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How does the author… (Class 10 English SQP 2025-26, Q11a)

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EnglishCBSE Class 10 · Sample paper, session 2025-26 · 6 marks · Long answer

CBSE Class 10 English sample paper 2025-26: question 11(a)

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2025-26, section D, question 11(a), for 6 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q11(a) · 6 marks · Long answerThe Midnight Visitor

How does the author use the narrative technique of misdirection in 'The Midnight Visitor', to enhance the suspense and the story’s unexpected ending?

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2025-26.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Think of the one thing Ausable invents to mislead Max.

Hint 2

Ask how that false detail makes the reader expect something.

Hint 3

Explain the twist at the ending and the effect it has.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. Introduction: The author uses misdirection to build suspense and to deliver a surprising ending in 'The Midnight Visitor'.

    1 mark

  2. Ausable invents a balcony and confidently describes how intruders have used it before. The reader, like Max, believes that it exists.

    2 marks

  3. This deception builds tension, as the reader waits to see how the balcony will matter in the events that follow.

    1 mark

  4. The suspense peaks when Max, trying to avoid the 'police', escapes through the balcony and discovers too late that it does not exist. The twist shows Ausable's wit and resourcefulness.

    1 mark

  5. Conclusion: Misdirection keeps the reader engaged and makes the ending surprising and satisfying.

    1 mark

Answer: Model answer given in steps, in 100-120 words.

Where the marks are

  • Introduction naming misdirection (1 mark)
  • The fabricated balcony story that misleads Max and the reader (2 marks)
  • The tension built in the build-up (1 mark)
  • The ending where Max finds there is no balcony (1 mark)
  • Conclusion on the effect on the reader (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from The Midnight Visitor, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paperSample paper 2025-26: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.