11 Plus VR Exams 11 Plus Guide

11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Exams

There are really only two types of 11 Plus VR exam in the country….. Traditional VR exams (as written by GL and Moray House) or non-traditional VR exams as set by CEM.

This section looks at traditional VR papers.

Traditional 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Exams

These papers use the 21 traditional types of question (Moray House tend to use fewer question types). When preparing for these tests we find too many families get carried away with trying to question spot and trying to produce a great result by learning question technique. This area is of course very important but without a very wide vocabulary and great spelling skills children simply will not get good marks.

Common Mistakes in Verbal Reasoning Exams

Most mistakes in VR are made in the following sections:

  • Synonyms
  • Antonyms
  • Compound words
  • Two odd ones out
  • Move a letter
  • Missing word

In fact well over 55% of all mistakes in 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning exams are made in these vocabulary sections. In these areas there’s not much technique can do to help pupils, so the onus is on having a very wide vocabulary.

Preparing in the correct way for Verbal Reasoning is essential

All too often we find families do paper after paper after paper hoping to improve, in fact real improvement will really only come with vocabulary enhancement activities.

We have selected what we feel is an ideal range of materials for families to use in years three, four and five and to the exam. We have also written free preparation guides for each of years three , four and five. The intent is to try to help parents over two of the biggest hurdles they face…. What resources to use and how to structure an effective preparation programme. We hope our recommended resource lists and free preparation guides will help parents as a useful starting point.

Free Year 3 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Preparation Guide

Free Year 4 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Preparation Guide

Free Year 5 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Preparation Guide