JAMB Syllabus for Literature-in-English 2025/2026 | PDF Download

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has recently released the syllabus for Literature-in-English for the academic year 2025/2026.

This strategic initiative aims to assist students in adequately preparing for their upcoming Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Objectives of JAMB Syllabus for Literature-in-English

The JAMB syllabus Literature-in-English aims to help candidates prepare for the Board’s examination and to test candidates’ understanding, knowledge, and acquisition of the following areas of the subject. The syllabus enables candidates to:

• Inspire and maintain candidates’ interests in the subject of Literature-in-English.
• To build a consciousness of the general rules and principles of Literature.
• To create an awareness of the functions of language.
• To inspire an appreciation for literary works from various cultures, periods, and across all genres.
• To enable candidates to utilize the knowledge of Literature in English to analyze social, economic, and political occurrences in society.

Topics Under Literature-in-English Syllabus

The topics covered by the JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English are divided into five sections.

Drama

Objectives

The objectives of Drama in the JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English affirm that students should be able to

• Analyze the different drama forms.
• Identify the varying contents of the different drama forms.
• To carry out a comparison of the aspects of various drama forms.
• Exhibit proficient knowledge of various drama techniques utilized in particular literary texts under consideration.
• Easily distinguish between the various styles of chosen playwrights.
• Identify and articulate the themes of any chosen literary text.
• Articulate the plot of various selected plays and apply the morals of such plays to real-life events.
• Determine the temporal and spatial settings of a play.

Content

Types of Drama

• Opera 
• Tragedy
• Farce
• Melodrama
• Tragicomedy
• Comedy, etc.

Techniques of Drama

• Dialogue
• Mime
• Flashback
• Characterization
• Acts and Scenes
• Lighting
• Decor (scenery)
• Costume
• Soliloquy (Aside)
• Music and Dance, etc.

Interpretation of the Recommended Texts

• Theme
• Setting
• Plot
• Socio-political context.

General Literary Principles

Objectives

The objectives of General Literary Principles in the JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English affirm that students should be able to

• Easily pinpoint the various literary terms used in drama, poetry, or prose under consideration.
• Identify the general principles of Literature.
• Distinguish between principles of Literature and literary terms.
• Correctly use literary terms.

Content

Literary terms

The various terminologies used in the analysis of literary works include the following:

Theatre, soliloquy, foreshadowing, suspense, antagonist, protagonist, dialogue, monologue, satire, metonymy, synecdoche, streams of consciousness, symbolism, figures of speech, etc.

Literary principles

The principles that govern the creation and analysis of literary works.

• Achievement of Aesthetic values
• The narration of people’s experiences
• Verification of poetry and drama.
• Direct imitation in play, etc.

Relationship between principles of literature and literary terms.

Candidates are educated on the relationship between literary principles and terms.

Literary Appreciation

Objectives

The objectives of Literary Appreciation in the JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English affirm that students should be able to:

• Identify the literary devices used in chosen extracts or passages of literary work.
• Give a valid interpretation of chosen extracts and passages of literary works.
• Find relevant applications of the literary work to real-life situations and experiences.

Content

Selected extracts and passages from Drama, Poetry, and  Prose.

Poetry

Objectives

The objectives of Poetry in the JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English affirm that students should be able to:

• Analyze the various forms of poetry.
• Easily distinguish between the various poetic forms.
• Identify the poetic devices utilized by various poets in their works.
• Reveal the aesthetic effects of poetic devices in the poems they are used.
• Articulate the thematic preoccupation of the poet by analyzing the poem.
• Evaluate and appreciate poetry as an art with ethics and moral values.
• Find meaningful applications of the lessons of the poem to real-life experiences.

Content

Types

• Lyrics
• Blank verse
• Ode
• Epic
• Sonnet 
• Panegyric
• Elegy
• Ballad, etc.

Poetic devices

• Diction
• Persona
• Sound(rhythm/rhyme, onomatopoeia, pun, repetition, etc.)
• Structure
• Imagery

Poetic Appreciation

• Style
• Socio-political relevance
• Thematic preoccupation

Prose

Objectives

Candidates should be able to:

• Distinguish between forms of prose.
• Determine the category to which particular chosen texts belong.
• Evaluate the various components of each form of prose.
• Classify the narrative techniques utilized in particular chosen texts.
• Identify the narrative styles of various authors.
• Articulate and differentiate between characters.
• Identify the thematic preoccupations of the author of particular chosen texts.
• Articulate the plot of the novel, and identify the setting of the novel (temporal and spatial).
• Find relevant applications of the recommended text under analysis to real-life experiences and situations.

Content

Types (Forms of Prose)

The types of prose include:

Non-fiction

• Memoir
• Autobiography
• Biography
• Faction (combination of fiction and fact)

Fiction

• Short story
• Novella/Novelette
• Novel

Narrative Techniques/Devices:

• Point of view
• Omniscient (Third Person)
• First Person
• Round, foil, flat, antihero, hero, etc
• Characterization
• Language

Textual Analysis

• Theme
• Setting (Spatial and temporal)
• Plot 
• Socio-political relevance and context

Recommended Text in JAMB Syllabus for Literature-in-English Text

Below is a list of the recommended texts covered in the JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English

Drama

• African: The Lion and the Jewel (Wole Soyinka)
• Non-African: Look Back in Anger (John Osborne)

Prose

African

• Unexpected Joy at Dawn (Alex Agyei-Agyir)
• Second Class Citizen (Buchi Emecheta)

Non-African

Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

Poem

African

• Black Woman (Leopold Sedar Senghor)
• The Leader and the Led (Niyi Osundare)
• The Grieved Lands (Agostinbo Neto)
• The Song of the Woman of my Land  (Oumar Farouk Sesay)
• Raider of the Treasure Trove (Lade Wosornu)
• A Government Driver on his Retirement (Onu Chibuike)

Non-African

• The Good Morrow (John Donne)
• Caged Bird (Maya Angelou)
• The Journey of the Magi (T.S. Elliot)
• Bats (D.H. Lawrence)

PDF Download of JAMB Syllabus for Literature-in-English 2025/2026

You can now download the JAMB Literature-in-English syllabus as you prepare for your exams.

Conclusion

The JAMB syllabus for Literature-in-English plays a crucial role in guiding your study focus as you prepare for the upcoming JAMB examinations.

It is worth noting that approximately 99% of the examination questions are drawn directly from this syllabus.

We recommend that you promptly download the syllabus PDF file from the post. Additionally, consider sharing this valuable resource with your peers to enhance their chances of exceptional performance in the exams.