The paper at a glance
The Class 10 Social Science (087) board paper is 80 marks and 3 hours, with 38 questions, all compulsory. The other 20 marks of your 100 come from internal assessment done by your school.
The paper has four sections of exactly 20 marks each, one per subject. In the sample paper and both 2026 board papers they came in this order and this layout:
| Type | Marks each | A: History | B: Geography | C: Political Science | D: Economics | Marks in all |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCQ (incl. Assertion-Reason) | 1 | Q1-4 | Q10-15 | Q20-23 | Q29-34 | 20 |
| Very short answer (VSA), max 40 words | 2 | Q5 | Q16 | Q24-25 | – | 8 |
| Short answer (SA), max 60 words | 3 | Q6 | – | Q26 | Q35-37 | 15 |
| Long answer (LA), max 120 words | 5 | Q7 | Q17 | Q27 | Q38 | 20 |
| Case-based (CBQ), 3 parts, max 100 words in all | 4 | Q8 | Q18 | Q28 | – | 12 |
| Map | 2 / 3 | Q9 (2) | Q19 (3) | – | – | 5 |
| Section total | 20 (9 questions) | 20 (10) | 20 (9) | 20 (10) | 80 |
Notice the shape. In the sample-paper layout, Economics has no map and no case-based question, so its 20 marks sit in six MCQs, three 3-markers and one 5-marker. History and Geography share the two map questions (2 + 3 = 5 marks). Political Science has the most 2-markers.
The February 2026 board paper followed this layout slot for slot. The May 2026 second board paper kept the same paper-wide totals but moved some slots: Geography had five MCQs and a 3-marker instead of six MCQs and a 2-marker, Political Science had no case-based question, and Economics had one. The 2025 paper was arranged by question type (Sections A to F) but still gave exactly 20 marks to each subject.
Before the 3 hours start you get 15 minutes of reading time. In the 2025 and both 2026 board papers the paper was handed out at 10:15 a.m., reading ran till 10:30, and writing started at 10:30.
The paper is set at four levels: about 24 marks test remembering and understanding, 11 test applying, 40 test analysing and evaluating, and 5 are map skill. So half the paper asks you to use what you know. Expect stems like "Evaluate", "Analyse", "Justify", "Suggest", and scenarios such as a steel company choosing an iron-ore belt or a farmer choosing between tea and coffee.
The 1-mark questions
All 20 MCQs carry 1 mark each, with no part marks. They come in a few fixed formats:
| Format | What it looks like | Seen in |
|---|---|---|
| Assertion-Reason | A statement (A) and a reason (R); choose one of four fixed options | All four papers studied |
| Statement combination | Three or four statements; pick "Only a and c" or "Only I, II and IV" | All four papers |
| Match the columns | Writers and works, dams and rivers, national parks and states, minerals and mines | All four papers |
| Picture, painting, stamp or cartoon | Identify what it shows (a text question replaces it for visually impaired candidates) | All four papers |
| Data or numbers | GDP by sector, average income, an HDI rank table | All four papers |
| Scenario | "A steel company requires…", "Swapna, a small farmer…" | All four papers |
| Chronological order | Put four History events in order | Sample paper and both 2026 papers |
| Two statements | Statement I and Statement II; options either say which are correct (sample paper) or follow the Assertion-Reason style (2025) | Sample paper and 2025 |
| Arrange in order (not History) | Rank forest categories by area, or states by bauxite output | 2025 and May 2026 |
| Clue box | Name the soil or crop from three clues | Both 2026 papers |
"All four papers" means the 2026-27 sample paper and the board papers of 2025, February 2026 and May 2026.
Assertion-Reason options are always the same four (printed A to D in the paper):
- (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
- (c) A is true, but R is false.
- (d) A is false, but R is true.
The sample paper has three of them, Q15, Q20 and Q34, one each in Geography, Political Science and Economics. Do not assume both statements are true: in Q15 the key is (c), because Bengaluru's IT growth is not mainly due to nearby ports.
Internal choice
There is no overall choice. In every paper studied, every 5-marker had an OR, and so did one or two shorter questions:
| Paper | Questions with an OR | How the choice is printed |
|---|---|---|
| Sample paper 2026-27 | Q6 (3 marks); Q7, Q17, Q27, Q38 (5 marks); in the map question Q19, one dam OR another | 6A OR 6B |
| February 2026 | Q5 (2 marks); Q6 (3 marks); Q7, Q17, Q27, Q38 (5 marks) | 6 (a) OR (b) |
| May 2026 | Q25 (2 marks); Q6 (3 marks); Q7, Q16, Q28, Q37 (5 marks) | (a) OR (b) |
| 2025 (older layout) | Q21 (2 marks); Q28 (3 marks); Q30-33 (5 marks) | (a) OR (b) |
- No MCQ and no case-based question has a choice in any of these papers.
