ICSE Syllabus Class 9 English

ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus

English is a language subject, and achieving high grades is very much possible with a good deal of practice. With the help of the syllabus as well as the past papers, students can better comprehend the exam format, question types, significant topics, question paper design, etc. The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Board, English curriculum for Class 9 is divided into two sections. The English language is one, and the other is English literature. Because of the pandemic, the ICSE board’s councils have trimmed the curriculum. The ICSE Class 9 English Literature Syllabus is mentioned in detail on the Extramarks website. The ICSE Class 9 examination is anticipated to begin in February 2023 and end in March 2023.

The Class 10 syllabus has been developed in accordance with the Class 9 English syllabus. Students must, therefore, effectively prepare for the ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus. The first paper in the English language course covers grammar, writing, unseen passages, and composition. There are 80 total marks on this paper. The final 20 marks are given for in-class assessments and internal assignments. The second English paper, which covers prose, poetry, and theatre or play, is English literature. This paper carries 80 marks as well. For internal assignments and class assessments, the remaining 20 marks are allotted.

Apart from the ICSE Syllabus Of English For Class 9, Extramarks also offers many other resources such as ICSE Solutions, ISC & ICSE Syllabus, ICSE Sample Question Papers, ICSE Revision Notes, ICSE Important Questions, ICSE Question Papers and more.

ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus 2023-2024

In the English subject, there are two papers: language and literature. There are 5 questions on the English language exam and questions from the required textbook for the literature exam. Students can view the course syllabus below.

Syllabus for English Paper 1:

  • Composition writing of about 300 to 350 words.
  • Letter writing.
  • Write a notice based text and email on any specific topic.
  • Unseen prose passage.
  • Functional grammar.

Syllabus for English Paper 2:

Topics  Content 
1.The Merchant of Venice
  • Act 1: Scenes 1, 2 and 3
  • Act 2: Scene 1 to 9
  • Act 3: Scene 1 only
2. Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories
3. Poetry 
  • The Heart of the Tree – Henry Cuyler Bunner.
  • The Cold Within-James Patrick Kinney.
  • After Blenheim – Robert Southey.
  • Television – Roald Dahl.
  • The Bangle Sellers – Sarojini Naidu.
  • Daffodils – William Wordsworth.
4. Prose 
  • Chief Seattle’s Speech.
  • A Horse and Two Goats – R.K. Narayan.
  • Hearts and Hands – O. Henry.
  • A Face in the Dark – Ruskin Bond.
  • Old Man at the Bridge – Ernest Miller Hemingway.
  • An Angel in Disguise – T.S. Arthur.

About ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus

The most recent guidelines established by the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) board are followed by all ICSE-affiliated institutions in India. The most recent curriculum for the academic year 2023–2024 is available on the Extramarks website. Even though the ICSE English syllabus for Class 9 is more extensive than that of other boards, it will benefit students in their future academic endeavours. Students learn about syntax, grammatical construction, subject matter, punctuation, spelling, proper use of the English language in the English language portion

Drama, prose, and poetry are all included in the English literature section. The English language’s history and heritage are this section’s main topics. This section teaches students more about the historical context of the English language. There are a total of five questions from the English literature paper that students must answer. Eighty marks make up the total for these five questions. The remaining twenty marks are given for in-class tests, assignments, or projects. The full list of required English literature texts for Class 9 is included in this paper.

The English curriculum for ICSE Class 9 is split into two halves. English literature and the English language are the first. Let’s read more in-depth about them.

English Language

There are five questions in all in this section. These five questions must all be answered. Candidates must compose a brief essay that will assess their writing skills in narration, reporting, explanation, and organisation. Candidates must compose a formal or informal letter, testing their proficiency with letter structure and format. Candidates have received written notification that is properly formatted and organised.

Answers to short questions, vocabulary-related questions, and explanations of obscure texts are required from the students. This will test the candidates’ capacity to comprehend the passage and interpret words. There will be several brief questions that address the grammar portion.

English Literature

The English Literature Exam is 80 marks. This section covers play, prose, and poetry. Students must respond to questions based on a few moments from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in Acts I, II, and III. Five poems are included: Television by Roald Dahl, The Bangle Sellers by Sarojini Naidu, The Cold Within by James Patrick Kinney, Daffodils by William Wordsworth, and After Blenheim by Robert Southey. There are five short pieces of prose: Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man at the Bridge, R. K. Narayan’s A Horse and Two Goats, O. Henry’s Hearts and Hands, Ruskin Bond’s A Face in the Dark, and T. S. Arthur’s An Angel by Disguise.

