novel set in a coastal fishing village during the early 20th century: "Morning mist clung to the tide‑worn cottages, their thatched roofs sagging under the weight of salty air. The sea, a restless grey, lapped at the sand, leaving behind a thin sheen of foam that glittered like shattered glass. Children chased gulls along the narrow lane, their laughter mingling with the low murmur of women mending nets on the weathered wooden pier. In the distance, the old lighthouse, its stone walls scarred by years of storms, stood as a silent sentinel, its beam sweeping the horizon, promising safe passage for those daring enough to leave. The villagers, bound by generations of tradition, believed the sea to be both a giver and a taker. Their lives were measured by the rhythm of the tides, and every decision—whether to cast a net or to stay ashore—was weighed against the ever‑present threat of the unknown depths." Answer the following questions:
Question Parts
(a)
Describe in detail the physical, social and cultural aspects of the setting presented in the passage.
(b)
Analyse how the setting influences the motivations and actions of the villagers, citing at least two specific elements from the passage.
(c)
Evaluate the extent to which the setting contributes to the overall theme of humanity’s relationship with nature, comparing it briefly with another literary work of your choice.
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Question 9 View Details
Read the following excerpt: "Amara stared at the cracked clay pot in her hands, its once‑bright glaze now faded by years of sun. Her mother had told her that the pot was a heirloom, a symbol of the family's endurance through droughts and festivals. Yet the university brochure she held promised laboratories, computers and a future far beyond the village fields. As the evening drums faded, Amara felt the tug of two worlds: the weight of tradition that anchored her to the earth, and the bright pull of knowledge that beckoned her beyond it." Answer the questions below: a) Identify the central theme of the passage. b) Explain how the author develops this theme through characterisation, setting and language. c) Evaluate the relevance of the identified theme to contemporary Nigerian society.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify the central theme of the passage.
(b)
Explain how the author develops this theme through characterisation, setting and language.
(c)
Evaluate the relevance of the identified theme to contemporary Nigerian society.
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Question 10 View Details
Read the following excerpt: "The rain hammered the tin roof as I slipped the old diary from the attic. Its pages, yellowed and brittle, whispered stories of my grandfather, a man who had walked the streets of Lagos in the 1950s with a battered camera slung over his shoulder. I turned to a page dated June 12, 1954, and the ink bled into a memory of a bustling market, the scent of roasted plantain, and a sudden flash of gunfire that sent the crowd scattering. The present moment, with its quiet suburb and humming refrigerator, seemed a world apart, yet the diary's voice pulled the past into my kitchen, making the old and new converse." Answer the questions below: a) Identify the narrative point of view and discuss its effect on the reader. b) Analyse two narrative techniques employed in the passage (e.g., flashback and descriptive imagery) and explain how they shape the reader’s understanding. c) Comment on how the structure of the excerpt contributes to its overall impact.
Question Parts
(a)
Identify the narrative point of view and discuss its effect on the reader.
(b)
Analyse two narrative techniques employed in the passage (e.g., flashback and descriptive imagery) and explain how they shape the reader’s understanding.
(c)
Comment on how the structure of the excerpt contributes to its overall impact.
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