Citizenship education papers in the first year usually run for 1½ to 2 hours. Many schools use a mixed paper: a section of objective (multiple-choice) questions, often 30 to 60 of them and sometimes taken on a computer, plus a section of essay questions where you answer two or three out of four or five. Others set essays only, each worth 15 to 20 marks and split into parts. Continuous assessment (tests and assignments) often carries 30–40 per cent of the final grade.

The objective questions reward exact facts: section numbers (25, 26, 27 for citizenship; 33–46 for rights; 6(6)(c) for Chapter II; 162(2) for derivation), dates (1861, 1914, 1922, 1946, 1951, 1954, 1960, 1963, 1979, 29 May 1999), names (Flora Shaw, Lugard, Akinkunmi, Dicey, Montesquieu) and lists (the seven national ethics, the meanings of the flag and coat of arms). The flashcards in this course are built for exactly these.

The essay questions come from a predictable set: ways of acquiring and losing citizenship; the influence of the trans-Saharan trade or of European contact; constitutional development from 1922 to 1999 with merits and demerits; the rule of law and its limitations; separation of powers and checks and balances; reasons for and problems of federalism; fundamental rights and their limitations; the duties of citizens; Chapter II and why it is non-justiciable; national symbols, ethics and democracy. A full-mark essay defines the key term precisely, then gives the number of points asked for, each as a short heading followed by one or two explanatory sentences and a Nigerian example or section number.

A calm strategy: do the objective section briskly (don't linger on one question), then plan each essay in a few lines before writing. Use headings or numbered points, because examiners mark point by point. If a question says "five", give five clear ones, not eight vague ones.