11 Plus Exams Forum

Can anyone think of any comprehension papers that have two passages with questions about comparing them both. I wonder if any of the private schools have papers like these on their websites? DG

Hi, I've only come across this required skill in GCSE English Language, not at 11+ level.

Past English Language GCSE papers and textbooks would be a very good source if you are needing this level of work. Try Heinemann GCSE English for AQA A and/or Collins Revision Guide for GCSE English. I'm sure there is other practice material also available - might be worth a look at CGP material(Coordination Group Publications).

My son had this type of paper for his end of year exams at Bancrofts in year 7.

They had to do a comparative essay between a seen and an unseen poem. The 2 poems were The Tyger by William Blake and Pike by Ted Hughes. Unfortunately they did not give out the papers.

They had also done one for homework - The Highwayman and Lochinvar.

Maybe you could make up questions yourself

I know you don't like bond very much, DG, but they have few comparative comprehensions in their Comprehension books -
Third papers (9-10) - 2 papers
Fourth Papers (10-11)- 3 papers
Fifth Papers (11-12) - 1 paper

They are of reasonable standard if you are looking for 11+

Thank you, this is a great help. I think Bond can be a great way to get started and they are an excellent size to slip into the bag and carry around. The problem is I find parents who think that if their students can do well on Bond Comprehension passages they are going to ace the DAO , QE and HBS comprehension papers and we both know that this is very far from being the case. The Bond passages are not challengiing enough, they will not equip you to tackle Arlington Rise or The Pearl. I had a very despressing meeting with a single disabled parent who had shelled out for English tutoring for three years and all she had to show for it was a pile of completed Bond books, not a single past paper or topic worksheet. She could have just gone to Smiths and bought them herself and marked them from the answers in the back. She was astonished when her ds did not get into either QE or DAO because he had done so well with the Bond books. She had never seen a DAO past paper or anything other than Bond books. What a racket, sitting there and marking work using the answers in the back! DG

I know lots of tutors who making a living out of Bond books but they are doing such an injustice to the poor children and their parents who do not know the level of difficulty of the actual exams

Why would any parent pay a tutor to go through Bond books when all the answers are at the back? This same parent told me that every time she asked the tutor how he was doing the reply was that he is very clever and doing really well. He did so badly in the VR at DAO that he did not even get his English and Maths papers marked. This problem is just going to get worse as the pass mark goes up relentlessly year upon year. It does make me feel that double round exam are much better so these parents do not waste so much money on tutors when their dc's have no chance at all of even getting through the VR. DG

Why would any parent pay a tutor to go through Bond books when all the answers are at the back? This same parent told me that every time she asked the tutor how he was doing the reply was that he is very clever and doing really well. He did so badly in the VR at DAO that he did not even get his English and Maths papers marked. This problem is just going to get worse as the pass mark goes up relentlessly year upon year. It does make me feel that double round exam are much better so these parents do not waste so much money on tutors when their dc's have no chance at all of even getting through the VR. DG

When parents choose to pay there can be several reasons -
1) A parent thinks that a good tutor can prepare my child to the necessary standard and they often have no tools to measure the child's progress against these standards.
2) A parent (including me) thinks, even if my child doesn't get through the grammar entrance the investment won't be a waste as it will help them in secondary school and with overall education as such.
3) There are so many publications/books round there that it is difficult for parents to know/choose the right/adequate ones…how to organise and make a daily timetable out of it. If there was an authorised source of say X books that cover all the exam syllabus then it would be much easier for parents to prepare their own children.
4) Many children won't sit with the parent to do the required daily work whereas they would do it if it is school or tuition work.
5) Many parents do not have the necessary competency to teach their children hence the need to tutor.

I would like to quote an example for double round exam. One of DD's friend sat some mock exams both for the first and second round. Did not clear the first one but was flying through the second one especially the essay bit. her mum said she cannot do well in time pressure. If she is told that an exam has x amount of time her entire focus would be on the time (instead of work itself). In the comprehension/essay type of exam she though there is lot of time so she was relaxed did extremely well.

Bottom line, there is no 'fit for all' exam ?

When comparing passages the impact of both introductions is often an area to scFor the techniques [Edited by moderator] Remember also to identify the techniques the authors have used to emphasise their points – similarities in the storylines alone is never enough on its own. Authors and poets frequently hint or show facts in clever ways: [Edited by moderator] Browse the English exam books WH Smiths and the like –a few will touch on the subject.

I have just discovered the Galore Park range and love it. Usually a topic per chapter in three different genres: fiction, non-fiction and poem - which the reader is sometimes asked to compare. Lots of writing ideas on the same theme too.