So you know what 11+ comprehension papers look like. But how do you write the perfect answers?

This new guide from Accolade Press offers 11+ students a unique chance to pull back the curtain and see exactly what they need to do to maximise marks and dazzle examiners. We showcase eight detailed exam papers modelled on those issued by the UK’s top schools, and offer model answers to every question as well as in-depth commentary explaining exactly how each answer satisfies the examiners’ demands. Accolade Press ensures pupils have every tool at their disposal to emulate these point-scoring techniques and tactics.

• Eight comprehension papers that mimic the length and difficulty of those issued by the UK's top private and grammar schools. Suitable for upcoming exams in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

• Papers split into four formats – two per format – so that students can familiarise themselves with the diverse styles of papers seen in the highly competitive 11+ field.

• Unique, high quality model answers for every question – often accompanied by alternative answers designed to demonstrate how marks can be gained via multiple approaches.

• In-depth explanations to accompany every model answer. These not only unpack how these answers satisfy examiners' criteria, but also guide students through the challenging ideas, vocabulary and punctuation deployed in the answers.

• Written by an experienced tutor with a stellar track-record in 11+ admissions.

Richard Paul Davis has a First Class degree in English Literature from University College London, and a Masters in Literature from Cambridge University. He has over a decade of experience in helping pupils prepare for their 11 plus entrance examinations. His approach is structured, thorough and organised, with a focus on progression through extensive practise.

Quotes from customers

As a tutor who solely teaches 11+…I am often asked about what is the best material for written comprehensions and I have yet to come across a stand out product that I can thoroughly recommend…until now!... I am incredibly impressed with the in-depth explanations provided. These practice papers are ideal for students seeking scholarships at top independent schools, as the mark scheme not only gives full model answers but also provides insightful commentary for what the examiner is really looking for. I strongly recommend these practice papers for anyone who is looking to significantly improve their 11+ written comprehension!

I am a parent who is trying to tutor my own daughter, and I have gathered many comprehension books. This book is the best I have come across. It has given clear idea of what the examiner is looking for and how the answers should look. Absolutely a must have for children to understand in detail to get the top marks.

This is an excellent book. Definitely aimed at brighter students sitting for top selective schools. The model answers are detailed and really set out what the examiners are looking for from the candidates. The different styles of questions are well explained. The general tips for approaching comprehension questions are also spot on.

You can purchase a copy from any of these booksellers:

Alternatively, you can purchase and download an electronically delivered PDF directly from us here.

SAMPLE FROM THE GUIDE

Foreword

When sitting 11+ comprehension exams at top schools (be they independent powerhouses, or high-flying grammars) you will notice that, although all of their papers follow the basic formula – an extract accompanied by a set of questions – the types of questions they ask can vary greatly. The reason for this is simple enough: a considerable number of these schools write their papers in-house, and that means you find quirks in some papers that you don’t in others. Even papers produced by examining bodies, such as the ISEB, have their idiosyncrasies. And yet, for all these quirks, there is still a huge degree of overlap between these various papers, because ultimately these schools are all looking for a similar set of skills.  

As a result, preparing for these exams is eminently possible. We simply need to identify the various types of questions that appear (including those quirky ones!), then hone the skills required to answer them. 

The intention of this guide is not simply to show you what these exams tend to look like (although, as you work through it, you will inevitably get a sense of this nonetheless!). No, the intention is to go a step further, and show you how to decode the sorts of questions these 11+ comprehension papers tend to ask, and what “perfect” answers to these questions look like. Moreover, it also seeks to explain, in detail, how exactly the model answers provided satisfy the examiners’ criteria, making it as easy as possible for students to understand how to emulate these answers. 

You will notice, also, that there are a number of questions for which I have supplied alternative answers. This is because, when it comes to comprehension papers, there are frequently instances where there is not one correct answer – instead, there are a number of potential answers that might be worthy of scoring the marks. The alternative answers are therefore included to demonstrate how there is, very often, room for flexibility and creativity. 

Now, before I press on, I feel it is important to make one crucial thing clear: this guide is explicitly aimed at those students looking to achieve at the very highest level. Many times in this guide I use sophisticated vocabulary and ideas. I promise you that my intention is not to intimidate. Rather, we must remember that these are competitive exams, and that the grading is administered by human beings – so it is imperative that we dazzle these examiners, and give them no choice but to fork over the marks!

Rest assured, however, that when I use these tricky words or phrases, I explain them as I go. As a result, by the time you finish working through this guide, you should have a whole new arsenal of words and phrases to help you attack papers of any kind! 

