WAEC Syllabus for Literature in English 2026/2027

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Literature in English syllabus is designed to assess candidates' appreciation of literary works, their understanding of literary principles, and their ability to analyse texts critically. For the 2026/2027 academic session, this syllabus remains a vital roadmap for students preparing for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Examination Scheme

There will be three papers: Papers 1, 2, and 3. Papers 1 and 2 will be composite and taken at one sitting.

Paper 1

Will be a multiple choice objective test. It will contain fifty questions, distributed as follows:

Twenty questions on General Knowledge of Literature;
Five questions on an unseen prose passage:
Five questions on an unseen poem:
Twenty context questions on the prescribed Shakespearean text.
Candidates will be required to answer all the questions within 1 hour for 50 marks.

Paper 2

Will be an essay test with two sections, Sections A and B. Section A will be on African Prose and Section B on Non African Prose.

Two essay questions will be set for each of the novels prescribed for study. Candidates shall be required to answer one question only from each section within 1 hour and 15 minutes for 50 marks.

Paper 3

Will be on the drama and poetry components of the syllabus. It will be put into four sections, Sections A, B, C, and D, as follows:

Section A: African Drama
Section B: Non African Drama
Section C: African Poetry
Section D: Non African Poetry

There shall be two questions on each of the prescribed drama texts for Sections A and B. There shall also be two questions for each of the poetry sections, i.e., Sections C and D.

Candidates shall be required to answer one question from each of the sections, making a total of four questions. The paper will take 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete and will carry 100 marks.