11 Plus Forum- Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning is used in the majority of 11 Plus exam entries around the country. In essence Verbal Reasoning falls into two categories:

GL Verbal Reasoning

Written by GL for schools. These exams use the 21 classic Verbal Reasoning question types.

CEM Verbal Reasoning

Written by CEM for schools. In essence these are English exams with a few of the vocabulary based verbal reasoning question types added in (e.g. Synonyms and opposites). CEM use some specific questions types it is worth familiarising yourself with but there’s really not a great deal of technique involved with answering the questions (as opposed to GL VR where technique can help quite a lot).

If we were to offer three things to focus on while doing VR preparation (of any sort) we would say:

Vocabulary breadth is the single most important skill children can learn. Some parents spend far too long on technique and doing test papers whereas in fact greater improvement could be delivered by a focus on vocabulary development.
Don’t do test papers too early. Parents often make the mistake of doing paper after paper too early and without having structured learning running alongside. Our advice is focus on the core English skills, particularly vocabulary development, testing can come later.
Reading is an essential part of developing a strong vocabulary, it should lie at the heart of every preparation programme.

While there’s lots of useful information in our 11 Plus Forum there is even more in the main site. Parents can for instance find out which of the four main preparation options might be most suitable for their situation or they can look in some depth at what the individual 11 Plus subjects contain or they can review what the requirements are for their area or individual school.

11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Forum – Contents

In the Forum you’ll find answers to the following questions. We want to focus on questions which all parents will find useful, which is why we don’t include very niche questions. If you have a question that you feel lots of other parents might also have please ask us using the form provided.

When to start VR

Common VR mistakes

Building a strong vocabulary

How many tests to do

CEM VR differences

Online Verbal Reasoning

How to work quickly

Schools say don’t tutor for VR

Reaching a VR plateau

Problems with codes