How This Book Is Set Out

As mentioned, 11+ papers are incredibly varied. However, if you spend enough time and energy looking through past papers, you start to figure out what makes them tick, and notice certain patterns that emerge time and again. This book contains eight papers that have been split into four different “styles” of questioning – two papers for each style. I have labelled the four types of papers as follows:

1. The All Rounder Paper 

2. The Close Language Paper 

3. The Line By Line Paper 

4. The Speculative & Creative Paper 

The labels I’ve given each style should give you some indication of what the papers entail. It may well be the case that some of the 11+ comprehension papers you end up taking fit neatly into the one of these styles. However, it is just as possible that they wind up being a blend of two (or more) styles – after all, schools often tweak the style of paper they put out year on year. At any rate, I can assert with confidence that, if you are well versed in all four styles, you will have your bases covered, and be prepared for most anything. 

The questions for each paper appear twice. The first time they will appear is immediately after the extract, so that students can, if they wish, have a go at tackling the paper. They will then appear a second time, but this time accompanied by model answers and detailed guidance. 

Each of the papers includes a “time guide” – that is, the amount of time one would expect to be given to complete the paper in an exam hall. If students wish to complete some of these papers as practice, I suspect this may prove useful. 

Insofar as difficulty is concerned, the first paper in each style might be described as “hard,” and the second “devilish.” Again, I feel the need to reiterate that my intention is not to intimidate. On the contrary, by exposing students to the reality of what is in store, I believe it ensures that, when it actually comes to entering the exam hall, you feel far more at ease. 

There is no correct way to use this guide. Some students will feel comfortable working through it by themselves, whereas some may prefer to have a parent at hand to act as a kind of surrogate tutor. In any case, the intention of this book is to give the reader the experience of having an experienced tutor at their beck and call.  

Exam Tips

Within this book, you will find a good deal of question specific advice. However, there are a number of more general tips that it is important for any 11+ candidate to keep in mind:

• When reading the extract, don’t rush. Some papers even set aside 10 minutes explicitly for reading the paper, and do not allow you to look at the questions until those 10 minutes have elapsed. This does not mean that 10 minutes is always necessary – but keep in mind that every school will expect you to read the passage very carefully.

• Read the questions carefully. It sounds obvious, I know, but you wouldn’t believe how many times I have seen bright students lose marks simply because they have misread the question

• Always write in full sentences, unless you are explicitly told this is not required. 

• If you are unhappy with an answer, and feel as though you must write something else, do not cross out your old answer until you have fully finished writing the new one – you may be throwing away precious marks!

• Keep quotes from the text short (unless explicitly told otherwise). As a rule of thumb, try and ensure that your quotes are no more than six or seven words in length, and preferably shorter. 

• Most papers tell you how many marks a question is worth. Keep this in mind when working out how much time to spend on any given question.

• Remember: just because a question is, for instance, worth three marks, that does not necessarily mean you need to give three separate points. Of course there are occasions when three marks require three points, and I shall discuss those occasions in this book – but this is not always the case. 

• Many 11+ papers give candidates blank lines on which to compose their answers. When these appear, take them seriously: they are guidelines regarding how long the examiners would like your answer to be. 

Personal Note

When I talk about my academic career, I usually talk about my time spent at university: I studied English Literature & Language at UCL, then took a Masters at Cambridge University. However, a mere twenty years ago, I was in the same position that many of my readers find themselves in: eager to win a place at a top secondary school, and faced with a litany of exams. Of course, the exams have changed a fair bit since then; but what I’m trying to say is, not only have I been teaching 11+ students for many years, but I’ve also had firsthand experience of it – I know what it’s like to live through! 

Even though I now look back on that time through a rosy lens – I was offered places at all the top London private and grammar schools I sat for – I won’t pretend as though it was not at times intimidating. However, I would observe that many parts of the 11+ English exams, including many questions in the comprehension papers, offer rare opportunities not just to jump through hoops, but to exercise your powers of creativity. That is not to say that these exam are fun – my memory of them is pretty much the exact opposite – but still, it is important to at least try and embrace this creative element and enjoy the challenge. 

You can purchase a copy of 11+ Comprehension from our friends at any of these booksellers…

Alternatively, you can purchase and download an electronically delivered PDF directly from us here.

