OUR KHETIWE CIVIC EDUCATION

PRODUCTION

OUR KHETIWE CIVIC

Wilfred Muntengwa Dip Ed-DALICE, Bed & Med-

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authors consulted during compilation of these lesson notes.
TOPIC: ESSAY WRITING GUIDELINES
A. Introduction
 The current format of Civic Education at School Certificate (SC) and General
Certificate Education (GCE) demands that a candidate answers any two questions out
of the possible five questions in the booklet.

 Each of the two questions to be answered carries 20 marks totalling to 40 marks.

 A candidate should raise at least 10 points or more followed with valid explanation to
claim the total 20 marks allocated for each question

 Usually the guiding principle in knowing how many points to raise are the part marks
allocated to each question such as [10] [10] giving a total: 20 marks.

 The [10] [10] means that for each part mark a candidate should at least raise 5 points
followed with a valid explanation to claim the [10] part marks allocated to each part
question.

B. BEST PRACTICES IN WRITING THE GOOD ESSAY

 The candidate should go for straightforward questions in an examination unlike going for
complicated questions in the name of showing off yet scoring low marks in the end.

 The candidate should number the questions attempted on the front page of the answer
booklet as well as on top of the essay before beginning to write the essay.

 The candidate should always attempt to write direct points according to the question
rather than wasting time to cloud the booklets with the forests of words but deserts of
points.

 Usually to 3 to 4 lines are adequate to give a clear explanation in order to get appropriate
points thereby without leaving out answers hanging.

 Additionally, the candidate should not write brief essays enough to cover the subject
matter as there are no short essays in Section C of the paper except in Section B.
However the same principle of essay writing applies in both sections.

 The candidate should always aim to write in clear and readable handwriting using a blue
pen and not a black pen.
 The candidate should never write the essays in pencil in the booklet. The only time the
pencil is used is when jotting down the essay points on the question paper for easy
smooth flow of the essay.

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 The candidate should at all times use the same blue pen in the same essay as introducing
another paint will only suggest that candidates were exchanging scripts.
 Henceforth, candidates are always advised to buy enough blue pens of the same make
before examinations for easy continuation if the blue pen in use runs out of ink.
 The candidate should always attempt to explain the concept in the question, even if the
concepts may not be mentioned in the question.
 The Candidate should always remember to answer both part questions as a whole in
section C as some candidates are fond of leaving out one part of the question that had two
or parts.
 The candidate should always attempt to read the 5 questions in Section C thoroughly
before settling for two questions to avoid misunderstanding the questions thereby writing
what they knew and not what the question is demanding.
 Each essay question should start on a new page from the top to bottom
 Conclusion is normally a personal thought of the writer of the essay
 Lastly, the listed unwanted style of writing should never be anywhere near the essay
writing in Civic Education.
 Lack of indented paragraphs
 Over writing/shading of answers
 Skipping lines between paragraphs
 Numbering of points
 Underlying of answers
 Use of bullet forms
 Use of semi and full colons
 Use of sub headings
 Putting of headings in essays
 Wrong spellings
 No use therefore dots

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C. EXAMPLE OF ESSAY WRITING
1. (a) Explain the concept Governance [2]

(b) Discuss the characteristics of good and bad governance [18]

Q1

The essay shall begin by explaining the concept governance, thereafter go on to discuss the
characteristics of good and bad governance. A conclusion will be drawn in the last paragraph of this
essay.
Governance is the way people are ruled with or without their consent. It is the way people are
ruled with or without their consent. There are basically two types of governance namely, good and
bad governance. It is a government which rules with wishes of the majority.
The first type of governance is Good governance (based on democratic principles). This is a
type of government which is legitimate competently, accountable, respect human rights and the rule
of law.
The first characteristic of good governance is that there is citizen participation in the affair of
the country. Citizens participate freely in the affairs of the country.
The second characteristic of good governance is that there is respect for human right in the
country. The rights of citizens are respected regardless of their societal standing.
The third characteristic of good governance is that there is separation of power among the three
organs of government namely Executive, Judiciary and Legislature. The three arms work together as
unity zone without interfering with the work of each other.
The other characteristic of good governance is that there is checks and balances among the three
organs of government to mean they check on each other to ensure that they operate within the law.
Another characteristic of good governance is that there is political tolerance on opposing views.
Opposition political parties and other citizens are free to criticize the government.
The other characteristic of good governance is that there is accountability and transparency.
Accountability means that the leaders are answerable to the people who elect them into office.
Transparency means that the public resources are openly used for government and community
activities.
Another characteristic of good governance is that there are regular free and fair elections.
Elections are held as when they are supposed to be held with free campaigns atmosphere. Elections
are not marred with political violence.

