1. The header
Every paper opens with a header so students fill it in correctly. Keep it tidy and consistent across the term.
- School name and the assessment title
- Subject, class or section, and academic year
- Name, roll number, and date fields for the student
- Total marks and time allowed
2. General instructions
A short instructions block prevents confusion: how many sections there are, which questions are compulsory, and whether internal choice is allowed. Three to five lines is enough.
3. Sections and weightage
Group similar questions into sections and put the marks next to each question. A common pattern for a 40-mark primary paper is:
- Section A — objective questions like fill in the blanks, MCQ, and true or false
- Section B — short answers with one or two lines
- Section C — long answers, comprehension, or word problems
4. Question types to mix
- Fill in the blanks and one-word answers
- Multiple choice and true or false
- Match the following
- Short and long answers
- Reading comprehension
- Vertical maths sums and word problems
5. A ready template you can reuse
- Header: school, subject, class, date, total marks, time
- Instructions: 3 to 5 short lines
- Section A: 10 marks of objective questions
- Section B: 12 to 15 marks of short answers
- Section C: remaining marks for long answers, comprehension, or word problems
6. Layout and printing
Leave ruled space for answers under each question, keep the marks aligned to the right, and number questions clearly. Print on A4 with comfortable margins so it photocopies cleanly.
A faster way
Setting all of this by hand in Word is slow. PaperGen gives you the same format out of the box — pick a header style, add questions of any type, set the marks, and the live A4 preview is the printed page. You can even photograph a handwritten paper and it builds the formatted version for you.