NSSCAS Setswana First Language 8196 common mistakes
NSSCAS Setswana First Language 8196 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
The candidate answers comprehension questions with a general impression of the passage instead of locating and quoting the specific sentence or phrase the question points to, so answers are plausible but not textually grounded.
Under time pressure, candidates skim the passage once, rely on background knowledge or the general topic, and treat the question as an invitation to write what they already think rather than to read closely. Many have never been taught to underline the evidence before writing.
What to do instead
Train a two-pass routine: read the questions first, then read the passage with a pencil marking the exact words that answer each question. Require every answer to begin from a located phrase, and practise answers of the form point-plus-evidence in Setswana. Do timed drills where the only mark awarded is for a correct line reference, so the habit of locating evidence becomes automatic before full answers are attempted.
The candidate lifts whole sentences verbatim from the passage as the answer, including material irrelevant to the question, rather than selecting and reshaping the relevant words.
Copying feels safe because the words are definitely from the text, and candidates fear that rewording will make the answer wrong. This is especially common where the question uses the same vocabulary as the passage, tempting a straight copy.
What to do instead
Teach the distinction between 'quote the phrase that proves it' and 'copy the paragraph'. Set exercises where the candidate must reduce a lifted sentence to the key phrase and then embed it in their own sentence in Setswana. Mark lifted answers against a rule: full marks only when the copied words are the minimum needed and are integrated grammatically.
In summary tasks the candidate writes a list of separate points in full sentences with repetition, or copies long stretches of the source, and exceeds the word limit without counting.
Candidates do not separate the steps of selecting points, grouping them, and rewriting them concisely in their own words. They also rarely count words, and Setswana's longer word forms make limits easy to breach unnoticed.
What to do instead
Drill a fixed procedure: identify the required number of points, jot each as a short note, cross out duplicates, then join related points into compact sentences using conjunctions and pronouns in Setswana. Practise counting words on completed answers and cutting to the limit. Use model summaries that show how several source sentences collapse into one, and mark for concision and own-words phrasing, not just content.
The candidate confuses the summary's purpose with the passage's purpose, adding personal opinion, examples, or conclusions not present in the source text.
School writing habits reward adding one's own view, and candidates do not realise that a summary must be faithful to the source only. They also mistake the instruction to 'summarise' for an invitation to comment.
What to do instead
Make the rule explicit: a summary reports, it does not argue. Give paired tasks where the same passage is summarised and then responded to in opinion, and have candidates label which sentences would be allowed in each. In marking, deduct clearly for any point not traceable to the source, and require candidates to justify each summary point with a line reference during practice.
In directed writing the candidate ignores the stipulated format, audience, and register, writing a letter without addresses or salutation, an article without a headline, or using informal chatty language in a formal complaint.
Candidates read the prompt for the topic only and skip the bullet points about purpose and reader. Exposure to authentic Setswana formal texts such as letters, notices, and reports is often limited, so the conventions are shaky.
What to do instead
Teach a checklist applied before writing: text type, sender and receiver, purpose, register, required conventions, sign-off. Keep a reference sheet of layouts for the common Setwana functional texts (letter, memorandum, notice, report, speech, article) and rehearse each in short timed tasks. Mark format and register as separate criteria so candidates see they carry real marks.
The candidate produces a composition that is grammatically fluent but empty, with a thin plot or argument, no clear structure, and a weak or missing conclusion, because all effort went into avoiding language errors.
Candidates over-correct under exam pressure and default to safe, general sentences. Many plan little or not at all, starting to write immediately and running out of ideas or space before reaching a purposeful ending.
What to do instead
Require a five-minute plan: opening hook, three or four developed episodes or arguments, and a deliberate closing line. Practise writing to a plan with a strict time budget, and give feedback focused first on structure and content development, then on language. Build a bank of strong opening and closing strategies in Setswana that can be adapted to different topics.
The candidate analyses grammar by ear or by translation from English rather than by identifying the actual structure, so concord, noun class agreement, and tense are explained with the wrong terminology or wrong rule.
Setswana noun classes and concordial agreement are complex, and candidates who learned informally rely on what sounds right. They may also lack the metalanguage to name a subject concord, a copulative, or a tense morpheme.
What to do instead
Revise noun classes systematically with their concords, and practise parsing short sentences: identify the noun class, the subject concord, the tense marker, and the verb stem. Use transformation drills (change tense, change subject, negate) and require candidates to state the rule they applied. Insist on correct grammatical terms in Setswana and English where standard.
In literature answers the candidate retells the plot of the novel, play, or poem instead of answering the question about character, theme, or technique, and offers assertion without textual evidence.
Plot summary is the easiest thing to reproduce and feels like proof of knowledge. Candidates also memorise study-guide notes about themes and characters without linking them to specific scenes, lines, or quotations from the prescribed text.
What to do instead
Train question decoding: underline the instruction word (discuss, compare, show how) and the focus (character, theme, technique). Practise the point-evidence-comment paragraph: a claim, a short quotation or precise scene reference, then explanation of its effect. Ban plot narration in practice essays and require a quotation or reference in every paragraph.
The candidate analyses a poem line by line in isolation, naming figures of speech without linking them to meaning, and ignores form, structure, and the effect of sound or rhythm.
Poetry teaching often reduces to a list of figures of speech, and candidates transfer this as label-hunting. They are also anxious about unfamiliar vocabulary and focus on decoding words rather than the whole poem's argument and tone.
What to do instead
Practise reading a poem three times: first for the gist and speaker, then for structure and shifts, then for technique. Require every identified device to be followed by its effect on meaning or tone in Setswana. Compare paired poems on similar themes to sharpen attention to form, and rehearse short answers that move from device to effect to overall significance.
The candidate misallocates time, so the composition or literature essay is rushed or unfinished, or the summary and directed writing sections are abandoned in favour of the longer pieces.
Candidates spend too long on early comprehension questions and have no plan for the paper as a whole. They may also believe longer answers automatically earn more, so they over-invest in one section.
What to do instead
Set a written time budget per section based on marks, and rehearse full papers under timed conditions with a clock visible. Teach candidates to start with the sections they are strongest in if the paper allows choice, and to leave defined minutes for checking. Review completed mocks to show where time was lost and adjust the plan accordingly.