Verbal Reasoning Technique and Practice: Volume 1

I would of loved to of discovered this book at the start of my daughter's 11+ exam preparations, as it provides clear explanations for each type of VR which is covered in the book. Recommended for use as part of VR practise.

Undoubtedly this series provides a vehicle for honing arithmetical skills, but I have noticed one serious flaw. Practice 35 encourages students to abandon the normal rules of arithmetic by expecting them to evaluate expressions from left to right. This is very bad practice and contrary to the rules of arithmetic as expressed by the acronym BODMAS. Teachers and parents need to take care over the explanation and ensure that their children are aware of the correct rules despite what is required for practice type 35.

This book was specifically recommended by my daughter's primary school teacher and we have gone through all the verbal reasoning techniques together and completed the various mock tests. For any child seeking to improve on this element of their education it has to be recommended, my only criticism (and it's a minor one) is that some of the words and concepts seemed a little 'grown-up' for a nine-year-old and I think more age-relevant ideas could have been employed. For example, my daughter had never heard of the words 'veto' or 'axis' so she failed the questions that included them but I felt that a slightly simpler phraseology could have been used for her benefit. In cases such as that the parent can substitute a different hypothesis, so it's not exactly a problem, but I am surprised that, given the revisions in 2001, 2005 and 2008 to the original 1993 publication these abberations were not noticed and adapted to the target age-group.

Having said that, the stated objective of Verbal Reasoning books is to prepare children for the 11-plus secondary school selection tests so for a 10- or 11-year-old such criticisms I have made might well not be valid. For Year 4 primary school students this book might be a little tough in places, but for Years 5 and 6 they would no doubt find it a little easier to manage alone and unaided.

I have used this scheme with all the pupils that I have taught for a great many years and I have to say that it really is the best!

It starts off by teaching a technique for solving a particular type of question (best worked through with the child - if you leave them to read it through by themselves, they will skim read it at best!) It then gives the child a ten minute practice test focussing totally on the technique type that has just been taught - ensuring that they have understood and grasped the method.

There is also a book of 'Further Practice Exercises' which give more examples of the same type of question, also grouped into 10 minute practice tests.

The only draw back for those in the Essex area (CSSE) is that these practice questions are not presented in the Multiple Choice format - however, the basic technique for solving questions is similar, whichever the eventual format. IMHO, it is still worth using these books to teach the basic techniques as, once learnt, they are easily adapted.

In addition, there are 2 books of 50 minute practice papers (conventional style) and 2 booklets of practice papers written in the Multiple Choice format.

This scheme is well worth using in preparation for the 11+, and I recommend its use from early Year 5 onwards.

This neat guide is an excellent preparatory tool for parents, pupils and teachers preparing for verbal reasoning tests either as part of the 11+ or elsewhere. It contains separate "Technique" and "Practice" sections for no less than 13 different kinds of verbal reasoning test, ranging from letter swaps to odd-words-out. There's even a "personal record table" and a "Prize Certificate" at the end to encourage kids to keep going. The text is a tiny bit dry, but the practice tests have everything you need.

Summary: well-constructed tool for building verbal reasoning skills.