ICSE English I: Last-minute Tips before Board Exams

On a reader’s request, here are some last minute (updated) tips to prepare for the grammar (and comprehension) portion of ICSE Class 10 English I:

• Go through a list of prepositions and prepositional phrases (you can find plenty of such lists on the internet, or in the textbooks prescribed here: Textbook, Textbook.. Which to choose? and keep practicing these every night. They’ll help a lot while doing the “Fill in the blank” questions.
• Practice grammar from previous years’ question papers (which you will find through this page: Important CISCE Publications as this is your best source to brush up your grammar in the little time left before exams. Some questions related to changing the tense or speech are often repeated.
• Go through the official formats and guidelines given by the CISCE for formal and informal letters and notice and email writing. You can access the official links here: ICSE Syllabus 2019
• Practice vocabulary (go through the words whose meanings have been asked in the comprehension part of previous years’ papers) as these carry one-mark weightage and such a question is often asked
• For tips on essay writing, check out our post where we offer easy and practical guidelines to write better essays: English I: How to Improve Your Essays (TIPS)
• Practice précis writing (if you have enough time left) and make sure you read the question correctly. Is it asking for a summary of the entire passage? Or is it asking you to write what you think of a certain paragraph? Are you supposed to write in general or related to a specific aspect of the passage? Keep these things in mind.
• Punctuation is not considered a word, so don’t count it in your 50 word limit.
• It is advisable not to use contractions in any English paper, so you might want to keep that in mind even in précis writing. e.g. use cannot instead of can’t, do not instead of don’t. Yes, contractions do save space, but it is advisable not to use them as much as you can avoid it.
• Also, if you wish, you may make a rough table or grid for précis writing before writing the fair one. This will make your table look neater.
• Further, do make sure to number the rows and columns of the table for précis writing. I would suggest making a “10 rows x 5 columns“ table so that your words are  evenly spaced out. Also write the word count on the bottom right corner below the grid.
• Go through a list of commonly misspelled English words (you can find plenty of such lists on the internet) to improve your writing.
• Go through a list of homophones, synonyms of commonly used words, etc. to help spice up your essays and enhance your vocabulary
• Review your past mistakes from previously written exam/test papers, if they are available to you.
• Check out our post on how to write and present your board exam paper here: How to Write Your Board Exam Papers (TIPS)
• Also make sure you have everything you need for the exam: Things You Need on the Day of Your Board Exam (Pre-examination Checklist!)

 

Hope these tips and pointers help you when you write your ICSE English Language Board Exam! If you have suggestions, do let us know in the comments below. All the best! 🙂

 

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Also see other posts to help you prepare for the 2019 ICSE Board Exams:

English I: How to Improve Your Essays (TIPS)

ICSE Geography: Last-minute Tips before Board Exams

Quick Links: all ICSE notes and tips in one place