11 Plus English Syllabus
11+ English tests how well your child reads, understands and uses the English language. Most exam boards include a comprehension passage with multiple-choice or short-answer questions, a SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) section, vocabulary work and — for many boards — a creative writing piece. The depth of vocabulary expected is well above the average Year 6 level, so wide reading is essential.
6
40
40
Typically 50–75 minutes (varies by board)
Format at a glance
Multiple-choice comprehension, SPaG, vocabulary and (for many boards) a written piece
Reading Comprehension
Understanding fiction, non-fiction and poetry passages — retrieving facts, inferring meaning, and explaining the writer's craft.
Skim and scan for key information
Inference from textual evidence
Author's purpose, viewpoint and tone
Effect of word choice and figurative language
Comparing and summarising texts
Locate information that is stated directly in the passage. The answer is on the page — your child just needs to find it.
The lighthouse keeper, Tom, woke at five every morning. He climbed the 217 worn stone steps to the lamp room, polished the great brass lens, and watched the sun rise over the cliffs at Helver Point.
How many steps did Tom climb each morning?
The passage states 'the 217 worn stone steps' — a literal retrieval question simply asks your child to find the number written in the text.
Draw conclusions that the text implies but does not say outright. Children must use clues plus their own reasoning.
Mira gripped the handle of her suitcase. Her knuckles whitened. She glanced at the departures board for the seventh time in as many minutes, then back at the empty seat beside her.
How is Mira most likely feeling?
Whitened knuckles, repeatedly checking the board and looking at an empty seat all imply nervous anticipation — none of which is stated outright.
Work out what a word means from the surrounding sentence — even if the word is unfamiliar.
The room was sparse: a single chair, a bare table and a thin mattress on the floor.
In this sentence, the word "sparse" most nearly means:
The list — one chair, a bare table, a thin mattress — describes a room with very little in it. 'Sparse' here means scantily furnished.
Identify why a writer wrote the passage (to inform, persuade, entertain, describe) or what their attitude is.
Plastic bottles take 450 years to break down. Each one we carelessly discard becomes another scar on a landscape we claim to love. Surely it is time we acted?
What is the writer's main purpose?
Emotive language ('scar'), a rhetorical question and a call to action are the hallmarks of persuasive writing.
Recognise similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia, and explain the effect they have.
The wind howled through the trees, a hungry wolf hunting in the dark.
Which technique is used in this sentence?
The wind is described as being a hungry wolf — directly comparing the two without using 'like' or 'as'. That makes it a metaphor.
Identify how a passage is organised — chronological, problem–solution, compare and contrast — and how paragraphs link.
Paragraph 1: Many cities suffer from heavy traffic. Paragraph 2: One solution is to invest in clean public transport. Paragraph 3: Another is to build safer cycle networks. Paragraph 4: Both, working together, can transform our streets.
How is this passage organised?
Paragraph 1 introduces the problem; the next paragraphs offer solutions; the final paragraph synthesises them.
Read and respond to a poem — its meaning, mood, rhyme scheme, rhythm, and figurative language.
The old oak whispers in the breeze, He stretches out his weary arms; His leafy fingers brush the leaves And hum the songs of summer farms.
Which technique is the poet most clearly using?
The oak tree is given human qualities — it whispers, has arms and fingers, and hums songs. Giving non-human things human traits is personification.
Identify similarities and differences between two short passages — by topic, viewpoint, tone or technique.
Text A: "School trips are the highlight of the year — a chance to see history come alive." Text B: "School trips eat up valuable lesson time and rarely teach anything that a textbook cannot."
How do the two writers differ?
Writer A is positive, Writer B is negative. The two texts present opposing viewpoints on the same topic.
Grammar (SPaG)
The rules of how English sentences are built — word classes, tenses, agreement, sentence types and clauses.
Word classes (parts of speech)
Tenses and verb forms
Subject–verb agreement
Active and passive voice
Direct and reported speech
Sentence and clause types
Identify nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and determiners.
In the sentence "The clever fox quickly leapt over the fence", which word is an adverb?
An adverb describes a verb. "Quickly" tells us how the fox leapt, so it is the adverb.
Recognise and form past, present and future tenses, including perfect (have/had) and continuous (-ing) forms.
Choose the option in the past perfect tense:
Past perfect uses 'had' + past participle. 'Had walked' shows that one past action happened before another.
Match singular subjects with singular verbs and plural subjects with plural verbs.
Choose the grammatically correct sentence:
'Each' is singular, so it takes the singular verb 'has' — not 'have'.
Spot the difference between active sentences (subject does the action) and passive (subject receives it).
Which sentence is in the passive voice?
In the passive, the subject ('the ball') receives the action. The form is 'to be' + past participle ('was chased').
