How to Get Good Marks in English Board Exam

Students’ planning, preparation and practice decide the result of an examination. Annual examination result heavily depends on his self determination to complete the syllabus on time and practice more for having command on it. It is very easy to perform average in all subjects if a student studies regularly in a complete academic session. Wise student plans meticulously for achieving high marks in an examination. To get high score in board examination depends on student’s planning and timely executing of that planning.

English is taught as Second Language in India. English is the second language for most of the Indian students. A large number student in CBSE/ICSE affiliated private/government school study English language from kindergarten. They feel at ease in English language. Generally it is observed that most of the students score 60-80%, if they study prescribed English language syllabus properly during an academic session. The student who wishes to score high in English Subject works very hard on each and every question.

English Language Teacher observes a common study trait among high scorer, average scorer and below average scorer in board exam. High scorer strategically plans for each section and for each question.Recent board pattern of .English question paper consists of 3 broad sections i.e.

Section A: – Reading (20 Marks)

Section B: – Writing and Grammar (30 Marks)

Section C: Literature (30 Marks)

How to score 20/20 in Section A: – Reading Skill (20 Marks)

Nature of Question Paper Pattern of Section A- Reading Skill

This section will have two unseen passages of a total of 700-750 words as per the details below:

Q.1: A Factual passage 300-350 words with eight Very Short Answer Type (VSA) Questions. (8 marks)

Q. 2: A Discursive passage of 350-400 words with four Short Answer Type Questions of eight marks to test inference,evaluation and analysis and four VSA to test vocabulary and comprehension (two VSA for vocabulary and two for comprehension) (12) marks  (Secondary School Curriculum)

How to perform well for scoring High Marks in Reading Comprehension

Practice Reading Passage before Board Examination

If we wish to score high in Reading Section, we need to practice “different types of passages” well before examination. Generally student thinks that s/he will solve Reading Section at the examination hall only. Everyone knows the fact that nothing comes in our life easily. There is a big question “how will a student solve all questions of reading passage in the exam on the basis of his/her reading at exam time only. Reading passage evaluates students’ factual as well as global understanding which includes “Reading Speed, understanding of vocabulary and understanding of grammatical items mentioned in it.

How does practice reading passage well before examination help students?

  1. Develop skill of reading text properly and in a balanced speed
  2. Develop skill of identifying facts mentioned in the reading passage (where, which, who, when), i.e. who is the king, when was the first international match played, when did the ODIs begin etc.
  3. Develop skill of identifying key concepts mentioned in the reading passage
  4. Develop skill of drawing inferential meaning of the text i.e. why is it difficult for an egoist to be polite?
  5. Develop skill of finding out meaning of different difficult words mentioned in the text/Finding inferential meaning of a particular word mentioned in any paragraph i.e. which word in paragraph no..3 means the same as ‘indispensable’ /on the basis of your reading of the passage supply appropriate words/phrases

How to Score High 20/20 in Reading  Passage

  • Read the passage carefully

(a)  Underline only key concept and key words

  • Read the question carefully

(a)  Write answer of factual questions

  • Read the inferential/conceptual question carefully

(a)      Once again re-read the paragraph well before writing answer of conceptual question/inferential question

(b)     It is suggested to read the previous sentence/main sentence/next sentence before writing answer of conceptual question/inferential question

(c)      Stop for a moment before writing question based on (evaluate student’s conceptual understanding, decoding skill, analyzing, inferring, interpreting,appreciating) – Analyze/Evaluate your content/answer well before writing answer so fast for a little bit complex/ inferential question. It may be possible that complexity of question demands you to look back whole passage for final interpretation and inferences of that special question. Generally, 1-2 questions evaluate student’s conceptual understanding, decoding skill,analyzing, inferring, interpreting, appreciating skills etc.

Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension Passage

Vocabulary (interpreting actual meaning of words/phrases/antonyms/synonyms) brings a big difference between high scorer and low scorer. Generally student writes all the questions based on “Reading Passage” but struggles a lot in supplying accurate answer for vocabulary based questions. It is observed that 2 among 10 students score 4/4 marks otherwise it can be 1/4, 2/4, 3/4. So the big question is :-

 How to Score High in Vocabulary Based Questions

Intensive reading habit helps students in scoring high marks in questions based on vocabulary. Students, who score well in this section, possess good reading skill and practice so many reading passages (descriptive, argumentative,persuasive, interpretive and literary passages etc) in an academic year,however a little alertness and awareness during exam can also help student to score high in “reading passage”. Wise students go through the text and try to interpret the text wisely while selecting correct answer for vocabulary based question, wise student tires to read previous, main and following statement to find out the actual meaning of given words.

Vocabulary Based Questions becomes a game changer in almost all examination. This section differentiates between a top performer and a low achiever. Intensive practice of ‘Reading Passage’ helps student to score high.Individual student’s skill develops in a passage of time. Board exam aspirant’s“Reading Skill” can be developed only  with the help of reading different passages and solving questions based on text.   

Reading Passage helps different level of students to score good marks inboard examination. In fact, ‘reading passage’ tests a candidate ability to read and understand the text. The main objective is to evaluate global as well as factual comprehension. Teacher awards the marks on the basis of understanding of complete passage. Generally, English Language Teacher does not deduct marks in ‘reading passage’ on basis of spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes as well as for punctuation error. No doubt at all, “Reading Passage” is really blessings for one and all students. Reading Passage helps a low academic achiever to cross the fail border easily, gives a wonderful opportunity for the medium academic performer to cross the distinction border and of course high academic performer to write history in board exam.

Rajeev Ranjan

Board Exam-How to Score High Marks-Important Tips for Students-Exam Preparation Tips and Tricks
CBSE Class 10 Result- Detailed Evaluation & Assessment for Parents, Teachers and School
Exam Preparation Tips: 15 best ideas and techniques for getting high grades/score in an examination
Examination Tips: Importance and Benefit of Learning Question Paper Pattern and Questions Language
Examination Hall: Excellent and Essential Tips for Performing well in an Examination
Fear of examination: What are the basic reasons for fear of examination?
English Language Teaching Objective and Learning Outcome at Elementary Stage