Take a step forward

Life is unexpected. Full of surprises, though it’s uncertain whether those surprises bring joy or disappointment.
Greeting Readers!
It’s how frequent that we say “I don't know what I am doing. I don't even care about anything. My life is so damn messed up. Oh God! Why me. That's it I am done. I am frustrated. “I bet you all can relate to these lines, we use them quite often right? Is this how life is supposed to be? We are always cribbing over little things in life, crying why our life isn't perfect. Truth to be told no one has a perfect life.
Well I am not here to state about how perfection is deceptive and is eating our brains day by day but rather to make you see how unexpected life can be, all you've got to do is take chances.
I know life can be hard because it is hard. The tough times are supposed to be there to teach us to be strong enough to fight every obstacle, to withstand every misery, to teach us to keep ourselves guarded enough so that we don't get hurt by every word that other people utter about us. We should care what we think of ourselves what our loved ones think about us and that's all, there is nobody else that should matter us now.
People who talk behind your back are just people that should not matter to you in anyway. People who make you second guess about yourself are the people who should avoid. People who make you insecure are the people whom you should have never known in the first place.
But it does not mean that we avoid criticism, we hate people who criticize us it’s their perception, their way of seeing you. Not everyone can like you, not everyone can understand you and it’s necessary, you have to accept that fact. It’s okay to accept your mistakes, to take criticism boldly and when at times people criticize you for your work you’re proud of it maybe because they are just jealous of the fact that you’re able to do a job they can’t, that you have reached a level they can’t.
At times we loathe ourselves for the mistakes we make in past, crying because it got too late to make amends. If only we would have taken the chance when we had time but what stops us? Its fear, fear that we might even lose what we have now, we might lose the certainty that we have now than face the uncertainty that we will face after taking a chance. We don’t have to be afraid of the uncertain because life is unexpected and just ask yourself that what is there to lose if you take the chance? Life is sure unexpected so you never know what you’re missing. Don’t lose the greater good that’s yet to come. Take a step forward while you still have time as it’s never too late if you take chances.
One has to learn to appreciate one own flaws to be flawless. Believe in ourselves, don’t be bothered by criticism so much that we lose ourselves, take chances and face every situation fearlessly. Forget the past and let go of all the grudges. And the moment you be yourself you will realise that life has just begun.

Sagrika Behl

CBSE Class 12th English Core Study Tips

Hey my young readers,

You know I often come across this questions by my juniors that how do we score 90 or decent marks in class 12th English Board exam?

Why my advice is considerable?

Ans. I got 95 marks in class 12 English Core Board Exam 2015 which I guess is a pretty decent score.
In class 12th our English teachers used to do very strict checking and in pre-boards or pre-pre-boards of half yearly examinations a score between 50-60 was considered amazing as this score basically meant 90 in finals. But that's because the low score use to scare the hell out of us and we use to put a lot of efforts before our final examination.

Now as you are in 12th.. this is what you need to do:

10 tips for CBSE BOARD CLASS 12 ENGLISH CORE EXAM

1. Reduce your social life by 50% which means in spite of updating your facebook timeline everyday make it twice a week. Delete Whatsapp , Instagram etc. apps by October for sure, trust me you will reinstall them again but at a point by December you'll see they are not worth the time and have them uninstalled till March or April. Now this might not only gain you time but will also increase your concentration, how? Pretty simple, when you're on social networking apps/sites you keep flicking from one source to another hence reducing your own concentration and alertness. Yeah you heard me right folks, now back on topic.

2. Change your style of chatting!

Now what do I mean by that? Huh?

Instead of typing lyk dis n msging ppl lyk  "  'kkrh?' 'Ttyl' 'hw r u? I m gud' " type like this and use predictive text so that you're corrected each time you type a wrong spelling. You don't need to be vocab smart and know all the hi-fi angreezi words. Nope. You need to work on your grammar, punctuation, tenses etc. Yes the things you studied in primary study them again or to improvise your grammar without wanting to pick up a book. Converse in English, write diary entry every night, you'll know where you stand automatically. And if you're Oh so busy! Cut your sleeping time and deal with it. Sleep at 12 and wake up at 5 and take 30min power nap after you get home from school. Simple funda : board checkers don't get much impressed with hi-fi unrecognizable english words, the key to impress them is proper grammar and sentence formation. Your checkers don't want huge paragraphs trust me they have so many papers to check, it infuriates them to read a whole page for 2 marks question also keep your handwriting readable no one wants to waste time decoding your font style.Key point : Explaining everything in few lines. 

