Answering the Literature Question [With Illustrations from “Blossoms of the Savannah”, “A Doll’s House” and “The Pearl”

Description

Literature is a subject taught and examined under the Kenya secondary school curriculum. It is, however, integrated with English language and taught as one subject. At the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), five literature texts are examined. These texts are also called set books. A candidate is expected to prepare on at least three of the texts. Two are compulsory. The candidate must then choose one other text from three titles given. There are two major types of questions set at KCSE. One is the excerpt question that appears as question 2 in English Paper 2, and carries 25 marks. This is usually a short-answer-structured question where a part of the text is given to the learners and questions set about it. The other type of questions is the essay type where a student needs to write an essay of about 450 words. The essay should have an introduction, a body with at least four discussed points and a conclusion. This book exposes students and teachers to the best techniques of handling thsese sections. The learners will find the book interesting and enjoyable to use. For purposes of illustration, three main texts are used. They are Blossoms of the Savannah by H. R. Ole Kulet, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

John Wangwe holds a Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree from Moi University. He is currently pursuing a Master of Education degree in Literature Education at Moi University. He is a long-serving teacher with years of classroom experience, currently teaching at Arnesen’s High School in Burnt Forest, Eldoret. Wangwe is a life and career coach, a trainer of trainers and motivational speaker who has given many talks and training to students, teachers and parents. Wangwe has also authored the bestselling poetry book A Comprehensive Guide to Secondary School Poetry; and A Guide to The Pearl.

Maina T. Sammy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Language and Literary Studies and a Master of Arts degree in Literature from Moi University, Kenya, where he is pursuing his doctorate. Maina teaches Literature at Moi University’s Department of Literature, Linguistics, Foreign Languages and Film Studies. He is also a member of Kenya Oral Literature Association (KOLA). With over 10 years of experience, and several publications in peer-reviewed and refereed journals, Maina is a salted publisher, researcher and editorial consultant. As a senior Editor, Maina has worked on over 400 titles published by Utatifi Foundation (Kenya), Lambert and VDM Verlag (Germany).

Dr. Lorna Wafula is a teacher educator at Moi University (Kenya). She holds a PhD in English Education. Dr. Wafula is serving as a coordinator, School of Education, Eldoret West Campus. She has also served as a Coordinator, School of Education, Kitale Campus and a Deputy Coordinator, Eldoret West Campus. Dr. Wafula is a supervisor to a number of masters’ students in the School of Education. She has, alone and jointly published widely. She is a reviewer with the International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI). She is a member of several professional bodies which include: Kenya Association of Educational Administration and Management (KAEAM), The Kenya Association of English Language Educators and Researchers (ASELER) and Language Association of Eastern Africa (LAEA). Prior to joining Moi University, Dr. Wafula worked as an Assistant Lecturer at Rongo University. She also has more than ten years of working experience as a senior teacher of English Language and Literature at high School level in Kenya. Dr. Wafula has been a principal researcher in multi-educational issues. However, her key research interests are in Pedagogies in English Language and Literature Education.