Convert between direct speech (with speech marks) and reported speech (without).
Convert to reported speech: "I am going to the park," said Maya.
In reported speech we step back one tense ('am' becomes 'was') and remove the speech marks. The pronoun also shifts from 'I' to 'she'.
Distinguish simple, compound and complex sentences. Identify statements, questions, commands and exclamations.
Which is a complex sentence?
A complex sentence has one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. 'Although the sun shone' is subordinate (it cannot stand alone) and 'the air was cold' is the main clause.
Identify main clauses, subordinate clauses, relative clauses and noun/adverbial phrases.
In "The boy who lives next door is my friend", what type of clause is "who lives next door"?
Clauses introduced by relative pronouns (who, which, that, whose) and giving extra information about a noun are relative clauses.
Recognise modal verbs (can, could, may, might, should, would, must) and the subjunctive mood (e.g. "if I were").
Which sentence uses the subjunctive mood correctly?
The subjunctive 'were' is used for hypothetical situations, even with 'I' or 'he/she'.
Punctuation
Using full stops, commas, apostrophes, speech marks, colons, semicolons, brackets, dashes and hyphens correctly.
End-of-sentence punctuation
Apostrophes for possession and contraction
Punctuating direct speech
Colons, semicolons and parenthesis
Apostrophes show possession (the dog's lead) or contraction (don't). Children must distinguish singular, plural and possessive forms.
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
'Children' is already plural and does not end in -s, so the apostrophe goes before the s: children's.
Use commas to separate items in a list, mark off subordinate clauses, and avoid ambiguity.
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
A comma is used after a fronted adverbial ('After running for the bus') to separate it from the main clause.
Punctuate direct speech with speech marks, a comma before the closing speech mark and a capital letter for the first spoken word.
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
Direct speech is enclosed in speech marks. The question mark belongs inside the speech marks, and the reporting clause ends with a full stop.
A colon introduces a list, explanation or quotation. A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses.
Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
A semicolon joins two independent clauses (each could be its own sentence) that are closely related.
Capital letters are used at the start of sentences, for proper nouns (names of people, places, days, months), the pronoun "I" and titles.
Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?
Capitalise: the first word of the sentence, days of the week (Tuesday), titles (Mr), proper nouns for people (Jones), places (London) and named institutions (British Museum).
Statements end with full stops, questions with question marks, and exclamations with exclamation marks.
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
Only the second sentence is correct. The first is an exclamation (should end !), the third is a statement (should end .), and the fourth is a question (should end ?).
Use parenthesis (commas, brackets or dashes) to add extra information, and hyphens to join words.
Which sentence uses brackets correctly?
Brackets enclose extra information that could be removed without breaking the sentence. The phrase 'a famous chef' adds detail about the uncle.
Spelling
Common spelling rules, prefixes, suffixes, silent letters, homophones and tricky words from the Year 5/6 spelling list.
Spelling rules and exceptions
Prefixes and suffixes
Homophones
Plurals and verb endings
Identify which word in a list or sentence is misspelt.
Which word is spelt incorrectly?
The correct spelling is 'definitely' — there is no 'a' in the middle. A useful tip: think of the root word 'finite'.
Choose the right word from a pair that sounds the same but means something different (their/there/they're).
Choose the correct sentence:
'They're' = they are. 'Their' shows possession. 'There' indicates a place.
Add prefixes (un-, dis-, mis-, pre-, sub-) or suffixes (-able, -ible, -tion, -sion, -ous) and apply rules like dropping the -e.
Add the suffix "-ous" to "fame".
When adding a suffix beginning with a vowel to a word ending in -e, drop the -e: fame -> famous.
Most plurals are formed by adding -s, -es or changing -y to -ies. A handful of irregular plurals (mouse → mice, child → children) must be learnt by heart.
Which is the correct plural?
'Goose' is an irregular noun — its plural is 'geese' (not 'gooses'). Other common irregular plurals: man → men, child → children, foot → feet, mouse → mice, tooth → teeth.
Recognise letters that are written but not pronounced (e.g. the k in knight, the b in lamb).
Which word contains a silent letter?
The 't' in 'castle' is silent — we say 'cas-le'.
Vocabulary
Synonyms, antonyms, definitions, idioms, root words and the kind of high-tier vocabulary expected at 11+.
Synonyms (similar meaning)
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
Idioms and figurative phrases
Root words and word families
Open the Vocabulary Builder
Structured word lists, games and exercises to build the high-tier vocabulary 11+ exams expect.
Find a word that has the closest meaning to the given word.
Which word means most nearly the SAME as "abundant"?
'Abundant' means existing in large quantities — 'plentiful' is the closest synonym.
Find a word that has the OPPOSITE meaning of the given word.
Which word means the OPPOSITE of "generous"?
