How to prepare for Class 9: Tips & Tricks, Important Questions for English PDF Download

Tips & Tricks for English

Preparing for the English Subject is easy when you go step-by-step in the process for each section included in the exam which are: Reading, Writing, Grammar and Literature. You need to strengthen your grammar and language concepts. Your textbooks are sufficient to follow and study. Practice for the writing section as much as possible. 

• Attempt various practice papers and solve all the comprehensions. It will enhance your understanding speed.

• Solve all the grammar topics first separately and then integrated exercises. For grammar, use some standard reference books as having a firm knowledge of grammar will be very helpful in future.

• Read all the solved examples of writing pieces before beginning to write. It will provide you a good pattern and value points to write effectively.

• As you start preparing literature section, begin with thorough reading of the chapter from NCERT Textbooks. You can make short notes of your own if needed. Else just take your practice papers and read the summary. Then read all the solved questions (short and long questions and answers). Then solve the questions on your own.

• Three Men in a Boat

• Literature Reader

• Gulliver’s Travels

• Beehive

• Moments 

English for Class 9 (Videos | Docs)
Includes 349 docs & 104 videos

• For novel, if you want to score the best, read that at least once completely and prepare all the character sketches. This is because one character sketch is always there in the exam along with one question (in choice) based on theme, plot and incident Do not forget to read MCB text as they help a lot in writing section..

• Solve previous year papers for more practice and evaluate yourself. You should solve at least 3 sample papers to increase your speed and accuracy.

  • Sample Paper - 1, English, Class 9
  • Sample Paper - 2, English, Class 9
  • Sample Paper - 3, English, Class 9
  • Sample Paper - 4, English, Class 9

Reading Section

The reading comprehension section tests the level of understanding of a student. It involves the ability to understand the meaning of what one reads and to use the information to answer the questions that follow. 

In this section, questions are asked based on the given passages. These questions are meant to assess the vocabulary of the students as well as to test comprehension, inference, evaluation and analysis. In other words, students are tested for their understanding of the passage and its implications.

Types of passages:

The passages given in the reading comprehension section may be of the following types:

1. Factual texts: These include reports, scientific findings, historical revelations, etc.

2. Literary texts: These include extracts from novels, poetry, short stories, etc.

3. Discursive texts:  These include articles that present a reasoned argument to express one's views on a topic.

Types of questions:

Questions of reading comprehension could be of the following types:

1. Multiple choice questions: In these questions, a set of alternatives are provided as the answer to a question. Students are required to select the best possible answer out of the given choices.  

2. Gap filling: These questions require a student to fill in the gaps in a given paragraph. These questions test a student’s understanding and ability to use the language correctly.

3. Sentence completion: These questions require the students to complete the unfinished sentences based on their understanding of the passage.

4. Table completion: These questions require the students to complete the given table on the basis of their understanding of the passage. Sometimes, the table may be partially filled in with answers. In such cases, students may take cues from them to fill in the required answer.

5. Word attack (vocabulary based): Such questions test a student's ability to understand the general and/or intended meaning of a word or phrase. These questions may include synonym, meaning, antonym, etc.

6. Short answer questions: These questions test a student's ability to answer the questions in a concise manner.

Tips and guidelines:

1. Read the given passage thoroughly in order to get a clear picture of what is being expressed.

2. Understand the main idea of the passage.

3. Read the question carefully and understand what is being asked.

4. Sometimes the tense used in the question gives a cue to the answer.

5.  Use the information given in the passage intelligently to answer the questions.

6.  For the vocabulary based questions, the students might have to make assumptions about the meanings of the words that they come across for the first time. For this, try placing the words in the context of the sentence and the passage as a whole.

Article Writing:

How to Write an Article Step by Step- 

Eye catching Title – This is the most important part of your article. Give your article a title that catches the attention of the reader. If you choose a topic burning It should be relevant to the. 

Beginning – Begin your article with a quotation or popular poetic line that supports your topic most relevantly. Let the readers be satisfied that you are going to write something new and relevant.

Content- A vast ground for your creativity comprising reasons, effects, present state of affairs, etc. This part must include:

• Facts/ statistics
• Statistics
• Quotes by well-known people
• References from media (film, television, radio)
• Definitions of the terms you are using. 
• Quotes and illustrations on the subject you are writing.
• Helpful tools, resources or products (if many, consider creating a sidebar)
• References to local venues or events (if for a regional/local publication).