3. Now lets get to the books shall we? 

Which books to refer.

Never ever think you can pass an english exam without studying your NCERT prescribed books by CBSE. No can do. Be well prepared with NCERT and by that I mean have a deep idea of the chapters/poems and you SHOULD know the meaning of every word in the book. Your vocab preparation starts from NCERT and end on NCERT. You need to be thorough with it. Make a separate notebook and write all the meanings and important lines etc and why and when to do that? Simple, there's a class called English class in your time table where you sit on side rows or back benches and lazily munch on kurkure, chips, fun flips.. yeah That class! . Its 12th for lord sake, pay attention to your teacher and write things you find important also while the horrifying (most exciting for me though) reading sessions are going on, read the chapter silently and mark the words you find difficult, if you have an amazing teacher like I did ask her the meaning of words on the spot I am sure she will answer or just carry a little blue colored Oxford pocket dictionary with you and find the words side by side and write the meanings with pencil/pen above that word. Its not that hard once you adapt to it and work on it and soon English will become the most awaited class of your 12th.

4. From where to study?
References that I feel are a must have: But before I mention them I would like to clear everyone that these books were the ones I referred, I don't guarantee anyone 100% same experience as I had. Plus I am not advertising any company here.

   1. Arihant English ALL IN ONE
Why am I suggesting this book? ALL IN ONE ! It has everything! Past year questions, basic side tips, chapters summary + novel ! What makes it more special? Its simple language, easy comprehensible method to go around this book and much more! The answers are appropriate, in the word limit and the questions are well framed as well, though some more context can be added in few answers ( like themes, character sketch etc. )

   2. BBC English Literature
Best English book ever! Remember how I mentioned in point 3 that you have to find word meanings and all? Well this book have them too! A brief summary , a point wise summary , theme , character sketches , breath taking HOTS and questions and well written answers which cannot be made better anyway! This book is Best! This book has been my Best Friend for 2 weeks before final examination.
The poems are so well explained that you won't require any extra help! You will understand every line's meaning through this book and will know that what answer is required for which question. Personally I loved this book! Hope you love it too!

    3. BBC Novel
Bestest! Compare it with all, you'll know why I am saying this. This novel has the Novel :P Yeah and word meanings! and and and IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!!!! The book is basically divided in 2 sections - First, the novel with word meanings and second, chapter wise summary and very very important question answers which are relevant and come in examination.
And I ll also recommend that you watch the movie of novel on YouTube( link is below ) before and after reading the novel and also to mention the movie does not cover all the chapters and characters  for eg. it misses the character of Millie the maid and the clock repairing and chemical thing chapters ( sorry I don't remember the chapters name exactly :D ) and etc.. So do read the novel.
Link to the movie : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-UUIrdIcY

5. HOTS ! HOTS! HOTS!
Relax I know you want to know all the Hots questions! Well firstly Every thing is IMPORTANT. You'll find all the good questions in BBC Lit book and just search on Google like I did, Important questions for CBSE class 12 English and voila you'll find what you've been searching for! But you would like to get a proper English guide by CBSE won't you? So that's what I am going to provide you with a simple link to English support material from Directorate of Education India. You are going to love this. The site is www.edudel.nic.in From those scrolling words on left side find 1. SUPPORT MATERIAL 2015-2016 ( I am not sure if its updated yet, they update it sometime in January so bad luck but I am attaching 2014-2015 link which is as useful as it was. ) and also search for SAMPLE PAPERS 2015-2016 .
Here are the links :

Sample Question Paper 2015 & Model Answer Sheet 2014

CBSE Question Paper Design, 2014-15

Support Material 2014-15 for Class XII ENGLISH

Support Material 2014-15 for Class XII

6. The WRITING Section
Now this is one section which students find very hard to nail. You dear reader, you love this section but somehow end up getting least marks in it Why? Well this section tests alot of your grammar, your little mistakes, your expression and your thoughts. Now first of all you need to know what is in this section? Bring a pen and notebook you might want to note this down.

