CBSE Class 12 English Syllabus 2027: Core and Elective
Content Strategist | Updated On - Oct 29, 2026
The CBSE Class 12 English syllabus for the 2027 board exam is part of the 2026-27 curriculum. CBSE offers two courses: English Core (301) and English Elective (001). Both carry 100 marks, with 80 marks for the written paper and 20 marks for school-based assessment.
The two courses are not the same. English Core includes Reading Skills, Creative Writing, Flamingo and Vistas. English Elective includes Reading, Applied Grammar, Creative Writing, Kaleidoscope, one prescribed novel and a seminar.
CBSE Class 12 English Syllabus 2027 Highlights
- Academic session: 2026-27; board examination: 2027
- English Core: subject code 301; English Elective: subject code 001
- Both courses: 80 theory marks + 20 internal marks
- Written paper duration: 3 hours
- CBSE has kept the question-paper design and assessment pattern unchanged for 2026-27
CBSE Class 12 English Syllabus 2026-27 PDF
CBSE released the 2026-27 Senior Secondary curriculum on April 1, 2026. The subject PDFs give the complete syllabus, marks, prescribed books and internal assessment rules for the 2027 board exam.
| Course | Official syllabus |
|---|---|
| English Core (301) | Download English Core syllabus PDF |
| English Elective (001) | Download English Elective syllabus PDF |
The complete Class 12 subject-wise syllabus includes the other Science, Commerce and Humanities subjects.
CBSE Class 12 English Core Syllabus 2026-27
English Core has an 80-mark theory paper divided into Reading Skills, Creative Writing Skills and Literature. The remaining 20 marks come from listening, speaking and project work.
| Part | Marks |
|---|---|
| Reading Skills | 22 |
| Creative Writing Skills | 18 |
| Literature | 40 |
| Theory total | 80 |
English Core Reading Skills
Reading Skills carries 22 marks. The first unseen passage may be factual, descriptive or literary and carries 12 marks. The second is a 10-mark case-based factual passage that may include data, charts or other visual information. Together, the two passages have a word limit of 700-750 words.
English Core Creative Writing Skills
| Writing task | Word limit | Choice | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice | Up to 50 words | One of two | 4 |
| Formal or informal invitation and reply | Up to 50 words | One of two | 4 |
| Job application with biodata or letter to the editor | 120-150 words | One of two | 5 |
| Article or report | 120-150 words | One of two | 5 |
English Core Literature
The 40-mark Literature section uses Flamingo and Vistas. It includes three extract-based sets worth 16 marks, short answers worth 14 marks and two long answers worth 10 marks.
| Question type | Book | Answer rule | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poetry extract | Flamingo | One of two | 6 |
| Prose extracts | Flamingo and Vistas | One 6-mark set from Flamingo and one 4-mark set from Vistas | 10 |
| Short answers | Flamingo and Vistas | Five of six from Flamingo; two of three from Vistas | 14 |
| Long answers | Flamingo and Vistas | One 120-150 word answer from each book | 10 |
CBSE Class 12 English Core Books and Chapters
English Core uses two NCERT books: Flamingo and Vistas. The current prescribed chapter list is given below.
| Flamingo prose | Flamingo poetry |
|---|---|
| The Last Lesson; Lost Spring; Deep Water; The Rattrap; Indigo; Poets and Pancakes; The Interview; Going Places | My Mother at Sixty-Six; Keeping Quiet; A Thing of Beauty; A Roadside Stand; Aunt Jennifer's Tigers |
| Vistas chapters |
|---|
| The Third Level; The Tiger King; Journey to the End of the Earth; The Enemy; On the Face of It; Memories of Childhood - The Cutting of My Long Hair and We Too are Human Beings |
CBSE Class 12 English Elective Syllabus 2026-27
English Elective has five theory parts: Reading Comprehension, Applied Grammar, Creative Writing, Textbook and Fiction. A separate 20-mark seminar completes the 100-mark course.
| Part | Marks |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 20 |
| Applied Grammar | 8 |
| Creative Writing | 20 |
| Textbook | 22 |
| Fiction | 10 |
| Theory total | 80 |
English Elective Reading and Grammar
The 20-mark Reading section has a literary or discursive passage of about 950-1000 words, an unseen poem of about 10-12 lines and a case-based factual passage of 100-120 words. Students answer 12 of 15 questions from the main passage, 4 of 5 from the poem and 4 of 5 from the case-based passage.