Note - Good vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, Creativity and Subject knowledge are the integral parts of Article writing

Conclusion- Conclude with your strongest point. Use short and humourous sentences , leave at least one questions to provide a required effect on the reader’s mind.

Format/ Layout of Article Writing-

Heading/Title

By- name of the author

Body

Para I:                Introduction –

Para II:               Content -Causes, effects, present state of affairs, etc.

Para III:              Conclusion -Draw solutions and conclusions 

Marking Scheme- CBSE Board session 2018-19 (08 marks)

Title –             1 mark

Accuracy-       2 marks

Content-         5 marks

Notice Writing:

A notice is the most common method of communication which gives information regarding an important event that is about to take place. A notice conveys information in a very precise manner. With the help of a notice, information is displayed publicly for others to know and follow.

Note: The notice should always be inside a box. The title of the notice should not only be catchy but also be indicative of the purpose of the notice. You could either mention the name of the event or something catchy to draw the attention of target audience. For example, Meeting of the Nature club, Attention music lovers!

Diary Entry

Diary is a kind of personal document. It records an individual’s account of a day of his/her life.

 Format

1. Top left- Date, day and time.

2. Tense Most frequently used- Simple past, Present perfect and future.

3. First person application.

    Steps

1. Begin the entry with general sentence describing the day or momentary feelings.

2. In the body, you may discuss an event, your feelings towards it. How it is likely to affect your future plans.

3. Conclude with final remark and future course of action.

E-Mail Writing:

E-mail, also known as Electronic Mail is a method of exchanging digital messages across internet or other computer networks. It is the quickest way to communicate in writing.

E-mail messages consist of two major sections:

1. Header consisting of- subject, sender, receiver, date and time.

2. Body which contains the message. It can be formal/informal letter depending on the purpose

Tips on composing E-mails:

Subject

• It should be brief

• It should give a clue to the content of the message

• It need not be a complete sentence

Salutation

Dear Sir/first name of the person 

Opening Statement

Begin with a pleasantry or greeting

When replying a message-

Thank you for your message/ I received your message 

Clarity and tone

When you expect a reply-‘Please let me know’

When you want help-‘please’ or ‘kindly’

Paragraphs

Each main idea should be in a separate paragraph. 

Use complete sentence. Do not use SMS language. 

Complimentary close

Regards/Love

Name.

Informal Letter Writing

INFORMAL LETTERS

Informal letters are the letters written to friends, parents, relatives and acquaintances. 

FORMAT

Formal Letter Writing

In English there are a number of conventions that should be used when writing a formal letter. Furthermore, you must write as simply and as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. Remember not to use informal language like contractions.

It is very important, therefore, that your letters have the desired effect on the reader. In order to achieve this, they should be:

1. In the correct format

2. Short and to the point

3. Relevant

4. Free of any grammatical or spelling mistakes

5. Polite, even if you’re complaining

6. Well presented

  FORMAT

Speech Writing

Purpose

To express views before the public. 

Format:

• Salutation or greeting

• Disclosure of topic

• Narration of facts, presentation of data, relevant examples, etc.

• Sensible deviation from the topic

• Draw conclusion in an innovative and imaginative way.

Debate Writing

What is debate?

A debate is a formal discussion, or an argument on a subject on which people have different opinion. 

POINTS TO REMEMBER::

• Always focus on the topic that needs to be addressed or discussed.

• Avoid any kind of offensive words and be polite.

• Avoid any kind of repetition and see that there is variety in your expression of ideas.

• Do not forget to mention either FOR or AGAINST the motion. Be convincing in what you write.

• And take both the sides.

Purpose

To show skill and ability in arguing. 

Format/Steps

• Salutation-‘Respected chairperson, honourable judges and all present…’.

• Introduction- views for/against-topic.

• Body- views, facts, Contradiction of opponent’s argument, rebutting the statement, questions etc.

• Conclusion- clarification of stand made.

Common phrases

I’d like to raise/the question/argue…..

In my opinion………..

Nothing could be more illogical than

I feel very strongly that…….

I would like to draw attention to…..

I fail to understand…….

I submit that…….

May I ask all present…….

I strongly oppose……..

On the contrary…….

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