11+ Verbal Reasoning: Letters as Numbers

Some verbal reasoning questions are really small pieces of arithmetic dressed in letters. Five letters are given values — for example A = 2, B = 3, C = 5, D = 6 and E = 11 — and you work out a calculation such as C + A × B, then give the answer as a letter. Related questions ask which letter completes a sum, or which number makes both sides of a number sentence equal. There is no single national 11+ test: grammar schools and local areas choose their own tests, and the formats vary (many use papers in the GL Assessment style, others CEM-style tests), so the exact question types you meet depend on where you apply.

These puzzles are quick once the method is secure, and costly when it is not. The most common mistake is doing the operations in the wrong order: 5 + 2 × 3 is 11, not 21. This material trains a fixed routine: write the number under each letter, work out brackets first, then multiply and divide, then add and subtract, and finally find the letter whose value matches the result. If the result is not the value of any letter, that is a signal to check the working. For number sentences such as 15 + 9 = 30 − ( ? ), you work out the complete side first and then find the number that gives the other side the same value, and you check by putting the answer back in.

The arithmetic stays within Year 5 and Year 6 expectations: whole numbers, multiplication facts, simple division and two-step calculations, with and without brackets. Every puzzle is original and was checked so that exactly one letter or number works.

The quiz has twelve puzzles: eight calculations with letters, two sums completed with a letter and two number sentences. The flashcards give the order of operations, the checking habit and quick practice items. The printable written work asks for full working, including explaining another pupil's order-of-operations mistake and inventing your own calculations with a given answer. In the oral exam, the examiner gives the letter values and a calculation each time, asks how you worked it out and ends with brief feedback.

• Substitute numbers for letters and work out the calculation
• Use the order of operations: brackets, then multiplying and dividing, then adding and subtracting
• Give the result as the letter with that value
• Find the letter or number that completes a sum so both sides are equal
• Check an answer by putting it back into the calculation

Practice material written by Zestly for 11+ verbal reasoning (Year 5–6 entrance level); all puzzles are original. Formats of 11+ tests vary by area and school.