Through a wholly unscientific investigation, we at Superprof have determined that students divide fairly equally into two camps. Multiple discussion threads on the Student Room platform reveal that equal proportions of learners believe English is more important than Maths, and vice versa. It's hard to tell from those threads whether those students dread Maths or English exams more, though.
Perhaps the point is moot. Maths and English are both considered life skills; abilities every person needs to function in society. Schools across the United Kingdom (UK) test pupils in these two subjects at every Key Stage (KS) level. Even non-compulsory exams like the 11-Plus test grammar school applicants' English and Maths skills.
Is your 11-Plus candidate a maths whiz or is language their forte? Answering this question will help you decide the type of help and support your child will need to prepare for their 11-Plus exam.
In a separate article, we detailed Maths 11-Plus exam particulars and how you can help your child prepare for that portion of the exam. In this essay, we cover all you need to know about 11 Plus English, including:
- General information about the 11 Plus English exam
- the 11 Plus English exam structure
- what type of knowledge and skills your child needs
- how best to prepare for the 11 Plus English exam
11 Plus English: What to Know
The first thing to know about 11 Plus exams is that they are school-specific. Unlike the Standardised Assessment Tasks (SATs) and KS exams, 11 Plus papers are not the same across England. Each grammar school has its own 11 Plus English papers.
This segment contains general information about the 11 Plus English paper. You should check your school's website to learn about that campus' 11 Plus English paper. There, you will also find practice papers so you and your child can get a better idea of examiners' expectations. With that clear, let us discuss generalities.
The 11 Plus English paper has two main components: reading comprehension and spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG). The SPAG portion typically comprises three sections; 12 questions over each criterion. Often, these are cloze questions.
A 'fill in the blank' exercise that tests the student's vocabulary and ability to understand context.
These questions appear in two formats: 'spot the mistake' and 'complete the sentence'. Your school may prefer a multiple-choice format, answer blocks where your child writes the answer, or a combination of these formats. The standard breakdown is 24 of one format and 12 of the other.
Overall, this language skills test is a reading exam, even the SPAG part. The 11 Plus comprehension part is a bit more elaborate. Your child will first read a lengthy passage and then, answer questions about it. They must rely on their reading comprehension skills to determine the right answers.
A combination of literal understanding and implied meaning. The student must be able to understand vocabulary and deduce information from context.
You'll note that both parts of this exam test students' vocabulary and contextual understanding. Still, their task is a bit easier because the whole 11 Plus English paper only presents two answer types. They are in multiple-choice format and fill in the blocks. Often, the latter answer format provides a range of words to select from.
Creative Writing Paper
England boasts 163 grammar schools but only a handful of them challenge their applicants with a creative writing assignment. Schools in Barnett, Bromley, Essex and Kent; Kingston-upon-Thames, Medway and Sutton include this challenge.
If you've applied to a grammar school in one of these areas, your child will likely have to write such a paper. Examiners are looking for narrative flow as well as word choice and using descriptive language. They also grade on proper punctuation, correct grammar, and overall structure such as paragraphs.
11 Plus English Papers
The 11 Plus English paper includes learning material from the National Curriculum KS2 assessment. As you likely know, your child will sit their 11 Plus exam in September of their Year 6, before they have any exposure to this material. This may make their 11 Plus especially challenging.
However, the 11 Plus English paper doesn't test your child's knowledge of English. At least, not exactly. The 11 Plus exam tests your child's ability to use the knowledge they have as it tasks their cognitive skills. The grammar school you applied to may include a verbal and/or non-verbal reasoning component. Those papers further test your child's ability to think critically and problem-solve.
The 11 Plus English paper is a lot like other KS exams. Your child will have a test booklet and an answer sheet to record their responses. This paper is a bit different in that your child won't be allowed to skip ahead if they finish before other test takers. Once they complete one part of the paper, they must wait until instructed to turn the page so they can continue.
The 11 Plus English paper typically takes 50 minutes to complete. Depending on your school, your child will have anywhere from 49-56 questions to answer. If the paper has a creative writing task, your student will have 30-45 extra minutes to read the prompt and write.
Examiners are looking for applicants' potential to be good learners, not the extent of their knowledge. Building your child's cognitive skills will boost their chances of exam success as much as studying vocabulary lists will.
You might still be trying to decide which grammar school to apply to. Or even whether such a school is right for you and your child. However, you can start building the skills they need for exam success now. In fact, the earlier you start, the better prepared for this exam (and for life) your child will be.
11 Plus English Comprehension
The key to building reading comprehension skills is reading as widely as possible. You might encourage your child to read everything from manga to the classics. You may also select non-fiction articles on topics they're interested in. This will expose them to different ways they might use language to express their ideas.
The National Curriculum offers no courses in critical thinking or problem-solving. Those skills are more obviously needed during the verbal reasoning part of the exam. However, your child will have to apply them to the reading comprehension papers as well. This type of thinking will help them analyse the exam's texts and point them to the correct answers.
Nor will your child learn about empathy in school. However, the 11 Plus English papers demand empathetic thinking. All of the practice papers we examined posed questions like: "How do you think (the protagonist) felt?" and "How did they feel after (the situation was resolved)?".
Independent schools, grammar schools and colleges promote their ability to educate tomorrow's leaders. Empathy is a vital leadership skill; it's also crucial for effective problem-solving. Reading through 11 Plus English practice papers, you'll find many questions that demand an empathetic response.
You can access these comprehension questions and their accompanying texts online. An internet search will return many commercial ventures that may only make a few pages available at no cost. However, going straight to the source for practice papers is your best option.
11 Plus English Preparation
Earlier, you read that your chosen school or college should have practice papers available on their website. Granted, you won't find a trove of them; just enough to acquaint you with the papers' structures. You'll likely need more than that.
Across England, Granada Learning (GL Assessment) and Coordination Group Publishers (CGP) provide these schools with their specific testing materials. Their websites don't give you access to past papers but they are generous in providing free practice papers. These materials will give you and your child an idea of what their exam will be like.
You may also buy practice workbooks and manuals from them. With such resources, you'll get a clear breakdown of the 11 Plus exam with revision materials for each component. The question then becomes whether to guide your child's practice sessions yourself or choose a different solution.
You might, for instance, connect with a parents' group whose children are all revising for this exam. You may decide that one parent will lead the English revision, another will guide the maths revision and so on. Or you could collectively decide to engage a tutor.
Private and group tuition offers many advantages. You may know your child better than anyone but an experienced tutor knows the 11 Plus exam. Such a professional will use various strategies to help your child develop the skills needed for exam success. They might include thinking and role-playing games, or simply talking about a poem or passage they just read.
You might engage in those activities too. In fact, your child will have no better 11 Plus English preparation than engaging in such back-and-forth with you. As long as you're familiar with the 11 Plus English paper structure, you can ask the same types of questions.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
