Book 1 · below-S → S
The Recognition Floor
Thirty-five marks you can take without writing a sentence of your own.
Seven days · 15–20 minutes a day · Day 7 is a 45-minute timed test
Target 25 / 35 · 28 pages · PDF 3.5 MB
Download freeO/L English · Grades 9–11 · Free
From a pass to an A in O/L English.
A free seven-day crash course, in four books. The paper has not changed in three years, and 65 of the 100 marks need no sentence of your own — 35 is a pass. Here is the map of where those marks are, the book that matches the mark you are getting now, and every English paper since 2023.
Find my starting book Download the papers 4,000-Word Vocabulary Ladder →
No sign-up to download · Built from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 papers
Published 2026-09-07
Where the 100 marks actually are
Sixteen questions. But only six kinds of question, repeated every year. These numbers are counted from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 papers — not estimated.
| Skill family | Tests | Marks | Taught in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fill in the blanks (word box) | 2, 3, 4, 11 | 22 | Book 1 · Book 2 |
| Reading comprehension | 5, 15 | 13 | Book 2 |
| Matching | 1, 13 | 10 | Book 1 |
| Choose the right answer (true / false) | 7, 9 | 10 | Book 1 |
| Grammar change (tense, passive, reported speech) | 10, 12 | 10 | Book 3 |
| Your own writing (notice, letter, essay) | 6, 8, 14, 16 | 35 | Book 1 · Book 2 · Book 3 · Book 4 |
Free Vocabulary Curriculum
The 4,000-Word O/L English Vocabulary Ladder (Tiers S, C, B, A)
The O/L English examination tests distinct lexical tiers at each grade boundary. Master curated high-yield exam patterns and browse the complete searchable word banks across all four tiers.
S Grade · 1,500 Words
S Grade: Base Builder
The foundational 1,500 words (verbs, nouns, adjectives) and 50 core recognition patterns that eliminate translation lag in Paper 1.
C Grade · +500 Words
C Grade: Credit Bridge
500 transitional connectors, cohesive devices, and functional verbs bridging your lexical range to the 2,000-word mark.
B Grade · +1,000 Words
B Grade: Academic Expansion
1,000 academic expansion words, synonyms, antonyms, and 3 Cloze test passages reaching the 3,000-word milestone.
A Grade · +1,000 Words
A Grade: Distinction Masterclass
1,000 distinction words, rhetorical verbs, idioms, and argumentative essay exemplars mastering the full 4,000-word summit.
Free Exam Guide
O/L English Test 16: Essay, Article, Speech & Story
Test 16 is 15 of the 60 marks on Paper II. Three years of papers show the same four forms every year. Prepare a shape, not a subject — with 40 model answers and the real marking criteria.
Test 16 (a)
Article
Names an audience and gives 3–4 bullets. The most mechanical of the four.
Test 16 (b)
Essay
No audience named. Usually a comparison or a for-and-against.
Test 16 (c)
Speech
Names an occasion. Needs a salutation, direct address and a call to action.
Test 16 (d)
Story
The only option with NO bullets — you supply the structure yourself.
Four books. One grade boundary each.
You do not start at Book 1 because it is first. You start at the book that matches the mark you are getting now.
Book 2 · S → C
The Credit Bridge
The fifteen marks between a pass and a credit sit in three questions you are probably leaving half-blank.
Seven days · 15–20 minutes a day · Day 7 is a one-hour paper
Target 38 / 60 · 27 pages · PDF 3.2 MB
Download free
Book 3 · C → B
Breaking the Cliff
The wall is production, and it has a shape.
Seven days · 15–20 minutes a day · Day 7 is a full three-hour paper
Target 65 / 100 · 28 pages · PDF 2.7 MB
Download free
Book 4 · B → A
The Distinction Crown
From here the A is won by losing less, not by knowing more.
Seven days · 15–20 minutes a day · Day 7 is a full three-hour paper
Target 75 / 100 · 29 pages · PDF 2.7 MB
Download freeNot sure where you are? One question.
What did you score in English last term, out of 100?
Under 35 → Book 1 35–49 → Book 2 50–64 → Book 3 65+ → Book 4 I don't know → free quiz
Every book has a Teacher & Parent Guide
Written so an adult with weak English can still mark the work. The guides are published in English, Sinhala and Tamil — the student writes in English, the adult marking it does not have to read it.
| Book | English | සිංහල | தமிழ் |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book 1 | 22pp | 24pp | 27pp |
| Book 2 | 19pp | 22pp | 24pp |
| Book 3 | 20pp | 20pp | 22pp |
| Book 4 | 20pp | 19pp | 23pp |
How to mark your child's work
- Your child writes the exercise by hand, in English — that is what the examiner reads.
- Open the guide for that same book, in your language. Every answer is there, with the marks.
- Mark it together. Where the answer is wrong, the guide gives you the sentence that would have earned the mark.
Teachers: the same guides work as an answer key for a remedial class — one book per term, marked in class.
Every paper since 2023
The real Department of Examinations papers, retypeset so they are readable on a phone. Plus three 2026 model papers we wrote ourselves — each with its full marking scheme, which the official papers do not give you.
- 2026 model 1 — Paper 1
- 2026 model 1 — Paper 1 marking scheme
- 2026 model 1 — Paper 2
- 2026 model 1 — Paper 2 marking scheme
- 2026 model 2 — Paper 1
- 2026 model 2 — Paper 1 marking scheme
- 2026 model 2 — Paper 2
- 2026 model 2 — Paper 2 marking scheme
- 2026 model 3 — Paper 1
- 2026 model 3 — Paper 1 marking scheme
- 2026 model 3 — Paper 2
- 2026 model 3 — Paper 2 marking scheme
Now get it marked.
A book can tell you the answer. It cannot tell you why your answer lost three marks. That is the part a student cannot do alone — and it is the part the app does.
Write it by hand
Every activity in the books is meant to be written on paper, because that is what the examiner reads.
Photograph the page
Open Snap & Score in the app and take one photo of what you wrote.
Marked like an examiner
Mark by mark against the real scheme — with the sentence that would have earned the mark you missed.
Free
Ask about anything
Five questions a day to the AI coach, in English, Sinhala or Tamil. Ask it in the language you think in.
Start freeExam Ready · from Rs 4,500/mo
Get your handwriting marked
Photograph your handwritten answer and have it checked. Practice papers marked the way a real examiner marks them.
See what's includedFree
Find out where you stand
A short diagnostic that tells you which of the four books to start with, and which of the sixteen tests is costing you most.
Take the free quizQuestions students actually ask
- How many marks do I need to pass O/L English?
- 35 out of 100 is an Ordinary Pass (S). 65 marks on the paper are recognition questions — matching, choosing and filling word boxes — so the pass line is reachable without writing an original sentence.
- Is the O/L English paper the same every year?
- The structure was identical in 2023, 2024 and 2025: Paper I is 40 marks in eight five-mark tests, Paper II is 60 marks in eight more. Only Test 12 rotates — reported speech, conditionals and the passive.
- What is Test 11 and why do students lose marks on it?
- Test 11 is a seven-mark cloze with one spare word. Students treat it as a vocabulary question; it is a grammar question. The box is dominated by function words — had, before, was, he, they — so it tests cohesion, not word knowledge.
- Which Test 16 option should I choose?
- Take one of the options that carries bullet points. Three of the four give you the content to include; the story gives none, so it looks easier and marks harder.
- Can I get my English answers marked online in Sri Lanka?
- Yes — Idasara Academy's Snap & Score marks a photograph of your handwritten answer against the marking scheme. It is included from the Exam Ready plan.