Paper Pattern and Weightage of Marks of ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus

Papers  Subject Name Marks  Time Duration
Paper 1 English Language 80 2 hours
Paper 1 Internal Assessment 20
Paper 2 Literature in English 80 2 hours
Paper 2 Internal Assessment 20

ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus: Question Paper Design of English Language Paper 1

There will be five questions, all of which must be answered. These five questions are:

Question 1 will be: In order to demonstrate their ability to organise, describe, narrate, report, explain, persuade or argue, present ideas coherently with accuracy and precision, compare and contrast ideas and arrive at conclusions, present relevant arguments, and use appropriate style and format, candidates will be required to write compositions of approximately 300–350 words on a variety of topics.

Question 2 will be: Candidates will be required to compose a letter on one of two topics that can be either formal or informal.

Question 3 will be: Candidates will be presented with a particular scenario and will need to:

  • Using the instructions provided, write the notice.
  • Send an email with the same information as the notice.

Question 4 will be: An unseen passage of about 450 words will be given.

Question 5 will be: There will be several short-answer questions to assess the candidates’ understanding of the language’s structure, functional grammar, and usage.

ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus: Question Paper Design of Literature in English Paper 2

1. The Merchant of Venice

Drama: 

  • Act 1: Scene 1, 2 and 3
  • Act 2: Scene 1 to 9
  • Act 3: Scene 1 only

2. Treasure Trove – A Collection Of Icse Poems And Short Stories

Poetry:

  • The Heart of the Tree – Henry Cuyler Bunner
  • The Cold Within – James Patrick Kinney
  • Daffodils – William Wordsworth
  • The Bangle Sellers – Sarojini Naidu
  • After Blenheim – Robert Southey
  • Television – Roald Dahl

Prose:

  • A Face in the Dark – Ruskin Bond.
  • An Angel in Disguise – T.S. Arthur.
  • Chief Seattle’s Speech.
  • Old Man at the Bridge – Ernest Miller Hemingway.
  • A Horse and Two Goats – R.K. Narayan.
  • Hearts and Hands – O. Henry.

ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus: Internal Assessment of English Language Paper 1

Schools will set up, conduct, and record assessments of candidates’ speaking and listening abilities. The candidates will be evaluated three times throughout the year.

1. Listening Skills (10 Marks)

The examiner reads aloud a 300-word text twice, the first time at normal reading speed (about 110 words per minute) and the second at a slower pace. Candidates are allowed to take brief notes while reading. Then, they answer an objective-type test based on the passage using the provided paper.

2. Speaking skills (10 Marks)

Each candidate must give an oral presentation that lasts for around two minutes. This is followed by a three-minute discussion on the topic with the examiners. Presentation topics can include: recounting a personal experience, giving a description, explaining how to accomplish something, expressing an opinion, presenting a report, sharing a personal tale, or commenting on a current occurrence. During the presentation, a candidate may refer to brief notes. However, excessive reading from notes will be penalised.

ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus: Internal Assessment of Literature in English Paper 2

Schools will assign, evaluate, and record candidates’ written assignments. Candidates will be given two or three assignments of 300 to 400 words each.

Benefits of studying from ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus

Some of the core benefits of ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus include:

  • The most recent ISC and ICSE curricula are used to update and revise the syllabus.
  • It defines each concept, topic, and subtopic essential to the ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus.
  • Numerous examples are given in the syllabus to help the students better understand the material.

Students may click here to access the ICSE Class 9 English Syllabus on Extramarks.

ICSE English Class 9 Syllabus

There are two papers – English Language and Literature in English. Each of these papers is of two hours duration and 80 marks.

Paper 1: English Language

Five questions are set, all of which are compulsory.

Question 1

You are required to write a composition of about 300 to 350 words from a choice of subjects which will test their ability to: organise, describe, narrate, report, explain, persuade or argue, present ideas coherently with accuracy and precision, compare and contrast ideas and arrive at conclusions, present relevant arguments and use correct style and format.

The subjects are varied and may be suggested by language or by other stimuli such as pictures. The subjects are so chosen so as to allow the candidates to draw on first-hand experience or to stimulate their imagination. With one subject, a number of suggestions about the content of the composition are given, but the use of the suggestions is optional and you are free to treat the subject in any way.

The organisation of subject matter, syntax, punctuation, correctness of grammatical constructions and spelling are expected to be appropriate to the mode of treatment required by the subject.

Question 2

You have to write a letter from a choice of two subjects requiring either a formal or an informal mode of treatment. Suggestions regarding the content of the letter may be given. The layout of the letter with address, introduction, conclusion, etc., forms part of the assessment. Special attention must be paid to the format of the letter with emphasis on vocabulary appropriate to the context.

