CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Syllabus 2025-26CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Syllabus 2025-26

CBSE Class 12 English Elective (Subject Code 001) Syllabus for Academic Session 2025-26

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released Class 12 English Elective (Subject Code 001) syllabus and Exam Pattern for Class 12 Board Examinations to be held in March – April 2026. The detailed exam pattern, section – wise break up of marks, details of questions, word limit, etc. has been given for the convenience of the students. CBSE has prescribed Kaleidoscope – Textbook in English (Elective) for Class XII published by the NCERT.

Class XII English Elective (Code 001) (2025-26) Syllabus

Section A

I. Reading Comprehension (20 Marks)

This section will have two unseen passages and a poem:

1. 12 Multiple Choice Questions / Objective Type Questions, out of 15, from a literary or discursive passage, of about 950-1000 words to assess comprehension, interpretation, inference, analysis, appreciation and vocabulary. 1×12 =12 marks

2. 4 out of 5 multiple choice questions / Objective Type Questions, to test interpretation, inference and appreciation of a poem of about 10-12 lines. 1×4=4 marks

3. 4 out of 5 multiple choice questions / Objective Type Questions, from a case-based factual passage (with visual input- statistical data, chart etc.), of 100-120 words to test interpretation, analysis and evaluation. 1×4= 4 marks

Section B

II. Applied Grammar (8 Marks)

4. Eight multiple choice questions / Objective Type Questions, out of ten, involving transformation of sentences. 1×8=8 marks

III. Creative Writing (20 Marks)

5. Three Long Writing Tasks, out of four, to be answered in 120-150 words each as discursive and interpretative writing. 5×3=15 marks

6. One Long Writing Task out of two to be answered in 120-150 words: An essay on an argumentative/discursive topic such as an article/report/speech pertaining to contemporary topics/issues. 5×1=5 marks

Section C

This section will have variety of assessment items including Multiple Choice Questions, Objective Type Questions, Short Answer Type Questions and Long Answer Type Questions to assess comprehension, analysis, interpretation and extrapolation beyond the text.

IV. Textbook (22 Marks)

7. Reference to the Context

One Prose extract, out of two, to assess literary appreciation and analysis. 6×1=6 marks

One Poetry extract, out of two, to assess literary appreciation and analysis. 6×1=6 marks

8. One Short Answer Question, out of two, to be answered in 30-40 words, to assess Understanding, analysis and critical appreciation. Questions should elicit inferential responses through critical thinking. 2×1=2 marks

9. One Short Answer Question, out of two, to be answered in 40-50 words, to assess understanding, analysis and critical appreciation. Questions should elicit inferential responses through critical thinking and draw inferences in poetry and prose. 3×1=3 marks

10. One Long Answer Question, out of two, to be answered in 120-150 words each, to assess deeper understanding, interpretation, appreciation and drawing inferences. Questions to elicit creative responses and assess ability to form personal points of view. 5×1=5 Marks

Fiction (10 Marks)

11. One Short Answer Question, out of two, to be answered in 30-40 words, to test understanding and appreciation and seek comments, interpretation, evaluation and appreciation of characters, events, episodes and interpersonal relationships. 12×1=2 marks

12. One Short Answer Question, out of two, to be answered in 40-50 words, to test understanding and appreciation and seek comments, interpretation, evaluation and appreciation of characters, events, episodes and interpersonal relationships. 3×1=3 marks

13. One Long Answer Question, out of two, to be answered in 120-150 words, to test in- depth understanding, interpretation, appreciation and drawing of global inferences from the given text, with reference to characters /events/ incidents and episodes, leading to creative rendering, forming and defending of personal points of view. 5×1=5 marks

Note- Students can select one of the two prescribed texts.

V. Seminar 20 Marks

Presentation – book review /a play /a short story/a novel/novella (tale, fable, parable) to be followed by a question-answer session.
Poetry reading to be followed by interpretative tasks based on close reading and literary analysis of the text. Critical review of a film or a play
Conducting a theatre workshop to be followed by a discussion

Prescribed Books:

Kaleidoscope – Textbook Published by NCERT

Short Stories

Poetry

Non fiction

Drama

Chandalika- RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Fiction

A Tiger for Malgudi OR
The Financial Expert by R.K. Narayan (Novel)

Chapters Removed From Syllabus