CBSE Class 12 English

An unseen passage is a piece of continuous prose the reader has not met before: it may be factual (an account of how something works or happened), descriptive (a place, a person, a scene) or literary (a stretch of narrative or reflective writing). Questions on it ask for more than finding a sentence. They ask what the passage means, what follows from it and what the writer is doing, and they are answered either by choosing among options or in a short written answer of a sentence or two.

Reading the passage first

A first reading is for the shape of the passage: what it is about, how it is organised and what the writer's attitude is. Most passages have a main point that the opening paragraph states or hints at, supporting points in the middle and a conclusion, a warning, a recommendation or a turn in the last paragraph. Knowing that shape makes each later question quicker, because the question can be placed within it.

Questions are best read after the passage and then the passage is checked again for the lines they point to. Answers should come from the text and not from what the reader already knows about the topic, since a question that asks what the writer says about, for instance, the effects of noise is asking for the writer's claim and not for general knowledge of noise.

Kinds of question

Comprehension

Comprehension questions ask what is stated. The answer is in the passage, often in different words from the question, so the work is matching meaning and not matching words. When the question asks for a reason, the answer needs a "because" part. When it asks for two examples, the answer gives two, each in the passage's own sense and not as a copied sentence of half a paragraph.

Interpretation and inference

An inference is a conclusion that the text supports without stating it. If a passage says that a shopkeeper pulled down his shutters at noon and the street emptied, the reader may infer that something alarming had happened or was expected, although the passage does not use those words. A sound inference rests on particular words or details and can be pointed to; an unsound one rests on a guess about what "probably" happened. In a short answer it helps to give the inference and, in a clause, the detail that leads to it.

Questions on the writer's tone or attitude are inference questions as well. Tone is read from word choice: "meagre" and "frugal" can describe the same amount of food but the first is critical and the second approving. A writer who piles up examples of a problem and then uses words such as "unacceptable" or "overdue" is arguing and not just reporting. Descriptive passages often have a mood, such as calm, menace or nostalgia, which comes from the images chosen.

Analysis and evaluation

Analysis questions ask how the passage is built: why a paragraph begins with a question, why a statistic comes before an anecdote, what a comparison does for the argument. The answer says what the device does for the reader, for example that an anecdote makes an abstract claim concrete, or that a contrast makes a change look larger. Evaluation questions ask whether a claim is supported, whether a conclusion follows or which of two readings is better, and the answer weighs the evidence in the passage.

Vocabulary through inference

Words in an unseen passage are tested through the context and not through a dictionary. The method is:

1. Read the sentence with the word and the sentences on either side of it.
2. Decide what part of speech it is and whether it carries a positive or negative sense.
3. Look for clues: a contrast word (but, although, whereas) suggests the opposite of something nearby; "such as" and "for example" introduce illustrations of the word; a colon or dash after the word usually introduces its explanation; a list of similar items suggests the word belongs to the same group.
4. Replace the word with the meaning chosen and check that the sentence still makes sense and that the effect matches the rest of the passage.

Words with more than one meaning are the ones to be careful with. "Draw" in "the lecture drew a large crowd" means attract, and in "she drew a conclusion" means reach. The context decides, and a meaning that fits a different sentence is the usual wrong option in a multiple-choice item.

Multiple-choice items

For a multiple-choice item the useful habit is to find the answer in the passage before looking at the options and then see which option says the same. Wrong options tend to take one of a few forms: a statement that is true of the world but not stated in the passage; a statement that is in the passage but answers a different question; one that exaggerates the passage with words like "always", "only" or "all"; and one that reverses a relationship, for instance making a cause into an effect. An option that is partly right is still wrong if it adds a claim the passage does not support.

Short answers

A short answer is one or two sentences that answer exactly what was asked. It does not restate the question or add background. If the question has two parts (what happened and why), the answer has both. The words should be the reader's own, with a key term from the passage kept where there is no good substitute, because copying a whole sentence suggests that the question was not understood and can bring in material that is irrelevant.

Passages of the three types

Factual passages

Factual passages explain a process, report a development or set out a debate. They typically define terms, give causes and effects and use numbers. The reader tracks the claims, notes what evidence is given for each and keeps the writer's view apart from the facts reported. Questions often ask for the cause of something, a comparison between two things or what a term means in the passage.

Descriptive passages

A descriptive passage builds a picture of a place, person or event through detail. Senses (sight, sound, smell, touch) are used, and the writer's choice of what to notice carries the attitude. Questions ask what impression a detail gives, why a particular comparison was chosen and what the narrator's feelings are.

Literary passages

A literary passage is a stretch of narrative, memoir or reflective essay. It often relies on implication, so inference questions are common: what a character's action shows about them, what a change of scene suggests, what is meant by a figurative phrase. Figures of speech are read for meaning in context: "a river of cars" says the traffic was continuous and moved as one body, which is more than "many cars".

Summarising and noting

Some passages invite a summary of the main points or a set of notes. A summary keeps the main point and the points that support it, in the reader's own words, and leaves out examples, repetition and illustration. Notes use a heading, sub-headings and short phrases, with abbreviations and symbols where they help, and keep to the order and proportions of the passage.