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How to write good essays for ICSE Class 10 (Samples, Books, Topics)

April 14, 2018 by studymumbai Leave a Comment

As part of ICSE Class 10 board exams, students are required to write a composition (essay) of around 300 to 350 words from a choice of subjects. The idea is to see how well students can describe, explain, present ideas coherently, arrive at conclusions and suggest solutions. Here are more tips and suggestions to help ICSE students master the art of answering/writing essay questions.

How to Write a Good Essay for ICSE Class X

Lot of students look for sample essays that can come in the for class 10 ICSE exam. However, instead of trying to guess, which topics come, a better approach is to learn how to structure an essay, and so some general reading on current topics.

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Here’s how to write a good essay for ICSE. Here are some hints on how to prepare for important essay topics:

• Read newspaper headlines. Usually, the Essays seem to be based on current hot topics/burning issues
• Have some information about current incidents, in politics, sports etc
• Learn how to structure an essay.

Read: How to write essay in Competitive Exams

• You would be given multiple options of essay topics. Take some time reading those topics and pick the one you’re most comfortable with.
• You can also buy ‘last 10 years question paper’ book and go through all the essays and letters to understand the style of writing, the way introduction and conclusion should be written.

With this approach, you will surely be able to write on any topic.

Essay Topics for Class X Exam

The ICSE Class X English language exam normally provides five essay topics. Pick the topic you are most comfortable with and you think you know more about.

If you take a look at the past question papers, you will see that the Essay topics are not usually repeated. It means you don’t have to by-heart any particular essay.

What they are looking for is a decent structure, they are not keen to know whether you have a mastery of the topic.

Having said that, be aware of current incidents and controversies in India, which could be one of the essay topics.

Possible topics for ICSE Class X (just have some basic idea about these and maybe practice writing on a few of these):

In the past ‘Science and Technology in Modern Society’ or ‘Comparison of various education systems’ have been hot topics. Other likely topics include demonetization in India, world peace, democracy, advent of selfies, human rights, etc.

Here are some more topics:

Artificial intelligence -job creator or job destroyer

Feminization of agriculture

Women empowerment-men have to walk extra mile

Globalisation and climate change cause or effective

Water scarcity where the buck stops.

Appo deepo bhavo

Rule of law or human rights -which comes first

Science and ethics -antagonism or synergy.

Judicial activism overeach or under performance of other two wings

Media and rule of law -two means to an end.

Fight against poverty, pollution, terrorism

Tiger, an endangered species

Child labour

Memorable day in school

Importance of sports in school life

My favourite pet

Global warming

Importance of reading

Your ambition in life

Swachchh bharat/Plastic bags/ Hygiene

Views on Fashion or show-off

Corporal punishment in school

Views on animal cruelty in circuses

Role of mother in life

TV/Computer/Mobile-boon or bane?

Nuisance by animals in public places

Interviewing a famous person

One day experience as your favourite fictional character

Trip to a hill station

A day visit to an orphanage/old age home

Story on ‘every cloud has a silver lining’

Detective story on a stolen antique

Women empowerment(with reference to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao)

Story titled ‘The gift’.

Good Books on Writing Essays

Here are a few good books on essay writing that can give your more ideas on how to write good essays, and help you to practice better.

• CBD’s ICSE Model English Essays (by Dr A.K.Mukherjee)
• Essay writing for high school -Essay writing for high school
• Cracking the English Essays For ICSE Class 10 Board Exams (by Madhuri Shukla)

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Exercise 1 Descriptive Essay

Compose a concise descriptive essay on a city metro ride. Highlighting the following aspects of the journey: energetic station, approaching train's rhythmic sound, diverse passengers, vibrant advertisements, and the sensory journey inside. Also, reflect on the anonymity and connectivity experienced by commuters.

The city metro is like a magical underground world where the hustle and bustle of the city above ground gives way to a different kind of energy. As I stepped into the metro station it felt like entering a secret portal to another dimension.

