ICSE Class 10 Syllabus 2028 Mass Media and Communication

ICSE
INDIAN CERTIFICATE OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION
EXAMINATION
YEAR 2028

MASS MEDIA
&
COMMUNICATION
(90)

Developed by:
Research, Development and Curriculum Division (RDCD)
CISCE

January 2026
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)

MISSION STATEMENT

The Council for the Indian School Certificate
Examinations is committed to serving the nation's
children, through high quality educational
endeavours, empowering them to contribute towards
a humane, just and pluralistic society, promoting
introspective living, by creating exciting learning
opportunities, with a commitment to excellence.

ETHOS OF CISCE

Trust and fair play.
Minimum monitoring.
Allowing schools to evolve their own niche.
Catering to the needs of the children.
Giving freedom to experiment with new ideas
and practices.
Diversity and plurality - the basic strength for
evolution of ideas.
Schools to motivate pupils towards the
cultivation of:
Excellence - The Indian and Global
experience.
Values - Spiritual and cultural - to be the bedrock
of the educational experience.
Schools to have an 'Indian Ethos', strong roots in
the national psyche and be sensitive to national
aspirations.

CLASS X
There will be one written paper of two hours duration carrying 100 marks and Internal Assessment of 100 marks.

THEORY – 100 Marks
1. Communication
(i) Principles of Communication
A brief understanding of the following, with examples: irreversible, multi-purpose, interactive,
transactional, punctuated.
(ii) Barriers/Noise in Communication
An overview of the types of barriers in communication, with examples: physical, psychological, semantic,
organisational, cultural.
(iii) Overcoming the barriers/noise in Communication
Understanding the audience and the context; selection of the appropriate communication channel; use of
appropriate language; formulation of the message according to the specific objectives; message must be
coherently structured; ensure proper feedback and feed forward.
A brief understanding of the above with examples.
(iv) Effective Communication - 7Cs
A brief understanding of the 7Cs of Communication: Clarity, Conciseness, Concreteness, Correctness,
Coherence, Completeness, Courtesy.

2. Print Media and Design
(i) Anatomy of a Newspaper and Magazine.
A brief understanding of the following: page layout, visual weight, types of pages, order of pages, use of
ads, use of images, white space and lines, eye movement, position of hard and soft news, headings and
font sizes.
(ii) Elements of a Newspaper
A brief understanding with examples of the following: Masthead, Teaser, Headline, Banner, Byline,
Lead/intro, Lead photo, Caption.
Imprint line and advertisements.
(iii) Principles of Design
An overview of the following principles: balance, proportion, sequence, unity, repetition and variety and
emphasis, with examples.
(iv) Concepts of Page making
A brief understanding of page weighting, use of space, colour and typography with examples.

3. Photography
(i) Importance of photography in Newspapers and magazines.
Importance of photography in creating a picture of the story, educating, entertaining, drawing attention,
and balancing the page.

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(ii) Photo Editing
Perspective; composition: the rule of thirds; cropping; colour correction: brightness and contrast; Image
file formats: BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and how they differ from each other.
A brief understanding of the above with examples.

4. Television
(i) A brief history of Television (globally).
Eras of television broadcasting to be studied briefly:
Black and White: John Baird (creator of television and early contributions), World War II (halt of
television production & use for propaganda); Cathode ray and mechanical scanning (Basic
understanding of meaning and impact).
Colour: First colour television (initial impact), Baird’s improvement (use of scanning disks, impact only),
Peter Goldmark (introduction of electromechanical system, impact only), first colour programs (early
program examples, impact), CRT, compact television (success and impact).
Digital: Digital television (impact), HDTV, NTSC and PAL (Brief understanding, resolutions and
distinction).
(ii) Characteristics of Television.
An understanding of television as a medium: audio-visual medium; live medium; mass medium; domestic
medium; transitory medium and expensive medium.
(iii) Types of Television.
A brief understanding of different types such as:
− Plasma, LCD, LED and OLED,
− SD, HD & UHD
− Smart TV
(iv) Types of Television Broadcasting
A brief understanding of different types of television broadcasting such as: terrestrial, cable,
satellite/DTH, IPTV and online broadcasting.

5. Integrated Marketing Communications- IMC
(i) A brief understanding of IMC; benefits of IMC.
Consistency, Engagement, Brand Recognition, Resource allocation, Cost effective, Flexibility,
competitive advantage, message reinforcement.
(ii) Direct Marketing.
Definition of direct marketing; Marketing Mix - 4 Ps: a brief understanding of Product, Price, Promotion
and Place.
(iii) Internet Marketing.
Definition; Internet as an IMC tool; Interactivity; Advantages and disadvantages of internet marketing.
Advantages: Cost-effective, wide reach, measurable results, brand awareness, target audience.
Disadvantages: Credibility, Spam, Competition, Information Overload, Personal Connection, rapid
evolution, dependence on technology.
(iv) Sales Promotion.

