Orthographical and grammatical mistakes, a lack of creativity in essay writing, incorrect punctuation and poor analytical skills have once again marred students’ overall performance in the Maltese language Secondary Examination Certificate.
Moreover, the poor linguistic skills used on social media, particularly Facebook, are taking their toll on the level of Maltese used by the 16-year-olds sitting for the SEC exam.
These shortcomings were flagged in the examiners’ report issued in relation to last May’s session of the exam. A total of 3,844 candidates sat for it, of whom two-thirds obtained a grade good enough to enter a post-secondary institution.
However, examiners noted that the same kinds of mistakes kept recurring year after year despite their best efforts to raise awareness. While some candidates did not use the standard form of Maltese, others resorted to dialects and colloquial forms, even in essay writing. Furthermore, the answers lacked creativity.
Examiners also complained that some of the texts were not even legible due to poor handwriting, and that an increasing number of essays fell short of the required number of words.
“Essays were riddled with spelling...
