11 Plus Exams Forum

I'd be grateful if someone could clarify this for me please. I read somewhere that if you put the alphabet line always put wxyz before it and abc etc after. All clear so far. I then read something about if you go from say b to z it is -2 but this becomes +2. Is this the case?

b to z HAS to be minus 2, surely??? That or plus about 24.

agree milla, putting wxyz at the beginning and abcd atthe end just makes it easier to visualise, think of the alphabet as a continuous circle

Yes, that's what I'd have thought but I'm sure I read somewhere on here that you changed it to a positive if you went back beyond the 'a' and similarly that you changed the positive to a negative if you went forwards beyond the 'z'.I thought I'd check as obviouly it's critical which rule to apply!

I would have thought that if that were the case then the answers supplied would only fall into that pattern - ie they wouldn't trick you around between the 2, they'd only supply words fitting the plus or minus school of thought. In which case, by concentrating on the other letters within the word to be changed then the correct answer could be arrived at. Yes? No?

Sorry I should have explained I'm thinking of the type of question that goes if CP=XA what is BF. It's therefore pretty critical to know whether C to X is -5 or +5 so you know what to do with B. I must admit I can't see how it could be plus five, but am worried now that I've given my son the wrong advice and he has a standard paper coming up tomorrow!! Any further confirmation from anyone that you don't change it from neg to pos if it goes beyond the 26 letters would be really appreciated. I'm sorry I haven't explained this very well at all.

sorry, my fault, I was thinking (similar application) of the if COAT = RKOE what does BELT equal.

However, I still think it would be a case of the answers supplying aid in the form of the options given. A bright child expecting to see that the letters travel over the end of Z and back into A (or vice versa) and not being presented with any answers which fall into that thinking, would have to re-jig their thoughts and work with the notion of +24 (rather than -2). Also, since Patricia and co advise us all to write the alphabet preceded by UVWXYZ and with ABCDE tacked on the end, I can only assume that this is because this is how the questions work.

But I won't persist this point, just leave it for someone who actually knows what they are talking about, not merely wishes they did!

Thanks very much for all of your help and suggestions Milla. I really appreciate you taking the time to look at this. Unfortunately it's for a standard format, not multiple choice and it's tomorrow!!

Standard format works in the same way as multiple choice on like for like questions. Having accidently taught DS1 standard before realising the test was multiple choice I am fairly confident of that one.

IMHO I would stick with the advice you have been given today and feel confident that you have given your son the right method. These tips are geared around what makes sense so stick with your method not with what you think you have read somewhere.

p.s good luck for tomorrow

OH NO!!!!!!!!!
a million sorries for blathering.
GOOD LUCK GOOD LUCK GOOD LUCK. And do as Tolstoy says. Very wise is Tolstoy.