The CBSE Class 10 English Board Exam is scheduled for February 26. Principal Dr Neetu Kapoor and Ms. Swati Vaidya, TGT English (Army Public School, Delhi Cantt), gave some crucial tips for preparation for the CBSE Board English Exam Class 10. She provided insights to attempt Sections A, B, and C; Do’s and Don’ts; and Time Management in the exam.

Presentation Matters

According to Dr Kapoor and Ms Vaidya presentation of the paper is equally important as writing ability and conceptual clarity. While talking about tips to score well in the English paper, she said, “Presentation of your paper becomes even more important when it comes to English because it is a subjective paper that can garner generosity from the examiner grading your paper”. 

SECTION-WISE PREPARATION TIPS:

Section A (Reading)

Easy Hacks:

• Students must practice at least 1-2 passages daily.
• They should carefully read the given passage and understand it before answering the questions.
• Increasing the reading speed will help students score better.

Important Tips:

1. Develop reading and comprehension skills.
2. Read the passage carefully and grasp the main theme of the passage.
3. Identify the other main points of the passage.
4. Try to attempt the questions in your own words.
5. Enhance your vocabulary to understand the word attack question. In case, you are not sure about the meaning of the word then relate it with the context it is used.
6. Take a moment to think critically. Look for clues in the text, consider the overall tone, and make an informed inference
7. Allocate approximately 20-25 minutes for one unseen passage.
8. Approach each passage with a systematic method. Read the questions first to understand what to look for while reading. Answer the easier questions first to secure those marks before tackling the more challenging ones.
9. Consistent practice is the cornerstone of success. Regularly practice passages from different genres and difficulty levels. Revise regularly to reinforce your learning and improve retention.
10. Evaluate the author’s arguments, assess the validity of information, and form your own opinions.
11. Train yourself to read actively—engage with the text, identify the author’s tone, and discern the central theme
12. Understand the difference between skimming and scanning, and practice both techniques.

Section B (Writing and Grammar)

Easy Hacks:

• Extensive practice is required for questions based on editing, gap-filling, and narration.
• Communication in English will facilitate in improving grammar.
• Grammar Section: Making your basic concepts strong can help in this section quite well. Practice grammar regularly and use a good book for questions. Analysis of your answers also needed to be done to correct and learn from your mistakes.
• Writing Section: Writing on current topics helps in this section, it will also improve the grammatical errors. Also, work on time management while practicing writing skills. Work on formats for all topics to score maximum marks.

Important Tips

1. The “format” plays an important role in scoring marks in the writing section. So, carefully remember the format.
2. Plan, organise, and present ideas with grammatical accuracy, appropriate words, and spellings, coherence, and relevance.
3. Have a clear understanding of how to write letters, and what to write in first, second, and third paragraphs
4. Get into the details of each grammar topic with rules and exceptions.
5. Solve the grammar passages by reading them carefully and understanding the meaning. Do not fill in the blanks randomly without comprehending the questions/passage.
6. Carefully read words/phrases to write grammatically accurate sentences.

Section C (Literature):

Important Tips

1. Prepare each lesson carefully. Read word by word, understand and memorize the value points.
2. Do not forget to memorize the names of the chapters and their authors with correct spellings.
3. Learn the central theme/idea of the lesson.
4. Write answers based on inference, interpretation, and comprehension.
5. Identify the lines/words from which lesson they have been derived and relate in what sense they have been said and who is the speaker.
6. Write the answers with grammatical accuracy, appropriate words, correct spellings, coherence, relevance, and good expression.
7. 7. DO NOT WRITE SUMMARIES —LEARN TO CRITICALLY ANALYSE AND INTERPRET

DOS AND DON’TS

• Avoid Using Slang/Jargon—LIKE wanna/gonna/etc
• Use simple language while writing exams.
• Minor mistakes can be avoided in the examination hall.
• Try avoiding the use of slang because spoken and written English both are different. This small mistake can lead to a loss of marks.
• Using simple language will make the answer easy to understand and increase the chances of getting a high score.
• It is required to write relevant information, exaggeration can also lead to loss of marks
• Attempt the question paper in serial order.
• Adhere to the prescribed word limit.
• Underline KEY points.
• Write the answer in the corresponding tense form of the question.
• Practice by writing while keeping the assessment tools, content, fluency, and accuracy in mind.
• Take care of the neatness and presentation.
• Solve previous years” question papers and sample papers as many as possible.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Be aware of the time management while taking the exam.

Try to complete the reading section in 40 minutes, the grammar and writing section in 50 minutes and the literature section in 1 hour to complete the paper in the given time.”

Section A:

• Passage Question 1- 20 minutes
• Passage Question 2- 20 minutes

Section B:

• Two questions from the writing section- 30 minutes each(15X2=30)
• Grammar section- 15 minutes

Section C:

• Two extracts from the textbook- 20 minutes
• Four short answer type questions- 30 minutes
• Two short answer type questions—20 mins
• One long answer type question from the first flight (6 marks)- 10 minutes
• One long question from the footprints (6marks)- 10 minutes

Leave 15mins for revision /underlining key points/ improving presentation

ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR BOARD EXAMS!