Applied Grammar carries 8 marks. It has 10 objective questions based on transformation of sentences, of which 8 are answered.
English Elective Writing, Textbook and Fiction
Creative Writing carries 20 marks. Three of four discursive or interpretative tasks are answered in 120-150 words for 15 marks. One of two essay, article, report or speech tasks is answered in 120-150 words for 5 marks.
The 22-mark Textbook part has prose and poetry extracts, two short answers and one long answer. Fiction carries 10 marks through two short answers and one long answer from the selected novel.
CBSE Class 12 English Elective Books and Chapters
English Elective uses the NCERT textbook Kaleidoscope. The Fiction part allows a choice between two R.K. Narayan novels.
| Part | Prescribed texts |
|---|---|
| Short stories | I Sell my Dreams; Eveline; A Wedding in Brownsville |
| Poetry | A Lecture Upon the Shadow; Poems by Milton; Poems by Blake; Kubla Khan; Trees; The Wild Swans of Coole; Time and Time Again |
| Non-fiction | Freedom; The Mark on the Wall; Film-making; Why the Novel Matters; The Argumentative Indian |
| Drama | Chandalika by Rabindranath Tagore |
| Fiction - choose one | A Tiger for Malgudi or The Financial Expert by R.K. Narayan |
English Core vs English Elective
The total marks and paper time are the same, but the course content is different. English Core gives half of its theory marks to Flamingo and Vistas. English Elective has a separate grammar part and uses Kaleidoscope plus one full novel.
| Point | English Core | English Elective |
|---|---|---|
| Subject code | 301 | 001 |
| Theory sections | Reading, Creative Writing, Literature | Reading, Grammar, Creative Writing, Textbook, Fiction |
| Main books | Flamingo and Vistas | Kaleidoscope and one prescribed novel |
| Internal assessment | Listening, speaking and project work | Seminar |
CBSE Class 12 English Internal Assessment
English Core Internal Assessment
English Core gives 5 marks each to listening and speaking. The 10-mark project is divided equally between the written report, script or essay and the viva. Listening and speaking are judged through interaction, fluency, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.
English Elective Seminar
English Elective uses a 20-mark seminar instead of the Core listening, speaking and project split. Activities may include a book or play presentation followed by questions, poetry reading with interpretation, a review of a film or play, or a theatre workshop followed by discussion.
CBSE Class 12 English Question Paper Pattern 2026-27
Both written papers carry 80 marks and last 3 hours. CBSE kept the question-paper design and assessment pattern unchanged for 2026-27. The official English Core sample paper and English Elective sample paper show the current question order and choices.
The Class 12 exam pattern explains the board-paper format. The Class 12 question papers include earlier papers by subject.
CBSE Class 12 English Syllabus 2027 FAQs
Which English syllabus applies to the CBSE Class 12 board exam in 2027?
The 2026-27 CBSE curriculum applies to the Class 12 board exam held in 2027.
Are English Core and English Elective the same?
No. English Core uses Flamingo and Vistas and has no separate grammar section. English Elective has Applied Grammar, Kaleidoscope and a choice between two novels.
Has CBSE released a separate deleted-chapter list for English in 2026-27?
No separate deleted-chapter table appears in the current English curriculum. The prescribed chapter lists in the Core and Elective PDFs show what is included for 2026-27.
Do English Core students study every chapter printed in old NCERT books?
The board exam follows the current prescribed list. A chapter printed in an older edition is not part of the 2026-27 syllabus if it is missing from the current CBSE curriculum.
Is the 20-mark internal assessment the same for Core and Elective?
No. English Core has 5 marks for listening, 5 for speaking and 10 for project work with viva. English Elective has a 20-mark seminar.
How long is the CBSE Class 12 English paper?
The English Core and English Elective written papers both last 3 hours and carry 80 marks.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.