You must prepare for the exam by studying the WAEC Geography syllabus. The purpose and goals, notes, and format for the geography exam are all included.
You must study the Geography curriculum in order to be prepared for the exam. You can use it as a guide to help you decide which topics to read about. Additionally, there are notes on ideas that you ought to learn carefully.
Exam preparation without reference to the Geography syllabus is equivalent to visiting a farm without your farm equipment. You won’t be effective in the end.
Make sure to use the syllabus when you start your exam preparations.
The West African Examination Council’s Geography syllabus and suggested texts are included in this article (WAEC).
Contents
WAEC Geography
The purpose of the geography syllabus is to assess candidates’ understanding of the internal and external characteristics of the earth’s crust, the spatial distribution of physical and human features, the interactions that exist between man and these spatial features, the changes that occur over space, as well as the effects of those changes on a man, with the goal of preserving sustainability in the human ecosystem.
This exam schedule is predicated on the idea that the subject will receive at least three hours of instruction each week.
Aims and Objectives
The examination will test the candidates’ ability to
- explain the concepts of differential character and the spatial relationships of the surface features of the earth;
- explain the concepts of  man- environment relations (i.e. to analyse the life of man within his physical and cultural environments and to explain their interactions);
- demonstrate a basic knowledge of the nature and functioning of physical and human environments, particularly an understanding of their inter-relationships and the resulting issues;
- organize and formulate principles according to acquired geographical concepts and then apply these principles to interpret and analyze spatial problems in the immediate and wider environments;
- demonstrate skills and techniques for accurate, orderly and objective geographical investigations to be carried out both in the classrooms  and in the immediate environment;
- communicate geographical ideas effectively through reports, graphs, charts, sketches, diagrams and maps;
- explain the cultural, social and economic circumstances of people in their immediate environments and those of other countries within the sub-region.
Scheme of Examination
Papers 1, 2, and 3 are the three required papers that must all be taken. Papers 1 and 2 will be taken together as a composite paper in a single sitting.
Paper 1 will include fifty multiple-choice questions that must be answered correctly to receive 50 points. The themes on the curriculum that are shared by all the member nations will be the source of the questions. All questions must be answered by the candidates.
Paper 2 will have nine essay-style questions, of which candidates must respond to four in two hours or they will lose 80 points.
It will be divided into two sections for candidates running in Nigeria, Sections A and B, and three sections for candidates running in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia, Sections A, B, and C.
Candidates in Nigeria must attempt a total of four questions, selecting two from Sections A and B each. Candidates in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia must attempt a total of four questions, choose at least one from Sections A, B, and C.
The parts in which the questions will be allocated are as follows:
Geoeconomics and Human Geography, Section A
Three essay-style questions on economic and human geography will make up this section. Applicants from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia must attempt at least one of the questions, whereas candidates from Nigeria must attempt any two of them.
Regional Geography of the Candidate’s Home Country, Section B
Regional geography will be the subject of a series of three essay-style questions in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia, respectively.
Candidates in Nigeria must respond to two of the questions about their nation, while candidates in the other nations must respond to at least one of the sets of questions about their nation.
Regional Geography of Africa, Section C
For candidates in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia, there will be three essay-style questions selected from Africa, of which candidates are expected to respond to at least one.
Element of Physical and Practical Geography, Paper 3
will have eight essay-style questions, with candidates having one hour and fifty minutes to respond to four of them. The first question, on reading and interpreting maps, will be required of all applicants and will be worth 25 points, while the subsequent questions will each be worth 15 points.
It’s advised that candidates limit their time on Question 1 to 35 minutes.
For use in writing the paper, candidates must bring graduated rulers (both metric and imperial), a full set of math tools, a length of thread, and a basic non-programmable calculator.
WAEC Geography Syllabus
The topics in the syllabus with a single asterisk (*) are only applicable to applicants from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia. Topics with two asterisks (**) are designated for candidates only in Nigeria.
Asterisk-free topics apply to all member nations.
Elements of Practical and Physical Geography
- Map work
- *Principles of elementary surveying
- **Geographic Information System (GIS)
- Â Statistical maps and diagrams
- Elements of Physical Geography
- *Hydrosphere
- Rocks
- Tectonic processes
- Denudational processes
- Weather and climate
- Climate
- Elements
- Classification
- ** Climate change
- *Vegetation
- *Soil
- The environment
- Environmental resources
- Environmental problems/hazards
- Environmental conservation
Economic and Human Geography
- World Population
- Settlement
- Transportation
- Industry
- Trade
- Tourism
Aspects of Regional Geography Peculiar to Member Countries
- REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF NIGERIA
- Nigeria on broad outline
- Physical setting
- Population
- Resources
- Agriculture
- Transportation
- Communication
- Industry
- Trade
- Tourism
- Issues on development and environmental concerns
- ECOWAS
- Geo-political issues
- REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF GHANA
- Ghana on broad outline
- Physical setting
- Population
- Settlement
- Primary economic activities
- Agriculture
- Fishing
- Lumbering
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Trade and commerce
- Tourism
- Energy and power
- Issues on development and environmental concerns
- REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF SIERRA LEONE
- Sierra Leone on broad outline
- Primary economic activities
- Agriculture
- Fishing
- Lumbering
- Mining
- Manufacturing
- Transport and communication
- Trade
- Population
- Tourism
- REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF LIBERIA
- Liberia on broad outline
- Physical setting
- Population
- Resources
- Agriculture
- Transportation
- Communication
- Industry
- Trade
- Tourism
- Fishing
- Mining
- REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF SENEGAMBIA
- Senegambia on broad outline
- Physical setting
- Population
- Resources
- Agriculture
- Transportation
- Communication
- Industry
- Mining
- Fishing
- Issues on development and environmental concerns
- Trade
- Tourism
- REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
- Africa on broad outline
- Selected topics
- Irrigation agriculture
- Plantation agriculture
- Oil production
- Lumbering
- Gold Mining
- Copper mining
- Population
- Africa on broad outline
- ECOWAS
- FIELD WORK
WAEC Geography Recommended Textbooks
| Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| R. B. BUNNETT & P.O. OKUNROTIFA | General Geography in Diagram for West Africa | Longman |
| B. O. AKINDELE & G. C. LEONG | Certificate Physical and Human Geography (West African Edition) | Oxford |
| STRAHLER, A. N. | Introduction to Physical Geography | Wiley International Ed |
| MONKHOUSE, F. J. | Principles of Physical Geography | University of London |
| UDO, REUBEN K. | Comprehensive Geography of Tropical Africa. | Longman |
| UDO, REUBEN K. | Geographical Regions of Nigeria | Longman |
| N. P. ILOEJE | A new Geography of Nigeria (New Edition) | Longman |
| M. A. ABEGUNDE et al | Senior Secondary Geography Series (1-3) | Longman |
| OBOLI, H.O.N. | An outline of Geography of West Africa. | Harrap & Company |
| M. DUZE & AFOLABI OJO | Macmillan Senior School Atlas. | Macmillan |
| N. P. ILOEJE, P.C. ONOKALA & F.O. ODEMERHO | Basic Geography Course for Senior Secondary Schools Books 1-3 | Longman |