ASSEB HSLC Class 10 First Language Karbi cheat sheet

Unseen prose passages are answered strictly from the text: locate the sentence that carries the answer and quote or paraphrase it, never import outside knowledge.

Karbi unseen passages often test inference: distinguish stated fact (directly written) from implied meaning (suggested by tone, choice of words, or outcome).

For 'give a suitable title' items, the title must name the central subject of the passage, not a single detail; keep it short and noun-based.

Vocabulary-in-context items: replace the target word with each option and check whether the sentence still makes sense in the passage's register.

Poetry comprehension focuses on figures of speech: simile uses like/as, metaphor states one thing is another, personification gives human traits to non-human things, alliteration repeats initial consonants.

Identify the speaker and the addressee in a poem before answering tone or theme questions; the poet and the speaker are not always the same voice.

For 'what is the tone/mood' items, choose from a controlled set such as joyful, sorrowful, nostalgic, critical, reflective, and justify with one textual phrase.

Sequence and reference questions: track pronouns (he, she, it, they) back to the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and sense.

Summary items require compression, not copying: combine the topic sentence of each paragraph into two or three sentences without adding opinion.

Answer character questions with three parts: a defining trait, one incident that proves it, and the effect of that trait on the story's outcome.

Theme questions are answered as a full statement (for example, 'the story shows that pride leads to downfall'), never as a single word.

Know each prescribed prose piece's title, author, and central conflict; examiners award marks for correct attribution.

Distinguish plot (what happens, in order) from narrative technique (first-person or third-person, flashback, dialogue, irony).

For 'why did X do Y' items, cite the motive the text supplies rather than a moral judgement of your own.

Value-based and message questions: state the lesson in general terms, then tie it to one specific event in the text.

Quotation questions require exact wording and speaker; if unsure of exact words, paraphrase and mark it as paraphrase, not quotation.

Comparison items across two prose texts: name the shared theme first, then give one contrasting detail from each text.

Poetic devices to name precisely: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, repetition, refrain, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, imagery, symbolism.

Rhyme scheme is written with letters per line (abab, aabb, abcb); a line that does not rhyme is marked with a new letter.

Stanza forms: couplet is two lines, quatrain is four lines, sestet is six lines, octave is eight lines.

Theme statements for poems must be complete sentences about human experience, supported by one image from the poem.

Mood and atmosphere questions are answered with an adjective plus evidence: the words that create the feeling.

Know each prescribed poem's poet and central image; many marks are lost on wrong attribution.

Interpret symbolism by asking what abstract idea the concrete object stands for in the poem's context, not in general life.

Contrast items: identify what changes between two stanzas (tone, tense, imagery) and state the effect of the change.

Rapid Reader items reward plot accuracy: keep the order of major events and the names of characters and places straight.

Answer 'describe the character of X' with two traits, each backed by a specific episode, not adjectives alone.

Know the setting of each story or chapter: place, time, and social context shape the conflict.

For 'what is the turning point' items, name the single event after which the outcome becomes inevitable.

Moral or message questions: state the lesson and connect it to the protagonist's final situation.

Distinguish main plot from subplot; questions often ask how a secondary character affects the main action.

Cause-and-effect chains: for each major event, be ready to state the cause that produced it and its consequence.

Title-justification items: show how the title refers to a character, object, or idea that carries the story's central meaning.

Tense agreement: a past-tense main clause takes past-tense reported speech (said that he was), and time words shift (now to then, today to that day).

Subject-verb agreement: singular subjects take singular verbs; with 'either...or' and 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (an hour, a university); 'the' for specific or already-mentioned nouns.

Prepositions of time: in for months, years, and long periods; on for days and dates; at for clock times.

Active to passive: object becomes subject, verb becomes be plus past participle, and the agent is introduced by 'by'.

Direct to indirect questions: replace the question mark with a full stop and use statement order (asked where he lived, not where did he live).

Degrees of comparison: use the comparative for two items and the superlative for three or more; never combine 'more' with an -er form.

Conditionals: first conditional uses present tense in the if-clause and will in the main clause; second uses past plus would.

Punctuation rules: comma for listing and for introductory phrases; apostrophe for possession (the boy's) versus plural (the boys).

A standard essay has three parts: introduction stating the topic, body paragraphs each with one idea plus support, and a conclusion that restates the main point.

Paragraph unity: every sentence must relate to the topic sentence; delete or move sentences that drift.

Cohesive devices to use deliberately: however, therefore, moreover, in addition, on the other hand, as a result.

Formal letters follow a fixed order: sender's address, date, receiver's address, salutation, subject, body, closing, signature.

Notice and report writing: include what, when, where, who, and why in the opening lines; notices are brief and impersonal.

Story writing needs a clear setting, a complication, a climax, and a resolution; keep one consistent point of view.

Descriptive writing appeals to the five senses and uses specific nouns and verbs rather than vague adjectives.

Word-limit discipline: plan the number of paragraphs before writing so the composition ends within the required length.

Editing checklist: check subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, spelling of common words, and capitalisation of proper nouns.

Translate meaning, not word order: render the sense of the sentence in natural target-language structure.

Keep proper nouns, numbers, and dates unchanged in translation unless a standard equivalent exists.

Idioms and proverbs are translated by their equivalent sense, never literally, since literal renderings lose the meaning.

Preserve register: formal source text stays formal, and conversational text stays conversational.

For Karbi-to-English and English-to-Karbi items, check tense and number agreement after translating, since these often shift.

Applied skills include précis writing: reduce to about one-third length while keeping the main argument and no new ideas.

Dialogue and speech conversion: change direct speech to reported speech and adjust pronouns and time references accordingly.

Vocabulary application items test word formation: noun to adjective (beauty to beautiful), verb to noun (decide to decision).