CBSE Class 10 English: Syllabus, Paper Pattern & Sample Practice

Section A — Reading Skills (20 marks)

• Ch 1 Discursive Passage (10 marks)

  An unseen discursive passage of 400–450 words. MCQ/objective and short-answer questions test comprehension, interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation and vocabulary.

• Ch 2 Case-based Factual Passage (10 marks)

  An unseen factual passage of 200–250 words with visual input (statistical data, chart, etc.). The two passages together run to 600–700 words.

Section B — Writing Skills & Grammar (20 marks)

• Ch 3 Grammar (10 marks)

  Determiners, tenses, modals, subject–verb concord and reported speech, assessed through gap-filling, editing and transformation exercises (ten of twelve questions attempted).

• Ch 4 Formal Letter (5 marks)

  A formal letter based on a given situation in 100–120 words (one of two questions answered).

• Ch 5 Analytical Paragraph (5 marks)

  An analytical paragraph in 100–120 words on a given map, chart, graph or cue (one of two questions answered).

Section C — Language through Literature (40 marks)

• Ch 6 Reference to the Context (10 marks)

  One extract from Drama/Prose and one from poetry (5 + 5), with MCQ/objective, very-short and short-answer questions on inference, analysis, interpretation and vocabulary.

• Ch 7 First Flight — Prose & Poetry (18 marks)

  Short- and long-answer questions from the main reader (prose from A Letter to God to The Proposal; poems from Dust of Snow to For Anne Gregory).

• Ch 8 Footprints Without Feet — Supplementary Reader (12 marks)

  Short- and long-answer questions from the supplementary reader (A Triumph of Surgery, The Thief’s Story, The Necklace, Bholi and more). Words and Expressions II is the prescribed workbook.

Point to the Rule

Names the tool to reach for (e.g. “Apply the reported-speech back-shift”) without giving the answer.

Guided Reasoning Prompt

Prompts the key idea (e.g. “What happens to a present-continuous verb and to ‘now’ when the reporting verb is past?”).

Complete Worked Solution

Shows the full step-by-step transformation and explains why the answer is correct.

Give Literature the Weight It Carries

Section C is 40 of 80 marks — re-read First Flight and Footprints Without Feet and practise short- and long-answer responses in your own words.

Drill the Fixed Grammar Topics

Determiners, tenses, modals, subject–verb concord and reported speech recur every year, so short daily editing and transformation practice pays off.

Time Your Reading and Writing Tasks

Work unseen passages and letter/paragraph tasks against a clock to build pacing for the 3-hour, 80-mark paper.

How is CBSE Class 10 English (Code 184) assessed?

An 80-mark theory paper (3 hours) across three sections — Reading Skills (20), Writing Skills with Grammar (20) and Language through Literature (40) — plus 20 marks of internal assessment, totalling 100. Always confirm the current syllabus with CBSE or your school.

Which books are prescribed for Class 10 English Language and Literature?

First Flight (main reader, prose and poetry) and Footprints Without Feet (supplementary reader), both published by NCERT, with Words and Expressions II as the prescribed workbook.

What grammar topics appear in Section B?

Determiners, tenses, modals, subject–verb concord and reported speech, tested through gap-filling, editing and transformation. Ten of the twelve grammar questions are to be attempted.

Is English Language and Literature the only English course at Class 10?

It is the mainstream course. CBSE also offers an alternative English course, English Communicative (Code 101), at Class 10; schools and students opt for one of the two. This page covers English Language and Literature (Code 184). Confirm which course your school follows.

How does the 20-mark internal assessment work?

Internal assessment is worth 20 marks, as detailed in CBSE circular Acad-11/2019. It includes Assessment of Listening and Speaking Skills (ALS), worth 5 marks, as a subject-enrichment activity.