2026-2030 JAMB, WAEC and NECO Literature-in-English Recommended Texts

It is no news that the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) changes the recommended primary texts for Literature-in-English examinations every 5 years. The set of texts to be used for Literature-in-English from 2026-2030 is out. This does not mean that the current recommended texts are to be discarded. This new list of Recommended Literature-in-English Texts becomes effective in 2026. Hence, students whose examination year will be 2026 or above are expected to prepare for their WAEC and JAMB Literature-in-English examinations with these newly released texts. Below is the list of Recommended Literature-in-English Texts for 2026-2030. (Done with JAMB? Here’s something to know about PUTME)

SHAKESPEAREAN TEXT
1. Williams Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra.

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, this is the only text that will be part of the multiple-choice (objective) questions. NO essay question will be set from this text. Instead, there will be Twenty objective (multiple choice) questions from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.

AFRICAN PROSE
1. Pede Hollist: So the Path Does not Die
2. Elma Shaw: Redemption Road

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, there will be two questions from Hollist’s So the Path Does Not Die and two questions from Shaw’s Redemption Road. This means that there is a total of 4 essay questions for African Prose, BUT candidates are expected to answer just ONE out of the four questions.

NON-AFRICAN PROSE
1. Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Susanne Bellefeuille: Path of Lucas: The Journey He Endured

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, there will be two questions from Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and two questions from Bellefeuille’s Path of Lucas: The Journey He Endured. This means that there is a total of 4 essay questions for Non-African Prose, BUT candidates are expected to answer just ONE out of the four questions.

AFRICAN DRAMA
1. Bosede Ademilua- Afolayan: Once Upon an Elephant
2. Efua T. Sutherland: The Marriage of Anansewa

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, there will be two questions from Afolayan’s Once Upon an Elephant and two questions from Sutherland’s The Marriage of Anansewa. This means that there is a total of 4 essay questions for African Drama, BUT candidates are expected to answer just ONE out of the four questions.

NON-AFRICAN DRAMA
1. John B. Priestley: An Inspector Calls
2. Robert Bolt: A Man for All Seasons

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, there will be two questions from Priestley’s An Inspector Calls and two questions from Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons. This means that there is a total of 4 essay questions for Non-African Drama, BUT candidates are expected to answer just ONE out of the four questions. (This UNIBEN student scored 100/100 in the school’s Post UTME)

AFRICAN POETRY
1. Gabriel Okara: Once upon a Time
2 . Elizabeth L. A. Kamara: New Tongue
3. Wole Soyinka: Night
4. Niyi Osundare: Not My Business
5. S.O.H. Afriyie -Vidza: Hearty Garlands
6. Syl Cheney-Coker: The Breast of the Sea

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, two African poems will be selected at random from the list. There will be just ONE essay question for each of the selected poems. Candidates are expected to answer just ONE out of the two questions.

NON-AFRICAN POETRY
1. Lord Byron: She Walks in Beauty
2. Geoffrey Chaucer: The Nun’s Priest’s Tale
3. Seamus Heaney: Digging
4. Maya Angelou: Still I Rise
5. Fleur Adcock: The Telephone Call
6. Wilfrid Wilson Gibson: The Stone

*For WAEC and NECO Exams, two Non-African poems will be selected at random from the list. There will be just ONE essay question for each of the selected poems. Candidates are expected to answer just ONE out of the two questions.