Unseen passage and supplementary reader: inference marks versus lifted lines
The reading section carries 10 marks: a 120-word unseen passage about a fishing village where the boats return late because the wind has turned, with five one-mark questions, two of which are inference ('Why did the writer say the harbour was quiet?'). The last five marks come from the supplementary reader: a one-mark synonym, a one-mark idiom, and a three-mark summary of a chapter in about 50 words. Twenty-eight scripts show a clear pattern: on the two inference questions, most pupils have copied a sentence from the passage instead of answering; on the synonym item, several have supplied a dictionary meaning that does not fit the passage; on the summary, twelve pupils have written 90–110 words by retelling the chapter scene by scene. The subject inspection note says inference items must not be answerable by lifting.
1. How do you mark the copied sentences on the two inference questions, and how do you restate the questions so lifting cannot earn a mark?
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Copied sentence = 0, unless the copied sentence is itself a reason and is embedded in the pupil's own causal statement; then 1. A lifted line is evidence, not an answer.
Discrimination test to apply while correcting: does the script contain a because/so link supplied by the pupil, or only quoted words? Only quoted words: 0. Rewrite the two items so this is visible:
- Instead of 'Why did the writer say the harbour was quiet?', ask: 'The writer says the harbour was quiet. Give one reason from the passage and say what it tells us about the fishermen's day.' The stem now demands a link between evidence and inference, which cannot be produced by copying.
- For the second: 'What would the writer most likely say about the wind at the end of the passage? Answer in one sentence of your own.' Prediction cannot be lifted.
Reteaching: board drill where pupils must answer in the frame 'ಕಾರಣ್ … ಮ್ಹಣ್ ಸಾಂಗುಂಕ್ ಜಾಯ್ತಾ' (because … that is why), so the causal connector becomes a habit rather than a rule recited on exam day.
2. On the synonym item, a pupil gives a correct dictionary synonym that does not fit the passage. Mark it and explain the principle you will state to the class.
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Award 0 and write 'ಅರ್ಥ್ ಪಾಸೇಜೀರ್ ಜುಲ್ತಾ ನಾ' (meaning does not fit the passage). Vocabulary items attached to a passage test contextual meaning; a synonym is correct only if it can be substituted into the sentence without breaking sense or register.
Principle to state in one board line: ಪಾಸೇಜಂತ್ ಆ ಶಬ್ದ್ ಕಿತೆಂ ಕಾಮ್ ಕರ್ತಾ, ತೊ ಅರ್ಥ್ ಸೋದ್. (Find the meaning the word carries in the passage.) Then model the substitution test aloud: read the original sentence, drop in the candidate word, and ask whether the sentence still says what the passage says.
Extension for the idiom item: the same test applies, plus one addition - an idiom's meaning is fixed as a whole, so the pupil must give the figurative meaning and, ideally, one Konkani/Kannada equivalent. Accept an equivalent expression even if worded differently; the figure, not the dictionary entry, is being tested.
Reasoning: this keeps the key single-answer (the substituted word either fits or it does not) while still rewarding genuine understanding over memorised glossaries.
3. Twelve summaries run to 90–110 words with scene-by-scene retelling. Decide the marking split for the 3-mark summary and the word-limit treatment.
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Split: 1 mark for the central event/idea, 1 for the outcome or turning point, 1 for compression and coherence. Word limit: 45–55 words is compliant; outside that, deduct 1 once. No further deductions - the limit is a compression test, not a language test.
Applying this to the twelve retellings: most will take the first mark and lose the third, because retelling is not compression. A sequence of scenes gives no single central idea, so the summary answers 'what happened' rather than 'what the chapter is about'. Score them typically 1–2 and write the same comment on all twelve: 'ಘಟನೆ ಆನಿ ವಿಚಾರ್ ವೆಗ್ಳೆಂ ಕರ್' (separate event from idea).
Model answer for the key, in about 50 words, in the frame: who + what changed + how it ended - three sentences, no scene detail. Give pupils that frame as a writing scaffold before the next practice: sentence 1 the situation, sentence 2 the turn, sentence 3 the outcome. Reasoning: compression is a skill with a shape; naming the shape makes the mark scheme auditable and gives the twelve pupils something to do differently rather than just a lower mark.