ENGLISH PAPER 1 (LANGUAGE)

Question 1
Write a composition (in approximately 450-500 words) on any one of the following subjects: [30]
(You are reminded that you will be rewarded for orderly and coherent presentation of material,
use of appropriate style and general accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar.)
(a) Courage does not mean the absence of fear, but implies an attempt to conquer fear.
Describe some of your worst fears and how you managed to overcome them.
(b) Grandparents are a source of joy to us. Narrate the most memorable experience you
have had with your grandparents.
(c) ‘Films should be made to escape from reality, not to remind us of how grim life is.’
Argue for or against this statement.
(d)
d) How far do you agree that nice people are seldom successful and thoroughly successful
people are seldom nice?

G
(e)
e) Eyes.
(f)
f) Write an origi
original story beginning with the following
follo words:
‘The news
ws came as a pleasant
asant surprise………..’
surprise……….
surprise… .’
Comments of Examiners
(a)
a) This was a descriptive topic where the candidates
Suggestions for teachers
eachers
were required to write on ‘fear’ and how to
 Teach students to plan lan logically
‘conquer’ fear. Most candidates wrote only on before writing
riting the essay.
‘courage’ without writing on ‘fear’f r’ and how to  Practice inn essay writing is a MUST
conquerr it, while in some cases only ‘fear’ w
conque was in class.
highlighted.
ed. There was evidence of lack of planning,
plannin  Special emphasis
mphasis should bbe laid on
repetition of ideas
ideas, linguistic and
a structural errors maintaining the tense, correct usage
and rambling. of verbs, prepositions and
(b) A large number of candidates attempted this topic. conjunctions
Most did a good job but in some cases, a general  Teach students to read and
account of how their grandparents were and the understand key words in the topic
relationship between them was given but an account before writing the essay.
 Explain the necessity of taking a
of a ‘memorable incident’ was left out. As a result,
‘STAND’
marks were lost.  Students to be told not to use
(c) Most of the candidates who attempted this topic did vernacular idioms or their
not take a stand. A large number first wrote that translations in the essays.
films should be for entertainment and then  There should be an open discussion
contradicted themselves. Many of the essays were on various topics in class for
long and rambling, which led to repetition of ideas. circulation of ideas.
Essays lacked lucidity, coherence and planning.


(d) There was much confusion between ‘nice’ and
‘successful’ in this essay. Many candidates drifted  Teach students the essential
away from the topic and failed to give their own components of a short story, such as
viewpoint. The essays tended to lack a personal plot, characters, dialogues, a proper
perspective. beginning and an end.
(e) This one-word topic ‘Eyes’ was attempted by a
fairly large number of candidates. Many wrote from a scientific point of view – about the eye, how
it works, its several parts, the problems faced by those who lack eyesight, and so on. Most essays
were well-written and properly organized; however some lacked focus and creativity and were full
of errors.
(f) Story writing was attempted by quite a few candidates. However, most essays consisted of a
simple narrative only. Many were neither original nor creative, without a plot, story, characters,
dialogues and a proper conclusion. A large number lacked coherence and lucidity and were full of
errors.

MARKING SCHEME
Question 1.
The quality of language employed, the range of appropriateness of vocabulary and sentence structure,
structure
syntax,
ntax, the correctness of grammatical constructions, punctuation and spelling decided the overa
overall
grade
ade of the essay.
Marks were deducted for gross errors like – errors of agreement and number, seriou serious tense errors
errors,
spellings,
wrong verb form, elementary errors of sentence construction, misuse of vocabulary, errors in spellings
punctuation or lack of it. Marks were also deducted for use of incorrect or irrelevant idioms, misuse of
pronouns, articles and preposition.
(a)
a) This was
was a descriptive topic. The candidate were
we required to describe his or her worst fears and
how he / she managed to overcome them.
(b)
b)) This was
was a narrative topic. It called
called for a true account of a personal experience. Candidates
Candidat
needed
need ed to write about any incident with their grandparents during their lives whi which was
particularly memorable.
orable. (as a teenager/17 year old could also talk of a single gra
grandparent)
g ndparent)
(c) This was an argumentative topic. Candidates had to take a definite stand and express it clearly.
The stand had to be supported by effective argumentation. Candidates could NOT sit on the
fence. Candidates were not penalized for holding a view different from that of the examiner.
(d) This was a reflective topic. The candidates were required to write in some detail, their opinion
on how nice people are seldom successful and thoroughly successful people are seldom nice.
Candidates had to agree or disagree with the topic or even give their general views.
(e) This was a one-word topic. The content had a wide range / scope. All relevant interpretations /
approaches were accepted.
(f) Candidates were required to begin their story with the given words. The story had to be original
and not plagiarised or lifted partly or wholly from any source. It needed to have all the
necessary elements such as: plot, characterisation and dialogue. It was not to be a mere narration
of events. Originality of thought and a creative bent of mind were given credit.


