Past board exam questions
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
In ‘From the Diary of Anne Frank’, how does Anne’s relationship with her diary help her cope with isolation and the fear of hiding ?
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1)
Anne felt lonely because she could not confide her deepest feelings to anyone, despite having family and friends. So she made her diary her closest friend, naming it ‘Kitty’. Since ‘paper has more patience than people’, she could express her thoughts, fears and hopes freely, beyond ordinary day-to-day things. The diary gave her emotional release and became her silent companion during the long confinement in hiding.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
Give a brief description of Anne Frank’s family. (From the Diary of Anne Frank)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points with textual evidence; Expression 1)
Anne Frank belonged to a Jewish family. Her father, Otto Frank, was patient, understanding and, in her words, ‘the most adorable father’; her mother, Edith Hollander, was twenty-five when she married him. Her elder sister was Margot. Being Jewish, the family moved from Frankfurt to Amsterdam, and Anne and Margot stayed with their grandmother in Aachen before joining their parents there.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
In ‘From the Diary of Anne Frank’, Anne’s writing reflects her maturity despite her young age. Elaborate.
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1)
Though only thirteen, Anne writes with remarkable insight. She is self-aware, observing that ‘paper has more patience than people’ and that she lacks a true friend to confide in, so she uses her diary as an emotional outlet. She also cleverly turned Mr Keesing’s punishment essays into witty arguments – that talking is a student’s trait inherited from her mother – showing a thoughtful, mature mind.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
How does Anne’s sense of humour help her deal with difficult situations ?
(From the Diary of Anne Frank)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1)
When Mr Keesing punished her for talking in class, Anne did not get upset; instead she wrote a funny essay – and later a poem, ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’ – that won him over. She jokes about her teachers and school life, making tough times such as the declaration of results feel easier. Making fun of situations helped her manage fear, boredom and stress.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
What was the last task assigned to Anne Frank by Mr. Keesing due to her habit of talking and how does she show her ingenuity to answer it ?
(From the Diary of Anne Frank)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1)
Mr. Keesing’s last task was an essay entitled ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’. Anne showed her ingenuity by writing it in verse: a poem about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings who were bitten to death by their father because they quacked too much. It showed the necessity of talking. Mr. Keesing took the joke well and let her talk thereafter.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
In her essay ‘A Chatterbox’, how does Anne Frank justify her habit of talking as an aspect of her personality ?
(From the Diary of Anne Frank)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1)
In her essay Anne argued that talking is a student’s trait. She agreed she would do her best to keep it under control, but said she would never be able to cure herself of the habit, since her mother talked as much as she did, if not more. Talking was thus an inherited trait, and there is not much one can do about inherited traits.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
Anne calls herself that she is a chatterbox in her essay. Justify.
(From the Diary of Anne Frank)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1)
Anne admits that she talks too much in class, and her teacher, Mr Keesing, repeatedly punishes her for talking by giving her extra homework. In her essay ‘A Chatterbox’ she humorously defends the habit, arguing that talking is a student’s trait and that she inherited it from her mother, who is also very talkative. She cleverly proves she can talk and write endlessly.
CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks
Mention the details that Anne provides about her family in her diary.
(From the Diary of Anne Frank)
(Answer in about 40-50 words.)
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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1)
Anne writes that her father, Otto Frank, the most adorable father she had ever seen, did not marry her mother until he was thirty-six and her mother was twenty-five. Her elder sister Margot was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Being Jewish, the family emigrated from Frankfurt to Holland (Amsterdam) in 1933, and her grandmother, who later died, was very loving.
