In tomorrow’s CBSE class 12 board exam for English subject, you will have to attempt 2 HOTS questions in the writing skills section. There will be two compositions based on visual and/or verbal input that can be article, debate, speech, or report. Basically through this question, the understanding as well as writing skills of the students are tested. The students are presented with some textual or visual piece and then they have to write their thoughts about what they grasped or they are given a piece to listen and write the things they have understood. Check this article to know what is the relevance and aim of composition based on visual or verbal input writing skills questions and how can students attempt these type of questions in a better way.
Article / Debate / Speech / Report Writing
There will be 2 questions.
Each will be of 10 marks.
You will be tested for reasoning, appropriacy of style and tone, using appropriate format and fluency, inference, analysis, evaluation and creativity in these questions.
The word limit will be 150-200 words, or as specified in the question.
More Writing Formats You Should Know
Here Are Some Sample Topics
- Write an article on ‘The Increasing Crime Rate in India and its Preventive Measures’ in 200 words
- Write an article about ‘The Need of Girl’s Education for National Development’
- Write your views about Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet
- Critically explain the possible steps to deal with the problems in Slums of our cities
- Write about a scene on Railway Station
These 2 questions were asked in the official CBSE sample paper of class 12

Objective Of The Composition
Through this composition, the students can think of their own ideas and create a unique composition. This type of question discourages cramming and allows the students to think out of the box.
Some Points to Remember While Writing an Article, Debate, Speech, Report
There are some points that candidates have to keep in mind while framing the composition:
- Refer the hints given in the questions and organize your thoughts accordingly
- Put your ideas under different headings
- After adding your thoughts in some headings, add some sub-headings to explain your point
- Make sure your thoughts are in the chronological order
- Start your input by introducing the title or topic
- End the paragraph with a proper conclusion
In short, a good composition must have:
- There should be a proper structure
- There should be flow in the piece
- The idea of the topic must be relevant
- The order of thoughts must be chronological
What Is The Question Like?
At times during the examination students are asked to write a composition or their thoughts according to what they see or what they hear. This piece which has to be used by the students is provided by the teachers and the students have to give their views on it.
The word limit of the composition might be 150-200 words. The output which students have to give can be descriptive or argumentative.
Verbal Input: The verbal input might include a short line of the story or only the beginning of some incident or story.
Visual Input: As the name suggests, the visual input can be presented in the form of a diagram, a chart, a cartoon depicting some cause or issue, some figure giving some message etc.
To sum up the verbal input and visual input totally depend on the students and their perception. For scoring well in this type of question, the students are required to listen or see properly what is presented in the question. After analyzing the question, then, make your composition.
Important Note: As per the perception, the composition can be left open-ended. There are many stories or topics which do not need any conclusion, so in those cases the output can be left open-ended.
How is Story Writing Different From Composition Based on Visual and Verbal Input?
Story Writing is said to complete when it has beginning, proper plot, characters, and conclusion. The title and the story must be co-related.
While attempting Composition Based on Visual and Verbal Input question, the authority lies in the hands of the students only. They can interpret the input differently and give their output based on that. There is no foundation that there have to be characters or moral of the story. Basically, it must have all the points imbibed in the answer which have been presented to the students.
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