english

target	495+/500
author	Senior Sibling
name	english
description	CBSE Grade 12 English Language and Literature — First Flight, Footprints Without Feet, Grammar, and Writing Skills. Activate for English concepts, literature analysis, and board exam prep.

English Language and Literature — CBSE Grade 12

Syllabus Coverage (2026–27)

Section	Content	Marks
A	Reading Skills (Unseen Passages)	20
B	Writing Skills & Grammar	20
C	Language through Literature	40
	Theory Total	80
	Internal Assessment	20
	Grand Total	100

Question Paper Design

Section	Content	Marks	Questions
A	2 Unseen passages (factual + discursive)	20	MCQs + Short answer
B	Grammar (10M) + Writing (10M)	20	Gap fill, editing, transformation + Letter, Paragraph
C	Extract (10M) + SA (18M) + LA (12M)	40	From First Flight + Footprints
Total		80

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Section A: Reading Skills (20 Marks)

Passage 1 — Factual/Informational (10 Marks)

• ~400-450 words, factual content
• MCQ-based questions testing comprehension, vocabulary, inference
• Tips: Read passage twice. Underline key phrases. Answer in passage's language.

Passage 2 — Case-based/Discursive (10 Marks)

• ~350-400 words, may include data/table/chart
• MCQ and short answer questions
• Tips: For data questions, read ALL options before choosing. Look for tricky wording.

Strategy for 20/20 in Reading

1. Read the questions FIRST, then the passage
2. Answer in complete sentences (not fragments)
3. Don't add your own knowledge — answer from the passage only
4. For vocabulary questions, use context clues from surrounding sentences
5. Time allocation: 30-35 minutes maximum

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Section B: Writing Skills & Grammar (20 Marks)

Grammar (10 Marks)

Topics covered:

1. Tenses — Past, Present, Future (Simple, Continuous, Perfect)
2. Modals — can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must, need
3. Subject-Verb Concord — singular/plural agreement
4. Determiners — a, an, the, some, any, each, every, few, little
5. Reported Speech — direct to indirect and vice versa
6. Active-Passive Voice — transformation

Reported Speech Rules

TENSE CHANGES (Direct → Indirect):
  Simple Present → Simple Past
  Present Continuous → Past Continuous
  Present Perfect → Past Perfect
  Simple Past → Past Perfect
  Will → Would
  Can → Could
  May → Might

PRONOUN CHANGES:
  I → he/she
  We → they
  My → his/her
  You → he/she/they (context dependent)

TIME/PLACE CHANGES:
  Today → that day
  Tomorrow → the next day
  Yesterday → the previous day
  Here → there
  This → that
  Now → then
  Ago → before

REPORTING VERBS:
  Said → told (when "to" + person)
  "Will you..." → asked if/whether
  "Please..." → requested
  "Don't..." → ordered/forbade

Writing (10 Marks)

Formal Letter (5 Marks) — 100-120 words

FORMAT:
  Sender's Address
  Date
  Receiver's Designation
  Receiver's Address
  Subject: ___
  Sir/Madam,
  Body (3 paragraphs: introduction, details, conclusion)
  Yours faithfully/sincerely,
  (Name)

Types: Complaint, Request, Application, Enquiry, Suggestion

Analytical Paragraph (5 Marks) — 100-120 words

Based on: Chart / Graph / Map / Data / Cue
FORMAT:
  Topic sentence → Data analysis (trends, comparisons) → Conclusion
  Must include: specific numbers, percentages, comparisons
  Transition words: however, moreover, in contrast, on the other hand

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Section C: Literature (40 Marks)

FIRST FLIGHT — Prose

1. A Letter to God — G.L. Fuentes

• Theme: Unshakeable faith, irony
• Key points: Lencho writes to God for 100 pesos; post office employees collect 70 pesos; Lencho calls them "bunch of crooks"
• Irony: The very people who helped him are called crooks
• Message: Blind faith can make one ungrateful

2. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom — Nelson Mandela

• Theme: Apartheid, freedom, equality, courage
• Key points: May 10, 1994 — inauguration; rainbow nation; true freedom = freedom of all; courage is not absence of fear but triumph over it
• Quotes: "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin"

3. Two Stories about Flying

i. His First Flight — Liam O'Flaherty

• Theme: Overcoming fear, courage
• Key points: Young seagull afraid to fly; hunger forces him; mother holds fish to motivate; he finally flies
• Message: Fear is the only barrier; one must take the first step

ii. Black Aeroplane — Frederick Forsyth

• Theme: Mystery, unknown help
• Key points: Pilot flying through storm clouds; mysterious black aeroplane guides him; no record at control tower
• Message: Some help comes from unknown sources

4. From the Diary of Anne Frank — Anne Frank

• Theme: Adolescence, loneliness, diary as confidant
• Key points: Anne names diary "Kitty"; feels no real friend; records life in hiding during WWII
• Character: Sensitive, observant, witty, yearning for normalcy

5. Glimpses of India

i. A Baker from Goa — Lucio Rodrigues (Goan traditions, importance of bakers) ii. Coorg — Lokesh Abrol (beautiful landscape, brave Kodavus, martial traditions) iii. Tea from Assam — Arup Kumar Datta (Assam tea gardens, legends of tea)

