The Correct Line That Was 'Corrected'
In a Faizabad school, the Class 10 grammar section has a 5-mark editing task: ten numbered lines, with one word missing in nine lines and one line already correct. Each correct answer is worth 0.5. The instruction says to tick the correct line. Line 6 is the correct one and reads, 'The number of visitors has increased.' Pupil A writes 'is' on line 6; Pupil B writes 'has' on line 6, treating 'has' as the missing word; Pupil C leaves line 6 blank. The key says line 6: No error. On line 3 the key gives 'a', but 'the' is also grammatically possible in that sentence. Three teachers are moderating: one wants to deduct 0.5 for every wrong attempt, one says English has no negative marking, and one wants to accept any grammatically possible article. The head of department asks for a written moderation note before the results are compiled.
1. Mark line 6 for A, B and C under a no-negative-marking policy, and explain why the policy matters here.
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A: 0. 'Is' is an incorrect insertion into a line that is already complete.
B: 0. 'Has' is already in the line; treating it as the missing word is a misreading of the instruction and produces a sentence with a repeated word.
C: 0. A blank is not a tick, so the correct line has not been identified.
Under the board's pattern there is no negative marking in English, so none of the three loses 0.5. If a teacher deducts, a script can fall below zero on this item, which the scheme does not authorise. The blank is not a correct answer, but it is not a wrong insertion either; record zero, not a penalty. The item total is simply the number of correct ticks or words multiplied by 0.5.
2. Decide how to treat the 'a' versus 'the' item on line 3 and write the ruling for the moderation note.
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Ruling: accept an alternative only if it is grammatical in context and does not change the meaning the passage requires.
Read the preceding line before deciding. If the noun is introduced for the first time, 'a' is the keyed answer; 'the' is defensible only if the noun has already been mentioned or is uniquely identifiable from the situation. Do not accept mechanically merely because a form is grammatical somewhere.
If both are defensible, mark both correct for all candidates and record the key error in the moderation report. A key error penalises every candidate equally and is therefore a fairness issue, not a clerical one. Do not accept a change that alters the sense simply because it is grammatical.
3. One teacher says class teaching should drill 'The number of ... has' as a rule. Explain how you would teach line 6 differently so that students recognise a correct line.
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Teach the distinction between subject and quantifier, not a memorised string. In 'The number of visitors has increased', the subject is 'the number', singular, so the verb is 'has'; 'visitors' sits inside the prepositional phrase and cannot control the verb. Contrast it with 'A number of visitors have arrived', where 'a number of' means 'several' and takes a plural verb.
Then train the editing habit the task actually tests: read each line aloud, ask whether anything is missing or wrong, and if nothing is, tick it. Students lose marks because they assume every line must contain an error. A short weekly exercise with one correct line among nine wrong ones builds the confidence to leave a line alone.