CEM 11+ English Exam

CEM 11+ Exam English Revision
 
The CEM 11+ exam may or may not have a distinct English section as this can vary from school to school and Local Authority to Local Authority, indeed some school provide their own version of an English or mathematics exam. Either way those looking to improve their scores in CEM 11+ Verbal Reasoning will need to have a very sound grasp of all aspects of English and practice and preparation using quality titles will raise standards. This extra revision will be especially helpful to those children where English might not be their first language.

So, for any child sitting CEM format tests good use of English is essential and there are huge advantages to using structured books and practice material where the content is well organised and provides a range of English exercises.

English tests should offer a wide range of vocabulary that will be beneficial in improving not only English scores but also CEM 11+ Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning scores.

The titles presented on this page cover vocabulary and different question types on traditional reading comprehension based on a variety of texts such as poems, fiction or non-fiction. This comprehension will be followed by a variety of question types such as understanding the meaning of words used in the text, grammar-based questions on pro-nouns, verbs, prepositions, plurals, adverbs, adjectives and other aspects of English grammar.

Other question types will involve revision and practice in punctuation and the use of capital letters, exclamation and question marks, apostrophe or quotation marks amongst others.  A clear knowledge of punctuation, verbs and their tenses, suffixes, prefixes, nouns and pronouns, adverbs and the use of the apostrophe are all essential skills over which your child must have full mastery. These skills will benefit them when they are tackling verbal reasoning questions. It is generally accepted that a wide vocabulary is essential if pupils are to do their best in any form of Verbal Reasoning test.

As already stated, some schools use a CEM 11+ Verbal Reasoning Test coupled with their own Mathematics and English test or tests so developing exam technique and understanding in all these subject areas is crucial for success in the 11+ exam.

Many of the English skills will be taught as part of the normal school day - since all schools teach to the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2. Many of the essential areas of knowledge will have been covered but revision and practice will help any child to improve.

Grammar and punctuation will also have been taught in school and in the past CEM haven’t set many questions on these topics but they can change content without notice and in any event, practice papers covering these topics will not be time wasted as it will help all areas of a child’s schoolwork. The same can be said about a child developing their vocabulary and spelling standards. Probably the number one way to improve these areas of English is for a child to read and to read widely using a variety of texts.

Traditionally the CEM 11+ contains a lot of comprehension-based questions in its Verbal Reasoning section so improving any and all areas of a child’s English will improve the standard of their comprehension work and should not be time wasted.

 
CEM Regions
Berkshire, Bexley, Birmingham, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton.
Mixture of GL and CEM: Devon, Essex, Hertfordshire, Trafford, Wiltshire, Wirral, Yorkshire.

NB: Please note that these lists were correct at the time of publication. Exam boards used by schools or regions can and do change, so please check with each grammar school that you are applying to in order to confirm what exam board it uses.