As I approach the platform, the rhythmic hum of the approaching train grows louder. It's a comforting sound, like the heartbeat of the city. The train emerges from the tunnel with a whoosh, its doors sliding open to reveal a multitude of faces. There are people of all ages and backgrounds, each lost in their own thoughts or engaged in animated conversations.

Stepping inside the train, the vibrant advertisements on the walls catch my eye. They're a kaleidoscope of colors, promoting everything from the latest gadgets to upcoming events. The jingle of a catchy tune from one of the ads plays in the background, creating a lively atmosphere.

The inside of the train is a mosaic of humanity. There's the tired office worker, slumped in a seat with a briefcase by their side. A group of friends laughs together, their backpacks and school uniforms giving away their student status. A musician strums a guitar in one corner, adding a melodic layer to the ambient noise.

The rhythmic clatter of the train on the tracks becomes a soothing backdrop to the diverse conversations happening around me. The occasional announcement from the intercom breaks through, providing information with a robotic precision. The sense of anonymity is palpable, as everyone is engrossed in their own world, yet connected by the shared experience of the metro journey.

As the train glides through the tunnels, the flickering lights create a mesmerizing dance. The windows frame glimpses of the city above ground, blurred and distant. It's like watching a silent movie, a moving panorama of urban life.

In this underground sanctuary, I feel both invisible and connected. The anonymity allows me to observe without being observed, yet there's a sense of camaraderie with my fellow passengers. We're all on this journey together, riding the currents of the city's pulse.

As the metro reaches my stop, the doors slide open, and I step back into the city's embrace. The station is a hive of activity once again, but the memory of the rhythmic hum, colorful advertisements, and diverse passengers lingers. The city metro, a place where anonymity and connectivity coexist, is a fascinating microcosm of urban life.

The station was a symphony of movement and noise. People rushed in all directions, their footsteps echoing on the cold, tiled floor. The air was filled with the scent of coffee from the nearby café and the distant aroma of freshly baked pastries. It was a sensory overload, but in a strangely exciting way.

As I approached the platform, the rhythmic hum of the approaching train grew louder. It was a comforting sound, like the heartbeat of the city. The train emerged from the tunnel with a whoosh, its doors sliding open to reveal a multitude of faces. There were people of all ages and backgrounds, each lost in their own thoughts or engaged in animated conversations.

Stepping inside the train, the vibrant advertisements on the walls caught my eye. They were a kaleidoscope of colors, promoting everything from the latest gadgets to upcoming events. The jingle of a catchy tune from one of the ads played in the background, creating a lively atmosphere.

The inside of the train was a mosaic of humanity. There was the tired office worker, slumped in a seat with a briefcase by their side. A group of friends laughed together, their backpacks and school uniforms giving away their student status. A musician strummed a guitar in one corner, adding a melodic layer to the ambient noise.

The rhythmic clatter of the train on the tracks became a soothing backdrop to the diverse conversations happening around me. The occasional announcement from the intercom broke through, providing information with a robotic precision. The sense of anonymity was palpable, as everyone was engrossed in their own world, yet connected by the shared experience of the metro journey.

In this underground sanctuary, I felt both invisible and connected. The anonymity allowed me to observe without being observed, yet there was a sense of camaraderie with my fellow passengers. We were all on this journey together, riding the currents of the city's pulse.

As the metro reached my stop, the doors slid open, and I stepped back into the city's embrace. The station was a hive of activity once again, but the memory of the rhythmic hum, colorful advertisements, and diverse passengers lingered.

• Ensure to answer all parts of the question
• Be as descriptive as possible, let your imagination wild.

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ICSE English Compositions: Understanding the 5 Types

by AlmondBooks Support on Sep 27, 2022

ICSE English language examination test students on five different composition types , which includes  descriptive , narrative , argumentative , story writing , and  picture composition . In this post, we'll describe all these essay types in more detail so students can clearly understand the comparison between them and compose better essays in their ICSE exams.

Please read the following extract from the most recent ICSE syllabus before we study the essay types.