'Mean' (as an adjective) describes someone unwilling to share — the opposite of generous.
Work out the meaning of common English idioms.
What does "to bury the hatchet" mean?
It is an idiom meaning to settle a quarrel and make friends again.
Choose the correct definition of a higher-tier word.
What is the meaning of "meticulous"?
'Meticulous' describes someone who is careful and precise.
Many English words have more than one meaning. Choose the meaning that fits the sentence.
In the sentence "She gave me a sharp look", what does "sharp" mean?
"Sharp" has many meanings — it can describe a knife edge, a clever mind, an acidic flavour, or a sudden/intense look. In this sentence, "a sharp look" means a sudden, severe glance — the second meaning.
Creative Writing
Producing original written work — stories, descriptions, persuasive pieces, letters and diary entries — under timed conditions.
Planning a piece in 5 minutes
Strong openings and endings
Show don't tell — sensory description
Varied sentence structures
Ambitious vocabulary used precisely
Open the full Creative Writing Hub
50+ exam-style prompts, planning templates, literary technique guides, word banks and timed practice — all in one place.
Write a complete short story with a clear beginning, build-up, climax and resolution. Often based on a title, opening line or picture.
Write a short story (about 25–30 minutes) starting with the line: "I should never have opened the door."
A strong response would: hook the reader immediately, build suspense before revealing what was behind the door, develop the narrator's feelings (fear, regret, curiosity), use varied sentence lengths to control pace, include sensory description, and finish with a satisfying twist or reflection.
Examiners look for: a clear plot arc, character voice, ambitious vocabulary used in context, accurate punctuation, paragraphing, and originality. Avoid the "and then... and then..." structure.
Describe a place, person, object or moment in vivid detail — the focus is on sensory description rather than plot.
Describe a busy market on a hot summer's afternoon (about 20–25 minutes).
A strong response would: paint a picture using all five senses — colours of the awnings, smell of spices and bread, sounds of traders shouting, taste of fruit samples, feel of the heat. Use figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification), well-chosen verbs and adjectives.
Avoid simply listing things. Choose a few details and develop them deeply. A market is not "busy" — it "buzzes like a beehive" or "throbs with the rhythm of a hundred voices".
Argue a point of view convincingly using rhetorical techniques.
Write a persuasive piece arguing that homework should be banned (or kept). Use at least three rhetorical techniques.
Use AFOREST: Alliteration, Facts, Opinions, Rhetorical questions, Emotive language, Statistics, Triplets. Address the reader directly. Open with a hook, end with a strong call to action.
Examiners reward a clear viewpoint, strong structure (introduction, several arguments, counter-argument, conclusion) and persuasive techniques used purposefully — not as a checklist.
Write a letter for a clear audience and purpose, using the correct layout (sender's address, date, greeting, sign-off).
Write a formal letter to your headteacher proposing a new after-school club.
A strong response would: use a formal greeting (Dear Mrs Smith), state the purpose in the opening paragraph, give specific reasons in the middle paragraphs, anticipate objections, and close with "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully".
Use 'Yours sincerely' when you know the recipient's name, and 'Yours faithfully' when you do not (Dear Sir/Madam).
Write in the first person, capturing thoughts and feelings of a real or imagined moment.
Write a diary entry from the point of view of an evacuee child on their first night away from home in 1939.
Use first person and past tense. Open with the date. Convey feelings (homesickness, fear, curiosity), use sensory details from the new setting, and end with a reflection or hope for the next day.
Examiners reward authentic voice, historically appropriate detail (no smartphones in 1939!), and a balance between event and emotion.
Report on a real or imagined event using a clear headline, opening paragraph (the 5 Ws), eyewitness quotes and formal third-person tone.
Write a newspaper article about a hot-air balloon that landed unexpectedly in your school playground.
A strong response would: open with a punchy, alliterative headline (e.g. "Balloon Brings Surprise to School"), follow with an opening paragraph answering the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — and use short paragraphs, formal third-person voice and at least one direct quote from an eyewitness.
Examiners reward the correct journalistic structure (headline → byline → lead paragraph → body → quote → closing line), formal Standard English, accurate punctuation of speech, and details that bring the story to life.
Continue a passage in the same style, voice and tense as the opening provided.
You are given the opening of a story about a girl who hears a strange tapping at her window. Continue the story.
Maintain the same tense, narrative voice and tone. Develop the suspense before any reveal. Match vocabulary level and sentence style to the original.
Tip: re-read the opening at least twice. Note tense (past/present), perspective (first/third person) and tone (humorous/serious) and match them exactly.
Put English into practice
Use these resources to turn the syllabus into exam-ready confidence.
11 plus English — frequently asked questions
Quick answers to the questions parents ask most about 11+ English.