Question 2
Write an article for your School magazine on a competition that was recently held in your school. [20]
Write the article in about 300 words using the points given below:

Name of the competition – nature of event – organisers – number of participants – chief guest –
judges – quality of the competition – criteria for judgement – winners – overall experience.

Comments of Examiners
This was a question based on amplification of given
Suggestions for teachers
points on a ‘competition’ held in school. Many  Practice in writing a variety of
candidates scored because all the points were present in reports is a MUST in class.
the piece of writing. However, a lot of candidates could  Students must be encouraged to read
not differentiate between ‘competition’, ‘tournament’ and newspapers so that the correct usage
fest . Many copied
‘fest’. ed the points word by word from the and style of language is maintained.
 Instructions on how to write a
questionon paper; this led to the word limit not being
proper report must be given to
maintained.
ntained. There was lack of awareness regarding rules students.
stud
andd regulations of competitions and ‘criteria for  Special care must be taken to add to
udgement’.
judgement’. abulary of stud
the vocabulary students; technical
terms and event-related words must
be dealt with.
 Importance of the word-limit should
b explained.
be l i d

MARKING SCHEME
Question 2
This was an exercise in amplification. There had to be effective linking of points. Candidates
Candida could
use the points in any order
der they chose; however, all points had to be used. If there was no development
of points, marks were deducted.

Question 3
Answer sections (a), (b) and (c).
(a) In each of the following items, sentence A is complete, while sentence B is [10]
not. Complete sentence B, making it as similar as possible to sentence A.
Write sentence B in each case.
Example:
(0) (A) If you want to earn well, you must work hard.
(B) To earn………………………
Answer: (0) To earn well, you must work hard.


 (1) (A) Sachin is an outstanding sportsman and a good artist.
(B) Besides…………….………………………
(2) (A) Mother said to Paul, “A courier came for you yesterday.”
(B) Mother told Paul that...…………………………………..
(3) (A) As soon as the minister took the oath, the spectators started
applauding.
(B) No sooner …..…………………………………
(4) (A) He is so short that he cannot be a soldier.
(B) He is too ………………………………..
(5) (A) The lawyer examined the documents with utmost care.
(B) The documents
docum
documents………..……………………….
………..………………
………………………….
…
(6) (A) I will buy the horse if it is quite sound.
(B) Unless…….…………………………………
Unless……
Unless……. …………………………………
………………
(7) (A Only Shakespeare could
(A) ould write suc
such a tragedy.
(B)) No one………….
one……… ……………………………
(8) (A)) Rita is a journalist and writer.
(
(B) Not
ot only ……………..
……………..……..
……………..……..………….
……..………
…… ….
(9) (A) Although Lakshmi
Lak worked very hard, she failed in the
examination.
(B) Notwithstanding Lakshmi’s ……….………………
(10) (A) No one would deny that he was totally fit before his death.
(B) Everyone ……………………………...
(b) Fill in each blank with a suitable word. (Do not write the sentence.) [5]
(1) Do you want to take _______ every single object from the box?
(2) The plane must take _________ before dark.
(3) The children spoke ______ a whisper as they were scared.
(4) We must not speak ill about a person ______ his back.
(5) He disliked the play so much that he walked _______ in the middle of
the first act.
(6) Walking barefoot _________ the grass is very good for health.


 (7) This rule does not apply _________ you as you are less than eighteen
years old.
(8) You must apply ________ the job immediately.
(9) They have been living in Delhi _________ ten years.
(10) Mrs. Kapur has been living in Chennai_______ 2000.

