ISC Class 12 Syllabus 2027 Elective English

ISC YEAR 2027

INDIAN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATION

ELECTIVE ENGLISH
(850)

February 2025
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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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.

ELECTIVE ENGLISH (850)

Aims:
1. To provide candidates with a wider course in 2. To expose candidates to a deeper knowledge and
Elective English than offered in the compulsory
appreciation of literary works in English.
English paper.

Classes XI & XII
There will be two papers in the subject:
Paper I - Theory: 3 hours…… 80 Marks
Paper II - Project Work ……. 20 Marks

PAPER I (THEORY): 80 Marks
Candidates will be compulsorily required to answer (iii) Description of each incident in the play
questions based on Prose, Drama and Poetry. or novel and its significance.
For both Class XI & XII: (iv) Important themes and motifs of the text.
• There will be a choice between two of the (v) Relationships between characters and
prescribed novels incidents.
• There will also be a choice between two of the (vi) Patterns and nuances of the text.
prescribed Drama (plays)
(vii) Fantasy and the supernatural.
• The poems prescribed will however be
compulsory. (viii) Stylistic and narrative devices.
1. The questions in the paper will be broadly based (ix) Students’ personal response to and
on the following categories: assessment of the novel/play.
(i) Prose (x) Humour, pathos, tragedy, sarcasm and
so on in the texts.
(ii) Drama
(xi) The novel/play in the context of
(iii) Poetry contemporary society.
The question may be character-based, incident (b) Poetry
based, general broad based, theme based or
require critical evaluation. (i) Different types of poems with their
characteristics and features:
2. Students will need to study and have a
knowledge of the following:  lyric
(a) Prose and Drama  sonnet – both Petrarchan (Italian)
and Shakespearean
(i) Life of the playwright and novelist and
important events therein.  ballad
(ii) Evaluation of characters and the roles  elegy
played by them in the text.  blank verse
 free verse

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 narrative poetry  Type of poem
 pastoral poetry  Setting
 dramatic monologue  Theme
 Mood and atmosphere
 romantic poetry
 Different levels of meaning in the
(ii) All literary devices in detail and how to poem, if any
recognize them:
 Rhyme scheme and its significance
 simile
 Symbolism
 metaphor  Imagery
 personification  Literary devices
 apostrophe  The student’s own personal
 alliteration response to the poem.

 assonance Note: Credit is given for textual detail and for the
candidate’s own response.
 repetition
Candidates are advised to exercise their options with
 irony great care, keeping in view their knowledge and
 imagery understanding of the question(s) chosen. Candidates
are also expected to be precise and to avoid
 enjambment unnecessary details.
 pun Syllabus to be covered in Class XI
 contrast
Prescribed Books
 climax and anti-climax I. Novel: Animal Farm : George Orwell
 onomatopoeia OR
 hyperbole From Heaven Lake: Vikram Seth
 oxymoron II. Drama: Twelve Angry Men: Reginald Rose
OR
 litotes
The Importance of Being Earnest:
 symbolism
Oscar Wilde
(iii) A thorough knowledge of the poets’ III. Poetry: Fireflies (A collection of poems)
lives and styles of writing.
The following poets and poems are to be studied:
(iv) Important themes of the poems.
John Milton: Song on May Morning;
(v) Patterns and nuances of the poems. When I consider how my light is spent (On His
(vi) Fantasy and the supernatural if present Blindness); From Paradise Lost; Book I –
Satan’s speech (lines 242-270); From Paradise
in any poem.
Lost Book IX - Eve’s lines (lines 733 – 785)
(vii) Symbolism and Imagery.
Percy Bysshe Shelley: England in 1819;
(viii) How to write a proper Critical To a Skylark; The Cloud ; Autumn: A Dirge
Evaluation / Appreciation, which must
contain the following components: Thomas Hardy: Neutral Tones; The Man He
Killed; The Going; The Convergence of the
 Life of the poet and how it has Twain
impacted his/her style of writing
 Autobiographical element in the
poem

