Std. XII Maharashtra State Board English First-Term
Examination of 50 marksisaboard-oriented
diagnostic paper.
It should test textbook understanding, interpretation, language use,
writing ability, and familiarity with the novel—not simply memory.
The HSC Board's English activity sheet also emphasizes Prose,
Poetry, Grammar and Writing as major components.
A well-designed 50-mark activity sheet should:
1) Assess the portion
completed in Term I
2) Familiarise students with
the Maharashtra Board question style
3) Check reading
comprehension and textual understanding
4) Test poetic
appreciation and interpretation
5) Assess novel reading
and literary understanding
6) Give sufficient weight
to Writing Skills
7) Identify students' weak
areas before the final HSC examination
8) Encourage students to
write complete, structured and grammatically correct answers
9) Include questions ranging
from easy → moderate → challenging
10) Develop the ability to
apply textbook concepts rather than merely reproduce answers.
Suggested
difficulty distribution
Level
Marks
Purpose
Easy
15
Confidence + basic knowledge
Moderate
25
Board-level preparation
Challenging
10
Analytical/application skills
Total
50
2. Recommended
50-Mark Blueprint
I suggest the following
distribution:
Section
Component
Marks
A
Prose
15
B
Poetry
10
C
Novel
10
D
Writing Skills
15
TOTAL
50
This gives 60% weight to literature and 30% to
writing, with the remaining marks distributed across the literary
components. You can adjust the exact distribution according to the portion
actually taught.
3. Suggested Question Paper Architecture
A very practical 50-mark paper could look like this:
Q.1 Prose – 15 marks
A.
Objective/text-based: 4
B. Short
answers: 6
C.
Analytical answer: 5
Q.2 Poetry – 10 marks
A.
Extract-based: 5
B.
Appreciation/analysis: 5
Q.3 Novel – 10 marks
A.
Short/objective: 4
B.
Character/event: 3
C.
Analytical: 3
Q.4 Writing Skills – 15 marks
A.
Writing task: 5
B.
Writing task: 5
C.
Writing task: 5
Grand Total = 50 marks
4. Quality Checklist for the Paper Setter
Before finalising the paper, check these points:
Content balance
All
prescribed First-Term prose lessons represented fairly
Poetry
portion adequately represented
Novel
portion included
Writing
Skills represented
No
question is unnecessarily repeated
Question quality
Questions
are clear and unambiguous
No
question depends on memorising a particular guidebook answer
At least
some questions test interpretation
At least
one question tests personal response/application
Questions
cover different cognitive levels
Difficulty
30% easy
50%
moderate
20%
challenging
No
unexpectedly difficult question dominates the paper
For a First-Term 50-mark paper, don't try to reproduce the
entire 80-mark HSC paper proportionally. Instead, make it a compact
board-practice paper with this philosophy:
Note-making: Itisan activeandfocused‘writingskill’.Hereconcrete connection between
all relevant concepts and words is drawn to infuse or connect all thoughts
together by a method. (points, tree diagram or a table etc.)
Note Making is a way of recording
important details from a source. This source can be any book, article, or a
passage. In note making, the writer records the essence of the information. It
helps to understand the main information. Note making saves a lot of time. One
can get a glimpse of a lot of information from a short note. A note making
involves the selection, analysis, summarization, and organization of information.
The Procedure of Note Making
1)Read
the given passage carefully.
2)Underline
the important points. It helps to make headings and subheadings.
3)Make
a rough note first to get an idea.
4)Organize
the points in logical order or sequence for the final note.
5)Use
the appropriate note making format
6)Do
not change the idea or the message of the passage.
Points to Remember:
a)Avoid
using long sentences as heading or title or sub points.
b)Never
lose the main idea of the passage.
c)Ignore
information which is less important.
d)Be
brief, clear, and specific.
e)Show
logical sequencing.
f)Do
not include your own views or understandings.
Ice Breakers:
1) Complete the web:-
We take notes of-
a) book
b) speech
c) lecture
d) article
e) reading
f) passages (extracts)
2) We take notes because:-
1)Improvement
in listening becomes an active process
2)It
has great importance in exams or in academic writing.
3)It
reduces study time.
4)It
helps to take revision of the topic.
5)To
review before exams.
6)It
is an organization of main points for future use.
7)It
helps in keeping the information handy.
8)It
helps in recollecting and recalling the past events.
9)It
helps in concentrating, understanding and provides a permanent record.
10)Note
making helps a writer to go through bulky documents quicker.
11)It
helps in understanding a material if the notes are in own words.
12)Understand
what you are learning and clarify your thinking
13)It distinguishes between main points
and its details.
NOTE-TAKING
AND NOTE-MAKING
Note taking
Note making
Only jotting down points, involves no sight
interpretation
Helps student to see each point clearly along with
its link or connection with each other
Very little changes are required
Easier to change the notes made
Taking points from one source at a time
Involves the taking of points from different
sources.
Less understanding
More understanding
Points or notes are written in full form. Points
given by sources are taken directly.
Note making is often in short form.
Only gives the early configuration for the whole
topic.
Helps the students in capturing its main key.
Notes are made from sources. They are hand-made
since the time available is limited.
Constructed by the learner themselves, in hand-made
or in computer-typed form
It is an
active and focused
‘writing skill’. Here
concrete connection between all relevant concepts and words is drawn to
connect all thoughts together by a specific method.
Note Making is a way of
recording important details from a source. This source can be any book,
article, or a passage.
In note making, the writer
records the essence of the information. It helps to understand the main
information.
