- How the paper is set up
The board exam is an 80-mark written test. Another 20 marks come from internal assessment during the year. Total marks: 100. Time you get: 3 hours.
The paper has 3 sections. Here is showing all the full breakdown:
| Section | What it tests | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Section A | Reading – 2 unseen passages | 20 |
| Section B | Writing formats and grammar | 20 |
| Section C | Literature from NCERT books | 40 |
| Internal assessment | Periodic tests, portfolio, speaking | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
Literature carries 40 marks out of the CBSE Class 10 Science Syllabus 2026–27 with a chapter-wise guide, exam pattern, marking scheme & practical list for quick revision and board exam prep of 80. That’s half your written paper. if you are figuring out where to spend your prep time.
Section A: reading (20 marks)
Two passages Both are completely new stuff you’ve never seen before. The question is whether you can read something unfamiliar and actually understand what’s going on.
Passage 1: discursive passage
Around 400 to 450 words Usually an article or opinion piece. Ten marks are awarded for questions that assess your vocabulary, reading comprehension, and vocabulary.
Passage 2: case-based passage
Around 200 to 250 words. CBSE Class 10 Science Syllabus 2026-27: Chapter-wise guide, exam pattern, marking scheme & practical list for quick revision & board exam prep graph with chart, table You must understand the text and the visual. Also 10 marks.
Read the questions before reading the passage. It works but it sounds backwards. You won’t have to read everything twice to know what to look for.
Section B: writing and grammar (20 marks)
This section covers 2 things: grammar exercises and writing tasks.
Grammar topics
| Topic | How it shows up in the exam |
|---|---|
| Determiners | blank filling & editing |
| Tenses | filling in the blanks |
| Modals | blank filling |
| Subject and verb agreement | Editing practice |
| Reported speech | Sentence conversion |
Reading about grammar rules doesn’t improve your grammar. The more you do it the better you become. Honestly all you need is 15 mins a day of editing and gap filling from September.
Writing formats
- Formal letter: complaint letters, application letters and enquiry letters
- Analytical paragraph: you get a chart or graph and describe what it shows
- Descriptive paragraph: describe a place, person, event, or experience
- Story or diary entry: creative writing based on a prompt
The biggest thing students miss here: the examiner isn’t grading how creative you are. They’re checking if you used the right format and wrote clearly. A properly structured letter with simple sentences beats a fancy answer written in the wrong format every single time.
Practice one writing format per week from August onwards. One letter or one paragraph. That’s really all it takes to feel comfortable with this section by February.
Section C: literature (40 marks)
This is where the real marks are. Questions come from 2 NCERT books.
First Flight – prose chapters
| No | Chapter name |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Letter to God |
| 2 | Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom |
| 3 | Two Stories About Flying |
| 4 | From the Diary of Anne Frank |
| 5 | Glimpses of India |
| 6 | Mijbil the Otter |
| 7 | Madam Rides the Bus |
| 8 | The Sermon at Benares |
| 9 | The Proposal |
First Flight – poems
| No | Poem |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dust of Snow |
| 2 | Fire and Ice |
| 3 | A Tiger in the Zoo |
| 4 | How to Tell Wild Animals |
| 5 | The Ball Poem |
| 6 | Amanda! |
| 7 | Animals |
| 8 | The Trees |
| 9 | Fog |
| 10 | The Tale of Custard the Dragon |
| 11 | For Anne Gregory |
In poems the questions are about the main idea, poetic devices, symbolism, and mood. Slowly read each stanza and ask yourself what the poet really means. And once you know what it means, it’s much easier to answer questions about it.
Footprints Without Feet – chapters
| No | Chapter name |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Triumph of Surgery |
| 2 | The Thief’s Story |
| 3 | The Midnight Visitor |
| 4 | A Question of Trust |
| 5 | Footprints Without Feet |
| 6 | The Making of a Scientist |
| 7 | The Necklace |
| 8 | Bholi |
| 9 | The Book That Saved the Earth |
3 things to know about every story.who the main character is and what they’re like, what the key moment in the story is, and what lesson or message the story leaves you with. This covers most of the questions that come up in the exam.
What CBSE really tests now
A few years back, CBSE had switched to competency-based questions. Now the paper tests whether you understood something, not whether you memorized it.”
you could receive an excerpt from a chapter you haven’t seen before, and the question might inquire about the rationale behind a character’s decision. Or an MCQ that asks you to deduce the answer from context, not recall it from memory.
You won’t get through this with guidebook answers. Read the real chapter.
5 things that actually help
1. Read the NCERT chapters for real
Summaries are okay for a quick refresh before the exam. But for extract-based questions and inference MCQs you need to have read the actual text. Sit down with the book at least once per chapter. It takes maybe 20 minutes per chapter. Worth it.
2. Practice one writing format every week
Pick a format, write it out. Formal letter one week, analytical paragraph the next. By the time February rolls around format won’t be something you have to think about. Students who skip writing practice always run out of time in the exam hall. Don’t be that student.
3. Do 15 minutes of grammar daily
it, just 15 minutes. Editing exercises and gap filling. Do it every day from September and the silly grammar mistakes mostly stop happening by themselves.
4. Solve sample papers before the real exam
CBSE puts free sample papers on their official website every year. Solve at least 5 before your board exam. You’ll learn the exact phrasing that CBSE uses in questions, which topics keep repeating, and how 3 hours actually feel when you’re writing under pressure.
5. Keep answers short and specific
Long answers don’t score more marks. Examiners go through hundreds of papers. They want answers that are clear and relevant and get to the point fast. If you’re explaining a character’s decision, say what the decision was, back it up with one or two details from the text, and stop. That’s a full-mark answer.
Always save them for a quick check. Look for incomplete answers, spelling errors, and anything you skipped. Even small fixes can move your score up by 3 or 4 marks. It adds up.
Mistakes that hurt students every year
- Reading only summaries and guide books instead of the actual NCERT chapters
- Skipping grammar practice until pre-boards
- Never once practicing a formal letter before the exam
- Writing super long answers that go off track
- Rushing through the unseen passage without actually reading it
None of these are hard to fix. You just have to start before January.
Why English is worth treating seriously
Students who put steady effort into English almost always end up with their highest board score here. The syllabus is manageable. The preparation is straightforward. And the rewards are real.
30 minutes a day from August or September is enough. Read a chapter. Do a few grammar questions. Write one paragraph. That’s a full English study session right there.
Most students who score below 70 in English aren’t weak at the subject. They just never practiced writing and skipped grammar completely. Two pretty fixable things.
The short version
The CBSE Class 10 English board exam is 100 marks total. The written paper is 80 marks split across reading (20), writing and grammar (20), and literature (40). Internal assessment makes up the remaining 20.
You study from First Flight (9 prose chapters and 11 poems) and Footprints Without Feet (9 stories). Grammar covers 5 main topics. Writing covers 4 formats.
Read the chapters. Practice writing every week. Do grammar daily. Solve sample papers. Keep your exam answers specific and short.
That’s the whole plan. When the results are in, English will likely be your best subject if you stick with it.