Starting this year, ISC students will have to do project work in English language and literature.

English is taught as a first language in every ISC school. The two project work papers, of 20 marks each, will be compulsory for all students, the principal of an ISC school said.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations conducts the ISC (Plus II) and ICSE (Class X) exams.

The ISC English language and literature papers are of 100 marks each.

The objective of project work is to assess students’ listening, writing and speaking skills. Students to be admitted to Class XI in 2020 will be the first batch to do project work in English, the principal said.

In ISC, students are tested on the entire syllabus of English language and literature taught in classes XI and XII.

The principal said the introduction of project work would make the English papers more scoring without lowering the standard of the syllabus.

Teachers and students of ISC schools have long been complaining that English syllabus is so demanding that those who are preparing for the all-India competitive tests such as the JEE find little time to study physics, chemistry, math and biology.

A long-standing demand was to trim the English syllabus and exclude Shakespeare from the literature curriculum. Many teachers had also urged the council to bifurcate the ISC English syllabus.

The principal who spoke to Metro said: “The project will lead to deeper understanding of the subjects as students will have to write a piece each in English language and literature. They will have to study various materials for reference and gather and analyse information.”

In the Class XII project paper in English language, 10 marks will be reserved for writing skills, which will be assessed by external examiners to be appointed by the respective schools. A circular recently issued by the council said the schools would have to get their choice of external examiners ratified by it.

“Students will be asked to write a 500-word piece in the writing skill section,” the principal said. “The piece will be assessed on the basis of five criteria — presentation, originality, use of appropriate language, structure and style.”

The other 10 marks in the language project paper will be allotted to listening and speaking skills. In this section, the students will be assessed by teachers of the respective schools.

In the Class XII English literature project paper, too, writing skills will be of 10 marks. In this section, the students will be asked to write on the literary works taught in the course. “The piece could be an analysis of a theme or character from a short story, poem or drama. A student can also choose a text or character and present his or her perspective on it,” the council official said.

Of the remaining 10 marks, four will be allotted to presentation of the piece and six to understanding and application of knowledge and analysis.

In the literature project paper, the students will be assessed by internal and external examiners. The schools will appoint the external examiners with the council’s consent.