JAMB Use of English Syllabus

1. Comprehension & Summary

• Reading and understanding passages

• Main ideas and supporting details

• Drawing inferences and conclusions

• Identifying writer’s tone and intention

• Fact vs opinion

• Summary writing (key points extraction)

2. Lexis & Structure

• Synonyms and antonyms

• Word formation (prefix & suffix)

• Idioms and expressions

• Collocations

• Homonyms and homophones

• Parts of speech

• Grammar rules (tense, concord, etc.)

• Sentence structure

• Articles and prepositions

3. Oral English

• Vowel sounds (short & long)

• Consonant sounds

• Diphthongs

• Word stress

• Sentence stress

• Intonation patterns

• Weak and strong forms

• Elision and linking sounds

4. Cloze Test

• Grammar-based gap filling

• Vocabulary-based completion

• Logical sentence flow

• Context-based understanding

• Paragraph cohesion

5. Functional English (Registers)

• Formal vs informal English

• Speech acts (requests, apologies, greetings)

• Contextual language use

• Audience awareness

• Tone and purpose in communication

• Dialogue interpretation

6. Error Identification & Correction

• Subject-verb agreement errors

• Tense inconsistency

• Wrong word usage

• Misplaced modifiers

• Sentence fragments and run-ons

• Redundancy errors

7. Sentence Transformation

• Active ↔ Passive voice

• Direct ↔ Indirect speech

• Affirmative ↔ Negative

• Question formation

• Sentence restructuring

• Sentence expansion and reduction

8. Advanced Grammar Structures

• Conditional sentences (if-clauses)

• Relative clauses

• Parallel structures

• Complex sentence construction

• Concord rules in advanced usage

9. Vocabulary in Context

• Contextual meaning of words

• Idioms and expressions

• Proverbs and meanings

• Collocations in sentences

• Homonyms and homophones

• Polysemy (multiple meanings)

10. Advanced Reading Skills

• Fact vs opinion

• Writer’s assumption

• Drawing conclusions

• Figurative language interpretation

• Critical reasoning in passages

• Argument analysis

11. Writing Mechanics

• Punctuation rules

• Capitalization rules

• Spelling rules

• Paragraph cohesion

• Sentence boundaries