This page is your class 11 english notes directory: the complete chapter-wise list for CBSE Class 11 English, arranged by the three NCERT readers — Hornbill, Snapshots (the supplementary reader) and Woven Words. The directory below groups all 35 chapters by book, so you can see at a glance which reader holds the chapter you need.
Each reader numbers its own chapters, so the same chapter number appears in more than one book. When you note down a chapter for revision, pair the book name with the number — Hornbill Chapter 4, not just Chapter 4. Use the directory to find your chapter, then open the notes page for that chapter to work through it.
Class 11 English Chapter Directory
The directory below lists the complete chapter list for Class 11 English across its three NCERT readers. Every row names what its chapter covers.
Hornbill (Chapters 1-10)
Chapter 1: The Portrait of a Lady — The prose chapter that opens Hornbill; its title names a portrait of a lady.
Chapter 2: “We’re Not Afraid to Die… if We Can All Be Together” — A Hornbill chapter whose long title is spoken by a ‘we’ — the voice inside the words.
Chapter 3: Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues — The Hornbill chapter titled for Tut — a saga that continues, as the title says.
Chapter 4: The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role — The fourth prose chapter of Hornbill — an article on the ailing planet and the Green Movement’s role.
Notes cover context and key terms, how the article builds its case, themes from domination to partnership, the voices quoted, language and style devices, key quotes, answer pointers for the four textbook questions, and language work on Latin phrases and literal versus figurative words.
Chapter 5: The Adventure — A Hornbill chapter with a one-word title — the adventure it names.
Chapter 6: Silk Road — A Hornbill chapter whose title names a road — the Silk Road.
Chapter 7: Note-making — The first of Hornbill’s skill sections — the title names the skill: making notes.
Chapter 8: Summarising — Hornbill’s skill section whose title names what it teaches: summarising.
Chapter 9: Sub-titling — The writing skill of giving short headings to different sections of a longer piece of writing; in Hornbill it is taught through one newspaper article, “A New Deal for Old Cities”, and the notes give a step-by-step method you can reuse.
Chapter 10: Essay-writing — The skill section that closes Hornbill — its title names the form: essay-writing.
Snapshots: Supplementary Reader (Chapters 1-5)
Chapter 1: The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse — The chapter that opens Snapshots, the supplementary reader; the title names a summer and a beautiful white horse.
Chapter 2: The Address — A Snapshots chapter whose one-word title names a place — an address.
Chapter 3: Mother’s Day — A Snapshots chapter whose title names a day — Mother’s Day.
Chapter 4: Birth — A Snapshots chapter whose one-word title names a beginning — birth.
Chapter 5: The Tale of Melon City — The chapter that closes Snapshots, with a title that announces a tale of a melon city.
Woven Words (Chapters 1-20)
Chapter 1: The Lament — The chapter that opens Woven Words; its one-word title names a lament.
Chapter 2: A Pair of Mustachios — A Woven Words story told in a six-step summary, with a moustache-to-class reference table, character sketches of Ramanand and Azam Khan, themes of pride, class and the absurdity of status symbols, literary devices, important quotes and pointers for every NCERT exercise question.
Chapter 3: The Rocking-horse Winner — A Woven Words chapter whose title names a rocking-horse winner — a rocking horse and what it wins.
Chapter 4: The Adventure of the Three Garridebs — A Woven Words chapter whose title promises an adventure — one that involves three Garridebs.
Chapter 5: Pappachi’s Moth — A Woven Words chapter whose title names a moth — Pappachi’s moth.
Chapter 6: The Third and Final Continent — A Woven Words chapter whose title counts the landmasses — a third and final continent.
Chapter 7: Glory at Twilight — Bhabani Bhattacharya’s short story, compressed into a step-by-step summary from the forgerer to the fig tree, a theme table, character sketches with evidence, literary devices with quoted examples, key quotes, answer-building skeletons for the NCERT exercises and a one-page revision recap.
Chapter 8: The Luncheon — A Woven Words chapter whose title names a luncheon — a meal taken in the middle of the day.
Chapter 9: The Peacock — A Woven Words chapter with a one-word title that names a bird — the peacock.
Chapter 10: Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds — A Woven Words chapter whose title opens with the words “Let me not” — a first-person line about the marriage of true minds.
Chapter 11: Coming — A Woven Words chapter whose one-word title names an arrival — coming.
Chapter 12: Telephone Conversation — A Woven Words chapter whose title names what it carries — a telephone conversation.
Chapter 13: The World is too Much with Us — A Woven Words chapter whose title is a complaint in seven words — the world is too much with us.
Chapter 14: Mother Tongue — A Woven Words chapter whose two-word title names the mother tongue.
Chapter 15: Hawk Roosting — A Woven Words chapter whose title puts a hawk at rest — the hawk is roosting.
Chapter 16: For Elkana — A Woven Words chapter whose short title names Elkana.
Chapter 17: Refugee Blues — A Woven Words chapter whose title joins two words — refugee and blues.
Chapter 18: Felling of the Banyan Tree — A Woven Words chapter whose title names an act of cutting down — the felling of a banyan tree.
Chapter 19: Ode to a Nightingale — A Woven Words chapter whose title names an ode — and names the nightingale it is for.