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Definition; types: consumer oriented and trade oriented; uses of Sales Promotion.
(v) New ways of Advertising.
Cross promotions, covert advertising and merchandise.
(vi) Public Relations.
Definition; role of public relations: build a brand image, prepare feedback which allows for improvement,
generate goodwill, evaluate and monitor media tools, aid in advertising and sales promotion, crisis
management.
(vii) Difference between Public relations and Advertising.
A brief understanding.
Note: Case studies may be used to develop a better understanding of the above concepts.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT – 100 Marks
Candidates will be required to do a minimum of four assignments during the year, as assigned by the teacher.
Suggested list of assignments:
1. Create a documentary on the evolution of cameras. The documentary must include narration, at least one
interview, still images of the sample cameras, footage of various cameras in action and samples of the
photographs created by each camera. Total screen time not including credits must be at least ten minutes. This
may be done individually or as a team.
2. Create a power point presentation with the goal of trying to sell a product. Slides must be neat and properly
formatted. The presentation must explain what the product is, why the consumer should buy it, why it is better
than the competition and how to get hold of it. The presentation must have at least one video clip.
3. Create a Blog about your city. The blog must contain both recent as well as old images. Changes in the city
over the years, popular sites, population density, cost of living, general living conditions and future prospects
must be mentioned. The blog must contain at least 600 words. Any free blog site may be used to create this,
but the blog must be available for online viewing.
4. Create a simple four-page e-newspaper. The first page must contain one main story and two human interest
stories. The second page must contain advertisement as well as economic information such as the stock market
and home loans. The third must contain a sports section. The final page must contain an entertainment section
including celebrity gossip, movie reviews, games, jokes and puzzles. Images must be balanced across the
page. All stories must have heading, and sub-headings are suggested. The newspaper may be in grey scale for
the sake of convenience as well as printed on an A4 sheet.
5. Create a Radio program. The total duration of the program should be within 20 to 30 minutes. The program
must contain a jingle, at least three advertisements, no more than 10 minutes’ worth of songs, a short interview
with a teacher/student authority, song requests and at least one public service announcement. All songs played
during the program must be of the same genre and care must be taken to avoid age and culture inappropriate
content.
6. Design and distribute questionnaires (survey) to junior classes selected students. Statistical data must be
collected based on average happiness of students per class, favourite subject, largest class, average marks per
class, number of students who prefer academics, number of students who prefer extra-curricular activities,
percentage of students who live far from school and percentage of each faith followed. This data will then be
presented in the form of a series of pie charts. There must be 20 students in the test group and no more than
three must be of the same class.
7. Develop a survey tool to understand digital media entertainment platforms/ TV watching habits of people in
your neighbourhood/school. Get at least 25 survey forms filled. Analyse the data and present your findings.

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Please note that the above suggestions are indicative; any other assignment is acceptable, provided they align
with the given syllabus.

EVALUATION
The assignments/project works are to be evaluated by the subject teacher and by an External Examiner.
The External Examiner may be a teacher nominated by the Head of the school, who could be from the faculty,
but not teaching the subject in the section/class. For example, a teacher of Mass Media & Communication of
Class XI may be deputed to be an External Examiner for Class X projects.
The Internal Examiner and the External Examiner will assess the assignments independently.
Award of marks (100 Marks)
Subject Teacher (Internal Examiner): 50 marks
External Examiner : 50 marks
The total marks obtained out of 100 are to be sent to CISCE by the Head of the school.
The Head of the school will be responsible for entry of marks on CISCE’s online portal by the due date.

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INTERNAL ASSESSMENT IN MASS MEDIA & COMMUNICATION - GUIDELINES FOR MARKING WITH GRADES

Criteria Preparation Procedure Observation Inference Presentation Marks
Grade I Excellent choice of Originality and relevance; Proper format followed, Information fitted correctly Methodical, precise and 5-4 marks
topic, good research, creative, rational and structured understandable to all ages, to format; work indicates clear expression; neat for each
visually pleasing (or thinking. Proper methodology. correct flow of components understanding, good and tidy presentation; criterion
audio), proper format such as image and audio. comprehension of subject. optimum utilisation of
followed. Components showcased in a skills.
way that is neat and clear.

Grade II Relevant choice of Originality and structured Able to follow format, but not Can format and grasp Work neat and tidy and 3.5 marks
topic; Relevant audio thinking; adequate methodology; precisely; able to grasp information correctly; clearly presented; for each
and visual; adequate good insight. information; independently subject matter shows methodical and criterion
research. done. adequate comprehension. appropriate techniques
Components are in correct used.
format.
Grade III Adequate choice of Records information correctly Assistance required in Requires some assistance to Reasonably clear but 2 marks
topic; some idea of but lacks originality; presenting, recording and relate data to audio/visual work disorganised in for each
what to study; some independent methodology. arranging subject matter; can display; able to arrange places; untidy criterion
information gathered. conduct survey. components. fonts/borders used, mild
clutter.
Grade IV Topic selected but Unable to create or edit a project; Tends to make mistakes in Assistance required in order Sequence of work 1 mark for
continuous assistance requires assistance to prepare organising data; some ability to grasp the relevant and acceptable but not very each
required for collection components. to conduct project. Mistakes validity of information; neat; poor presentation. criterion
of information. Audio and visuals are in editing. tends to make errors.
substandard.
Grade V Lack of perception of Not able to comprehend concept Faulty survey and mistakes in Cannot process results; Presentation untidy and 0 marks
the subject and of a topic; unable to prepare data/ poor collection of faulty conclusions in spite of disorganised; effort and for each
objective; lack of project even with assistance; no components; not able to assistance provided. initiative lacking. criterion
effort. video or audio collected. proceed even with assistance.

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