KJSEA English and Kiswahili Tips: Composition, Insha and Comprehension

Updated 24 October 2026

The 2026 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) opens with the language papers. According to the official KNEC 2026 KJSEA timetable, Grade 9 learners sit English on Monday 26 October and Kiswahili on Tuesday 27 October, each as two papers in one morning. Because the languages come first, the way a learner handles these two days sets the tone for the rest of the week.

The Two Language Mornings at a Glance

• Monday 26 October: English Language (901/1), 8.30 am to 10.10 am, then a 30-minute break, then English Composition and Literary Analysis (901/2), 11.10 am to 12.55 pm.
• Tuesday 27 October: Kiswahili Lugha (902/1), 8.30 am to 10.10 am, then a break, then Kiswahili Insha na Utangulizi wa Fasihi (902/2), 11.10 am to 12.55 pm. Learners who take Kenyan Sign Language sit 904/1 and 904/2 in the same slots.

The timetable lists longer times for the Braille and hearing-impaired versions. In both languages, the first paper tests language use and reading, and the second tests writing and introductory literature.

Comprehension: Answer From the Passage

Comprehension questions reward careful reading more than clever writing. A few habits make a real difference:

• Read the questions first, then the passage. You will know what to look for.
• Answer from the text. If the passage says something, use it, even if you know more about the topic. Marks go to what the passage supports.
• Watch the question words. “Why” needs a reason. “How” needs a method or manner. “In your own words” means you must not copy the sentence from the passage.
• Look at the marks next to each question. A two-mark question usually needs two clear points.

Grammar and Sentence Questions

Grammar items are short but easy to rush. Read the whole sentence before choosing a word, because the correct tense or agreement often depends on something at the end of the sentence. In rewriting tasks (“rewrite without changing the meaning”), check that your new sentence still says exactly the same thing and that you have followed the instruction in brackets. In Kiswahili, take particular care with noun classes (ngeli) and the agreement that follows them, since one wrong prefix changes the whole sentence.

English Composition: Plan for Five Minutes

The composition is where learners gain or lose the most in a single answer. Spending the first five minutes planning saves marks later.

• Read the task carefully. Is it a story, a letter, a speech, an article or a report? Each has its own format. A letter without an address and greeting, or a speech without an opening that addresses the audience, loses marks before the content is read.
• Jot down a plan. An opening, three or four middle points or events, and an ending. A plan stops the story from drifting.
• Open strongly. A good first sentence, a question, a short dialogue or a vivid description, makes the examiner want to read on.
• Use paragraphs. One main idea per paragraph. Wall-of-text compositions are hard to mark well.
• Keep two minutes to proofread. Spelling, punctuation and tense slips are easy to fix once you look.

If the task is to continue or end a story with a given sentence, make sure the given sentence appears exactly as written, in the right place.

Kiswahili Insha: Muundo na Lugha

The same principles apply to the insha, with extra attention to format. A barua rasmi (formal letter) needs the correct anwani, tarehe, mtajo and a proper ending. A hotuba needs a salamu za heshima to the audience. Many examiners reward good use of methali, nahau and tashbihi, but only when they fit naturally. One well-placed methali is worth more than five forced ones. Avoid mixing English words into the insha; use the Kiswahili term, or describe the idea in Kiswahili.

Literary Analysis and Fasihi

The second papers also include an introduction to literature. Questions often ask about a character, a theme, a lesson or the style of a short passage or poem. Name the feature, give an example from the text, and explain its effect in one sentence. “The poet uses repetition” earns less than “The poet repeats ‘tomorrow’ to show how long the speaker has been waiting.”

The Night Before

The English papers are the first ones of the whole assessment, and the first-morning nerves are real. Pack two blue or black pens (KNEC does not allow erasable pens), a pencil and a rubber on Sunday night. Candidates must be seated 15 minutes before the 8.30 am start. A short reading of a newspaper article or story, rather than late-night cramming, is the best warm-up for comprehension.

For practice, the Grade 9 revision papers on CBC Guides include original English and Kiswahili practice papers with answers. They are practice material, not past KNEC papers. For the order of all the papers across the week, see our KJSEA 2026 timetable, and for a day-by-day plan across every subject, our KJSEA 2026 revision guide.