(c) Fill in the blanks in the passage given below with the appropriate form of the [5]
verb given in brackets. Do not write the passage, but write the verbs in the
correct order.
Two carpenters ______(1)(work) on Mr. Sharma’s roof. When they
________(2) (stop) work at 6 p.m., they ______(3) (leave) their ladder ______
(4)(lean) against the house. At 7 p.m., Raju, a thief, passed by the house and
________(5)(see)
_________(5)(see) the ladder. The house__________
house_______ ______(6)(be) now empty as
house___________(6)(be)
Mr. and Mrs. Sharma ________(7) (go) to the market. Raju _______(8)
first-floor
(climb) up the ladder, ________(9)(get) in through a first-
first -floor window, and
_______(10)(go) straight to the main bed room where he stole all of
Mrs. Sharma’s
Sha ma s jewellery.

Comments of Examiners
(a)
a) Some candidates used the exact words of the question
questio
sentence. Many candidates made superfluous use of Suggestions for teachers
commas which caused them to lose marks. Rules of  Rules off punctuation to be made
transformation were not clear to most candidates. clear to students.
 Enough practice must be given in
(b)
b) This
is part was mostly attempted satisfactorily.
satisfactor
transformation
mation of sentences.
sentence
andidates wrote more than one
However, some candidates  Instruct students to write only ONE
answer, and many were careless while writing, appropriate answer.
making errors in spelling.  Rules of tenses and sequence of
(c) This part of the question was attempted satisfactorily. tenses should be made clear to
However, once again, candidates erred in giving more students.
than one answer. Some candidates did not follow the  Give more practice in verbs and
correct sequence of tenses; the passage then began to tenses and insist on the careful
lack coherence. working out of the passage,
following the correct order.


MARKING SCHEME
Question 3
(a) The opening word of each answer (part B) had to be given as in the question paper. No other
beginning was acceptable.
(1) (B) Besides being an outstanding sportsman, Sachin is a good artist.
(2) (B) Mother told Paul that a courier had come for him the previous day / the day
before.
(3) (B) No sooner did the minister take the oath than the spectators started applauding.
(4) (B) He is too short to be a soldier.
(5) (B) The documents were examined by the lawyer with utmost care.
The documents were examined with utmost care by the lawyer.
(6) (B) Unless the horse is quite sound, I will not buy it.
(7) (B) No one but Shakespeare could write such a tragedy./
tragedy./
No on
one save Shakespeare
espeare could write such a tragedy
tragedy..
(8) (B) Not only is Rita a journalist but
bu also a writer.
(9) (B)
B) Notwithstanding Lakshmi’s hard work, she failed in the examination.
(10) (B)
B) Everyone would agree
agree/accept/admit
/accept/admit that he was totally fit before his death.
(b)
b) The candidates were adadvised
vised not to copy the sentences ((This
This was done withh a view to save
their time). However the strict order had to be maintained.
(1) out
(2) off
(3) in
(4) behind
(5) out
(6) on
(7) to
(8) for
(9) for
(10) since
(c) The candidates were advised not to copy the sentence. However the strict order had to be
maintained.
(1) were working / had been working
(2) stopped


 (3) left
(4) leaning
(5) saw
(6) was
(7) had gone
(8) climbed
(9) got
(10) went

Question 4
Read the passage given below and answer the questions (a), (b) and (c) that follow:
(1)
1) To bee encumbered with a corpse is to be in a difficult position. True, any doctor, even
one just out of medical school, would have been able to diagnose the cause of death.
The man had died of heart failure or what the doctors call cardiac arrest. The cause
cause of
his heart having stopped pumping blood was that ssomeone
omeone had slid a sharp sliver of
steel between his ribs just far enough to penetrate the great muscle of the heart and to 5
cause a serious and irreversible leakage of blood so that it stopped beating.
beating. C
Cardiac
ardiac
arrest, as I said.
(2)
2) I wasn’t too anxious to find a doctor because the knife was mine and the hilt had been
in my hand when he died. I stood on the open road with the body at my feet and I was
scared, so scared that the nausea rose in my throat
throat to choke me. This particular body 10
had been a stranger – I had never seen him befo
before in my life.
(3)
3) I was unarmed,, if you except the ‘sgian dubh’ – the black knife – which I always carry.
The ‘sgian dubh’ is a much underrated weapon. Mine is at least a hundred and fifty
years old. The ebony handle is ribbed on one side to give a good grip, but smooth on
the other side so it draws clear without catching; the blade is less than four inches long; 15
the stone set in the handle balances the knife so that it makes a superlative throwing
weapon. I carry it in a flat sheath in my left sock.
(4) This is how it had happened.
(5) A little after I had driven out of the city, I saw a car ahead, pulled off the road, and a
man waving the universally recognized distress signal of the stranded motorist. It 20
turned out, quite naturally, that there was something wrong with his car and he
couldn’t get it to move. I got out, walked over to his car and peered at the exposed
engine.


