JAMB Government cheat sheet

Concord: a singular subject takes a singular verb; collective nouns (government, team) take a singular verb when acting as one unit, plural when members act individually.

Tense sequence: after a past-tense main verb, reported speech shifts present to past ("he said he was ill"); universal truths keep the present ("he said the sun rises in the east").

Subjunctive after wish, if only, as if, and demand/insist/suggest: use "were" for all persons ("if I were you").

Dangling modifiers: the introductory participle must modify the subject of the main clause; "Walking home, the rain began" is wrong because rain cannot walk.

Punctuation: a semicolon joins two independent clauses; a colon introduces a list or explanation; commas never separate two independent clauses (comma splice).

Word classes: an adjective modifies a noun, an adverb modifies verb/adjective/adverb; after sense verbs (look, feel, taste) use an adjective ("the soup tastes good").

Stress and meaning: noun/verb pairs shift stress (REcord noun, reCORD verb); in questions the falling tone signals a wh-question, rising signals yes/no.

Register and idiom: formal writing avoids contractions and slang; "between" takes two items, "among" takes three or more.

Separation of powers (Montesquieu): legislature makes law, executive implements, judiciary interprets; checks and balances prevent tyranny.

Federalism: powers are divided between central and regional governments by a written constitution; residual powers go to states in Nigeria, to the centre in the US.

Unitary system: one central government delegates power to local units that it can abolish; sovereignty is undivided.

Nigerian constitutional history: 1914 amalgamation, Clifford 1922 (elective principle), Richards 1946, Macpherson 1951, Lyttleton 1954, independence 1960, republic 1963.

Military rule features: suspension of the constitution, rule by decree, dissolution of legislatures, concentration of power in a ruling council.

Electoral systems: first-past-the-post favours large parties; proportional representation allocates seats by vote share and helps small parties.

Pressure groups promote interests (trade unions, professional bodies); political parties seek to capture power and contest elections.

Rule of law (Dicey): equality before the law, no punishment without a breach, rights protected by courts rather than arbitrary power.

Demand law: price and quantity demanded move inversely, ceteris paribus; supply law: price and quantity supplied move directly.

Price elasticity of demand = % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price; |E|>1 elastic, <1 inelastic, =1 unitary.

Equilibrium occurs where demand equals supply; a price above equilibrium creates a surplus, below creates a shortage.

Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative forgone, not the money paid.

GDP measures output within a country's borders; GNP adds net factor income from abroad. Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, measured by CPI.

Money functions: medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, standard of deferred payment.

Central bank tools: open market operations, bank rate, cash reserve ratio, special deposits; selling securities reduces money supply.

Production factors: land (rent), labour (wages), capital (interest), entrepreneur (profit); diminishing returns apply in the short run with a fixed factor.

Nigerian geography: 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory Abuja; the Niger and Benue rivers meet at Lokoja.

International bodies: UN founded 1945 (Nigeria joined 1960); AU replaced the OAU in 2002; ECOWAS founded 1975 in Lagos with headquarters in Abuja.

Nigerian independence: 1 October 1960 from Britain; became a republic in 1963 with Nnamdi Azikiwe as first ceremonial president.

OPEC founded 1960 in Baghdad; Nigeria became a member in 1971 and is Africa's largest oil producer.

Commonwealth: voluntary association of former British territories; the head is the British monarch, but membership does not require recognising the monarch.

SI units: force in newtons, energy in joules, power in watts, pressure in pascals, electric current in amperes.

Human body facts: the heart has four chambers; normal adult resting pulse is about 60-100 beats per minute; blood is pumped to the lungs by the right ventricle.

World geography: largest ocean Pacific, largest desert Sahara (hot), longest river Nile; equator crosses Africa, South America and Asia.

Concord: a singular subject takes a singular verb; collective nouns (government, team) take a singular verb when acting as one unit, plural when members act individually.

Tense sequence: after a past-tense main verb, reported speech shifts present to past ("he said he was ill"); universal truths keep the present ("he said the sun rises in the east").

Subjunctive after wish, if only, as if, and demand/insist/suggest: use "were" for all persons ("if I were you").

Dangling modifiers: the introductory participle must modify the subject of the main clause; "Walking home, the rain began" is wrong because rain cannot walk.

Punctuation: a semicolon joins two independent clauses; a colon introduces a list or explanation; commas never separate two independent clauses (comma splice).

Word classes: an adjective modifies a noun, an adverb modifies verb/adjective/adverb; after sense verbs (look, feel, taste) use an adjective ("the soup tastes good").

Stress and meaning: noun/verb pairs shift stress (REcord noun, reCORD verb); in questions the falling tone signals a wh-question, rising signals yes/no.

Register and idiom: formal writing avoids contractions and slang; "between" takes two items, "among" takes three or more.

Separation of powers (Montesquieu): legislature makes law, executive implements, judiciary interprets; checks and balances prevent tyranny.

Federalism: powers are divided between central and regional governments by a written constitution; residual powers go to states in Nigeria, to the centre in the US.

Unitary system: one central government delegates power to local units that it can abolish; sovereignty is undivided.

Nigerian constitutional history: 1914 amalgamation, Clifford 1922 (elective principle), Richards 1946, Macpherson 1951, Lyttleton 1954, independence 1960, republic 1963.

Military rule features: suspension of the constitution, rule by decree, dissolution of legislatures, concentration of power in a ruling council.

Electoral systems: first-past-the-post favours large parties; proportional representation allocates seats by vote share and helps small parties.

Pressure groups promote interests (trade unions, professional bodies); political parties seek to capture power and contest elections.

Rule of law (Dicey): equality before the law, no punishment without a breach, rights protected by courts rather than arbitrary power.

Demand law: price and quantity demanded move inversely, ceteris paribus; supply law: price and quantity supplied move directly.

Price elasticity of demand = % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price; |E|>1 elastic, <1 inelastic, =1 unitary.

Equilibrium occurs where demand equals supply; a price above equilibrium creates a surplus, below creates a shortage.

Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative forgone, not the money paid.

GDP measures output within a country's borders; GNP adds net factor income from abroad. Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, measured by CPI.

Money functions: medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, standard of deferred payment.

Central bank tools: open market operations, bank rate, cash reserve ratio, special deposits; selling securities reduces money supply.

Production factors: land (rent), labour (wages), capital (interest), entrepreneur (profit); diminishing returns apply in the short run with a fixed factor.

Nigerian geography: 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory Abuja; the Niger and Benue rivers meet at Lokoja.

International bodies: UN founded 1945 (Nigeria joined 1960); AU replaced the OAU in 2002; ECOWAS founded 1975 in Lagos with headquarters in Abuja.

Nigerian independence: 1 October 1960 from Britain; became a republic in 1963 with Nnamdi Azikiwe as first ceremonial president.

OPEC founded 1960 in Baghdad; Nigeria became a member in 1971 and is Africa's largest oil producer.

Commonwealth: voluntary association of former British territories; the head is the British monarch, but membership does not require recognising the monarch.

SI units: force in newtons, energy in joules, power in watts, pressure in pascals, electric current in amperes.

Human body facts: the heart has four chambers; normal adult resting pulse is about 60-100 beats per minute; blood is pumped to the lungs by the right ventricle.

World geography: largest ocean Pacific, largest desert Sahara (hot), longest river Nile; equator crosses Africa, South America and Asia.