Questions below are based on Bolaji Abdullahi's "Sweet Sixteen" The fact that Aliya wanted to be a pilot, then…

Analyze the question

The question asks what Aliya's shifting career ambitions (pilot, then musician, songwriter, doctor, and later lawyer) point to. It is a theme and inference question on the literary text, so we look for the idea that best fits the pattern of constant change.

Explain the concept

In literature questions on character, a repeated pattern of behaviour usually points to a broader theme. Here the pattern is that her ambition keeps changing. The question is what that change suggests about her situation. She is a sixteen-year-old (the "Sweet Sixteen" of the title), so her age and her changing interests are connected.

Step-by-step solution

1. Spot the pattern: Aliya's wishes move from pilot to musician, songwriter, doctor and lawyer. The wishes are unrelated and change often.
2. Interpret it: Someone who keeps changing their mind about a career is undecided, and this is natural for a teenager who is still discovering her interests.
3. Test each option: • A. The passage does not suggest parents should choose careers for their children. Nothing in her changing wishes points to this. • B. Her shifting interests don't prove that only passion defines a career. The focus is on her instability, not on the role of passion. • C. This matches. The frequent changes show indecision, linked to her tender age. • D. Nothing suggests schools should make the syllabus career based.

Answer: The repeated changes show the indecision that comes with choosing a career at a young age.

Exam tip: For "points to" or "implies" questions on a text, look for the pattern in the details and choose the option that directly explains that pattern. Avoid options that bring in new ideas such as parents' roles or school syllabi, which the passage never mentions.