Maharashtra SSC English - Second/Third Language (MSBSHSE) common mistakes
Maharashtra SSC English - Second/Third Language (MSBSHSE) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When asked to identify a figure of speech, the candidate writes only the label ("Simile", "Personification") and stops, without quoting the words that create the figure or explaining the comparison.
Many textbook exercise formats accept a one-word label, so students practise labelling and never practise justification. In the exam, marks are split between identification and explanation, and the explanation half is lost.
What to do instead
Train a fixed three-part answer for every figure of speech: name it, quote the exact word or phrase, then explain the comparison in one sentence ("The poet calls the moon a 'silver coin', comparing its round, bright shape to money"). Do this even when the question seems to need only a name.
In poetry appreciation questions, the candidate retells the poem's story or paraphrases each line instead of answering the appreciation point asked (theme, tone, central idea, poetic device, or the effect of a particular line).
Students memorise 'summary' answers and reuse them for every poetry question, because retelling feels safe and fills space. They do not read the actual verb in the question (describe, explain, appreciate, justify).
What to do instead
Underline the question's command word and the exact focus before writing. Practise writing four-line appreciation paragraphs that each begin with the required point ("The central idea of the poem is...", "The tone shifts from... to..."), supported by one quoted phrase, and never include line-by-line retelling.
On unseen comprehension passages, answers are lifted as long unedited chunks of the passage, or are written in the first person with invented opinions, rather than being framed in the candidate's own words as directed.
Under time pressure, copying feels faster and safer than composing. Students also miss that many questions say 'in your own words' or 'answer in one sentence', and they misjudge how much of the passage the question actually targets.
What to do instead
Practise the routine: read the questions first, locate the relevant sentence, then rewrite it in a short sentence that keeps the key fact but changes the wording. Check each answer against the word or sentence limit stated, and never add personal opinion unless the question invites it.
In grammar transformation items (change the voice, change the narration, combine sentences, rewrite as directed), the candidate changes only the main verb and leaves pronouns, auxiliaries, time words, or punctuation untouched.
Students learn isolated rules ('was + past participle') without the full transformation checklist, so they miss the accompanying changes in subject/object position, pronoun case, tense backshift, and words like now/today/tomorrow.
What to do instead
Use a written checklist for each transformation type and apply it mechanically: for voice - object becomes subject, verb becomes be + past participle, subject becomes by-agent, pronouns adjusted; for narration - reporting verb, tense backshift, pronouns, place and time words, question word order. Do five sentences per type daily and tick each checklist item.
In letter-writing tasks, the candidate produces a correct body but omits or misplaces formal-letter elements: sender's address, date, receiver's designation, subject line, salutation, complimentary close, and signature, or writes an informal register for a formal letter.
Students treat the letter as an essay and focus all effort on content. Format marks are easy to earn but easy to forget, and the difference between formal and informal register is rarely drilled.
What to do instead
Memorise two skeleton formats (formal and informal) and write the skeleton first, before composing sentences. For formal letters, always include subject line and 'Yours faithfully/sincerely' with the correct name; for informal, use 'Dear ...' and 'Yours affectionately/lovingly'. Practise writing only the skeleton in two minutes until it is automatic.
In notice and report writing, the candidate writes a paragraph of continuous prose with no heading, no date, no name/designation block, and mixes up the two formats (a notice written like a report, or a report written like a notice).
Both are short writing tasks and students treat them as 'small essays'. They have not internalised that a notice is a boxed announcement with a heading and issuing authority, while a report has a title, reporter's name, and past-tense factual account.
What to do instead
Learn the fixed layout of each: notice - name of institution, word NOTICE, date, heading, body (what/when/where/who), name and designation of issuer; report - title, byline, date/place, past-tense factual paragraphs answering what happened, when, where, who was involved, action taken. Write one of each per week and self-check against the layout list.
In summary and note-making tasks, the candidate copies sentences from the passage or writes notes as full sentences with articles and conjunctions, instead of producing a condensed summary in own words or telegraphic notes with headings and sub-points.
Students are not taught the difference between a summary (connected prose, roughly one-third length, own words) and notes (fragments, abbreviations, indentation, no full sentences). Under time pressure they default to copying.
What to do instead
Practise the two skills separately. For summary: identify the main idea of each paragraph, then write one sentence per idea, keeping only essential facts and using linking words. For notes: use a title, numbered headings, sub-points indented, and drop articles, auxiliaries and pronouns; use standard abbreviations. Compare your version against the original to confirm no new information was added.
In translation or additional-language items, the candidate translates word-for-word, producing unnatural word order and literal idioms, and leaves technical terms or proper nouns untranslated when a standard equivalent exists.
Students translate sentence by sentence from the surface structure of the source, without reordering according to the target language's grammar, and they lack a stock of common idiom equivalents.
What to do instead
Translate meaning units, not words: read the whole sentence, identify subject-verb-object in the target language, then rebuild. Keep a personal list of common idioms and their standard equivalents in both directions, and learn the conventional rendering of recurring terms (names, places, institutions). Review by reading the translation aloud for naturalness.
In prose text-based questions, the candidate gives a general answer about the theme of the lesson without referring to the specific character, incident, or line the question names, and does not support the point with evidence from the text.
Students revise lessons by reading summaries rather than re-reading the text, so they remember the moral but not the details. They also confuse 'what is the message' with 'how is the message shown in this scene'.
What to do instead
Revise each lesson with a one-page map: characters, key incidents in order, turning point, and two quotable lines. In answers, name the character and incident explicitly and add a short supporting phrase from the text ('This is seen when ...'). Answer the exact question asked, not the general theme.
In the oral/internal assessment component, the candidate memorises a written script and recites it flatly, cannot answer follow-up questions about their own project, and submits project work that is copied from a source without acknowledgement or personal reflection.
Students treat the internal component as a written test to be memorised, and they underestimate the interactive part (listening and responding, explaining choices). Time for project reflection is left to the last minute.
What to do instead
Prepare bullet points, not a script, and rehearse speaking from them. Practise two-minute talks with a partner who asks two follow-up questions. For project work, keep a short log of what you did, why, and what you learned, and be ready to explain any part of it; cite sources properly and add a brief personal-reflection section.