Chapter 20: Ajamil and the Tigers — The chapter that closes Woven Words; its title pairs Ajamil with the tigers.
| Book | Ch | Chapter notes | Key topics covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornbill | 1 | The Portrait of a Lady | |
| Hornbill | 2 | “We’re Not Afraid to Die… if We Can All Be Together” | |
| Hornbill | 3 | Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues | |
| Hornbill | 4 | The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement's Role | The Ailing Planet at a Glance: Context and Key Terms · Summary: How the Article Builds Its Case · Themes: From Domination to Partnership |
| Hornbill | 5 | The Adventure | |
| Hornbill | 6 | Silk Road | |
| Hornbill | 7 | Note-making | |
| Hornbill | 8 | Summarising | |
| Hornbill | 9 | Sub-titling | What is Sub-titling and Why It Matters · The Article You Will Work With: 'A New Deal for Old Cities' · Worked Example: Sub-Titling the Article Step by Step |
| Hornbill | 10 | Essay-writing | |
| Snapshots | 1 | The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse | |
| Snapshots | 2 | The Address | |
| Snapshots | 3 | Mother's Day | |
| Snapshots | 4 | Birth | |
| Snapshots | 5 | The Tale of Melon City | |
| Woven Words | 1 | The Lament | |
| Woven Words | 2 | A Pair of Mustachios | A Pair of Mustachios at a Glance · The Moustache Code: Who Wears What · Story Summary: The Rumpus Over One Pair of Mustachios |
| Woven Words | 3 | The Rocking-horse Winner | |
| Woven Words | 4 | The Adventure of the Three Garridebs | |
| Woven Words | 5 | Pappachi's Moth | |
| Woven Words | 6 | The Third and Final Continent | |
| Woven Words | 7 | Glory at Twilight | The Story Step by Step: From the Forgerer to the Fig Tree · Themes: What the Story Is Really About · Characters: Who Is Who and What They Reveal |
| Woven Words | 8 | The Luncheon | |
| Woven Words | 9 | The Peacock | |
| Woven Words | 10 | Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds | |
| Woven Words | 11 | Coming | |
| Woven Words | 12 | Telephone Conversation | |
| Woven Words | 13 | The World is too Much with Us | |
| Woven Words | 14 | Mother Tongue | |
| Woven Words | 15 | Hawk Roosting | |
| Woven Words | 16 | For Elkana | |
| Woven Words | 17 | Refugee Blues | |
| Woven Words | 18 | Felling of the Banyan Tree | |
| Woven Words | 19 | Ode to a Nightingale | |
| Woven Words | 20 | Ajamil and the Tigers |
How to Use These Class 11 English Notes
Three quick decisions get you to the right page — which reader, which chapter, which part of the notes:
- Pick the reader. Hornbill has 10 chapters; Snapshots, the supplementary reader, has 5 chapters and is studied beside Hornbill; Woven Words has 20 chapters.
- Find the chapter in its own book group. Chapter numbers restart in each reader, so “chapter 1” appears three times. Always pair the book name with the number in your revision notes — this is the common mistake this directory corrects.
- Open the chapter and skim its shape first. Look for the summary, themes, quotes and question pointers before reading deep.
Note that Hornbill chapters 7 to 10 — Note-making, Summarising, Sub-titling and Essay-writing — are writing skill sections, not prose chapters. A student hunting for a story among them will not find one.
For the full set of subjects at this level, see the other Class 11 subject hubs, or browse all CBSE notes by class.
What’s Inside These Class 11 English Notes
The notes pages linked below are built around what each chapter actually contains. Across the readers, those pages offer:
- Context and key terms at a glance, so a chapter’s setting and vocabulary are clear before you read.
- Step-by-step summaries — for example, a six-step summary for A Pair of Mustachios.
- Reference tables such as a moustache-to-class table and a theme table.
- Character sketches with textual evidence for the main figures of a story.
- Literary devices with quoted examples, and how the devices carry the meaning.
- Key quotes with their meaning in context — the lines students reuse in answers.
- Language work such as Latin phrases and literal versus figurative words.
- Answer pointers and answer-building skeletons for the NCERT questions.
- A recap of the whole chapter for revision.
The linked notes pages take the shape of their chapter. The Ailing Planet is an article, so its notes walk the argument the article builds. Sub-titling is a skill taught on one newspaper article, so its notes teach a reusable method.
A simple revision workflow: read the summary first, then the quotes and question pointers before a test.
Class 11 English: Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Class 11 English have three chapters numbered 1?
The three NCERT readers each number their own chapters from 1: Hornbill (10 chapters), Snapshots (5 chapters) and Woven Words (20 chapters). Always name the book with the chapter number.
Which Hornbill chapters are writing skill sections?
Hornbill chapters 7 to 10 — Note-making, Summarising, Sub-titling and Essay-writing — teach skills rather than prose texts.
How many chapters are there in Class 11 English?
There are 35 chapters in the directory on this page: 10 in Hornbill, 5 in Snapshots (the supplementary reader) and 20 in Woven Words.
Which chapters are in Snapshots, the supplementary reader?
Snapshots contains The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse, The Address, Mother’s Day, Birth and The Tale of Melon City.
Reference: NCERT textbooks (CBSE).
Official source: download the NCERT textbook free from ncert.nic.in.