FA English (Compulsory) Syllabus

English (Compulsory) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for English (Compulsory) in FA, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Book I: Stories

   5 topics

   • Button, Button
   • Clearing in the Sky
   • Thank You, Ma'am
   • The Piece of String
   • The Reward
2. 2

   Book III: Plays

   3 topics

   • Heat Lightning
   • Visit to a Small Planet
   • The Oyster and the Pearl
3. 3

   Modern Prose and Essays

   3 topics

   • My Bank Account
   • The Foolish Quack
   • A Mild Attack of Locusts
4. 4

   Poems

   4 topics

   • Night Mail
   • Loveliest of Trees
   • The Rain
   • O Where Are You Going?
5. 5

   Grammar and Composition

   5 topics

   • Tenses and punctuation
   • Letters and applications
   • Essay writing
   • Précis writing
   • Story writing and translation

English (Compulsory) flashcards for FA

21 of 56 cards from the English (Compulsory) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Who is the author of the short story "Button, Button"?

   Richard Matheson.

2. In "Button, Button," what offer does Mr. Steward make to the Lewis couple?

   If they press the button on the unit, they will receive $50,000, but somewhere in the world a person they don't know will die.

3. In "Button, Button," what are the names of the married couple?

   Norma and Arthur Lewis.

4. What is the ironic twist at the end of "Button, Button"?

   After Norma presses the button, Arthur is killed (under a subway train), and Mr. Steward explains the button-unit will go to another couple who don't know Arthur, paying her the insurance/$50,000 as the 'stranger' who died.

5. What is the central theme of "Button, Button"?

   Greed and moral temptation; how the desire for money can corrupt a person and how we never truly 'know' even those closest to us.

6. Who wrote the essay "Clearing in the Sky"?

   Jesse Stuart.

7. In "Clearing in the Sky," who is the main character and what is his health condition?

   The narrator's father, who has suffered two heart attacks and was told by doctors he could not survive.

8. In "Clearing in the Sky," what has the father secretly created on the mountain?

   A hidden clearing of rich new ground where he grows healthy crops (corn, vegetables, tobacco, fruit).

9. What is the main theme of "Clearing in the Sky"?

   Love of the land and hard work as a source of life and healing; the father defies death and his doctors through his bond with the soil.

10. Who is the author of "Thank You, Ma'am"?

    Langston Hughes.

11. In "Thank You, Ma'am," what is the full name of the woman whose purse is snatched?

    Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.

12. In "Thank You, Ma'am," who tries to snatch the purse and why?

    A boy named Roger; he wanted money to buy a pair of blue suede shoes.

13. In "Thank You, Ma'am," how does Mrs. Jones treat the boy after he tries to rob her?

    Instead of punishing him, she takes him home, feeds him, lets him wash, and gives him ten dollars for the shoes, teaching him kindness.

14. What is the central theme of "Thank You, Ma'am"?

    Kindness, trust, and moral reform; compassion can change a person more effectively than punishment.

15. Who wrote the short story "The Piece of String"?

    Guy de Maupassant.

16. In "The Piece of String," what does Maitre Hauchecorne pick up that gets him into trouble?

    A small piece of string lying on the road.

17. In "The Piece of String," what is Hauchecorne falsely accused of?

    Stealing a lost pocketbook (wallet) containing money and papers.

18. In "The Piece of String," who is Hauchecorne's enemy that informs against him?

    Maitre Malandain, the harness-maker, who saw him pick something up and reported him out of an old grudge.

19. What happens to Hauchecorne at the end of "The Piece of String"?

    Even after the pocketbook is returned by another man, no one believes his innocence; he obsesses over clearing his name and eventually dies, still muttering about 'a little bit of string.'

20. What is the main theme of "The Piece of String"?

    The destructive power of public opinion, false accusation, and human malice; an innocent man is ruined by rumor and disbelief.

21. Who is the author of the story "The Reward"?

    Lord Dunsany.

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