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English Core Set 1 · Code 301
3:00:00 M.M. 80 0 attempted

Central Board of Secondary Education

Practice Question Paper — not an official CBSE document

Class 12 · English Core

Subject Code 301 · Set 1 of 3

Time allowed: 3 hours Maximum marks: 80 11 questions

Theory 80 + Assessment of Listening & Speaking 20.

General instructions

  1. This practice paper follows English Core: Reading 22, Creative Writing 18, Literature 40.
  2. Section A has one discursive / factual passage (12) and one case-based passage (10).
  3. Section B has notice or invitation (4), a formal letter (5) and an article or report (9).
  4. Section C uses Flamingo prose and poetry. Vistas should still be revised from the school book — it is not listed as a separate catalog here.

Practice questions aligned to NCERT topics used in CBSE classrooms. These are original exam-oriented questions for revision — not official CBSE board papers and not a guarantee of any exam question. Always match the textbook issued by your school and the latest PDFs on ncert.nic.in and cbseacademic.nic.in.

Section A — Reading Skills

Unseen passage 12 · Case-based 10 · Q1–2 · 22 marks · 22 marks

Q.1Reading[12]
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow (12 marks).
Internships that teach, and internships that only fill a CV
An internship can be a short apprenticeship or a long photocopying season. The difference is rarely the brand name of the office. It is whether someone inside the office has time to explain why a task exists. A student who only staples certificates learns the geography of the building. A student who is asked to draft a one-page brief, then watch it get cut, learns how an institution thinks.

Colleges that treat internships as attendance for a credit miss the harder work: helping students write a letter that asks for a real task. Employers who want free labour miss the harder work too: a weekly review that does not humiliate. The best internships are slightly uncomfortable. The student is allowed to fail a draft in private before a public meeting.

Board-year students sometimes postpone all such experiments until after the last paper. That caution is understandable. Still, one well-observed week in a clinic, a newspaper room or a municipal help-desk can later make a university statement sound like a person, not a brochure.

(A) The real difference between internships, for the writer, is [1]

(B) Stapling certificates mainly teaches [1]

(C) A good internship is described as [1]

(D) The writer’s advice to board-year students is to [1]

(E) Colleges that treat internships as mere attendance miss [1]

(F) What do employers who want free labour miss? [2]

(G) Why can one observed week later help a university statement? [2]

Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

A. B
B. B
C. B
D. B
E. A
F. A weekly review that does not humiliate the intern.
G. It makes the writing sound like a real person rather than a brochure.

(A) B. whether someone explains why a task exists

(B) B. the geography of the building

(C) B. slightly uncomfortable, with private failure allowed

(D) B. consider one well-observed short stint later useful

(E) A. helping students ask for a real task

(F) A weekly review that does not humiliate the intern.

(G) It makes the writing sound like a real person rather than a brochure.

Note

Read the passage twice. Attempt the MCQs first, then the short answers in your own words.

Q.2Reading[10]
Read the case-based passage and answer the questions that follow (10 marks).
Case: Night-shift study groups
A Class 12 hostel tried three revision plans for one month. Group A studied 6–9 p.m. and slept by 10:30. Group B studied 10 p.m.–1 a.m. with tea and phones nearby. Group C mixed both and kept no log. A short weekly quiz (same paper for all) showed mean scores: A 64, B 51, C 55. Four students in B reported headaches. The warden did not ban night study. She moved the common-room lights to a timer that dimmed at 10:30 and opened a silent 6 a.m. slot for those who still wanted extra hours.

A follow-up poll (n = 60) found 38 students willing to try the early slot if breakfast was kept till 8:15. The mess agreed for three weeks as a test, not a permanent rule.

(A) The highest mean quiz score was in [1]

(B) Group B’s study window was [1]

(C) The warden’s lighting change was to [1]

(D) How many students were willing to try the early slot if breakfast stayed till 8:15? [1]

(E) What health complaint appeared in Group B? [2]

(F) Was the mess change announced as permanent? Why does that matter? [2]

Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

A. A
B. B
C. B
D. B
E. Four students reported headaches.
F. No — it was a three-week test, so the arrangement could be reviewed with evidence.

(A) A. Group A

(B) B. 10 p.m.–1 a.m.

(C) B. dim common-room lights at 10:30

(D) B. 38

(E) Four students reported headaches.

(F) No — it was a three-week test, so the arrangement could be reviewed with evidence.

Note

Read the passage twice. Attempt the MCQs first, then the short answers in your own words.

Section B — Creative Writing Skills

Notice/Invitation 4 · Letter 5 · Article/Report 9 · Q3–5 · 18 marks · 18 marks

Q.3Notice / Invitation[4]
Draft a notice (50 words) for the school notice-board inviting Classes 11–12 to an inter-house debate on “Internal assessment is as serious as the theory paper.” Include date, time, venue, last date to give names, and the signature of the Cultural Secretary.
OR
Write the other short writing task of 4 marks in the same format (notice if you chose invitation, or invitation if you chose notice).
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

School name; NOTICE; heading; date; who / what / when / where; last date; Cultural Secretary. Formal, no slang, about 50 words.

Note

50 words. Box the notice if you are writing a notice.

Q.4Letter[5]
You are Arjun / Aisha, 21 Lake View, Kochi. Write a job application (120–150 words) with a short bio-data for the post of part-time library assistant at a city public library. Mention Class 12 board year, computer skills and two relevant strengths.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

Cover letter + bio-data (name, address, education, skills, declaration). Formal tone. Do not invent fake certificates.

Note

Format + content. Formal English.

