11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Practice Tests: All Question Types Explained
Verbal Reasoning is not taught in school. This guide explains every GL Assessment VR question type, with tips for each one and a clear approach for home practice.
What Is 11+ Verbal Reasoning?
Verbal Reasoning (VR) is a core component of most GL Assessment 11+ exams and tests a child's ability to think logically with words and language. Questions involve codes, sequences, analogies, word patterns, and logical relationships — all presented using words and letters.
Crucially, Verbal Reasoning is not part of the national curriculum and is not taught in primary school. This means children who have not practised VR specifically will be unfamiliar with the question types, even if they are capable in English and Maths. Early and regular practice is essential.
GL Assessment VR papers typically include between 60 and 80 questions to be completed in 50–60 minutes, covering a selection of up to 21 standard question types. Try our free online Verbal Reasoning practice tests to see examples of each type with instant marking.
Key Facts About 11+ VR
Not taught in school — requires home preparation
Up to 21 standard question types in GL Assessment
Typically 60–80 questions in 50–60 minutes
Tested as a separate paper in GL Assessment
Not a standalone subject in CEM exams
Learnable — all question types follow consistent rules
All GL Assessment Verbal Reasoning Question Types
GL Assessment VR papers draw from the following question types. Expand each one to see what it involves and how to approach it.
What it involves: A word is encoded using a consistent rule (e.g. each letter moves forward by 2). Find the code for a new word or decode an existing one.
What it involves: Letters in a word are replaced by different letters following a rule. Find the code word or decode a coded word.
What it involves: Two words have a relationship (e.g. hot is to cold as fast is to ___). Identify the relationship and complete the analogy.
What it involves: Five words are given; four share a common property. Identify the word that does not belong.
What it involves: A four-letter word is hidden across the boundary of two adjacent words in a sentence. Find it.
What it involves: A sequence of letters follows a rule. Find the next letter or letters in the sequence.
What it involves: A number sequence follows a mathematical rule. Find the missing number.
What it involves: Words are assigned number codes. Use the given examples to work out the code for a new word or phrase.
What it involves: Two pairs of words are given with a word that connects them. Find the connecting word.
What it involves: A word has one or more letters missing. Fill in the blanks to make a real word that fits the context.
What it involves: Remove one letter from one word and add it to another to make two new words.
What it involves: Two pairs of letters follow the same pattern. Find the missing pair.
What it involves: Find two words from separate groups that are closest in meaning.
What it involves: Find two words from separate groups that are most opposite in meaning.
What it involves: Choose one word from a group that goes with a given group of words.
What it involves: Letters represent numbers. Use the equations given to work out the value of a missing term.
What it involves: A sentence has a blank. Choose the word that best completes it from a given list.
What it involves: Jumbled words are given. When arranged in the correct order they form a sentence — one word does not belong.
What it involves: Given a set of facts or conditions, identify which statements must be true.
What it involves: A number relates to a word in a consistent way. Apply the same relationship to find a missing number or word.
What it involves: A grid of words follows a pattern across rows and columns. Find the missing word.
How to Prepare for 11+ Verbal Reasoning
Because VR is not taught in school, preparation needs to be structured and started early. Here is a proven approach.
Step 1: Learn the question types one by one (Year 4)
Start with the easier question types — synonyms, antonyms, odd one out, hidden words — and work through them systematically. Do not attempt timed tests until your child understands the method for each type. Untimed worked examples first, then move to light timing once confident.
Step 2: Introduce timed practice (Year 5)
Once all question types are familiar, move to timed practice papers. GL Assessment VR papers allow roughly 40–50 seconds per question. Start with 60 seconds per question and gradually reduce the time over several months. Consistency is more important than rushing to full exam timing.
Step 3: Build vocabulary systematically
Synonym, antonym, and word-relationship questions require a wide vocabulary. Children who read regularly for pleasure have a natural advantage. Additionally, dedicated vocabulary practice — learning word meanings, synonyms, and antonyms from word lists — produces measurable improvement in VR scores.
Step 4: Review mistakes carefully
After every practice test, go through every incorrect answer. For VR, mistakes usually fall into two categories: not knowing the rule for that question type (needs more worked examples) or making an error applying a known rule (needs a checking habit). Categorising errors helps target revision.
Step 5: Track and adjust (Year 6)
In the final months before the exam, use full timed VR papers under exam conditions. Track scores for each of the main question type categories. If codes and sequences are consistently lower than word-meaning questions, allocate extra practice time there. Targeted effort on weak sub-topics is more efficient than general re-testing.
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Try VR Practice Tests FreeFrequently Asked Questions
Common questions from parents about 11+ Verbal Reasoning.
Verbal Reasoning (VR) is a subject tested in most GL Assessment 11+ exams and some independent school entrance tests. It assesses a child's ability to think logically with words and language — including codes, analogies, letter sequences, and hidden words. It is not part of the standard school curriculum, which means children need dedicated home practice to become familiar with the question types.
CEM exams do not test Verbal Reasoning as a separate paper. Instead, CEM tests English comprehension and vocabulary in a combined format. However, some of the underlying skills — vocabulary, logical deduction, word relationships — overlap. If your target school uses GL Assessment, standalone Verbal Reasoning practice is essential. If it uses CEM, focus on vocabulary building and English comprehension instead.
GL Assessment 11+ Verbal Reasoning papers typically include up to 21 standard question types. These range from straightforward question types such as synonyms and odd one out, to more complex types such as number codes and letter-number relationships. Familiarity with all 21 types is important because different papers may test different subsets of them.
Start by working through each of the 21 VR question types systematically, one at a time. For each type, complete several untimed examples to understand the method, then move to timed practice once the approach is clear. Review every incorrect answer. Online platforms such as Prep4All provide instant-marked VR practice tests with worked solutions for every question type — this is particularly helpful because it removes the need for parents to know the method themselves.
Yes, this is very common. Verbal Reasoning question types are unfamiliar to most children because they are not taught in school. Initial test scores are often low, even for capable children. With consistent practice over several months, scores typically improve significantly. The key is not to be discouraged by early results — VR is a learnable skill, not a fixed measure of intelligence.
For children in Year 4 or early Year 5, 20–30 minute sessions are ideal. In Year 5 and Year 6, 30–45 minute timed sessions are more appropriate. Quality matters more than length — a focused 25-minute session with careful review is more productive than an hour of rushing through questions without reflection.
As a general guide, scoring consistently above 75% on timed, exam-standard Verbal Reasoning papers suggests solid preparation. For highly selective schools, scores of 85%+ under timed conditions are typically needed. Early in preparation (Year 4, early Year 5), scores in the 50–65% range are normal and should not cause concern — consistent improvement over time is the target.