Yomi BlackPassing Literature-in-English in WAEC is not mainly about working harder. The format here is a written examination with an objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical or alternative to practical where the subject has one, and that decides which habits pay and which are wasted effort.
- Subject
- Literature-in-English
- Examined by
- WAEC
- Format here
- A written examination with an objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical or alternative to practical where the subject has one
- Depth
- Senior secondary depth, three years of teaching examined in one diet
- What the grade does
- A credit, and credits are the unit almost every admission requirement is written in
- Hardest part
- The papers are split by genre across different days, and the prescribed texts run on a multi-year cycle that candidates and some schools fail to check.
- Most common loss
- Studying texts from a superseded selected-texts cycle, which is the single most damaging mistake in this subject.
What you are actually being measured on
The papers are a written examination with an objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical or alternative to practical where the subject has one, and they are marked by examiners against a published mark scheme, with method marks awarded for working and presentation marks for layout. The grade sits on a certificate that does not expire and that you will show for the rest of your working life.
The preparation that fits it: three years of school teaching, which means your gaps are your school’s gaps, and finding them is the first job.
Cover the ground, worst first
- Prose, the prescribed African and non-African novels.
- Drama, the prescribed plays.
- Poetry, the prescribed African and non-African poems.
- Unseen passages and critical appreciation.
- Literary terms, devices and forms.
How to weight your time
Objective, a prose paper, and a drama and poetry paper on a separate day.
Split your preparation in roughly that proportion, then adjust towards whichever component your diagnostic exposed.
Verify the current selected-texts list first. Everything else in this subject depends on reading the right books.
A six-week plan
- Week one. A full past paper under time, in this examination’s format. Mark it honestly. Tag every error.
- Week two. The topics your teaching never covered. Highest return per hour.
- Week three. Drill the three losses above until they stop happening.
- Week four. A second full paper. Compare the error pattern with week one.
- Week five. Your weakest component, whether that is the practical, the essay or the objective paper.
- Week six. A third paper, then consolidation. No new material.
What the grade buys you
Here the grade is a credit, and credits are the unit almost every admission requirement is written in. Literature-in-English is required for English, literature, law, mass communication, theatre arts and education, and it is checked individually at admission. One diet a year for school candidates, so there is no second attempt inside the same admission cycle.
What people ask about Literature-in-English
How many papers are there?
Objective, a prose paper, and a drama and poetry paper on a separate day.
What makes it hard?
The papers are split by genre across different days, and the prescribed texts run on a multi-year cycle that candidates and some schools fail to check.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Studying texts from a superseded selected-texts cycle, which is the single most damaging mistake in this subject.
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From WAEC, on its own site, free. Check the year range on the cover before you use it.
How long do I need?
Six focused weeks will move a grade if the work is aimed at what your diagnostic paper exposed. Six months aimed at topics you already know will not.
Should I get a tutor for this subject?
If your problem is that the topic was never taught, yes, and specifically for those topics. If your problem is presentation or pacing, a tutor helps less than timed practice against the mark scheme.
Is Literature-in-English compulsory?
No. It is a humanities subject, chosen as one of your electives, and you should choose it because a course you want names it.
What is it required for?
English, literature, law, mass communication, theatre arts and education.
What makes the subject hard
The papers are split by genre across different days, and the prescribed texts run on a multi-year cycle that candidates and some schools fail to check.
That changes the plan. A subject that punishes presentation needs practice in presentation. A subject that compounds needs its foundations fixed first. More hours on the wrong layer produce the same result as none.
The three losses to eliminate first
- Studying texts from a superseded selected-texts cycle, which is the single most damaging mistake in this subject.
- Plot summary instead of analysis.
- Preparing prose and drama and leaving poetry to the last week.
Each is worth more than an extra topic learned, because they are losses on material you already know. Fixing a habit converts work you have already done into marks you are currently not getting.
- WAEC Literature-in-English: syllabus
- WAEC Literature-in-English: past questions
- All WAEC subjects
- WAEC syllabus, all subjects
- WAEC grading and what counts as a credit
Sources
- The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria. Entry regulations for WASSCE. waecnigeria.org
- The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria. Registration and entry. waecnigeria.org
- The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria. Frequently Asked Questions. www.waecnigeria.org