NSSCAS Afrikaans Second Language 8201 common mistakes
NSSCAS Afrikaans Second Language 8201 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In Directed Writing, the candidate writes a full letter or article but omits the specific facts, figures, or bullet points given in the prompt (e.g. asking for three reasons or two dates and giving general statements instead).
Candidates treat the task as free composition and focus on producing fluent Afrikaans, so they lose track of the information-transfer requirement and the mark allocation for content points.
What to do instead
Before writing, list every required content point from the prompt in a numbered checklist and tick each one off in the drafted text; allocate roughly equal space to each point and check that each is explicit rather than implied.
In Directed Writing, the candidate uses the wrong register or format: a formal letter without the address, date, and salutation conventions, a report without headings, or informal 'jy/jou' in a formal letter to a principal or editor.
Candidates know the vocabulary but have not internalised the Afrikaans conventions for each text type, and they default to the casual register they use in speech.
What to do instead
Memorise a template for each text type (formal letter: sender address, date, recipient address, 'Geagte Meneer/Mevrou', 'Die uwe'; report: title, headings, objective tone; article: headline, byline, paragraphs; speech: greeting, direct address, closing thanks) and practise writing one of each under timed conditions.
In Reading Comprehension, the candidate lifts a whole sentence from the passage as the answer instead of answering in their own words or in the required form (e.g. a single word, a phrase, or a number).
Under time pressure, copying feels safer than reformulating, and candidates misread instructions such as 'noem twee' or 'in jou eie woorde'.
What to do instead
Underline the instruction verb and the number of items required before reading the passage; answer in the exact form demanded, and when 'in jou eie woorde' is specified, paraphrase by changing sentence structure and vocabulary while keeping the meaning.
In Reading Comprehension, the candidate misses negative, inferential, or 'nie ... nie' double-negative questions, answering the opposite of what the passage states.
Afrikaans double negation ('Hy het nie gekom nie') and rhetorical questions are processed as single negatives by candidates whose first language handles negation differently, and skim-reading skips the second 'nie'.
What to do instead
Slow down on any sentence containing 'nie', 'geen', 'nooit', or 'sonder'; rewrite the sentence in simple affirmative form in the margin before choosing an answer, and practise a set of double-negative comprehension items until the pattern is automatic.
In Language in Use, the candidate confuses 'het' and 'is' as auxiliaries, and misforms the past tense of strong verbs (e.g. 'het geloop' versus 'het gehardloop', 'het geskryf' versus 'het geskrywe'), and mixes up 'sal' future with present tense.
The auxiliary and participle system is the most structurally different area from English, and candidates transfer English patterns ('has walked', 'is going') directly into Afrikaans.
What to do instead
Build a verb table of the 60 most common strong verbs with infinitive, past participle, and auxiliary; drill transformation exercises from present to past and future, and check every past-tense sentence for the correct auxiliary and ge- prefix.
In Language in Use, the candidate applies English word order: placing the verb in second position incorrectly, forgetting verb-second inversion after an initial adverbial ('Gister het ek ...'), or putting the object before the verb in a main clause.
Afrikaans has strict V2 word order and verb-final order in subordinate clauses, which differs from English in subordinate clauses especially; candidates write what sounds right in English.
What to do instead
Practise the rule that the finite verb is the second element in a main clause and moves to the end in a subordinate clause introduced by 'dat', 'omdat', 'wanneer'; do sentence-combining drills and mark the verb position in every sentence of a written task.
In Language in Use, the candidate confuses homophones and near-homophones common in Afrikaans exam items: 'want' versus 'omdat', 'dan' versus 'as', 'hierdie' versus 'dié', 'sy' versus 'haar', 'jou' versus 'julle'.
These pairs have overlapping English translations ('because', 'then/than', 'this', 'her/they'), so candidates choose by English meaning rather than Afrikaans grammar.
What to do instead
Make a contrastive list with one clear Afrikaans example sentence per item, and test yourself by filling gaps in sentences where only one option is grammatically possible; review the list weekly until the choice is automatic.
In Continuous Writing, the candidate writes a narrative that drifts off the topic or runs out of content, ending abruptly below the required length or padded with repetition.
Candidates start writing without planning and have no structure, so they either over-describe the opening or run out of ideas before the required word count.
What to do instead
Spend three to five minutes planning a five-part outline (setting, inciting incident, complication, climax, resolution) with one sentence per part; write to the outline and check the word count against the rubric before finishing.
In Summary writing, the candidate copies sentences verbatim, includes examples and illustrations, or exceeds the word limit, instead of selecting and compressing the main points in their own words.
Candidates do not distinguish main ideas from supporting detail and fear that rewording will change the meaning, so they copy; they also fail to count words.
What to do instead
Practise the two-stage method: first underline topic sentences and main points only, then rewrite each in a short clause with a new subject and verb; count words and cut adjectives, examples, and repetition until within the limit.
In Listening Comprehension, the candidate writes the answer while the recording is still playing, misses the next item, and cannot recover because the recording is played only once or twice.
Candidates try to transcribe full sentences in real time rather than noting keywords, and they panic when they miss a word.
What to do instead
Use the reading time to predict likely answers and note question order; during the recording write only keywords, numbers, and abbreviations, and complete full answers during the pause; if an item is missed, abandon it immediately and rejoin at the next question.