English — Syllabus & Chapters

The complete syllabus for English — every chapter you need to study, and how the exam paper is structured.

What you will study (chapters)

Chapter 1: Listening Comprehension
Chapter 2: Oral Communication and Presentation
Chapter 3: Discussion, Debate and Conversation Skills
Chapter 4: Reading Comprehension
Chapter 5: Vocabulary, Figurative Language and Tone
Chapter 6: Prose and Stories
Chapter 7: Poetry
Chapter 8: Textual Structure and Literary Appreciation
Chapter 9: Paragraph and Composition Writing
Chapter 10: Narrative and Descriptive Writing
Chapter 11: Story, Poem and Dialogue Writing
Chapter 12: Letters, Applications and Emails
Chapter 13: Notices, Messages, Invitations and Posters
Chapter 14: Planning, Revising, Editing and Rewriting
Chapter 15: Nouns and Pronouns
Chapter 16: Articles, Adjectives and Adverbs
Chapter 17: Verbs and Tenses
Chapter 18: Subject-Verb Agreement
Chapter 19: Phrases, Clauses and Sentence Types
Chapter 20: Active and Passive Voice
Chapter 21: Direct and Indirect Speech
Chapter 22: Prepositions and Conjunctions
Chapter 23: Punctuation
Chapter 24: Phrasal Verbs, Idioms and Vocabulary

Frequently asked questions

How many chapters are there in English?

The English syllabus has 24 chapters, listed in full above. Cover the high-weightage chapters first using the exam pattern as a guide.

How do I know which English chapters carry the most marks?

Compare the chapter list above with the exam pattern and the last few years of question papers — the topics that appear most often and the units with the highest marks are where to focus first. Always confirm weightage against the official syllabus for your exam year.

Has the English syllabus changed this year?

Boards occasionally revise the syllabus or remove topics for a session. Always download the official syllabus for your exact exam year from the official ICSE & ISC portal rather than relying on an older copy or a social-media list.

How can I prepare for English faster?

Begin with the most-frequently-asked topics and the last few years of question papers, then test yourself under timed conditions. If you want guided help, you can use the free AI study tutor for English — practise past-paper questions and get instant feedback — or a focused English study guide that condenses the syllabus into the topics that matter most — both are free to start.