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JAMB • Use of English • Syllabus

JAMB Use of English Syllabus for UTME 2027

The JAMB Use of English syllabus is the list of topics UTME Use of English questions are set from, with the exam body's notes on how far each topic goes. Use it as a revision checklist: pick a topic, read what it covers, then practise past questions on it until you can answer them in exam time.

Syllabus content © The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. Source. Summaries marked “Our summary” are written by DeeepSolve.

UTME Use of English exam scheme

Exam scheme

Section A: Comprehension and Summary
(a) 1 comprehension passage, 5 questions; (b) 1 summary passage, 5 questions; (c) 1 cloze passage, 10 questions; (d) 1 reading text, 5 questions.
Section B: Lexis and Structure
(a) Sentence interpretation, 5 questions; (b) Antonyms, 5 questions; (c) Synonyms, 5 questions; (d) Basic Grammar, 10 questions.
Section C: Oral Forms
(a) Vowels, 2 questions; (b) Consonants, 2 questions; (c) Rhymes, 2 questions; (d) Word Stress, 2 questions; (e) Emphatic Stress, 2 questions.
Total
60 questions.

Comprehension and Summary

Our summary: Reading short passages on many subjects, filling gaps in a cloze passage, summarising, and answering on the approved reading text.

Comprehension

Our summary: Understanding a passage as a whole and in detail, including its implied meanings and the writer's purpose and tone.

Contents

  • Passage typesJAMB note: (a) description; (b) narration; (c) exposition; (d) argumentation/persuasion.
  • Each of the three passages to be set (one will be a cloze test) should reflect various disciplines and be about 200 words long.
  • Comprehension of the whole or part of each passage
  • Comprehension of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, figures of speech and idioms as used in the passages
  • Coherence and logical reasoning (deductions, inferences, etc.)

Objectives

  • identify main points/topic sentences in passages;
  • determine implied meanings;
  • identify the grammatical functions of words, phrases, clauses and figurative/idiomatic expressions; and
  • deduce or infer the writers' intentions including mood, attitude to the subject matter and opinion.

Cloze test

Our summary: Choosing the word that best fills each gap in a passage so that it reads correctly and makes sense.

Contents

  • One of the three passages to be set will be a cloze test.

Summary

Our summary: Pulling the main points out of a passage and combining them into one short, complete whole.

Contents

  • Synthesis of ideas from the passages

Notes

  • Synthesis of ideas means the art of combining distinct or separate pieces of information to form a complete whole as summary.

Objectives

  • identify main points/topic sentences in passages.

Approved reading text

Our summary: Questions on the book JAMB sets as the reading text for the exam.

Contents

  • Approved Reading Text

Objectives

  • determine implied meanings;
  • deduce or infer the writers' intentions including mood, attitude to the subject matter and opinion.

Lexis and Structure

Our summary: Word meanings, grammar, spelling and punctuation, and how words are used plainly, figuratively and in idioms.

Synonyms

Our summary: Choosing the word or expression nearest in meaning to one used in a sentence.

Contents

  • Synonyms

Objectives

  • determine similar and opposite meanings of words.

Antonyms

Our summary: Choosing the word or expression opposite in meaning to one used in a sentence.

Contents

  • Antonyms

Objectives

  • determine similar and opposite meanings of words.

Clause and sentence patterns

Our summary: The kinds of clauses and the patterns in which English sentences are built.

Contents

  • Clause and sentence patterns

Objectives

  • identify various grammatical patterns in use.

Word classes and their functions

Our summary: The parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives, and the jobs they do in a sentence.

Contents

  • Word classes and their functions

Objectives

  • identify various grammatical patterns in use.

Mechanics

Our summary: The conventions of written English, such as correct spelling and punctuation.

Contents

  • Mechanics

Objectives

  • differentiate between correct and incorrect spellings.

Ordinary, figurative and idiomatic usage

Our summary: Telling plain meanings from figurative ones and understanding formal English idioms.

Contents

  • Ordinary usage, figurative usage and idiomatic usage

Notes

  • Idioms to be tested are those that are formal and expressed in Standard British English (SBE).

Objectives

  • identify words and expressions in their ordinary, figurative and idiomatic contexts.

Sentence interpretation

Our summary: Working out what a sentence actually means and choosing the option that says the same thing.

Contents

  • Sentence interpretation

Objectives

  • interpret information conveyed in sentences.

Oral Forms

Our summary: English sounds and pronunciation: vowels, consonants, rhymes, word stress and emphatic stress.

Vowels

Our summary: Telling apart English vowel sounds: monophthongs, diphthongs and triphthongs.

Contents

  • Vowels (monophthongs, diphthongs and triphthongs)

Objectives

  • make distinctions among vowel types.

