11 plus verbal reasoning

Tested by

GL Assessment and Quest, where the area includes it; the ISEB Pre-Test; CEM within its English sections. Not CSSE, SEAG or FSCE

Taught at school?

No. It draws on vocabulary, spelling, the alphabet and arithmetic, which are

Format

Usually multiple choice, many questions in a short time

Biggest help

Learning each question type with its method, and a wide vocabulary

What verbal reasoning tests

Verbal reasoning questions ask children to spot patterns and rules in language: how words are built, how letters move through the alphabet, how a code works. They test how a child thinks with words more than what they have been taught, which is why selective schools use them.

The question types are well known. GL's papers, for example, use a familiar set of about 21 types. Each type has its own method, so a child who has met them all and practised the method for each one does much better than one meeting them for the first time on the day.

The question types

Words and meanings

• Closest and opposite meaning: pick two words, one from each group, that mean the same, or the opposite.
• Odd ones out: find the two words that do not belong with the other three.
• Analogies: “hot is to cold as up is to …”.
• Word connections: find the word that goes equally well with both pairs.

Building words

• Hidden words: a four-letter word hidden across the end of one word and the start of the next.
• Compound words: join a word from each group to make a new word.
• Missing letters and missing words: the letter that ends one word and starts another, or the three-letter word missing from a longer word in a sentence.
• Move a letter: move one letter from the first word to the second to make two new words.

Letters and codes

• Letter series: the next pair of letters in a pattern that steps through the alphabet.
• Letter codes: if a word is written in a code, what is another word in the same code?
• Number codes for words: match words to number codes, then decode another.

Numbers and logic

• Number series: the next number in a sequence.
• Letters for numbers: work out a sum where letters stand for numbers.
• Related numbers: find the rule linking three numbers and use it on another set.
• Logic problems: read a set of facts, such as who sits where or who is oldest, and work out what must be true.

The school skills it relies on

Verbal reasoning is not in the curriculum, but it leans on things that are:

• Vocabulary and spelling from Key Stage 2 English: most word questions need a child to recognise the right word and spell it correctly. See what is taught in English.
• The alphabet: knowing each letter's position (M is 13th) and counting forwards and backwards quickly makes letter series and codes much faster. Many children write the alphabet at the top of the paper.
• Arithmetic and times tables from Key Stage 2 maths, for number series and letter sums.

Which tests include it

• GL Assessment and Quest: where the area includes it. Some areas test reasoning only.
• ISEB Pre-Test: one of the four sections, on screen and adaptive.
• CEM: verbal skills are part of the English sections, with a heavy weight on vocabulary.
• CSSE, SEAG and FSCE: not tested. FSCE tests school subjects instead.

How to prepare for verbal reasoning

• Learn one question type at a time, slowly, with its method. Speed comes later.
• Practise the alphabet: letter positions, and counting on and back.
• Build vocabulary through reading and word games, and look up words that come up in practice.
• Once every type is familiar, practise mixed sets against the clock.
• Check spelling in answers: a misspelt word is usually a wrong answer.

The other 11+ subjects

• MathsKey Stage 2 maths, in harder, multi-step problems.
• EnglishComprehension, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, grammar and sometimes writing.
• Verbal reasoningWord, letter and number puzzles. Not taught in school.
• Non-verbal reasoningShape and pattern puzzles. Not taught in school.

Which subjects each test includes