WAEC Literature-in-English Syllabus 2026/2027 & Textbooks

The current WAEC Literature-in-English Syllabus 2026/2026 includes recommended African and non-African novels, dramas, and poems for essay and comprehension questions, along with general literature knowledge and Shakespearean context questions.

The syllabus has three papers: Paper 1 tests general knowledge and comprehension of unseen passages; Paper 2 focuses on essays for the recommended prose textbook; and Paper 3 tests drama and poetry comprehension.

Below is this 2026/2027 Waec Syllabus for Literature in English and the texbooks to study with. Note that this syllabus is For both internal and external candidates.

WAEC Literature-in-English Exam Guide

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

Paper 1

The examination will consist of three papers: Papers 1, 2, and 3. Papers 1 and 2 are composite and will be taken together in a single sitting. Paper 1 is a multiple-choice objective test with fifty questions in total. These will include twenty questions on General Knowledge of Literature, five on an unseen prose passage, five on an unseen poem, and twenty context questions based on a prescribed Shakespearean text. Candidates must answer all questions within 1 hour, and the paper carries 50 marks.

Paper 2

Paper 2 is an essay-based test divided into two sections: Section A, which focuses on African Prose, and Section B, which covers Non-African Prose. Each section will offer two essay questions on the prescribed novels. Candidates are required to answer one question from each section. This paper will last for 1 hour and 15 minutes and is also worth 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.

WAEC Literature-in-English Syllabus 2026/2027

	LITERATURE IN ENGLISH WAEC SYLLABUS
SN	TOPICS	OBJECTIVES
1	African Prose	(1) Amma Darko – Faceless (2) Bayo Adebowale – Lonely Days
2	Non-African Prose	(1) Richard Wright – Native Son (2) Patience Swift – The Last Goodman
		William Shakespeare : OTHELLO
3	Non-African Drama	(1) Oliver GoldSmith – She Stoops to conquer (2) Lorraine Hansberry – A Raisin in the Sun
4	African Drama	(1)Frank Ogodo Ogbeche – Harvest of Corruption (2) Dele Charley – The Blood of a Stranger
5	African Poetry	(1) Birago Drop – Vanity (2) Gbemisola Adeoti – Ambush (3) Gabriel Okara – Piano and Drums (4) Gbanabam Hallowell – The Dinning Table (5) Lenrie Peter – The Panic of Growing Older (6) Kofi Awoonor – The Anvil and the Hammer
6	Non-African Poetry	(1) Alfred Tennyson – Crossing the Bar (2) George Herbert – The pulley (3) William Blake – The School Boy (4) William Morris – The Proud King (5) Robert Frost Birches – Birches (6) William Shakespeare – Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day?

WAEC Textbooks For Literature in English (AFRICAN AND NON-AFRICAN PLAYS, NOVELS, AND POEMS 2020-2026)

Drama

• African:
  • Wole Soyinka: Lion and the Jewel
  • John Kargbo: Let Me Die Alone
• Non-African:
  • John Osborne: Look Back in Anger
  • August Wilson: Fences

Prose

• African:
  • Buchi Emecheta: Second Class Citizen
  • Alex Agyei-Agyiri: Unexpected Joy at Dawn
• Non-African:
  • Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights
  • Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man

Poetry

• African:
  • Léopold Sédar Senghor: Black Woman
  • Niyi Osundare: The Leader and the Led
  • Agostinho Neto: The Grieved Lands
  • Oumar Farouk Sesay: The Song of the Women of the Lands
  • Lade Wosornu: Raider of the Treasure Trove
  • Onu Chibuike: A Government Driver on His Retirement
• Non-African:
  • John Donne: The Good Morrow
  • Maya Angelou: Caged Bird
  • T. S. Eliot: The Journey of the Magi
  • D. H. Lawrence: Bats
  • Dylan Thomas: Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
  • G. M. Hopkins: Binsey Poplars (Felled 1879)

WAEC Textbooks for Literature in English (2026-2030)

AFRICAN PROSE

• Pede Hollist : So the Path Does Not Die
• Elma Shaw : Redemption Road

NON-AFRICAN PROSE

• Harper Lee : To Kill a Mockingbird
• Susanne Bellefeuille : Path of Lucas: The Journey He Endured

AFRICAN DRAMA

• Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan : Once Upon an Elephant
• Efua Sutherland : The Marriage of Anansewa

NON-AFRICAN DRAMA

• J.D. Priestley : An Inspector Calls
• Robert Bolt : A Man for All Seasons

AFRICAN POETRY

• Gabriel Okara : Once Upon a Time
• Elizabeth L.A. Kamara : The Fence
• Wole Soyinka : Night
• Niyi Osundare : Not My Business
• S.O.H. Afriyie-Vidza : Hearty Garlands
• Syl Cheney-Coker : The Breast of the Sea

NON-AFRICAN POETRY

• Wilfred Wilson Gibson : The Stone
• Lord Byron : She Walks in Beauty
• Geoffrey Chaucer : The Nun’s Priest’s Tale (shortened)
• Seamus Heaney : Digging
• Maya Angelou : Still I Rise
• Fleur Adcock : The Telephone Call

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