Chat on WhatsAppDownload CBSE Class 10 English (Language and Literature) board papers from 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, three sets for each year, with solutions, from the table below. There is no 2021 paper, because CBSE cancelled the Class 10 board exams that year.
English is often treated as the easy paper, and that is exactly why marks leak from it. Writing tasks done without the format, literature answers without a reference to the text, and a reading section rushed at the start all cost marks that are easy to keep.
How the CBSE Class 10 English paper is set
- Theory: 80 marks, 3 hours. Internal assessment (including listening and speaking) adds 20 marks.
- Reading: 20 marks, from unseen passages.
- Writing and Grammar: 20 marks, including a formal letter or analytical paragraph and grammar questions.
- Literature: 40 marks, from First Flight and Footprints without Feet.
How to use these papers
- Start with 2025 and 2024, which follow the current pattern.
- Treat 2022 as extra practice only; that exam was term-wise.
- Write each paper in three hours. Most students should spend about 40 minutes on reading, 40 on writing and grammar, and the rest on literature.
- Compare your writing tasks with the solutions for format and content separately. Format marks are the easiest to win.
Where students lose marks in English
- Letters without the correct format: sender's address, date, subject line or closing.
- Analytical paragraphs that describe the data but never compare or conclude.
- Literature answers that retell the story instead of answering the question, with no reference to a character, event or line from the text.
- Word limits ignored, both ways: answers too short to cover the points, or too long to finish the paper.
- Reading answers copied word for word when the question asks you to infer.
Gradehunt's CBSE Class 10 English test series checks your writing and literature answers the way a board examiner does, including format and content marks.
Other CBSE Class 10 past papers
We also have solved past papers for Science, Maths and Social Science.
Don’t just read the paper. Write one and get it checked, free.
Download a board-pattern English paper, upload your answers and get your marks. No payment.
- 1Get an exam-pattern paper
- 2Write it at home, upload one PDF
- 3Checked with marks and remarks in 48 hours
Download Links
Use the table below to download both the papers and their solutions in PDF format:
| Year | Question Paper | Solution |
|---|---|---|
2025 | ||
2025 | ||
2025 | ||
2024 | ||
2024 | ||
2024 | ||
2023 | ||
2023 | ||
2023 | ||
2022 | ||
2022 | ||
2022 | ||
2020 | ||
2020 | ||
2020 |
Updates to this page
- 9 October 2026: rewritten for 2026-27 with section-wise marks and how to use each year's paper.
Finished reading? Now test yourself.
Chapter-wise tests in the latest board pattern, checked with remarks. Plans from ₹299/subject.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.Where can I download CBSE Class 10 English previous year papers?
From the table on this page: papers and solutions for 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, three sets each, free to download.
Q2.How many marks is CBSE Class 10 English?
The theory paper is 80 marks: Reading 20, Writing and Grammar 20, and Literature 40. Internal assessment adds 20 marks.
Q3.Which books are in CBSE Class 10 English literature?
First Flight and Footprints without Feet.
Q4.How should I divide time in the CBSE Class 10 English paper?
A useful split is about 40 minutes for reading, 40 for writing and grammar, and the remaining time for literature, with a few minutes to check.
Q5.Why is there no 2021 English paper?
CBSE cancelled the Class 10 board exams in 2021, so there is no board paper for that year.