6. Mijbil the Otter — Gavin Maxwell

• Theme: Human-animal bond
• Key points: Maxwell gets otter from marshes of Iraq; names him Mij; otter's playful nature; challenges of traveling with an otter

7. Madam Rides the Bus — Valliammai Subramanian

• Theme: Curiosity, adventure, maturity of a child
• Key points: 8-year-old Valli saves money for bus ride; observes life and death (dead cow); returns wiser

8. The Sermon at Benares — Betty Renshaw

• Theme: Death, suffering, acceptance
• Key points: Kisa Gotami's dead son; Buddha tells her to find mustard seed from house where no one has died; she understands death is universal
• Message: Death is inevitable; grief should not cloud wisdom

9. The Proposal (Play) — Anton Chekhov

• Theme: Satire on marriage negotiations, petty disputes
• Key points: Lomov comes to propose to Natalya; they argue about Oxen Meadows and dogs; Chubukov (father) tries to mediate; proposal happens despite fighting

FIRST FLIGHT — Poetry

Poem	Poet	Theme	Key Lines
Dust of Snow	Robert Frost	Nature's ability to change mood	"Has given my heart / A change of mood"
Fire and Ice	Robert Frost	World's end — desire (fire) vs hatred (ice)	"Some say the world will end in fire / Some say in ice"
A Tiger in the Zoo	Leslie Norris	Captivity vs freedom	"He stalks in his vivid stripes / The few steps of his cage"
How to Tell Wild Animals	Carolyn Wells	Humorous descriptions of wild animals	"If he roars at you as you're dyin' / You'll know it is the Asian Lion"
The Ball Poem	John Berryman	Loss, growing up, accepting loss	"What is the boy now, who has lost his ball"
Amanda!	Robin Klein	Parental nagging vs child's imagination	"Don't bite your nails, Amanda! / Don't hunch your shoulders, Amanda!"
The Trees	Adrienne Rich	Nature reclaiming freedom	"The trees inside are moving out into the forest"
Fog	Carl Sandburg	Nature metaphor (fog = cat)	"The fog comes / on little cat feet"
The Tale of Custard the Dragon	Ogden Nash	Appearance vs reality, true courage	"Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth / And spikes on top of him and scales beneath"
For Anne Gregory	W.B. Yeats	Inner beauty vs outer beauty	"Only God, my dear, / Could love you for yourself alone / And not your yellow hair"

FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET — Supplementary Reader

Chapter	Author	Theme	Key Point for Exam
A Triumph of Surgery	James Herriot	Overindulgence, animal care	Tricki (dog) overfed; recovers with exercise at vet's
The Thief's Story	Ruskin Bond	Trust transforms people	Hari (thief) can't steal from Anil due to trust
The Midnight Visitor	Robert Arthur	Intelligence vs appearance	Ausable outwits Max using imaginary balcony
A Question of Trust	Victor Canning	Irony, deception	Two thieves unknowingly steal from each other
Footprints without Feet	H.G. Wells	Biology without conscience	Griffin (invisible man) becomes lawless
The Making of a Scientist	Robert W. Peterson	Curiosity, scientific temperament	Richard Ebright starts with butterfly collection → scientist
The Necklace	Guy de Maupassant	Vanity, irony, honesty	Matilda borrows necklace, loses it, works 10 years to replace; it was fake
Bholi	K.A. Abbas	Education empowers women	Bholi — stammering girl gains confidence through education
The Book that Saved the Earth	Claire Boiko	Humorous, importance of books	Martians misread nursery rhyme book, give up invasion

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High-Yield Topics (495+ Strategy)

1. Literature extracts — Practice identifying passages from ALL chapters
2. Formal Letter — Master the format perfectly (marks deducted for wrong format)
3. Reported Speech — Most common grammar question (3-4M)
4. Poetry analysis — Know themes and key lines by heart
5. Footprints stories — Short answer from these = easy marks

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Wrong letter format — date, address, subject are SCORED separately
2. Not quoting from the text in literature answers
3. Writing opinions when asked for factual comprehension
4. Exceeding word limit (100-120 means stop at 120)
5. Not using "transition words" in analytical paragraph
6. Mixing up stories from Footprints (they're similar in length)

Answer Writing Framework for English

Literature SA (3 Marks):

• State the context (which chapter, who said this)
• Explain the point (what it means)
• Quote from text (shows you've read it)
• Connect to theme

Literature LA (6 Marks):

• Introduction: mention character/chapter/theme
• Body (3-4 points): use textual evidence, explain with examples
• Conclusion: tie back to theme/message
• Use paragraphs, not bullet points

Extract-Based (5 Marks):

• Identify the chapter and speaker immediately
• Answer MCQs by elimination
• For "word meaning" questions: check context in the extract itself

Internal Assessment (20 Marks)

Component	Marks	Tips
Periodic Tests (best 2 of 3)	10	Focus on grammar + literature
Notebook	5	Complete all exercises neatly
Subject Enrichment	5	ASL (Assessment of Speaking & Listening) — practice speaking clearly

Reference Books

• NCERT (First Flight + Footprints Without Feet) — Read every story/poem at least 3 times
• Oswaal — Sample papers for exam pattern
• High School English Grammar by Wren & Martin — Grammar reference
• KV Papers / Navodaya Papers — Practice reading comprehension