Bac E Burkina Faso common mistakes
Bac E Burkina Faso · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In mathematics, copying the given data incorrectly or omitting units and conditions (e.g. dropping 'ABC is a right triangle at A') before starting the calculation, so the whole solution rests on a false premise.
Candidates are anxious to start calculating and read the statement once, quickly, under exam time pressure; they also tend to memorise the shape of a familiar exercise and assume the data matches it rather than the actual text.
What to do instead
Train a fixed 60-second 'decoding' routine: rewrite every given value, the property attached to it, the question asked, and the required unit in a small table before writing any line of solution. At the end, re-read the statement and tick each datum to confirm it was used with the correct value.
In physics and chemistry, giving a numerical result without its unit, without the correct number of significant figures, or without converting to SI units (e.g. leaving a mass in grams in a formula requiring kilograms).
Students focus on the arithmetic and treat units as decoration; unit conversion is often taught separately from problem solving, so it is not automatised, and calculators hide the magnitude of errors.
What to do instead
Impose a written 'unit chain' in every exercise: write the formula, then a substitution line with units shown, then the result with its unit. Practise a weekly drill of converting among g/kg, cm/m, mL/L, min/s and °C/K, and require consistency to the precision of the least precise given data.
In French, producing a dissertation or commentary that is a running paraphrase of the text or a list of generalities, with no explicit problem statement, no announced plan, and no transitions between parts.
Candidates have not internalised the difference between recounting content and arguing; they also lack practice in formulating a 'problématique', so they fill pages with plot summary or vague moral sentences to feel productive.
What to do instead
Memorise and rehearse a rigid skeleton: introduce the text and author, formulate one explicit problem question, announce a two- or three-part plan, write one topic sentence per part, and link parts with a written transition. Practise on short extracts with a strict time limit and have a peer check only the skeleton before any drafting.
In English, answering comprehension questions by copying a whole sentence from the passage, or writing a free composition with French word order and literal translations instead of the required structure and tenses.
Limited active vocabulary pushes students to lift text verbatim; interference from French syntax and the habit of translating mentally produce sentences that are grammatically English-shaped but structurally French.
What to do instead
Require answers in the candidate's own words with a strict word limit, and drill reformulation (synonym substitution, pronoun replacement, sentence merging). For writing, memorise fixed frames (opinion + two arguments + example + conclusion) and rehearse ten high-frequency structures until they are produced without translation.
In philosophy, treating the essay as personal opinion or as a moral sermon, mixing authors and doctrines, and quoting a philosopher without explaining the concept in the candidate's own words.
The syllabus is broad and often studied as a list of names and slogans; candidates memorise quotations as ornaments and have little practice in building a conceptual argument, so they substitute conviction and exhortation for reasoning.
What to do instead
Build a one-page concept sheet per notion (problem, key concepts, two opposing positions, one example) and practise writing only introductions and outlines. Enforce the rule that every reference must be followed by an explanation of what it establishes in the argument, and ban the first person from the essay.
In history-geography, narrating events in chronological order without answering the question, or drawing a map/sketch without a title, key, scale or orientation.
Revision is often chronological storytelling, so the reflex is to recount everything known; map conventions are treated as optional decoration rather than as the language of the discipline.
What to do instead
Practise turning each past question into an explicit plan of two or three argued parts, each with a dated example. For maps, adopt an invariant checklist (title, orientation, scale, key, source) and redraw the same sketch three times from memory until the checklist is automatic.
In physical education, starting the practical test at full intensity without a warm-up, or abandoning a technique under fatigue and losing points on execution rather than on effort.
Candidates see the test as a single maximal performance and underestimate the scoring of technique and regularity; nervousness and the presence of an examiner push them to sprint from the first minute.
What to do instead
Rehearse the exact test protocol in training, including a standardised ten-minute warm-up and paced effort management. Learn the scoring grid for each activity so the candidate knows which technical criteria earn points, and practise performing the technique correctly while tired.
In civics and moral education, answering with vague slogans ('we must respect the law', 'we must be good citizens') without naming the institution, the right, the duty or a concrete situation.
The subject is perceived as easy and content-free, so it is revised last and superficially; students reproduce moral formulas heard in daily life instead of the course's precise vocabulary and institutional knowledge.
What to do instead
Build a vocabulary and institutions sheet (right, duty, law, citizenship, the relevant national and local institutions) and practise answering each question with definition + institution + concrete example + consequence. Self-test with short 'name and explain' questions rather than rereading the course.
Managing time badly across papers: spending far too long on one long exercise or essay, then leaving whole questions blank or writing a rushed, truncated conclusion in the final minutes.
Candidates have rarely sat full-length timed papers under exam conditions; perfectionism on the first exercise and the sunk-cost effect of not wanting to abandon unfinished work consume the budget.
What to do instead
Sit at least three full mock papers with a visible clock and a written time budget per section. Apply a rule of moving on after the allotted time, leaving a margin, and always reserve the last ten minutes for checking and for writing conclusions; practise starting with the section the candidate handles fastest.
Presenting an illegible or disorganised copy: answers without numbering, calculations crammed into margins, crossed-out blocks, and no clearly identified final result.
Drafting is done directly on the answer sheet under stress, with no habit of laying out work; candidates underestimate how much the examiner's reading effort affects the marking of partially correct reasoning.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed layout: number each question, leave a blank line between answers, box or underline the final result, and strike out cleanly rather than scribbling. During mocks, have a peer mark only the layout and legibility, and practise writing the first draft on rough paper before transferring the structure.