Lit-in-English: How to ace an 'A'

How to Ace an ‘A’ In Literature in WASSCE

I hear those thoughts that run through your mind every time you pick your literature textbook. "Aargh, why so many poems" ?
"Why is this written in such language"? "This just isn’t sinking"…

The list of the negatives you feed your mind with, goes on and on, but right now, flush them away for YOU will ace your distinction in this supposedly complicated subject.

Tell yourself that you are going to ace a distinction: Yeah, seems too basic. Basically, everyone wishes to have it. But, don’t see this seemingly ‘basic’ tip as unnecessary.

Psychology has proven that things you tell yourself and say with conviction get more realistic because the brain will often send signals for you to do more in those areas.

If you tell yourself you will pass, gradually, your brain starts functioning as an alarm clock to remind you to just read. Also, when the reading starts getting boring and your brain is shutting down, your belief will reinvigorate hope in you and help you better understand.

Don’t overload your brain with a lot of reading at a go: True, literature is bulky, there are 12 poems, 4 proses, 4 dramas and the many  literary devices to be learnt. But still, don’t load a lot in your head at a time. Design a timetable, take a genre per day, read to assimilate it before moving to the next.

Try to commit the poems to memory: Chill, don’t fret. You actually can memorize every line of each and every poem if you will yourself to. Say you were to memorize 'Vanity' by Birago Diop, first try to understand the gist of the poem.

Understand the tone of poet and submerge yourself into the emotions of the poem. After that, take it stanza by stanza until you finally get it; repeat process for other poems. Doing this will help you allude to the lines easily when attempting a question and earn you more marks.

Relatability: When attempting questions on Drama, prose or poetry, try to bring it to contemporary times. If said to write on the ILLS OF CAPITALISM AS PORTRAYED IN NATIVE SON, you should state the ills as stated in the book; how it robbed the less-privileged, especially the Black-Americans of which Bigger Thomas was inclusive.

After that, you could state some contemporary ills this socio-economic ideology has created. Doing this will make the marker pay attention to your answers and even get impressed. The more the marker is impressed, the better your chance of getting a great score.

Read voraciously: As you know the subject is a bulky one with many branches, ensure you make it a habit to always go through your note. Make the recommended texts your best friends and read them, assimilate them.

 However, take note not to fall short of point number 2 – don’t stretch your brain that much. Little drops can form an ocean; Mother Theresa had said. Take it daily but with small portions and you will get the last laugh.

Pray, pray and pray: Save the best for the last. The importance just cannot be overemphasized. Man proposes, God disposes {I do hope you noticed the antithesis here?}. humans make efforts only He can crown, so, always ask Him to grant you distinction.


These are just few tips, study yourself and define you purpose. Draft out what will work for you and JUST DO IT. 

~Aisha Animashaun