Types of Essays in ICSE

• Descriptive
• Argumentative

Story Writing

• Picture Composition

Descriptive Essays

A Descriptive Essay provides a detailed description of a specific subject. The purpose of such an essay is to evoke an image in our minds by appealing to our senses. As a result, a descriptive essay engages at least one of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight).

One should have a clear picture of the subject after reading a descriptive essay, whether it’s a historical episode, a geographical location, or a work of art.

Narrative Essays

A Narrative Essay, like a descriptive essay, it asks you to share an experience rather than advance an argument or provide evidence to support an opinion. This experience can be personal and real from your own life (for example, telling the story of your first big achievement), or it can be imagined (for example, telling the story of how you would face a situation).

A narrative essay allows writers to share their personal experiences. It is similar to a short story; the only difference is that it has a proper structure. A good narrative essay also progresses to a meaningful conclusion that goes beyond a list of events and details.

Argumentative Essays

An Argumentative Essay is a type of writing that uses facts and logic to persuade the reader of a particular point of view. Even though many types of essays try to get the reader to agree with a certain point of view, argumentative essays use a lot of hard evidence to show that their argument is the best.

The goal of argumentative essays, like persuasive essays and other types of essays, is to persuade the reader of a particular point of view. The method of persuasion is what distinguishes an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay uses factual evidence and unarguable logic to demonstrate that its thesis is correct.

The idea is that an argumentative essay disproves or invalidates opposing theories to prove that its thesis is correct. As a result, argumentative essays discuss other opposing points of view as well as the writer’s own thesis. It’s difficult to declare one viewpoint “true” while ignoring all others.

Story Writing is a type of fictional writing that is written in a more straightforward manner and has its own natural flow. Character (typically a Protagonist and Antagonist), setting, plot, conflict, and theme are the five elements of story writing. Through story writing, you share the experience of characters in a physical setting with a plot that makes it story-worthy, a conflict that causes a riff or character relationship core, and finally, the theme of the story as in what the story wants to share. The story has to be original and must not be an imitation of any novel or movie.

Picture Compositions

Picture Composition, in general, fosters perception expertise in students and improves their capacity to dissect and expound on a given image. Students get ideas by observing the image, and they express their ideas through all-around shaped sentences.

A picture essay (or composition) is usually divided into three parts in which a student is asked to describe the picture, make a story out of it, or express and elaborate on the thoughts and feelings implied by the picture. A picture can be a photograph, a scene from an action movie, a quote written over a picture or a sketch of a famous person. The things shown in the picture should not be itemized.

You must be able to distinguish between different essay types in your ICSE English exam to pick the right topic and organize your thoughts and ideas correctly. With this list of 25 trending essay topics , you can practice the most important ICSE English essay topics.

• compositions ,
• essay writing ,

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• Descriptive Essay

You ever read a really good travel essay? It makes you believe that you are there with the writer, it paints a vivid picture. This is because the essay is so descriptive, that it appeals to our senses. As a result, our brain starts imagining it. Let’s learn more about a descriptive essay.

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What is a descriptive essay.

Our brain is so powerful that it can easily imagine scenarios and make use of our senses. The job of such an essay is to appeal to our senses in a way that it creates an image in our minds. Hence a descriptive essay plays with at least one of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight).

In other words, the description of the person, place or thing in an essay should be really vivid. This means it after reading the essay, the reader should be left feeling like they actually know the person, have held the object or have visited the place.

In the light of the above-mentioned things, it is comfortable to say that a descriptive essay provides for artistic freedom. For example, assume you’re writing about a house.

Instead of simply stating that the house was beautiful, you should talk about the color of the house, the garden in front of it i.e. all the details about the house. In that way, the readers would be able to imagine the house because of a nicely written essay.

Contents of a Descriptive Essay

As it is with most of the written forms of English literature, the basic structure of a descriptive essay also comprises of an introduction, a body, and the conclusion.

