CBSE 2016 English Communicative Question Paper for Class 10

About this paper

This is the CBSE Class 10 English (Communicative) Summative Assessment-II paper from 2016, code 1/3 (Series JSR, Set 3). It carries 70 marks over three hours, with 15 minutes of reading time, and has 11 compulsory questions in three sections: Reading (20 marks), Writing and Grammar (25 marks) and Literature (25 marks). The reading passages are about computers and automation and about overconfidence. Writing offers an article on nature and stress or a letter on unfair means in exams, followed by a story to complete. Grammar covers gap filling, editing and sentence reordering, and the literature questions draw on Virtually True, A Shady Plot, Julius Caesar, Ozymandias, Snake, The Story of My Life and The Diary of a Young Girl. This copy has the questions only.

Exam

CBSE Class 10

Subject

English

Year

2016

Paper code

1/3

Maximum marks

70

Time allowed

3 hours

Questions

11

Pages

8

Answers included

No, questions only

Paper pattern

• Section A (Reading)

  20 marks

  Questions 1–2: a passage on computers with eight one-mark questions (8 marks), and a passage on overconfidence with short answers and word meanings (12 marks)

• Section B (Writing and Grammar)

  25 marks

  Questions 3–7: article or letter to the editor (5), story writing (10), gap filling (3), editing (4) and sentence reordering (3)

• Section C (Literature)

  25 marks

  Questions 8–11: extract-based questions (3), four short answers out of five (8), a diary entry or long answer on Julius Caesar (4) and a long answer on the novels (10)

Topics covered

• Reading comprehension
• Article writing
• Letter to the editor
• Story writing
• Gap filling, editing and sentence reordering
• Virtually True
• A Shady Plot
• Julius Caesar
• Ozymandias
• Snake
• The Story of My Life
• The Diary of a Young Girl

Questions from this paper

1. Why can't computers lead independent lives or rule the world?
2. How does contact with nature help us fight stress and maintain good health? Describe it in an article in 100–120 words.
3. How is Decius Brutus successful in taking Caesar to the Senate in spite of Calpurnia's efforts to prevent him?
4. Why did the mariners hang the dead albatross around the Ancient Mariner's neck?
5. There were many reasons for Helen Keller's embittered childhood. What were they and how were they overcome?
6. Anne's relationship with her mother was never simple. What created the tension and discord?