Literature in English revision notes

WAEC and JAMB · SS2 and SS3 · 6 topics

Every topic below is written for the WAEC and JAMB syllabus: what you need to know, the key terms, a worked example with the steps shown, and the mistake that costs candidates the mark.

• Literary terms and devices The objective paper draws most of its questions from this list, and the essay papers quietly depend on it…
• Poetry: form, structure and reading a poem Poetry frightens candidates because they try to analyse it before they have understood it. Read for sense…
• Drama: form, structure and stagecraft Drama is written to be performed, so every question is finally about effect on an audience. Candidates who…
• Prose: narrative technique Prose questions nearly always ask how, not what: how the story is told, how a character is built, how the…
• Answering a Literature essay question Most candidates lose marks for how they answer rather than for what they know. The examiner is marking your…
• Context and criticism The syllabus sets African and non-African texts side by side, and the better answers can explain how the…