Consonants

Our summary: Telling apart English consonant sounds, alone and in clusters.

Contents

  • Consonants (including clusters)

Objectives

  • differentiate among consonant types.

Rhymes

Our summary: Recognising words that rhyme, and words that sound the same but are spelt differently.

Contents

  • Rhymes (including homophones)

Objectives

  • identify correct pronunciation of individual words and articulation of connected speech.

Word stress

Our summary: Which syllable carries the stress in words of one or more syllables.

Contents

  • Word stress (monosyllabic and polysyllabic)

Objectives

  • identify correct pronunciation of individual words and articulation of connected speech.

Emphatic stress

Our summary: Stressing a particular word in a spoken sentence to give it emphasis, and what that changes.

Contents

  • Emphatic stress (in connected speech)

Notes

  • Emphatic stress involves the placement of stress on words in an utterance for the purpose of emphasis.

Objectives

  • identify correct pronunciation of individual words and articulation of connected speech.

More from the JAMB Use of English syllabus

General objectives

  • The aim of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) syllabus in Use of English is to guide candidates in their preparation for the Board's examination. It is designed to evaluate the candidates' ability to:
  • communicate effectively in both written and spoken English; and
  • use English Language for learning at the tertiary level.

Sections

Section A
Comprehension and Summary
Section B
Lexis and Structure
Section C
Oral Forms

Recommended texts

Doses of Grammar
Adedimeji, M. A. (2021), Patigi: Ahman Pategi University Press.
Practice in Spoken English for Intermediate and Advanced Learners
Attah, M. O. (2013), Maiduguri: University of Maiduguri Press.
English Lexis and Structure for Senior Secondary Schools and Colleges (Revised Edition)
Bamgbose, A. (2002), Ibadan: Heinemann.
New Oxford Secondary English Course Book Six for Senior Secondary Schools
Banjo, A., Adeniran, A., Akano, A. and Onoga, U. (2004), Ibadan: University Press Plc.
Essential Oral English for Schools and Colleges
Caesar, O. J. (2003), Lagos: Tonad Publishers Limited.
Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary
Jones, D. (2011), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mastering English Usage and Communication Skills
Egbe, D. I. (1996), Lagos: Tisons.
Oral English for Schools and Colleges
Elugbe, B. (2000), Ibadan: Heinemann.
Senior English Project 3 (New Edition)
Grant, N. J. H., Nnamonu, S. and Jowitt, D. (1998), Harlow: Longman.
Round-up English: A Complete Guide
Idowu, O. O., Sogbesan, T. S., Adofo, A. K., Burgess, D. F. and Burgess, L. J. (1998), Lagos: Longman.
Oral English at Your Fingertips for Schools and Colleges
Idris, U. (2001), Lagos: M. Youngbrain Publishers.
Grammar and Composition in the G.S.M. Age
Igiligi, E. C. and Ogenyi, S. O. (2010), Enugu: Joe Hills Production Services.
Oral English for Schools and Colleges: A Teaching and Learning Approach
Jauro, L. B. (2013), Yola: Paraclete Publishers.
Common Errors in English
Nnamonu, S. and Jowitt, D. (1989), Lagos: Longman.
University Matriculation Use of English (Fourth Edition)
Obinna, M. F. (2001), Port Harcourt: Sunray Books Limited.
Countdown English Language (Revised Edition)
Ogunsanwo, O., Duruaku, A. B. C., Ezechukwu, J. and Nwachukwu, U. I. (2005), Ibadan: Evans Brothers.
The Silent Teacher
Olatoye, S. (2006), Ado-Ekiti: Segun and Sons Enterprises.
Intensive English for Senior Secondary School 3
Oluikpe, B. O. A., Nnaemeka, B. A., Obah, T. Y., Otagburuagu, E. J., Onuigbo, S. and Ogbonna, E. A. (1998), Onitsha: Africana First Publishers.
Objective Tests for School Certificate English: Practice in Lexis, Structure and Idiom (Reprinted Edition)
Tomori, S. H. O. (2000), Ibadan: Heinemann.
Catch-up English for SSCE/UME
Ukwuegbu, C., Okoro, O., Idris, A. U., Okebukola, F. O. and Owokade, C. O. (2002), Ibadan: Heinemann.

Syllabus content © The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. Taken from https://ibass.jamb.gov.ng/static/media/Use-of-English.885e843b1f51e6a3d062.pdf (UTME).

DeeepSolve is an independent study platform and is not affiliated with JAMB. The topic lists, notes and exam scheme are the exam body's wording; “Our summary” lines are ours. If anything here differs from what JAMB publishes for your sitting, follow JAMB.