How to Write the Paper

The 15 minutes of reading time

You cannot write from 10:15 to 10:30, but you can plan the whole paper.

Which questions carry an OR changes a little from paper to paper (February 2026 also had one on Q5), so check every section. The question numbers in this guide are the sample paper's. The May 2026 paper shifted them (Geography ran Q10-18, with the map at Q18) and the 2025 map question was Q37, so go by the number printed in your paper and its section heading. By 10:30 every choice is made.

The 3-hour plan

History gets a few extra minutes for its long passages and the 5-marker. In the sample-paper layout, Political Science has the most writing of any section (two 2-markers, a 3-marker, a 5-marker and a case study), so do not let it run short.

A rough guide for each question: about 1 minute for an MCQ (2 for a table or match), 3-4 minutes for a 2-marker, 5-6 for a 3-marker, 10-11 for a 5-marker, 8-9 for a case-based question including the reading, and about a minute for each map item.

If you are behind at 12:30, do not squeeze Economics. Take the time from the last 20 minutes: three 3-markers and a 5-marker are worth more than a final read-through.

The order to attempt questions

1. Divide the answer book first. Head the first page "Section A: History", and start Sections B, C and D each on a fresh page with its own heading.
2. Answer in the paper's order: A, B, C, then D. It keeps every answer in its own section with no effort. Starting with your favourite subject and leaving blank pages for the others is risky: if the space you left runs out, answers end up in the wrong section.
3. Inside a section, go in order too. If one question stalls you, write its number, leave a few lines and move on. Come back to it in the last 20 minutes.
4. Do the map when you reach it: Q9 at the end of Section A and Q19 at the end of Section B, both on the outline map.
5. Never leave a question blank. Two correct points in a 3-mark answer still earn 2 marks.

Presentation that earns marks

• Points, not paragraphs. Number the points (1, 2, 3). Start each with the key term, then explain it in a line or two. A 3-mark answer is usually three points; a 5-mark answer, five.
• Headings when a question has parts. For "importance and distribution (3 + 2)", write two small headings so the examiner finds both.
• Underline the key term in each point, once, with a ruler. Underlining whole sentences hides the keywords instead of showing them.
• Stay near the word limits: about 20 words a point.
• "Evaluate", "Analyse", "Justify" need a reason, not just a fact: "Foreign cloth was boycotted, so the import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922."
• "Differentiate" works well as a small table: a basis of difference in the first column, one row per mark.
• Use the numbers in a data question. "Kerala has the highest literacy (94%) and the lowest infant mortality (6)" is stronger than "Kerala is better".
• Copy the question number exactly as printed: 6A or 6 (a), 8.1 or (8.1), 19 (iii). For an OR, write the option you chose.

The 1-mark questions

• There is no negative marking, so answer every MCQ, even when you have to make your best guess.
• Assertion-Reason: judge A on its own, then R on its own. Only when both are true, ask whether R is the reason A happens.
• Statement combination: mark each statement true or false on the question paper first, then strike out every option that includes a false one or leaves out a true one. Usually only one option survives.
• Chronological order: fix the one event whose date you are surest of, then place the others around it.
• Match the columns: start with the pair you know best and strike out every option that disagrees with it.
• Arrange in order (outside History): items such as forest categories by area (2025) or bauxite states by output (May 2026) test the textbook's rankings. As you read, note every "largest", "leading" and "more than half".
• Read every word of the stem: "NOT", "most appropriate", "best reflects" and "correct pair" decide the answer.
• Hindi-medium students: the question paper is printed in both Hindi and English. If a Hindi term is unclear, read the same line in English. Map labels may be written in Hindi; just write them clearly.

Case-based questions and OR choices

Case-based questions (Q8, Q18, Q28 in the sample-paper layout)

• Read the three sub-questions first, then the passage, so you know what to look for.
• Answer each 1-mark part in one or two sentences. If the answer is in the passage, say it in your own words.
• Give the 2-mark part two separate points, each with its key term. Do not copy lines from the passage and stop there.
• Label the parts exactly as printed: 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 (or (8.1)).
• Keep the whole question within about 100 words.

OR choices

• Decide during the reading time. Choose the option where you can write every point the marks need, not the one that simply looks shorter.
• In a 5-mark OR, the two options are complete questions. Do not mix points from both.
• If you change your mind halfway, cross out the abandoned attempt with a single neat line and write the new option's label clearly. The instruction asks for only one option to be attempted.

Common ways students lose marks

1. A story instead of points. A 5-mark answer written as one long paragraph with only two real points in it earns about 2, not 5.
2. Running past the word limits in History and Political Science, then rushing Economics.
3. Answers in the wrong section, such as a Geography answer in the History part.
4. Mixing up paired terms: horizontal and vertical power sharing; "coming together" and "holding together" federations; prudential and moral reasons; national and State parties; organised and unorganised sectors; Marianne (France) and Germania (Germany).
5. "Give reasons" answered with a bare fact. "Khadi was costly" is a fact. "Khadi cloth cost more than mill cloth, so poor people could not afford to boycott mill cloth for long" is a reason.
6. Case studies answered by copying the passage without explaining.
7. Map items with a symbol but no name, placed in the wrong spot, or all four attempted in an "any three" question.
8. Misreading the stem: "any two", "NOT", "with examples". If an example is asked for, a point without one loses marks.
9. Leaving a question blank. Even two points in a 5-mark answer earn 2 marks.