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William Butler Yeats: No Second Troy; III. Poetry: Fireflies (A collection of poems)
Easter 1916; The Wild Swans at Coole; The The following poets and poems are to be studied:
Second Coming
T.S. Eliot (American-English): The
Wilfred Owen: Arms and the Boy; The Last Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock; Preludes; The
Laugh; Anthem for Doomed Youth; Mental Journey of the Magi
Cases
Maya Angelou (American): The Mothering
Dylan Thomas: Death Shall Have No Blackness, Still I Rise, Awaking in New York
Dominion, Poem in October; Fern Hill; Do not
go gentle into that good night Sylvia Plath (American): Mirror; Tulips;
Pursuit
Carol Ann Duffy: War Photographer; In Mrs
Tilscher’s Class; History; Mrs Midas Gieve Patel (Indian): Post Mortem; On Killing
a Tree; From Bombay Central; Squirrels in
Syllabus to be covered in Class XII Washington
Prescribed Books Sujata Bhatt (Indian – emigrated to USA in
I. Novel: The Book Thief: Markus Zusak 1968): Search for My Tongue; The Stare; A
Different History
OR
The Namesake: Jhumpa Lahiri Benjamin Zephania (British-
Jamaican):What If; Faceless; We Refugees
II. Drama: An Enemy of the People: Henrik Ibsen
OR Seamus Heaney (Northern Ireland - moved
to the Irish Republic in 1972):Digging,
Tughlaq by Girish Karnad
Casualty, Whatever You Say Nothing

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PROJECT WORK FOR CLASS XII
Project Work in Class XII is to be assessed EVALUATION
internally by the subject teacher and externally
Marks (out of a total of 20) should be distributed
by the Visiting Examiner appointed locally and
as given below:
approved by CISCE.
1. Internal Assessment by the 10 Marks
The candidates will produce original, creative,
critical/ analytical, insightful perspectives on any Teacher*
ONE text (novel/ poetry/ drama – to be taken only 2. External Evaluation by the 10 Marks
from the syllabus to be covered in Class XII) that Visiting Examiner **
they have chosen to study. TOTAL 20 Marks
Candidates will be required to produce ONE written
assignment (1000 to 1500 words). *Internal Assessment Criteria for the Written
Assignment by the Teacher:
The written assignment should be organised in the
following manner: Assessment Candidates Marks
Criteria should be able
1. The title of the assignment should be in the form to:
of a question that allows the candidate to 1. Process Identify the 3
explore and critically analyse the specified topic. Plan a
text(s). detailed written
assignment.
2. The assignment should follow the structure
Produce a
given below: written outline.
- An introduction that states the reason for 2. Understanding, Use a range of 4
choosing that particular topic/ question and Application of literary aspects
text. Teachers could assist by suggesting a Knowledge and such as plot,
list of questions. Analysis setting,
characters,
- A brief description of the methods adopted – action, style and
what did the candidate do to answer the ideas in order to
research question? present an
- Results – What was the answer to the organized and
well-structured
question? What were the candidate’s
complete
findings? assignment.
- Conclusion – A brief discussion on the 3. Presentation Prepare the 3
significance of the project and the document
candidate’s own perspective / views on the (overall format:
question. headings, sub-
headings,
- Candidates should include a bibliography paragraphing)
that mentions ALL the material that they writing within a
referred to. word limit of
1000 - 1500
Note: The text/texts that is/are analysed should be words and
provide a
chosen from the prescribed syllabus for grade
separate title
XII. page.
TOTAL 10

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**External Evaluation by the Visiting Examiner: List of suggested assignments for Project Work:
Assessment Candidates should Marks 1. How do the plot, setting, characters, action and
Criteria be able to: stylistic techniques contribute to the evolution of
1. Presentation The project should 4 a successful literary work? What in your opinion
adhere to the word constitutes a ‘relevant’ text?
limit of 1000 to 1500
words. 2. Compare a prescribed text to another text of the
The document should same genre on a similar topic that you have read.
have: What are the interesting similarities
- a title page stating /dissimilarities that you have discovered?
the topic/ question 3. In what ways would a text of your choice be
- an introduction, different if it were set in another era?
- appropriate
headings and sub- 4. If you were given an opportunity to make
headings changes in the text chosen by you, what would
- a well worded they be? Discuss in detail why you think these
conclusion that changes would make it more appealing and
ties together all engrossing.
the main points
made an 5. If you could choose a character from a text as
acknowledgement your alter ego, who would it be and why? Would
of all sources of you like to change the responses that were made
information/ by the character to the events in the plot? Give
references in a your reasons for the same.
proper format
Note: No Question Paper for Project Work will
2. Content - Give an interesting 6
be set by CISCE.
knowledge introduction that
presents a clear
explanation and
scope of topic
- present information
in a cohesive well
structured manner
- display a
knowledge of topic
by referring to other
sources
- sum up main points
in conclusion
TOTAL 10

ISC Examination Year 2027 8