- The two options come from the same chapter with the same marks (unification of Germany OR Italy; tea OR coffee). A choice lets you pick the easier question; it does not let you skip a chapter.
- In the sample paper, the Economics OR (Q38B) uses the same data table as Q38A.
- Attempt only one option. The instruction says "Only one of the choices in such questions must be attempted". Writing both only wastes time you need later.
The general instructions in plain words
- 38 questions, all compulsory. Leave nothing blank. A half-finished answer can still earn a mark for each correct point.
- Four sections: A History, B Geography, C Political Science, D Economics, 20 marks each.
- Word limits: a 2-mark answer (VSA) should not exceed 40 words, a 3-mark answer (SA) 60 words, a 5-mark answer (LA) 120 words, and a whole 4-mark case-based question (three sub-questions together) 100 words.
- Map questions carry 5 marks: Q9 in History (2 marks) and Q19 in Geography (3 marks). Both are answered on one outline map of India printed at the end of the question paper.
- Internal choice: attempt only one of the options.
- Visually impaired candidates get a separate question in place of each question with a picture, cartoon or map (in the sample paper, Q2, 9, 19 and 23). Only visually impaired candidates attempt these.
- Divide your answer book into four sections, History, Geography, Political Science and Economics, and write each answer in its own section. Both 2026 board papers made this compulsory: "Do not mix answers of one section into the other section."
- Write the Q.P. code on the title page of the answer book, and write each question's number before you answer it.
How written answers are marked
MCQs are right or wrong. Every other question is marked point by point: the marking scheme lists value points, and each correct point you write earns its mark, even if something else in the answer is weak. The schemes end with lines like "any 3 points" and "or any other relevant point", so a correct point in your own words also counts.
Real examples from the 2026-27 sample paper's marking scheme:
| Question | Marks | How the scheme gives them |
|---|---|---|
| Q24: how Belgium shared power between the centre and the states | 2 | Three points listed, any two, 1 mark each |
| Q26: elections are not only about caste | 3 | Four arguments listed, any three, 1 mark each |
| Q27A: provisions of the 1992 amendments | 5 | Five provisions, 1 mark each |
| Q35: Ravi's village, more people on farms than needed | 1 + 2 | 1 for the reason (disguised unemployment), then any two remedies, 1 mark each |
| Q38A: data table of three states | 1 + 2 + 2 | 1 for comparing the states, any two inferences, any two suggestions |
Half marks exist too: in 2025, "mention any two sources of capital of cooperative societies" was worth ½ + ½.
How long to write (a guide, not a rule):
| Marks | Word limit | Points to write | Words per point, roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 40 | 2 | about 20 |
| 3 | 60 | 3 | about 20 |
| 5 | 120 | 5, or as the split says (3 + 2 in February 2026 Q17) | 20-25 |
| 4, case-based | 100 for the whole question | 1 + 1 + 2 | 20-25 for each 1-mark part, 40-50 for the 2-mark part |
The scheme gives marks for correct points, not for length. A longer answer earns nothing extra and eats time you will need for Economics at the end.
Precise facts make a point clearly right. The sample paper's scheme is full of them: the import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922; FICCI was formed in 1927; Kerala's literacy of 94% sits with an infant mortality rate of 6. Where you know a name, date, place or number, put it in.
How case-based questions are marked
- There are three. In the sample-paper layout they are History (Q8), Geography (Q18) and Political Science (Q28), but May 2026 had them in History (Q8), Geography (Q17) and Economics (Q38), and 2025 in History, Political Science and Economics (Q34-36), with none in Geography. Each is a short passage with a title, then three sub-questions worth 1 + 1 + 2 in some order. The 2-mark part usually comes last, but the sample paper put it in the middle in Q18 and Q28.
- The 1-mark parts are often answered from the passage itself. In the sample paper, 8.1 asks which newspaper began English printing in India, and the passage names the Bengal Gazette.
- The 2-mark part needs your own knowledge: two points or two examples, 1 mark each. For "how does people's participation help forest management? Give two examples", the scheme accepts examples such as the Beej Bachao Andolan and Joint Forest Management.
- Sometimes a part goes beyond the passage. In 2025, a passage on print and censorship asked why Gandhiji started a satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act.
- The 100-word limit covers all three parts together.
How map questions are marked
- History, Q9 (2 marks): two places are already marked A and B on the outline map. Identify them from the clues and write their names on the lines drawn near them. 1 mark each.
- Geography, Q19 (3 marks): locate the places yourself and label them with suitable symbols, 1 mark each. The 2025 and both 2026 board papers gave four items and said "any three". The sample paper gave one dam OR another, then any two of three.
- The sample paper's scheme simply says the answers are "marked on the map". To be safe, give all three for each item: the right spot, a clear symbol and the name written beside it.
- Visually impaired candidates answer "Name the place where…" questions in the answer book instead.
The full lists, and how to avoid losing these marks, are on the Map Work page of this guide.