Odisha BSE HSC English (FLE) cheat sheet

Unseen passage questions in the Odisha HSC paper carry two passages: one prose (often factual or narrative) and one poem or advertisement-style text; total marks for the section are fixed and each sub-question's mark value tells you how many points to write.

Skimming rule: read the passage once for gist, then read the questions, then re-read only the lines each question points to; answers to 'complete the sentence' items must be lifted from the passage verbatim.

Vocabulary-in-context items ask for a synonym or antonym of a word as used in the passage; test the replacement inside the original sentence to confirm it keeps the same meaning.

True/False and 'pick out the correct statement' items often hinge on one qualifying word (only, never, always, most); locate that word in the passage before deciding.

Inference questions are answered with 'because...' reasoning drawn from the passage, not from outside knowledge; an answer with no textual support earns zero even if true.

For the poem passage, identify the speaker and the addressee first; most comprehension errors come from confusing who is speaking with whom is being addressed.

Paraphrasing items: keep the original tense and subject, replace difficult words with simple ones, and do not add new information; the mark is for meaning, not for length.

Note-making/table-completion items require exactly the number of items asked; extra items are ignored and missing items lose marks one by one.

Composition (essay) format: an opening paragraph stating the topic, two or three body paragraphs each with one controlling idea plus example, and a closing paragraph that restates the stand without new arguments.

Letter writing layout: sender's address, date, receiver's address, salutation, subject line (formal letters), body in paragraphs, subscription, and name; each missing element costs a format mark.

Formal vs informal letter decision rule: if the receiver is an official, editor, or institution, use formal register with 'Yours faithfully'/'Yours sincerely'; relatives and friends take informal register.

Report writing keeps to past tense and third person, includes a headline, a byline (reporter's name), and answers what, where, when, who, how, and why in the opening paragraph.

Notice format: the word NOTICE at the top, name of the issuing institution, date, a bold heading, body of 40-50 words, and the writer's name and designation; notices are always impersonal and never use 'I'.

Word-limit discipline: exceeding the limit is penalised more than falling slightly short; count words for the body only, excluding address and subscription.

Message/e-mail items require the receiver's address, a subject, a short body of three to four sentences, and a closing; do not mix letter conventions into e-mail format.

Cohesion marks come from linkers such as however, therefore, moreover, and on the other hand; each paragraph should contain at least one such connector used correctly.

Tense sequence rule: after a past-tense main verb, the reported clause shifts back one tense (present to past, past to past perfect, will to would); universal truths stay in the present.

Reported speech: change pronouns by speaker-addressee logic, change time and place words (now to then, today to that day, here to there, tomorrow to the next day), and remove quotation marks.

Voice change: the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive; the passive is formed with a form of 'be' plus the past participle; intransitive verbs have no passive.

Conditionals: type 1 uses present plus will; type 2 uses past plus would; type 3 uses past perfect plus would have; mixing the halves is the commonest error.

Subject-verb agreement: a phrase between subject and verb does not change the verb; 'each, every, either, neither' take a singular verb; 'news, mathematics, physics' are singular despite the -s.

Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (an hour, a university), 'the' for something already specified or unique; no article before uncountable nouns used generally.

Preposition collocations tested repeatedly: depend on, insist on, prefer to, capable of, married to, good at, afraid of, congratulate on, listen to, abide by.

Word-formation and synonym-antonym items: decide the part of speech needed from the sentence slot before choosing the form (beauty to beautiful to beautifully).

Answer prose questions with a three-part structure: a direct statement answering the question, a textual reference or quotation, and a comment on theme or character; each part carries marks.

Character questions require at least two traits, each supported by one incident from the text rather than adjectives alone.

Theme questions should name the theme in one line and then show how two separate episodes develop it.

Value-based questions ask for the lesson drawn plus a brief real-life application; the application carries the final mark.

Know each prose piece's author, form (essay, short story, biography, speech), and central conflict; identification questions are set directly from these.

Quotation-based items: state who said it, to whom, and in what situation before explaining significance.

Distinguish the narrator from the author in first-person prose; attributing the narrator's view to the writer is a standard error.

For 'why did X do Y' questions, give the motive stated in the text first, then any implied motive, clearly labelled as inference.

Poetry answers must name the device, quote the line, and explain the effect; naming a device without the quoted line earns partial credit only.

Device definitions: simile uses like or as; metaphor states one thing is another; personification gives human qualities to non-human things; alliteration repeats initial consonant sounds; onomatopoeia imitates sound.

Rhyme scheme is written with letters (abab, aabb); mark the final stressed sound of each line before assigning letters.

Stanza forms: couplet is two lines, tercet three, quatrain four, sestet six, octave eight; a sonnet has fourteen lines.

Tone and mood questions are answered with one adjective plus the words in the poem that create it; 'sad' alone is not a complete answer.

Central idea answers should state the poet's message in one sentence and then support it with two images from the poem.

Symbol questions: identify the object, say what it stands for, and justify with the context in which it appears.

Figure-of-speech identification items often include one line with two devices; list both to secure full marks.

Longer-fiction questions test plot sequence: be able to order key events and name the chapter or episode in which each occurs.

Character-relationship questions ask how two characters change towards each other; answer with a before-and-after contrast.

Extensive reading items reward stating the book's title, author, and a two-line summary before answering the specific question.

For 'what would you have done' questions, take a position, justify it with an event from the text, and acknowledge one counter-view briefly.

Chapter-title questions: explain the title's literal meaning and then its link to the main theme.

Conflict analysis: identify whether the conflict is person versus person, person versus society, or person versus self, and cite the episode that shows it.

Review-style items need a recommendation with a reason; the reason must reference character, plot, or theme specifically, not general praise.

Keep names of characters and places spelled as in the prescribed text; misspelling a character name can cost the identification mark.

Two-passage structure means time must be split deliberately; the prose passage normally carries more marks than the poem, so allocate minutes in proportion to marks.

Sequence questions (arrange the sentences in order) are solved by finding the sentence with no backward reference first; it is usually the opening.

Gap-fill from a passage: the missing word must match the grammar of the surrounding sentence as well as the meaning, so check number and tense.

Matching items (word to meaning, heading to paragraph) should be done by eliminating certain matches first, then confirming the remainder against the text.

Summary writing: keep the passage's order of ideas, use your own words, omit examples, and stay within the word limit stated.

For 'give a suitable title' items, the title must be a short noun phrase covering the whole passage, not just the first paragraph.