A word on Use of English – 2025 UTME

On Thursday, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination will start across the country. Based on the importance of the English Language paper, which is compulsory for all candidates, we are focusing on the subject today.

By now every candidate should be familiar with the structure of the Use of English in the UTME. They should know what each section entails and the topics usually broadly tested. The paper, for instance, features comprehension passages, lexis and structure tests as well as questions on oral English.

Of course, candidates should know that JAMB’s new reading text is The Lekki Headmaster, written by Kabir Alabi Garba. They must have intensively read the novel and paid attention to the story, plot, characters, theme and literary devices. I hope they agree with me that The Lekki Headmaster is not a difficult novel, but it demands intelligently following the author as he creatively travels from Lagos, the primary setting of the novel, to some other parts of Nigeria and countries like the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

Dwelling on issues like the japa syndrome, academic and social life in elite schools, Nigeria’s tourism assets etc., The Lekki Headmaster is the story of Bepo (Adewale Adebepo), the principal of Lekki, Lagos-based Stardom Schools, who is so patriotic and committed to the educational development of his students that he finds it difficult to migrate to the UK where his family live and badly want him. The book, therefore, prosecutes the conflict of Bepo’s love to remain in Nigeria and the compelling need for him to japa. By now, every serious candidate who deserves to be in the university or any other higher institution should know what happens to the protagonist at the end of the day.

Between synonyms and antonyms

Questions testing synonyms usually require that candidates choose the options most nearly similar in meaning to particular words while those under antonyms require those most nearly opposite in meaning. Remember that the correct options should not only be nearly similar or nearly opposite in meaning, but they should also match the given contexts. Secondly, don’t make the mistake of picking antonyms when looking for synonyms — and vice versa — because the examiners can deliberately mix them up in the options.

The Oral Aspect

Here, candidates must remember that phonology is under focus. It is no more about writing but about speaking. It is about pronunciation because it is an oral test. Therefore, they should play down the ABC alphabetical mentality and embrace speech sounds; that is, the vowel and consonant sounds. They must pronounce the given elements to be able to get the right answers.

How To Score Above 300 In 2025 JAMB UTME

How To Score Above 300 In 2025 JAMB UTME

How To Score Above 300 In 2025 JAMB UTME

When tackling questions on vowel sounds (no more abcdef) candidates must be sure whether the given sound and the one they are looking for are either pure vowels or diphthongs, or whether short or long vowels. Under consonants, they should be sure whether they are dealing with voiced or voiceless ones, just as they should not forget the trick associated with silent sounds. Lastly, candidates should remember that, when looking for a word that rhymes with another one, it is the sounds at the end of the words that count, not those in the beginning or middle. This is a major difference between the rhyme exercise and those on vowels and consonants where the sound one is looking for may be in any part of the options.

I remember offering JAMB candidates this advice in the past: Don’t be deceived by words with similar letters/spellings because they may not end with the same sounds. For instance, assuming the given word is ‘time’, and term, timely, dime and team are the options. Although term, timely and team have similar spellings as ‘time’, the only word that rhymes with it is ‘dime’. So, you must pronounce all of them to be sure.

No time to waste

Lastly, candidates must note that one of the biggest challenges in the UTME revolves around time management. JAMB is very strict with time. As a matter of fact, it is miserly with it — to the extent that there is no inch of a second to waste based on the number of questions to be answered, the time given and the standard of the exam. The JAMB candidate must read, assimilate, think and click as intelligently and fast as possible. Experience has shown that many score poor marks in the exam due to their failure to finish before time.

I wish candidates more than the best of luck!