Q.5Article / Report[9]
Write an article (150–200 words) for the school magazine: “Keeping a board-year mind kind to itself.” Use a title, a by-line, two problems (comparison, sleepless scrolling) and two practical habits. This 9-mark task should read like a finished piece, not a list of slogans.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

Title + by-line; opening hook; two problems with a concrete scene; two habits (sleep window, one walk, one friend, a written plan); a closing line that does not promise ranks.

Note

150–200 words. Title / headline required.

Section C — Literature

Flamingo extracts, short and long answers · Q6–11 · 40 marks · 40 marks

Q.6Extract (Flamingo prose)Lost Spring[8]
A student is revising Lost Spring and notes: “CBSE often tests a concept by asking a daily-life example from the same chapter.” Using this case, answer: (i) Name the idea. (ii) State it in your own words. (iii) Give one classroom or daily-life use.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

(i) Examples.
(ii) CBSE often tests a concept by asking a daily-life example from the same chapter.
(iii) Apply it in a school experiment, a labelled diagram, or a situation described in the NCERT chapter.

Note

Case-based items recycle a short story. Pull the fact out first, then apply it. This is original practice in CBSE case style — not a copied board paper.

Q.7Extract (Flamingo poem)My Mother at Sixty-six[6]
A student is revising My Mother at Sixty-six and notes: “Use the terms used in the NCERT book; do not replace them with unofficial names.” Using this case, answer: (i) Name the idea. (ii) State it in your own words. (iii) Give one classroom or daily-life use.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

(i) Accuracy.
(ii) Use the terms used in the NCERT book; do not replace them with unofficial names.
(iii) Apply it in a school experiment, a labelled diagram, or a situation described in the NCERT chapter.

Note

Case-based items recycle a short story. Pull the fact out first, then apply it. This is original practice in CBSE case style — not a copied board paper.

Q.8Short Answer — Flamingo[10]
Answer any five of the following in 40–50 words each (5 × 2 = 10 marks).

(A) Give two points to explain Diagrams as used in Lost Spring.
(B) Give two points to explain Practice as used in The Interview.
(C) Give two points to explain Lost Spring as used in Lost Spring.
(D) Give two points to explain The Interview as used in The Interview.
(E) Give two points to explain Examples as used in Lost Spring.
(F) Give two points to explain Accuracy as used in The Interview.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

(A) 1. If the chapter has a diagram, practise labelling it — many school tests ask for labelled figures.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(B) 1. Mix MCQs with short answers so you remember both facts and explanations from The Interview.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(C) 1. Poverty and the vicious circle.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(D) 1. The Interview is an NCERT chapter taught in CBSE Class 12 English.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(E) 1. CBSE often tests a concept by asking a daily-life example from the same chapter.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(F) 1. Use the terms used in the NCERT book; do not replace them with unofficial names.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.

Q.9Short Answer — Vistas style[4]
Vistas-style practice (Vistas is not a separate catalog here). Answer any two in 40–50 words (2 × 2 = 4).

(A) Give two points to explain Practice as used in The Rattrap.
(B) Give two points to explain The Last Lesson as used in The Last Lesson.
(C) Give two points to explain Lost Spring as used in Lost Spring.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

(A) 1. Mix MCQs with short answers so you remember both facts and explanations from The Rattrap.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(B) 1. Linguistic chauvinism.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.
(C) 1. Lost Spring is an NCERT chapter taught in CBSE Class 12 English.
2. Keep the NCERT wording and add one daily-life example from the same chapter.

Note

Revise Vistas from the school book.

Q.10Long Answer — FlamingoPoets and Pancakes[6]
Write a long answer on Keywords. Include definition, explanation and one application.

OR

Write a long answer on The Last Lesson. Include definition, explanation and one application.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

Keywords — Every chapter ends with keywords or a summary that is useful for one-mark answers. Explain the idea in order (definition → working → result). End with one application from daily life or a numerical/diagram if the chapter has one.

Note

Long answers are marked for structure. Use headings or numbered steps so the examiner can see each part.

OR — marking points

The Last Lesson — French will be replaced by German in Alsace. Explain the idea in order (definition → working → result). End with one application from daily life or a numerical/diagram if the chapter has one.

Q.11Long Answer — Vistas styleDeep Water[6]
Write a long answer on Revision. Include definition, explanation and one application.

OR

Write a long answer on Keywords. Include definition, explanation and one application.
Show answer / marking points
Answer / marking points

Revision — Write three points from Deep Water in your own words; that is enough for a short-answer start. Explain the idea in order (definition → working → result). End with one application from daily life or a numerical/diagram if the chapter has one.

Note

Long answers are marked for structure. Use headings or numbered steps so the examiner can see each part.

OR — marking points

Keywords — Every chapter ends with keywords or a summary that is useful for one-mark answers. Explain the idea in order (definition → working → result). End with one application from daily life or a numerical/diagram if the chapter has one.

*** End of paper ***

This practice paper follows the 2025-26 CBSE sample-paper design. Questions are original. Official papers: https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/SQP/ClassXII_2025_26/EnglishCore-SQP.pdf

FAQs

Is this the official CBSE paper?

No. The layout (sections, question numbers, marks and time) follows the 2025-26 sample paper. The questions are original GKSchools practice.

How is the paper scored here?

MCQ, assertion–reason and reading MCQ parts are auto-scored when you submit. Written answers are for self-check against the key.

Where is the official SQP?

Download it from CBSE Academic: https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/SQP/ClassXII_2025_26/EnglishCore-SQP.pdf

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