2014 V.R CEM 11 plus

[catwoman]

Most of the regular forum users are probably aware that i am DIYing my Ds and i am in the process of devising a timetable that we can both stick to.

As my Ds was completing a Bonds V.R 10 min test last night I was looking and reading the stickies of past contents on the forum and noticed that the V.R is more about antonyms/synonyms rather than coded sequences, logic and anagrams.

Is my Ds wating his time doing all these bond books?

Or do coded sequences, logic and anagrams tend to turn up in the B'ham/Walsall exams?

What kind of things are other parents whose children are sitting for 2014 doing with their Dc?

[Okanagan]

Never say never .... but you can probably give up on those.
# Antonyms
# Synonyms
# General vocabulary
# Jumbled sentences (maybe surplus word in jumbled sentences)
# Spot the missing word / pick the correct word from a group / fill in the missing letters to make a word which fits in this gap (variations of cloze)
will probably be better practice.

[catwoman]

Thanks Okanagan so do you think i should abandon the Bonds V.R books?

Is there any other books which would best suit that have
Antonyms
# Synonyms
# General vocabulary
# Jumbled sentences (maybe surplus word in jumbled sentences)
# Spot the missing word / pick the correct word from a group / fill in the missing letters to make a word which fits in this gap (variations of cloze) ?

Or would i make up my own?

[Okanagan]

Start here: http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/shop/CEM-11-PLUS/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for published practice material.

But you can also make up you own. Pick an article from something like the Times, or National Geographic, and blank out words (this is easier if you use online sources so you can copy the text and format it in a word processing program). Initially just leave it open and see if they can come up with any suitable word - just to get them thinking about it. Then do some where you leave some letters - e.g first and last, or first 3, or last 3, and see if they can fill in the rest. Then you can do some where you start to offer choices of words.

[catwoman]

Thanks Okanagan
I can't believe i've been doing Bonds v.r all this time ! Do you think that the Bonds for N.V.R is okay to still use for the cem exams or does that need ditching too?
I seriously have alot to learn!

(sorry to keep asking questions...just fretting a bit now...as i think i've wasted alot of money buying all the wrong books!)

[Okanagan]

NVR I'd try to vary a bit - don't stick purely to one publisher and format, so that if something unexpected comes up, they're more likely to be able to adapt to it.

Do some multi-choice comprehension practice (usually sold as 11+ "English") too - CGP do some of these, also Tutor Master, and of course others. For CEM make sure it's the multiple choice ones you get and ignore the parts of the books which aren't relevant - any writing tasks, questions on grammar, etc.

[catwoman]

'For CEM make sure it's the multiple choice ones you get and ignore the parts of the books which aren't relevant - any writing tasks, questions on grammar, etc.'

I thought that the Grammar questions may be good for proof-reading if it comes up? or am i wrong?

When you say multiple choice is this just for comprehension or for V.R and maths also too?

You are a star Okanagan thankyou for answering my questions i don't know where i would be with all this 11 plus without this forum!

[Okanagan]

Multiple Choice comprehension. Usually they're laid out so that there are some true comprehension questions and then some which are more to do with the structure of writing - picking out verbs, alliteration, etc. No reason to not do these if you want to, but they're probably not what you'll get in the test. These books usually have proofreading sections too

Comprehension definitely multiple choice, as is most of the VR - except the cloze type where you need to fill in the missing letters in the word. For maths practise standard format.

[catwoman]

Thanks Okanagan you have really been very helpful and i have alot to be working on...but at lease it'll be the right material now !

[catwoman]

Just 1 quick question, in the bonds English 10 min tests there tends to be alot on whether words are pronouns, collective nouns, standard nouns, adding suffix to words, where does the comma belong in a word etc.

Are these types of questions in the Bonds English worth continuing?