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JAMB UTME Syllabus

Literature in English Syllabus

Covers drama, prose, poetry, and general literary terms and principles, with emphasis on literary appreciation and the study of prescribed African and non-African texts.

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Source: Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) — Integrated Brochure & Syllabus System (IBASS). Official document at ibass.jamb.gov.ng · Download PDF.

Literature in English

DRAMA

  • •Types: Tragedy, Comedy, Tragicomedy, Melodrama, Farce, Opera etc.
  • •Dramatic Techniques: Characterisation, Dialogue, Flashback, Mime, Costume, Music/Dance, Décor/scenery, Acts/Scenes, Soliloquy/aside, Figures of Speech
  • •Interpretation of the Prescribed Texts: Theme, Plot, Socio-political context, Setting

Objectives — candidates should be able to:

  • ✓identify the various types of drama
  • ✓analyse the contents of the various types of drama
  • ✓compare and contrast the features of different types of drama
  • ✓demonstrate adequate knowledge of dramatic techniques and stage directions used in each prescribed text
  • ✓differentiate between styles of selected playwrights
  • ✓determine the theme of any prescribed text
  • ✓identify the plot of the play
  • ✓apply the lessons of the play to social reality
  • ✓identify the spatial setting and temporal period of the play
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PROSE

  • •Types: Fiction (Novel, Novella/Novelette, Short story), Non-fiction (Biography, Autobiography, Memoir), Faction: combination of fact and fiction
  • •Narrative Techniques/Devices: Point of view (Omniscient, First Person, Second person, Third person, Stream of consciousness, Epiphany), Characterisation (Round, flat, foil, hero, antihero villain, heroine, etc.), Language
  • •Textual Analysis: Theme, Plot, Setting (Temporal/Spatial), Socio-political context

Objectives — candidates should be able to:

  • ✓differentiate between types of novel
  • ✓identify the category that each prescribed text belongs to
  • ✓analyse the components of each type of prose
  • ✓identify the balance of facts and fiction in literary faction
  • ✓identify the narrative techniques used in each of the prescribed texts
  • ✓determine an author’s narrative style
  • ✓distinguish between one type of character from another
  • ✓Grammar, diction and clarity of expression
  • ✓determine the thematic pre-occupation of the prescribed text
  • ✓indicate the plot of the novel
  • ✓identify the setting and period/timing of the novel
  • ✓relate the prescribed text to social reality
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POETRY

  • •Types: Sonnet, Ode, Lyrics, Elegy, Ballad, Panegyric, Epic, Blank Verse, etc.
  • •Poetic devices: Imagery, Sound (Rhyme/Rhythm, repetition, pun, onomatopoeia, etc.), Diction, Persona
  • •Appreciation: Thematic preoccupation, Socio-political relevance, Style

Objectives — candidates should be able to:

  • ✓identify different types of poetry
  • ✓identify the distinctive features of the poetic types
  • ✓determine the devices used by various poets
  • ✓show how poetic devices are used for aesthetic effect in each poem
  • ✓identify the figure of speech in the texts
  • ✓show how poetic devices convey message and meaning
  • ✓deduce the poet’s thematic preoccupation from the poem
  • ✓appraise poetry as an art with moral values
  • ✓apply the lessons from the poem to social reality
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GENERAL LITERARY TERMS AND PRINCIPLES

  • •Literary terms: foreshadowing, suspense, theatre, monologue, dialogue, soliloquy, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, figures of speech, satire, stream of consciousness, synecdoche, metonymy, etc., in addition to those listed above under the different genres

Objectives — candidates should be able to:

  • ✓identify literary terms that are specific to drama, prose and poetry
  • ✓identify areas of overlap in all the genres e.g. verse in drama and poetry, narration in all the genres
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