Note making saves a lot of
time. One can get a glimpse of a lot of information from a short note.
Note making involves the
selection, analysis, summarization, and organization of information.
The Procedure of Note Making
1) Read the given passage
carefully.
दिलेला उतारा काळजीपूर्वक वाचा.
2) Underline the important
points. It helps to make headings and subheadings.
महत्त्वाचे मुद्दे अधोरेखित करा. याचा
उपयोग मुख्य मुद्दे आणि उपमुद्दे बनविण्यास होईल.
3) Make a rough note first to
get an idea.
कल्पना येण्यासाठी प्रथम एक रफ नोट
बनवा.
4) Organize the points in
logical order or sequence for the final note.
अंतिम नोंदीसाठी मुद्दे तार्किक
क्रमाने जोडा.
5) Use the appropriate note
making format.
नोट बनवण्याचे योग्य स्वरूप
वापरा.
6) Do not change the idea or
the message of the passage.
परिच्छेदाची कल्पना किंवा संदेश बदलू
नका.
Points to
Remember:
a) Avoid using long sentences
as heading or title or sub points.
लांबलचक वाक्ये मुख्य मुद्दा किंवा
शीर्षक किंवा उपमुद्दे म्हणून वापरणे टाळा.
b) Never lose the main idea of
the passage.
परिच्छेदाची मुख्य कल्पना कधीही
नाहीशी करू नका.
c) Ignore information which is
less important.
कमी महत्त्वाच्या माहितीकडे दुर्लक्ष
करा.
d) Be brief, clear, and
specific.
संक्षिप्त, स्पष्ट आणि
विशिष्ट मुद्दे घ्या.
e) Show logical sequencing.
तार्किक अनुक्रम दाखवा.
f) Do not include your own
views or understandings.
तुमची स्वतःची मते किंवा समज समाविष्ट
करू नका.
Types of Notes-
1) Tree Diagram
2) Table
3) Points
4) Charts (Bar Charts, Pie Charts, Flow Charts)
5) Line Graph
6) Pictograms
7) Maps
8) Plans
Features of Note Making-
- Helps student to see each
point clearly along with its link or connection with each other
विद्यार्थ्याला प्रत्येक मुद्दा
त्याच्या दुव्यासह किंवा एकमेकांशी जोडलेले पाहण्यास मदत करते.
- Involves the taking of
points from different sources.
विविध स्त्रोतांकडून मुद्दे घेणे
जमायला लागते.
- More understanding
विषयाची अधिक समज होते.
- Note making is often in
short form.
नोट बनवणे बहुतेक वेळा शॉर्ट
फॉर्ममध्ये असते.
- Helps the students in
capturing its main key.
विद्यार्थ्यांना त्याची मुख्य मुद्दा
शोधण्यास करण्यात मदत करते.
Activity No. 1
Read the extract
and write a note in tabular format.
Ramayana and Mahabharata are two great epics of
India. Ramayana is written about 7000 years ago while Mahabharata is written
about 4000 years ago. Poet Valmiki wrote Ramayana and Maharshi Ved Vyas
created Mahabharata. Lord Rama is the hero of Ramayana while Lord Krishna is
the central character of Mahabharata. The central women characters of
Ramayana are Seeta and Kaikai while in Mahabharata Draupadi and Kunti are the
central women characters. In both epics war took palce. The war in Ramayana
took place in Lanka and in Mahabharata it took place in Kurukshetra. The
message of both epics is that at the end good wins.
Answer-
Activity No. 2
Read the extract
and write a tree diagram describing the main points and their sub points.
Books have always been man’s best friends. There are books on a wide range of
topics. They can be grouped under different categories namely literature,
expository, philosophical and reference. Poetry, drama, novel and short
stories all come under literature which is meant to entertain. Books that
provide information are expository type and include history, geography,
politics and sociology. Philosophical books deal with religion and theology.
These books are for deep thinking. Reference books are for the study. They
include dictionary, world records and facts and figure etc.
Answer-
Activity No. 3
Read the extract
and make a pie chart.
In India there are various causes of road accidents.
The major cause of road accident is driver fault. Due to the mistake of
driver near about 77 % road accidents are done. The second major cause of
road accident in India is surprisingly the passenger fault. 8 % road
accidents are caused due to the mistake of the passengers. The speed of
vehicles also caused 5 % road accidents. Increasing speed increases the
percentage of road accidents. Mechanical defect in vehicles also causes road
accidents. 3 % road accidents are done due to this reason. There are other
factors which are also responsible for road accidents, include fallen trees
and cattle. 4 % of road accidents are caused due to this reason. 2 % road
accidents are caused due to absence of reflectors.
Answer-
See Video Presentation- What is Note Making
Video created by Dr. Sanjay Gaikwad
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Activity-
Note Making
Q. Read the following passage and write note in table format.
There are three seasons in India. They
are summer, rainy seasons and winter. The duration of the summer seasons in
India is form February to May. During the period the climate is very hot. If
we consider the festivals during the summer season, we find many fairs and
meals. The work of ploughing fields is done in summer seasons. June to
September is included in the rainy seasons. The climate is cloudy, chilly and
cold. Gauri and Ganesh festival are
celebrated in the rainy seasons. The work of sowing seeds is done in the
beginning of the seasons.
The duration of the winter seasons in
India is from October to December. During the period the climate is very
cold. If we consider the festivals
during the winter season, we celebrate Dipawali, Drashara etc. The work of
ripping crops and sowing seeds again is done in winter seasons.