Question 3

You are given a specific situation and are required to:

  1. Write the text for a notice based on given directions.
  2. Write an e-mail on the same content as the notice.

Question 4

An unseen prose passage of about 450 words is given. Uncommon items of vocabulary, or structure is avoided. One question is set to test vocabulary. You are required to show that you understand the words/phrases in the context in which they have been used.

A number of questions requiring short answers are also asked on the passage. These questions test your ability to understand the explicit content and organisation of the passage and to infer information, intentions and attitudes from it.

The last question consist of a summary that will test your ability to distinguish main ideas from supporting details and to extract salient points to re-express them in the form of a summary. You are given clear indications of what you are to summarize and of the length of the summary.

Question 5

There are a number of short answer questions to test your knowledge of functional grammar, structure and usage of the language. All the items in this question are compulsory. They consist of correct use of prepositions, verbs and transformation of sentences.

Paper 2: Literature in English

You are required to answer five questions from the prescribed textbooks, which include Drama, Prose (Short Stories) and Poetry.

Drama and Prose (Short Stories)

Questions set are central to the text. You are required to show that you have understood the passage and are able to clearly give their interpretation of the questions set, which should be in your own words and relevant to the text.

Excerpts may be given from the prose and drama texts leading to questions on the specific book.

Poetry

A poem, or passages from poems, is given and questions are set to test your response to the poem. The questions focus on the content, understanding and the personal response to the poem as a whole.

Syllabus to be covered in Class IX

1. THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Shakespeare’s unabridged play by A.W. Verity)

Acts 1 & 2

TREASURE TROVE – A collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories (Evergreen Publications)

2. POETRY

  1. The Heart of the Tree – Henry Cuyler Bunner
  2. The Cold Within – James Patrick Kinney
  3. The Bangle Sellers – Sarojini Naidu
  4. After Blenheim – Robert Southey
  5. Television – Roald Dahl

3. PROSE (Short Stories)

  1. Chief Seattle’s Speech
  2. Old Man at the Bridge – Ernest Miller Hemingway
  3. A Horse and Two Goats – R.K. Narayan
  4. Hearts and Hands – O. Henry
  5. A Face in the Dark – Ruskin Bond

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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What is the English literature curriculum for ICSE Class 9?

Poems, prose, and drama are all covered in the English literature exam. Students must respond to questions based on a few moments from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in Acts I, II, and III. Five poems are included: Television by Roald Dahl, The Bangle Sellers by Sarojini Naidu, The Cold Within by James Patrick Kinney, Daffodils by William Wordsworth, and After Blenheim by Robert Southey. There are five short pieces of prose: Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man at the Bridge, R. K. Narayan’s A Horse and Two Goats, O. Henry’s Hearts and Hands, Ruskin Bond’s A Face in the Dark, and T. S. Arthur’s An Angel by Disguise.

2. What are the ICSE Class 9 English marking standards?

The English curriculum for ICSE Class 9 is split into two halves. The two papers for ICSE Class 9 English each carry 100 marks, for a total of 200 marks. Composition, Letter, Unseen Passage, and Grammar are the four components of Paper I, which has a total of 80 marks. Projects and class assessments receive 20 marks each. Paper II is designated similarly to Paper I and includes three sections: prose, drama, and poetry. The four main components of the marking criteria are recollection, vocabulary use, comprehension of the main idea, and linkage to other areas.

3. How can I excel in the ICSE Class 9 English exam?

The ICSE exam assesses a student’s general command and comprehension of the English language. Therefore, in addition to comprehension and reading skills, students must also develop strong communication skills in English. To perform well on the ICSE Class 9 English examination:

  • The students must properly understand the literature chapters.
  • They must thoroughly understand the fundamentals of English Grammar and Parts of Speech.
  • Writing well-crafted essays, letters, articles, etc., must be mastered by students.
  • To comprehend the exam format and tailor their preparation, they must read through multiple question papers from past years.

4. Is Class 9 English in ICSE challenging?

Any subject is only as challenging as what the students have done to prepare. No subject is too tough if students show a keen interest in it, participate in class, and practise. Particularly in English, students are exposed to outstanding authors, master the craft of narrative, comprehend symbolism, and develop various communication skills vital for the future. Class 9 English won’t be challenging for students who are passionate readers or who are willing to make it a habit to read books from many genres.

5. How might Extramarks help in ICSE Class 9 English success?

The following are some methods that Extramarks might assist students with excelling in ICSE Class 9 English:

  • For more information on the specific Class 9 ICSE English syllabus and exam format, students should see Extramarks.
  • To help in exam preparation, students can find ICSE English Sample Question Papers for Class 9.
  • Students may refer to additional teaching resources on Extramarks while preparing.
  • Students who need academic assistance can also choose one-on-one lessons.