Prescribed textbook and supplementary reader content (themes, characters, extracts)
The prescribed textbook and supplementary reader section examines the lessons set by the board: prose extracts, poems and civilisation texts. Questions typically ask for the theme, a character sketch, the meaning of a given line, the moral, or a personal opinion supported by the text. The lesson list is fixed by the current Balbharati (MSBSHSE) edition, so verify it against your own copy rather than an old guide.
Read for theme, not plot
For each lesson, note in one line: the theme (friendship, courage, environment, family, exile), the setting, two or three main characters with one adjective each, and the turning point. Examiners rarely ask "what happened next"; they ask Dégagez le thème or Que pensez-vous du personnage de… ?
Answer with textual evidence
A character answer needs an adjective plus proof: not « Il est gentil » but « Il est généreux : il partage son repas avec l'inconnu. » For an extract question, quote two or three words and explain them in your own sentence.
Worked example
Extract: « Chaque matin, Mme Dubois ouvre sa boulangerie à six heures. Elle connaît tous ses clients par leur prénom et leur garde souvent un croissant de côté. » Question: Qu'est-ce qui montre que Mme Dubois est proche de ses clients ? Answer: Elle connaît leurs prénoms et leur met un croissant de côté. Reasoning: the question asks for evidence, not a summary; those two details are the proof, and leur correctly replaces à ses clients.
Traps that cost marks
Retelling the whole story instead of answering. Confusing the author with the narrator or with a character. Quoting a long sentence without explaining it. Writing the answer in English. Offering an opinion with no reason (« J'ai aimé » alone). Mixing up characters from two different lessons.