SHORT

1.  Advertisement ( Drawings and Classifieds )
2. Notices
3. Posters
4. Invitation and Replies

LONG

1. Letter
   1.1 Enquiry ( Product, Course , Place , Scholarship/Quota )
   1.2 Order Placing
   1.3 Complaint ( Product, Bills , Specific area problems )
   1.4 Cancellation of order
   1.5 Booking/ Reservation
   1.6 Job Application ( sigh! )
2. Article 
3. Speech 
4. Debate

( This writing section syllabus is according to 2014-2015 syllabus, if there's any addition please check it with your respected teacher and do inform me so I can add it. )

Now that you're aware what you're headed for I would like to tell you how to prepare for it. Simple PRACTICE.
Make one English notebook, now if you find yourself good in English you can start this step from January and practice this section everyday until your board exam for 15-30 minutes. Take this notebook write down all syllabus on the first page as a check list and start written practice. Learn all the layouts, formats, content required and expression for all the above mentioned areas. Start with weaker sections for example if you find letter to be the most tough then start with it practice daily and get a teacher to check it for you, practice does not help until you know where you are wrong and correct your mistakes. Remember when you've taken letter then you are bound to complete all types of letters at once, don't keep on hopping from one place to another, Be Organized! and tick off the section you complete on the first syllabus page when you are thorough with it.
Now which formats are most reliable, self explaining and efficient?
THE DOE SUPPORT MATERIAL
If you don't believe me look for yourself :


It is amazing and it was my Writing section guide one month before the final exam. You can see all the topics, formats and content required from it and then blindly depend upon Arihant and Together With for practice question. I'll suggest you buy Arihant and issue Together With English class 12 from some library. Together is not much important but there are few topics which are very well explained in it like Notices, Posters and Classifieds. For Articles, Speech and Debates I will recommend that you open up any English Studying Guide along with DOE Support Material ( Must ) and just read and grasp everything written there nicely also to improve this section you should give many tests to your teacher that will definitely help you and rest everything regarding this section is explained in DOE material.

Link to DOE support material
http://edudel.nic.in/welcome_folder/support_material_14_15/12/12English_core_201415.pdf

7. Reading Section
This section is loved by all and one tip I have for this section is READ!! Read carefully and understand the context, keep yourself word smart, while attempting this section keep a pencil in your hand and underline every little word which you don't understand because there will always be a question at the back asking to find a word of a specific meaning. Now if you are a fast reader then I suggest you read the questions first and underline the line in passage which you feel might be the answer for a question and for slow readers I will suggest you read the passage first because when you read slow you concentrate on the context of the passage and are likely to locate the answer easily.
This was for reading but what about note making?
Well NOTE MAKING is very easy and scoring.
Just follow the DOE support material link and follow whatever it says. Its on page no. 21 in adobe and page 13 according to DOE text. You just have to keep it short and simple and don't forget the key-box and for summary refer your note making and make sentences from that context! Voila :D

8. How to ATTEMPT the paper?
Time management is one of the crucial thing in English exam so you must be well versed with it and give as many as mock tests you can. I cannot direct you how to manage your time but I can share my strategy with you. I always attempt Section C - Literature first because when we are to give an exam we are fresh with the literature context at that time and answers pop out like 2 min act2 popcorns at that time then I proceed with Reading and at last Writing.
If you are to start with Reading first your mind can have a bent of thinking which might lead to twisted answers in rest of the sections also I recommend writing at last so that you can time yourself accordingly for example If I have 15 minutes left and 2 writing section questions I ll probably want to finish both in 5 minutes each and give 5 minutes for revision. To be able to finish your paper on time keep your answers precise and relevant. 

9. CBSE CLASS 12 BOARD EXAM PAPER 2014-2015
Here is the link :
http://schools.aglasem.com/64510

for more past year papers check : http://schools.aglasem.com/64509

10. Last but not the least.
If you are not able to score even if you try to or if you don't try just because you are not interested then don't worry! You are a different individual and you don't need to be perfect in everything, we all have some special qualities and I know you do to posses some qualities that are incredible and makes you YOU! So even if you don't score well Don't worry! Remember what Albert Einstein said " A sheet of paper cannot decide my future. "

Link to all the reference books :

Arihant All in One : http://www.flipkart.com/cbse-all-one-english-core-class-12-english-2nd/p/itmdxh5fqqhuyvhh

BBC Literature Companion Class 12 English : http://olx.in/item/bbc-english-literature-companion-class-12th-IDWDa3b.html

or http://www.scholarkart.com/bbc-compacta-communicative-english-12-with-free-literature-companion-cbse.html

Regards, 

Sagrika Behl 

Mail me your thoughts at dolcereflection@gmail.com 

And message me your queries at same.
Comment if you found this post helpful or if you want me to add something else :)