The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) English Language syllabus for 2026/2027 is the official guide for all candidates writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

English Language is a compulsory subject for all candidates across participating countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia, and applies to both internal (school) and external (GCE) candidates.

Aims and Objectives

  1. Use correct English.
  2. Write about incidents in English that are appropriate to specified audiences and situations.
  3. Organise materials in paragraphs that are chronologically, spatially and logically coherent.
  4. Control sentence structures accurately.
  5. Exhibit variety in the choice of sentence patterns.
  6. Comply with the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation.
  7. Comprehend written and spoken English.
  8. Recognise implied meaning, tones and attitudes.
  9. Use an acceptable pronunciation that can be comprehended by others.
  10. Isolate and summarise relevant information from set passages.

Examination Scheme

Candidates will be required to take three papers. The total marks for the three papers will be 220 marks for The Gambia and Sierra Leone, and 200 for Nigeria.

PAPER 1: 

2½ hours, which includes Essay Writing, Comprehension and Summary for 120 marks.

PAPER 2: 

1 hour, which includes Multiple Choice questions (Lexis and Structure) for 50 marks.

PAPER 3: 

45 minutes, which includes Oral English for 50 marks (for the Gambia and Sierra Leone).

PAPER 3: 

45 minutes, which includes the Test of Orals for 30 marks (for Nigeria only).

RELATED ARTICLE:

WAEC Syllabus 2026/2027 for All Subjects: SSCE & GCE

WAEC Syllabus for English Language 2026/2027

SECTIONTOPIC
ESSAY WRITING

The topics will demand the following kinds of writing:

(i) letter;

(ii) speech;

(iii) narrative;

(iv) description;

(v) debate/argumentative;

(vi) report;

(vii) article;

(viii) exposition;

(ix) creative writing.

COMPREHENSION

The questions will test the candidate’s ability to:

(i) find appropriate equivalents for selected words and phrases;

(ii) understand the factual content;

(iii) make inferences from the content of the passages;

(iv) respond to uses of English expressions to reveal/reflect sentiments/emotions/attitudes;

(v) Identify and label basic grammatical structures, words, phrases or clauses and explain their functions as they appear in the context;

(vi) identify and explain basic literary terms and expressions;

(vii) recast phrases or sentences into grammatical alternatives.

SUMMARY

(i) extract relevant information;

(ii) summarize the points demanded in clear, concise English;

(iii) present a summary of specific aspects or portions of the passage;

(iv) avoid repetition, redundancy, and extraneous material.

LEXIS

In addition to items testing knowledge of the vocabulary of everyday usage (i.e. home, social relationships, common core school subjects), questions will be set to test the candidate‟s ability in the use of the more general vocabulary associated with the following fields of human activity:

Building;

Plumbing;

Fishing;

Finance: commerce, banking, stock exchange, insurance;

Photography;

Mineral exploitation;

Common manufacturing industries;

Printing, publishing, the press and libraries;

Sea, road, rail and air transport;

Government and politics;

Sports and entertainment;

Religion;

Science and Technology;

Power production: hydro, thermal, solar;

Education;

Transport and Communication;

Military;

Journalism and Advertising.

Structural Elements of EnglishFor example, the sequence of tenses, the matching of pronouns with noun referents, and the use of correct prepositions.
Figurative usageIn the testing of figurative language, candidates will be expected to recognise when an expression is used figuratively rather than literally.

DOWNLOAD WAEC SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2026

Important Areas Students Must Know

1. Vocabulary & Lexis

Know common words and specialised vocabulary from areas like:

  1. Health.
  2. Law and politics.
  3. Religion.
  4. Education.
  5. Agriculture, fishing, and mining.
  6. Banking, stock exchange, and insurance.
  7. Science and technology.
  8. Sports and entertainment.
  9. Journalism and advertising.

Note: Study idioms like “beat around the bush” or “hit the nail on the head.”

2. Grammar & Structure

Students should be able to:

  1. Use correct tenses (past, present, future).
  2. Recognise and use parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.).
  3. Use figures of speech (similes, metaphors, irony, etc.).
  4. Form sentences correctly and avoid errors like wrong verb use or bad punctuation.

3. Reading & Understanding

  1. Comprehend written texts.
  2. Identify literal and hidden meanings.
  3. Recognise tone and emotion in writing.
  4. Explain the grammar used in context.
  5. Reword sentences without changing meaning.

4. Writing Skills

Practice writing:

  1. Formal and informal letters.
  2. Reports on events or issues.
  3. Speeches for public delivery.
  4. Articles for school magazines.
  5. Stories or narratives (real or imagined).
  6. Arguments or debates.
  7. Descriptions of people, places, or things.
  8. Expositions (explaining a process or idea).

5. Speaking & Listening (Orals)

Students must be able to:

  1. Pronounce words correctly.
  2. Recognise sounds in spoken English.
  3. Identify stressed syllables.
  4. Understand when someone is emphasising a word for meaning.
  5. Tell the tone of a sentence (question, command, etc.).

6. Literature Section (If applicable).

There are questions on:

  1. Prose (novels, stories).
  2. Drama (plays).
  3. Poetry.