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The article question in CBSE Class 12 English Core is worth 5 marks out of 18 in the creative writing section. You answer one of two choices, an article or a report, in 120-150 words, according to the CBSE English Core curriculum for 2026-27. The 2026-27 sample question paper says the paper design is unchanged this year.
What is the article writing format for Class 12?
The CBSE marking scheme for 2026-27 sets out the article layout in five parts:
Title, centred at the top.
Byline, below the title on the right.
Paragraph 1, introduction: a relevant topic sentence with supporting points.
Paragraphs 2 and 3, body: different aspects of the topic, such as pros and cons or cause and effect, each backed by supporting points or evidence.
Paragraph 4, conclusion: your opinion, recommendations or suggestions, ending with a hope, a warning or a call to action.
Use the name the question gives you in the byline. The 2026-27 sample paper names the writer Smitha Jinan, so the byline reads "By Smitha Jinan", not your own name.
The other choice, a report, has a different format: a headline, a byline with the reporter's name and designation, and the place and date.
How are the marks split in article writing?
The 2026-27 curriculum splits the 5 marks like this:
Format, 1 mark: title and byline in the right places.
Organisation of ideas, 1 mark: one job per paragraph, in a logical order.
Content, 2 marks: relevant ideas drawn from the cues in the question, plus your own.
Accuracy of spelling and grammar, 1 mark.
Content is worth as much as format and grammar together, so covering every cue deserves more of your effort than fancy vocabulary.
Is article writing in the Class 11 syllabus?
Not as a set question in CBSE's Class 11 question paper design. In the 2026-27 Class 11 English Core syllabus, the two long writing tasks are a speech and a debate, each 120-150 words and worth 5 marks: 1 for format, 2 for content and 2 for expression. Your school's own tests may still include an article, so check with your English teacher.
The skills carry over: a speech and a debate also need an opening, a body that develops points and a clear close. Practise that shape in Class 11, and the Class 12 article only adds a title and a byline.
What does a full-mark article look like?
Here is a model we wrote for the 2026-27 sample paper's prompt: a school magazine article on why digital wellness should be part of the curriculum. It is about 140 words with the title and byline.
Digital Wellness Belongs in Our Timetable
By Smitha Jinan, Student Reporter, Class 12
Walk down any school corridor at lunch and you will see heads bent over phones, thumbs scrolling without pause. Doom-scrolling has become a habit for many teenagers, and schools should treat it as a learning issue.
Algorithm-driven feeds are designed to keep us watching. An endless stream of short videos can weaken attention, and constant comparison with others online can leave students feeling low. A distracted mind cannot focus in class.
Schools already teach us to eat well and exercise. A short digital wellness module could explain how feeds work, how to set screen limits and how to notice when scrolling stops being a choice.
Banning phones will not solve this. Learning to use technology mindfully, with a purpose, will. Let us make digital wellness part of our curriculum this year.
Where the marks come from:
Format: a title, and a byline with the name from the question.
Organisation: four paragraphs: topic, cause, solution, call to action.
Content: all five cues covered, with no invented statistics.
Accuracy: short sentences leave fewer places for slips.
How do you plan a 120-150 word article in the exam?
The sample paper allows 3 hours for 80 marks, a little over 2 minutes a mark, so give the 5-mark article about 10 minutes. Our minute-per-mark plan for board exams shows how this fits the whole paper.
Two minutes, plan. Underline every cue and write a paragraph number (1 to 4) next to it.
One minute, top lines. Write the title and byline first, so the format mark is safe.
Six minutes, write. Aim for about 30 words in the introduction, 40 in each body paragraph and 30 in the conclusion.
One minute, check. Count the words in one line, multiply by the number of lines, and fix spelling.
Prompts on climate, health or technology reward accurate ideas. If a cue rests on a science idea you are unsure of, the Fermi Concept Library has a lesson for every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing, so you can check it before you build a paragraph on it.
The letter question is marked on the same four headings: see our line-by-line check of the CBSE formal letter format, and our note-making format check for Class 11 English for another task with its own format mark.
This week, write one practice article in 10 minutes and mark it against the four headings above.
