11 Plus Verbal Reasoning
Type Z - Comprehension
This type of question differs from all the other types in that you are given a lot of written information which you need to interpret and analyse to find the answer.
There is no set format or structure to these questions although they usually involve multiple people/animals/objects, values/amounts and time.
A good strategy for these questions is to transfer the written information into a visual form, like a timeline, table or chart. This makes it easier to understand and compare the data.
Look at this example:
Three children, Susan, George and Ryan all left school at 15:15 and walked home. Susan arrived home first. George arrived home 5 minutes later at 15:30. It took Ryan 10 minutes longer than Susan to walk home. What time did Ryan get home?
Try constructing a table with the information that you know. There are three children, Susan, George and Ryan - they all left school at 15:15 and George arrived home at 15:30.
Now read the question again and see if you can add any more data. George arrived home 5 minutes after Susan - so Susan got home at 15:25 - Add this to the table.
And as Ryan takes 10 minutes longer than Susan, we know that Ryan arrived at 15:35 - Add this information to the table.
Now we can answer the question - Ryan arrived home at 15:35
Another (and possibly easier) way of looking at this type of question involving time is to display the information on a timeline. As with a table, first draw a timeline with the information that you know.
There are three children, Susan, George and Ryan - they all left school at 15:15 and George arrived home at 15:30.
Now read the question again and see if you can add any more data. George arrived home 5 minutes after Susan - so Susan got home at 15:25 - Add this to the timeline.
And as Ryan takes 10 minutes longer than Susan, we know that Ryan arrived at 15:35 - Add this information to the timeline.
Now we can answer the question - Ryan arrived home at 15:35
After a little practice, your child may be able to work out these problems without writing them down in some form, but by jotting down the information it is usually much clearer.
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