(6) He didn’t use the gun straight away. He first tried to take a swipe at me with a well-
designed little club. I turned my head and saw his upraised arm and dodged sideways. 25
If the club had connected with my skull it would have jarred my brains loose; instead it
hit my shoulder and my whole arm went numb.
(7) I hopped back and groped for the ‘sgian dubh’ as I went. Fortunately it’s a left-handed
weapon which was just as well because my right arm wasn’t going to be of any use.
(8) He came for me again but when he saw the knife he hesitated. He dropped the club and 30
dipped his hand beneath his jacket and it was my turn to hesitate. But his club had a
leather wrist loop and the dangling weapon spoilt his draw and I jumped him just as
the pistol came out.
(9) I didn’t stab him. He swung around and ran straight into the blade. He sagged against
me with a look of surprise on his face. Then he went down at my feet and the knife 35
came free.
(10)
10) So there I was on a lonely road with a newly created corpse at my feet and a knife in
my hand, a bad taste in my mouth and a frozen brain.
(11)
11
1) From the time I had got out of my car to the moment of death had been less than two
minutes. 40

Adapted from Running Blind by Desmond Bagley

(a) (i) Given below are four words and phrases. Find the words which have [4]
a similar meaning in the passage:
(1) burdened
(2) enter
(3) not given much importance
(4) most effective
(ii) For each of the words given below, write a sentence of at least [4]
ten words using the same word unchanged in form, but with a
different meaning from that which it carries in the passage:

(1) arrest (line 4)

(2) draws (line 17)
(3) set (line 18)
(4) club (line 28)


(b) Answer the following questions in your own words as briefly as possible:
(i) How did the stranger die? [3]
(ii) Why was the narrator scared? [2]
(iii) Describe the narrator’s weapon. [3]
(iv) Why did the narrator stop his car and get out? [2]
(c) Describe the incident of the killing of the stranger in not more than 100 words
(Paragraphs 5 to 9). Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised.
You will be required to:
(i) List your ideas clearly in point form. [6]
(ii) In about 100 words, write your points in the form of a connected passage. [6]

Comments off Examiners

(a)
a) (i)) Some candidates were unable to locate the
correct word, especially for (3) and (4). Suggestions for teachers
(ii) A number of candidates had limited knowledge  Encourage ge vocabulary and word
sam
of the different meanings / functions of the same buildingg exercises. En
Encourage use
word. Instructions on usage in sentences were of dictionary.
not followed in many cases c . At times, the
cases.  Gi
Give practice
ractice in making sentences
sentences were too short and the meaning was
with words having multiple
unclear
unclear.
meanings / functions.
b) (i) Many candidates misunderstood the question an
(b) and
wrote about the whole sequence of events th that  Stress upon reading the instructions
caused the stranger’s death. carefully.
y.
(ii) Several candidates could not analyse wh what  Teach students to analyse and
caused the narrator’s fear; they wrote instead
instea distinguish
sh between cause and
quence of the fear.
about the consequence effect.
(iii)Most candidates answered this question  Tell students that when description
satisfactorily. However, some could not present is to be done, proper sequence of
a systematic description of the weapon. the features must be given.
(iv) Analysis of the exact answer was not done by a  Teach students the basic rules of
number of candidates who did not write the note-making. Practice must be
required points.
given with the help of short unseen
(c) (i) Several candidates overlooked the hint given for
answering the question (paragraphs 5 to 9). passages.
Note-making rules were not clear to a number of  Précis writing, using complete
candidates as single words were written, which sentences, condensation and
carried no meaning and had no relevance to the precision in presenting information
given question. At times, ideas were haphazardly correctly and relevantly should be
noted, with no idea of the sequence of events. In made very clear by teachers.
some cases, only a few points were written, not
sufficient to cover the complete answer.


 (ii) In some cases, the précis were not written in 100 words. In other cases, the summarised passage
had no connection with the points in (c)(i). A number of candidates wrote the whole summary
in the form of notes. Incomplete sentences and random phrases were written, with no regard for
punctuation and articles, which made the passage meaningless and incoherent.

