The JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English serves as a complete roadmap for candidates preparing for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. It provides a clear outline of all the areas students must cover, ensuring focused and effective preparation.

The syllabus tests candidates' understanding of prose, drama, and poetry, including the ability to analyse literary devices, themes, and characters while relating them to human experiences. 

It is structured into three main sections: Drama, Prose, and Poetry, covering both African and non African texts. By studying this official document and its recommended texts, students can approach the exam with confidence, equipped with the skills needed to excel and secure admission.

General Objectives

Aim:

The aims of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) syllabus in Literature in English are to prepare the candidates for the Board’s examination. Which are to generate, deepen and sustain interest in literature in English generally, and create awareness and understanding of the principles and techniques of all the genres of literature from diverse cultures.

Objectives:

It is designed to test their achievement of the course objectives, which are to:

  • Stimulate and sustain their interest in Literature in English;
  • Create an awareness of the general principles of Literature and the functions of language
  • Appreciate literary works of all genres and across all cultures;
  • Apply the knowledge of Literature in English to the understanding of cultural literature, political and economic activities in the society.

RELATED ARTICLE:

JAMB Syllabus 2026 for UTME and Direct Entry Candidates

JAMB Syllabus for Literature in English 2026

TOPIC/CONTENTSOBJECTIVES

1. DRAMA

a. Types: 

i. Tragedy

ii. Comedy

iii. Tragicomedy

iv. Melodrama

v. Farce

vi. Opera etc.

Candidates should be able to:

a.i. identify the various types of drama;

a.ii. analyse the contents of the various types of drama;

a.iii. compare and contrast the features of different types of drama. 

POETRY 

a. Types:

i. Sonnet 

ii. Ode 

iii. Lyrics 

iv. Elegy 

v. Ballad 

vi. Panegyric 

vii. Epic 

viii. Blank Verse, etc.

Candidates should be able to:

a.i. identify different types of poetry;

a.ii. identify the distinctive features of the 
poetic types

GENERAL LITERARY TERMS AND PRINCIPLES

a. Literary terms: 
foreshadowing, suspense, theatre, monologue, dialogue, soliloquy, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, figures of speech, satire, stream of consciousness, synecdoche, metonymy, etc, in addition to those listed above under the different genres.  

Candidates should be able to:

a.i. identify literary terms that are specific to drama, prose and poetry;

a.ii. identify areas of overlap in all the genres e.g. verse in drama and poetry, narration in all the genres.

LITERARY APPRECIATION

Unseen passages/extracts from Drama, 
Prose and Poetry.

Candidates should be able to:

i. identify literary devices used in a given passage/extract;

ii. provide an interpretation of the given passage/extract;

iii. relate the extract to true life 
experiences. 

PROSE 

a. Types: Prose fiction

i. Fiction 
• Novel 
• Novella/Novelette 
• Short story 

ii. Non fiction 
• Biography 
• Autobiography 
• Memoir 

iii. Faction: combination of fact and fiction 

b. Narrative Techniques/Devices: 

i. Point of view 

• Omniscient  
• First Person 
• Second person 
• Third person 
• Stream of consciousness 
• Epiphany  
 
ii. Characterisation 
• Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero villain, heroine. etc 

iii.  Language  

Candidates should be able to:

a.i. differentiate between types of novel.

a.ii. identify the category that each prescribed 
text belongs to;

a.iii. analyse the components of each type of 
prose;

a.iv. identify the balance of facts and fiction 
in literary faction.

b.i. identify the narrative techniques used in 
each of the prescribed texts;

b.ii. determine an author’s narrative style;

b.iii. distinguish between one type of 
character from another;

b.iv. Grammar, diction and clarity of 
expression.

JAMB SYLLABUS FOR LITERATURE IN ENGLISH 2026

Recommended Texts

ANTHOLOGIES

  • Hayward, J. (ed.) (1968) The Penguin Book of English Verse, London: Penguin
  • Kermode, F. (1964). Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. II, London: OUP
  • Nduke Ofiono and Odoh Diego Okenyodo (eds) Camouflage; Best of contemporary writing from Nigeria, an anthology of new Nigerian writers, Mace Books Association, 2021, New edition.
  • Parker, E.W. (ed.) (1980) A Peagent of Longer Poems. London: Longman
  • Senanu, K. E. and Vincent, T. (eds.) (1993) A Selection of African Poetry, Lagos: Longman
  • Soyinka, W. (ed.) (1987) Poems of Black Africa, Ibadan: Heinemann

CRITICAL TEXTS

  • Abrams, M. H. (1981). A Glossary of Literary Terms, (4th Edition) New York, Holt Rinehalt and Winston
  • Emeaba, O. E. (1982). A Dictionary of Literature, Aba: Inteks Press
  • Murphy, M. J. (1972). Understanding Unseen, An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Students, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.