Some more reviews from our customers

I am finding this book incredibly useful. Not only does it provide papers with a range of difficulties and styles, it also provides detailed explanations of how to answer questions to gain maximum marks. It gives me the confidence to help my son for preparing him to sit the 11 plus exams.

This is an excellent guide for those looking for higher level comprehension. From what I've seen, it's also very useful to bridge that gap from practicing for multiple choice questions to having to write complete answers. Brilliant investment for parents aiming for indie and superselcetive tests.

This book is brilliant! It has detailed solutions which help both the parents and children understand where they are going wrong and how they can improve their answers. My daughter absolutely loved going through this book as she has learnt a lot.

As a teacher, I found this guide very useful. It is very clearly laid out and the notes are extremely thorough and helpful. Highly recommend

This book provides detailed answers to comprehension questions from the classics which is exactly what my child needs for 11+ preparation. It is the best comprehension book that we have come across so far.

I bought this book as my son's weakest area is comprehension. We are both so pleased that I did. The insight has helped my son to look more in-depth at each question and the worked examples have been incredibly helpful. It also allowed us to reflect on where he is now and give him the extra push he needed to get it right. I would recommend this book for parents (and tutors) of the eleven plus grammar and independent school exams. It has greatly increased my son's confidence.

Starting the 11+ journey with my daughter this an excellent guide and example of exam papers with model answers. This really helped me and my daughter focus and put into perspective what is needed and required to maximise top marks for such papers. A fantastic resource!

As a parent of a 9 year old who is due to take the 11+ exam next year, I can thoroughly recommend this book! Both me and my daughter loved it!

The practice papers are set at the right level and stretch comprehension skills. The in-depth explanations and answers provide clear guidance and support as to what is required, what the examiners expect and how to tackle the questions.

As a parent of a child a year away from 11plus exams, I’ve found this extremely helpful. I’m sometimes at a loss on what examiners are looking for when helping my child with comprehension but this guide is so detailed with tips and exactly what they are looking for, I feel so much more prepared. There is so much information, from different styles, model answers, time management tips to how to get maximum scores for each question. Highly recommended.

As the parent of a child preparing for the 11+ exams this year, this guide certainly stood out from the rest I have seen to date. What I especially liked was the detailed explanation of the answers; other books have a sentence or two but the author really gets into the detail of what is needed to achieve high marks. The technical tips will also be very useful on exam day. Definitely aimed at the higher level of 11+ but all in all a brilliant aid to the comprehension piece.

I think this book makes for an invaluable addition to our 11+ English preparation. Previously, we were simply doing practice papers and exercises. This book provides model answers to comprehensions which is the first of its kind that we have come across. The model answers are quite advanced, and they have accompanying detailed explanations which enable you to really study and learn how to approach these questions.

This book is great! It exposed my child to some new vocabulary and challenged her. She found the sample questions and answers really useful.

This book is extremely well-written. The writer maintains a high standard in his writing, while explaining concepts clearly. He expects the reader to rise to his standards rather than talking down to them, but still manages to keep the text accessible, engaging and informative.

This is a brilliant 11+ comprehension book, with excellent comprehension texts and detailed answers for the student. It stretches the child to the next level and challenges them. My daughter is happy to do these papers willingly, the answers provided are a very good guide to enable her to understand what is required when answering certain types of questions. It has certainly improved her comprehension skills.

Absolutely amazing book. It is of the highest level, would be very useful for life after 11 plus too.

Another excellent teaching resource from this accomplished publisher. As a tutor, I find it hard to find 11+ resources that stretch more able children. This book includes extremely stimulating texts from a range of sources not often included in other textbooks. It's extremely useful to have the exemplar material to show candidates what they are working towards and the discussion of these allows candidates to put themselves into the mindset of the examiner, and think about what the marker is looking for. Highly recommended.

To learn about our tutoring and education services, please click here.

To check out our complete catalogue of guides, workbooks and core learning materials, please click here.

Any questions or feedback for our staff? Need support? Want to purchase our resources on behalf of a school? Please don't hesitate to contact our amazing team at info@accoladetuition.com, and we shall endeavour to reply within 48 hours. Alternatively, feel free to submit via our contact form here.

Meet the Accolade team here.

Head over to Twitter to keep up with the latest Accolade Press news! Also: we'd love to hear about your learning journey: use the hashtags #AccoladeGuides and #revision11+ to spread the word and share your thoughts and feelings.

* * *

Click here for our online privacy policy.

Cookies are important. Our current cookie policy can be viewed here.

"Knowledge is power" - Francis Bacon