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The other characteristic of good governance is that there is respect for rule of law which states
that no one is above the law whether poor or rich. The law applies unselectively regardless of one’s
social affiliations.
Another characteristic of good governance is that there is an existence of many political parties.
Citizens are free to form as many political parties as possible provided the law allows it.
The other characteristic of good governance is that there is independence of judiciary to mean
there is no government interference. The judiciary is impartial and does not look at the face or the
name of somebody when meting out justice.
Another characteristic of good governance is that there is press freedom to mean radio,
television, newspapers are free to report on anything without government interference.
The other characteristic of good governance is that there is an existence of civil society to mean
non-government organizations are free to form civil societies as long as the law provides.
The last characteristic of good governance is that the government is helpful and caring on its
people whether home or abroad. The government takes keen interest in the affairs of its citizens.
The second type of governance is Bad governance (based on dictatorship principles). This is a
type of government which is not legitimate, competent, and accountable and does not respect the
human rights and the rule of law. It is a government which rules against wishes of the majority.
The first characteristic of bad governance is that there is no citizen participation in the affair of
the country. The citizens are not free to participate in the affairs of the country due to fear and
intimidation.
The second characteristic of bad governance is that there is no respect for human right in the
country. The human rights of citizens are not respect as citizens are treated in an inhumane manner.
The third characteristic of bad governance is that there is no separation of power among the
three organs of government namely Executive, Judiciary and Legislature. The government through
the executive controls all the three organs of government.
The other characteristic of bad governance is that there is no checks and balances among the
three organs of government to mean they do not check on each other to ensure that they operate
within the law.
Another characteristic of bad governance is that there is no political tolerance on opposing
views. Citizens opposing the government are arrested arbitrary the government operatives.
The other characteristic of bad governance is that there is no accountability and transparency.
Accountability means that the leaders are not answerable to the people who elect them into office.
Transparency means that the public resources are not openly used for government and community
activities.

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Another characteristic of good governance is that there are no regular free and fair elections.
Elections are characterized with political violence and intimidation. Citizens are not free to choose
leaders of their choice.
The other characteristic of bad governance is that there is no respect for rule of law which states
that no one is above the law whether poor or rich. Political party cadres ignore the rule of law with
impunity and they go unpunished.
Another characteristic of good governance is that there is no existence of many political parties.
Citizens are not free to form political parties of their choice due to government interference.
The other characteristic of bad governance is that there is no independence of judiciary to mean
there is government interference. The cases of those in good standing with ruling have their cases
drag for a long time and sometimes files disappears from the court records.
Another characteristic of bad governance is that there is no press freedom to mean radio,
television, newspapers are not free to report on anything about government. The government closes
any media institution that tries to report anything against the government.
The other characteristic of bad governance is that there is no existence of civil society to mean
non-government organizations are not free to form civil societies. Normally any law that provides
for the formation of such is removed from the statute.
The last characteristic of bad governance is that the government is not helpful and caring on its
people whether home or abroad. The government does not care for the welfare of citizens such as
providing social cash funds, good health facilities and provision of accessible education.
In conclusion, it is important to note that good governance is seen either in multi-party or two
party political systems whereas bad governance is seen is in one party political system. Therefore, a
country that uses multi-party or two party political systems is practically ought to promote good
governance whereas, the one that practices one party political system is naturally bad governance.

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