MARKING SCHEME
Question 4
(a) (i) Candidates were instructed to find words, from the passage which had a similar meaning to
those given in the question paper.
(1) Encumbered
(2) Penetrate
(3) Underrated
(4) Superlative
(ii) The candidates wer
weree instructed to use the following words in sentences of their own bu
but
with a different meaning from that used in the passag
passage
passage.. If the form of the word was
wa
changed or if
if the meaning
mea was
was the same as that of the passage, marks were deducted.
(1) arrest – (as used in thee passage: to stop the process of something) seize someone
arres som
and take them into custody
ustody ; the action of arresting someone;
someone; arrest
ar someone’s
attention..
attention
(2) draws – (as used in the passage: pulls out) produces a picture; pulls curtains open or
shut; attracts people to a place or an event; takes in a breath; finishes a contest with
an even
ven score.
(3) set – (as used in the passage: put in a specified place or position) give someone a
task; fix a time; establish as an example; prepare a table ffor
or a meal; harden into a
semi-
semi-solid or fixed state; arrange hair; put a broken or dislocated bone iinto
solid, semi-solid
place for healing; a number of things or people grouped together; set of the sun or
moonn (not sunset); a set in tennis or any other game; a set in a play or a film; firmly
fixed and unchanging; set off; set out; set in; set aside.
(4) club – (as used in the passage: a heavy stick used as a weapon) a stick with a heavy
head used to play golf; a group of people who meet regularly for a particular
activity; a place where members can relax, eat meals or stay overnight.
(b) Candidates were required to answer the questions as briefly as possible and in their own words.
Marks were deducted for excessive length and gross errors. Candidates had to draw their material
only from the passage.
(i) The stranger died of heart failure or cardiac arrest. Someone had slid a knife into his heart
and caused a serious leakage of blood / damage to the heart muscles to stop it beating.
(ii) The narrator was scared because he was encumbered with a corpse; the knife that killed the
corpse belonged to him; the hilt had been in
his hand when the man had died; and he was standing on an open road with the body at his
feet.

1
 (iii) The narrator’s weapon was a ‘sgian dubh’ – the black knife; it was a 150 years old; the
ebony handle was ribbed on one side to give a good grip; it was smooth on the other side
so it could draw out without catching on anything; the blade was less than four inches long;
and the stone set in the handle gave it balance; superlative throwing weapon; carried in a
flat sheath in his sock. (any six of these eight points)
(iv) The narrator had driven out of the city and a little ahead he had seen a car with its driver
signalling for help. There was something wrong with the car.
(c) Summary:
(i) A minimum of six points are required. Marks were given for content. The following
points could also be combined into six points.
(ii) Marks were awarded for expression and the candidate’s ability to express the points
clearly. Marks were deducted for linguistic errors.
Possible points for the summary:
x tor was driving on the road when he saw a car stopped
The narrator stop on the side. 1
x He got out of his car to help the driver.
x club-like
The driver tried to hit him with a club-
club-like weapon.
x The narrator dodged the weapon but got hit oon his shoulder. 2
x His arm became numb.
x The narrator groped for his own knife.
3
x The knife was a left handed weapon so he could use it with his good hand.
x The stranger tried to take out his gun but cou
could not.
4
x The narrator jumped on him just as he took hhis gun out.
x The stranger swung around and ran into the narrator’s
n blade.
5
x He sagged against
ainst the narrator.
narrator
narr
x He fell at the narrator’s feet and the knife came free.
6

1
GENERAL COMMENTS
(a) Topics found difficult by candidates in the Question Paper:
Q 1 – (a), (c), and (d)
Q3–a
Q 4 – (a) (i) and (a) (ii)
Q 4 – (c) (i) and (c) (ii)

(b) Concepts in which candidates got confused:

 Narrative essay and short story
 Rules of transformation
 Argumentative and critical writing / composition
 Analysis, cause and effect
 Note-making
e-making and writing the key words
 Amplification
 Competition and Annual event / activity
 Organizing as hosts and participating as guests

c) Suggestions for candidates:

(c)
 Read works in English, of good standard by noted writers
wr
 Practice use of new words
 Use the dictionary and thesaurus extensively
 Practice listening and speaking skills in English to acquire competence in writing skills
 Pay close attention
tion to the rubric, question-wise instructions, word-limit,
word-lim key words of the
composition topics
 Improve upon your stock of words and be aware of the changes taking place in English
 Remain true to the rules of grammar and don’t experiment with the set rules
 Be careful of spelling errors, careless omissions and punctuation negligence
 Do smart work to get the maximum marks

1