• The introduction of a descriptive essay should be interesting enough to catch a reader’s attention. The introduction should be all about creating a base or a background for the person, place or thing you’re going to describe in your essay.
• Next, the main body of a descriptive essay should appeal to the reader’s senses. This includes unfolding the information by creating images in the reader’s mind. A trick to achieving this is to explain how the subject about which you’re writing in your descriptive essay, appeals to your senses.
• Lastly, the conclusion should summarize the whole essay. Along with again going over the main details about the essay’s subject, you should end the essay in a way that it gives a sense of completion.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay?

Before starting off with a descriptive essay, thinking about the subject in detail will be your best bet. Just take some time off and imagine about the subject. This means to imagine how the subject appeals to your senses- how does it smell, looks like and so on.

Further, if the subject is related to a past experience think about how it felt or your experience with the subject. Next, express all of these on the paper right in front of you. You can also take some time to think about how you want your essay to unfold. Lastly, a revision of the essay provides a great opportunity for improvements and small tweaks. Remember that a descriptive essay is all about teasing the reader’s senses.

A Solved Example For You

Q:   A descriptive essay should:

• Narrate a story.
• Appeal to the reader’s senses.
• Present an argument
• None of the above

Ans:   The correct option is ‘B’. A descriptive essay should appeal to the reader’s senses in such a way that the reader feels at one with the subject of the essay.

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Descriptive Essay ICSE 1991

Describe one embarrassing / awkward incident that you and your family found really amusing. This Descriptive Essay was asked in ICSE 1991 board exam. You can find Previous Year Descriptive Essay Topics asked in ICSE board exams.

There are several humorous incidents that occur in every family. Describe one such incident that you and your family found really amusing. (ICSE 1991) (or) Describe one embarrassing / awkward incident that you and your family found really amusing.

Introduction: When and Where? Incident in Bareilly on the occasion of a family get-together.

• How? Fell into a ditch fetching a ball
• What happened? I was frightened
• Rescued by my brother at dusk

Conclusion: Humorous incident that tickles me even now

Yesterday while having dinner, I asked my elder brother to drop me at my friend’s place the next day. The aftermath of this statement was a heated argument, after which he exclaimed with disgust, “I wish I had left you in that ditch, so that you would not trouble me now.” There was a deep stunning silence, after which all of us including my parents burst out laughing.

The incident happened eight years ago. I had gone to attend the marriage of my cousin sister at Bareilly. All the children including my cousins, had collected for the occasion. One day in the afternoon, we went to play cricket on the barren ground behind the house. My elder cousin struck the ball so hard that it went towards the nearby bushes.

Running after the ball, I saw it disappear near a bush. I looked carefully and finally located it deep down in a ditch behind the bush. I thought I could collect it with my hands. Lying down on the ground, I stretched my hand as far as I could, slowly inching forward. I was just about reaching it, when to my horror, I plunged head into the ditch. Recovering from the shock, I sat down to survey my surroundings. My grief knew no bounds when I saw the hollow plastic shell, that appeared to be like a ball.

I screamed for help, but to no avail. The scene inside the ditch was fearful, with spiders and lizards crawling around. My clothes were soiled and I was perspiring badly. Dusk was fast approaching. The thought of spending the night in this well of misery terrified me. I made many attempts to get out, but each time slipped back into the ditch.

All of a sudden, I felt something crawling on my feet. Fearing the worst, I decided not to move, for I had heard that snakes bite when distracted. I gathered some courage and peeped down. To my relief I saw a leafy twig, entwined around my ankle. Just then I heard my brother calling out to me. I started shouting on top of my voice. He soon located me. I could not hide my joy seeing him peering down. Soon his outstretched hands pulled me out of the ditch. I was weeping inconsolably, he comforted me and brought me home.

My family was relieved and shocked to see me in that miserable state. My mother embraced me, wiping the tears that ran down my cheeks. After a quick bath, I narrated the incident to the family. At first they felt sorry for me, but my cousins started teasing me, for being in the company of spiders and lizards. Initially I felt offended, but realising that they were just pulling my leg, laughed heartily. Reliving the incident even now sends a chill down my spine, but at the same time tickles me no end.

Describe one frightening incident that you and your family found really nightmarish.