Tips to score good marks in English Language (Paper 1) in ICSE Boards Exam (2024)

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Tips and suggestions for answering Question 1

Question 1 is a composition question consisting of 5 different varieties of questions. Out of these five questions a candidate has to attempt any one of the question of his choice. So, first student has to read all the five questions carefully and has to pick up a question which is more convenient for him to impress the examiner.
In Question 1 (a) will be a short story-Basing on the given theme or certain phrases or outline given, student has to write a creative story of his/her own in about 350-400 words. These are the important things or points that the student has to keep in mind before attempting this type of questions.

The story should be narrated with a literary background of setting, character building, plot, conflict, denouement.
Students should write a story of their own creation but not a story of what they have lifted out from some other book or well known popular stories. Candidates will be heavily penalized in marks if they follow such a method in writing the story. Narration part of the story should be given much importance and student should bring out the idea or central theme given in the question by the end of the story.
Sometimes student start the story with a male character and after sometime they go on mentioning 'she' instead of 'he' in their story narration. Students sometimes start their story in past tense and finally ends the story in present tense. Students should avoid such blind mistakes while writing the story and such a things will cost them much in getting good marks.

In Question 1(b) A statement will be given (Ex:'Boarding schools are far better than day schools for the all-round education of a child'. Express your view either for or against this statement.) Student has to argue for the statement or against the statement. To write such a type of questions students have to keep the following points in their mind to excel in answering the questions:

Students to back the side of their argument should provide strong points with logic to strengthen their stand.
Student should back only one side of the argument but not support or partially support both which weaken their stance.
To strengthen the point of their argument they have to quote examples or experiences from the real life situations.

Question 1(c), Description of an imaginative event (Ex:You were on a school trip and were on your way back to the hotel late one night when your school bus, full of children, broke down in a lonely area. Describe what you saw and experienced as you looked around. How was the problem
solved?
Student have to imagine the situation given and have to bring out their vivid feelings to make the reader to feel real. Student has to bring out his ideas to show a proper solution to the situation.
Question 1(d), Students have to narrate what was given in the question(Ex(Q): Teaching someone else how to do something can be a rewarding experience. Think of a skill that you have helped someone to develop. Perhaps you taught someone how to swim or to bake a cake, or helped someone learn how to study more effectively. Narrate the events that made up the process of teaching the skill, and say what made the experience important and memorable for you.)
Students have to feel themselves in the situation and have to narrate their imaginative experience in a fitting way. Imagination of the situation is very important to bring out the best to write your experience on the answer sheet.
Question 1(e), a picture will be given and the student has to analyze that photo and has to write a composition by taking suggestion from the picture or a story in connection to the picture.
This question also test the imaginative and expressive abilities of the student. Student should not write what was not suggested through the picture. Writing uncorrelated things or mere mentioning or description of the of objects present in the picture will not fetch any marks to the student. Student has to imagine the situation as suggested by the picture and has to answer.

Here are Best preparation methods and tips to score well in ICSE Board's examinations

Question 2

In question 2 is a letter writing question which include an informal and formal letter. Candidates have to choose any one of the question from the choice.
For Formal letter or Informal letter, candidate have to present correct format of the letter, correct salutations or subscriptions. Candidates have to give importance to address the points in the question and pay attention to the issue given in the question. Candidates have to address the points in separate paragraphs. Incorrect paragraphing and overlong letters do not give scope to score more marks. Attention must be paid to clarity of expression and good vocabulary. Candidates have to give importance to format of the letter, content of the letter and expression of their views very clearly with good vocabulary.

Formal letter format:-

From address (home/school)
Date
To address ONLY Principal, [spelling counts] + School address
Salutation [ Sir/ Madam/ Dear.../ Rev. Mother etc
Subscription. Yours faithfully
Name + surname/initial

Informal letter format:-

Informal letter:
Address (Home/school)
Date
Salutation- Dear/My dear [-name]/female relative
Subscription- Yours lovingly, /Yours affectionately, /Your loving,/affectionate...
First name

Tips to score good marks in English Language (Paper 1) in ICSE Boards Exam (1)

Question 3

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:-
The first thing to do for this type of questions is to read the passage several times till you understand the clear meaning of the passage and then only you have to proceed to answer. The meanings asked for the words from the passage have to be gleaned from the context of the passage but should not write their literal meaning. For the questions given on the passage specific answers with fitting words to be given but merely copying the content or sentences form the passage given do not help you to score marks. The title given by the candidate for the summary written by them should mention how this title is apt for their summary. The answers written for the questions of this passage must strictly follow the word limit mentioned for each question.

Question 4

In this questions mainly various grammar questions will appear.

Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets:-
For this question candidates have to use proper form of the tense and especially have to learn proper use of present continuous tense . Students must be clear with the rules of tenses and sequence of tenses through their regular practices of exercise work. Candidates should not make spelling mistakes while writing the answers.

Fill in the blank with an appropriate word:- The correct use of prepositions is very important to score good marks in this question. Candidates must know well when to use these words:-
"from" instead of "between" , "from" in place of "since" , "in" instead of 'of' , 'away' in place of 'down' , 'out' in place of 'off' . Candidates should not simply guess and write answers for these questions.

Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or so:- For this type of questions candidates must use basic grammar rules in writing correct sentences. Candidates have to use gerund and infinitive correctly. Candidates must adhere to the meaning of the given sentences while attempting answers for this type of questions.

Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence:-
Candidates should not use such phrases as 'No sooner…when' or 'No sooner…then'. Candidates loose marks by changing 'he' to 'she' and vice versa or replaced names with pronouns of the given sentence. (eg: 'she' in place of 'Rita').

Here is 1999 ICSE English Grammar solved exam paper

Some important tips to do well in English Language (Paper 1) in ICSE Boards Exam

Practice the format of the letter separately with regular consistency. Understand clearly what you are being asked to write about. Practice the format of letter, underline the part of the question that you are supposed to address.

Practice grammar exercises regularly and daily. Drill work is a very important part of grammar learning. Use entire passages rather than sentences for practice.

Worksheets designed to practice specific items of grammar are extremely useful for learning grammar. Adequate practice should be given in transforming sentences from one kind to another.

In this question paper while answering questions write accurately and concisely what you are asked and please remember to write in your own words.

Improve your listening and reading abilities to enhance your scoring capabilities in grammar part. Comprehending unseen passage become difficult because of your poor listening and reading habits. Actually Grammar part is a high scoring area works the other way around if the candidate neglects good habit of listening and reading.

Learn to write in your own words rather than mugging from guides and prepared notes and for this listen to well Spoken English when you can. The television is full of good useful, educative and enjoyable program mes.

Students should take initiative to read English newspapers daily so that the correct usage and style of language is maintained. Student must use the dictionary and thesaurus extensively in learning English language.

Speak in English, avoid the temptation of thinking in your mother tongue and then translating into
English. Read for pleasure. Be a part of classroom debates and discussions.