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High School · Grade X

EnglishSubject Code: EN1001

The Grade X English syllabus is divided into four compulsory sections - Reading, Writing Skills, Grammar and Literature. Each section carries separate marks, together forming a 3-hour examination of 100 marks.

Total Marks: 100Time: 3 HoursSections A, B, C and D are all compulsory.

Across all sections, learners develop: reading comprehension, a range of writing skills, functional grammar in context and appreciation of literature - including prose, poetry, drama and a long reading text.

Instructions:

  • The syllabus is divided into four sections: A, B, C and D.
  • All four sections are compulsory.
  • Separate marks are assigned to each section as shown below.
SectionArea CoveredMarksRead More
Section AReading20Read more
Section BWriting Skills20Read more
Section CGrammar20Read more
Section DLiterature40Read more
Time: 3 HoursTotal Marks100

Grade X · English · Section A

Section A - Reading (20 Marks)

20 Marks
  • The Reading section (Questions 1 and 2) contains two unseen texts.
  • Text 1: 500-550 words; factual, discursive or literary; 12 marks; mix of gap-filling, sentence completion, vocabulary and short answer questions.
  • Text 2: 300-350 words; factual, discursive or literary; 8 marks; assessed through multiple-choice questions.
  • Total reading input will be about 800-900 words with at least three marks focusing on vocabulary.
  • Texts across the year should balance discursive and literary types. Literary passages may include short stories, biographies, autobiographies, travel writing, novels etc.
  • A poem may be used as one of the texts; if used, it is usually 14-25 lines long and the other texts should be discursive in nature.

Grade X · English · Section B

Section B - Writing Skills (20 Marks)

20 Marks
  • The Writing section carries 20 marks and consists of four tasks.
  • Question 3: Short composition of about 50 words such as a Notice, Message or Diary Entry (4 marks).
  • Question 4: Composition of about 100 words such as Biographical Sketch, Data Interpretation, Dialogue Writing or Description of people, objects or events (5 marks).
  • Question 5: Extended composition of about 120 words in the form of a Formal/Informal Letter or Email (6 marks).
  • Question 6: Extended composition of about 120 words in the form of an Article, Speech, Debate, Report or Story (5 marks).
  • Questions 5 and 6 are based on a visual or verbal input; at least one task will be thematically linked to the Main Course Book.
  • Writing tasks assess clarity of ideas, grammatical accuracy, organisation into beginning-middle-end, coherence, appropriate style and ability to expand given notes or input.
  • Format is not marked separately and is often provided in the question. Suggested word limits are guidelines; focus of assessment is on relevance, expression and organisation, not exact length.

Grade X · English · Section C

Section C - Grammar (20 Marks)

20 Marks
  • The Grammar section carries 20 marks, with five questions of 4 marks each (Questions 7 to 11).
  • Questions 7 and 8 are objective type (MCQs) based on grammar in context, including gap filling and sentence or dialogue completion.
  • Questions 9, 10 and 11 are supply-type questions, including sentence reordering, editing/omission and sentence transformation.
  • Items tested may include verb forms, sentence structure, connectors, determiners, pronouns, prepositions, clauses, phrases and other structures dealt with in previous classes.
  • Grammar for summative assessment is sampled from what has been taught over time and is always tested in meaningful context.
  • Test formats may include cloze-type passages, gap filling at regular intervals, sentence completion, reordering of sense groups, editing and transformation of sentences.
  • In reordering exercises, jumbled sentences are given in meaningful contexts, broken into sense groups rather than only single words.

Grade X · English · Section D

Section D - Literature (40 Marks)

40 Marks
  • The Literature section carries 40 marks and is based on prescribed prose, poetry, drama and the long reading text.
  • Question 12: Three short extracts - one each from a poem, a short story and a play. Each extract has three reference-to-context questions (4 marks each; total 12 marks).
  • Question 13: Two out of three short answer questions from prose/poetry/play (3 marks each; total 6 marks). Answers test interpretation and inference rather than simple recall.
  • Question 14: One out of two long answer questions (about 150 words) to assess personal response, creativity, imagination and ability to go beyond the text or compare across texts (6 marks).
  • Novel / Long Reading Text - 15 marks in total:
  • • Question 15: Global question on theme and plot requiring interpretation and inference (6 marks).
  • • Question 16: One out of two character sketches in around 100 words (10 marks).

Prescribed Books and Materials

  • Interact in English - X Main Course Book (Revised edition)
  • Interact in English - X Literature Reader (Revised edition)
  • Interact in English - X Workbook (Revised edition)
  • Novel / Long Reading Text (any one):
  • • Diary of a Young Girl - 1947 (unabridged) by Anne Frank
  • • The Story of My Life - 1903 (unabridged) by Helen Keller