Quick & Easy Parent Guide to Helping Your Child Answer 11+ Multiple Choice Questions

With grammar school exams beginning and online independent school tests about to start in a couple of weeks, we’ve created a simple step-by-step process for 11+ multiple choice test success that we hope will help your child if this is a style of exam they will be sitting, might struggle with, or make silly mistakes on. 

We’re going to discuss key exam techniques, strategies and provide a couple of systematic approaches, which will help your child to master the art of answering any multiple choice test. 

Identify The Test Type 

This may seem obvious, but remind your child before they sit the test as to which type of test they are taking. For a paper or non-adaptive online test, remind them they can skip around, go back to previous questions and change answers, and that they should look for navigation buttons like ‘Previous’ and ‘Next’ on the computer screen.

However, if it’s an adaptive online test, remind them that once they’ve submitted their answer, it’s locked in forever. These tests often say ‘You cannot return to previous questions’ or similar warnings, but many children, however hard we encourage them, do not always read the instructions before they begin. C’est la vie!

This identification step is crucial to mindset because your child’s entire strategy will change based on the test type.

Doing this quick check just before you drop them off for their exam is particularly helpful if your child is taking more than one entrance exam. 

At The Start Of The Test

For any test, advise your child to write a simple time tracking note on the front of their question paper. This means noting their start time and roughly calculating when they should be halfway done. If you do this during practice sessions, it will be something they automatically do in the real exam. Online tests that don’t have physical question papers, like the ISEB Pretest or Quest Assessment, do allow scrap paper, so they should use this.

For tests in which they can move backwards and forwards through the questions, they should also understand how to split their test time (roughly) into thirds. For example, a 15-minute test can be split neatly into three sets of 5 minutes; a 20-minute test splits roughly into three sections of 7 minutes, etc. I’ll explain how and why this can be helpful later on in the article. 

For paper tests, make sure they understand the answer sheet format. This will be needed for most grammar school exams, which have separate answer sheets that are machine-marked. They should use their question paper to write down their time tracker; it must not be written anywhere on the answer sheet, as this area must be kept clear and free of extraneous text and marks.

Key Principles for Answering Multiple Choice Questions

• Read the question carefully
• Mark and skip harder questions to come back to later, if allowed by the style of test
• Always refer to the text for comprehension questions 
• Understand and use the elimination method (discussed in more detail further in the article)
• Always have a go and never leave a question blank (unless negative marking is employed)

A Strategic Process for Answering Multiple Choice Questions in a Non-Adaptive Test

This is for tests in which you can go backwards and forwards through the question paper. This is nearly always the case for paper tests and for some online tests or certain sections of online tests. For example, the London Consortium Quest Assessment is adaptive for certain modules, but not for Creative Comprehension (Analysis) or Puzzles and Problem Solving. 

For Maths questions:

1. Read the question completely
2. Try to solve it in your head or with quick mental calculations before looking at the answer options
3. Then look for your answer among the choices
4. If you find it, select it immediately
5. If you’re not sure but can see an obviously incorrect answer – e.g. one that does not relate to the question – eliminate it ASAP (by crossing out or putting an ‘X’ beside it)
6. Then mark the question with a small dot or similar, skip for now and come back to it later

For English SPAG (grammar) questions:

1. Read the question and identify what grammar rule is being tested
2. Try to spot the error or correct form mentally
3. Check the answer choices for your predicted correction
4. Select if confident 
5. If you’re not sure but can see an obviously incorrect answer, eliminate it
6. Then mark, skip and come back to it later

For English Comprehension questions:

1. Read the question first to know what you’re looking for
2. If line numbers are given to help you find the answer, take note of them (you’d be surprised how many students, in their panic, ignore them!)
3. Scan the passage quickly for the relevant section
4. Then re-read that specific part carefully. Do not skip this in-depth read, however tempting
5. Choose the answer that is best supported by evidence from the text
6. Never skip through these questions quickly – always give them proper attention
7. Select if confident or mark and come back to it later
8. By the end, you will have read through and have a greater understanding of the text, so questions that seemed impossible at the start may now become clear

For Verbal Reasoning (VR) questions:

1. Read the question and identify the pattern or relationship
2. Try to predict the answer based on the logic
3. Look for your prediction in the choices
4. If confident, select your answer
5. If you’re not sure but can see an obviously wrong answer, eliminate it
6. These often require full attention, so don’t rush
7. You should still mark the super tricky ones, skip and come back to them later, when your brain is warmed up

For Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) questions:

1. Study the visual pattern or sequence
2. Try to identify the rule or relationship
3. Predict what comes next or what’s missing
4. Match your prediction to the choices
5. If confident, select your answer
6. If you’re not sure but can see an obviously wrong answer, eliminate it
7. These need visual processing time – skip and mark if stuck – then come back to them later

Continue this process through the entire test. Your goal during this first phase is to answer every question you know confidently. But remember: comprehension questions always require reference to the text, while maths questions can often be solved independently first.

For Maths questions:

1. Work through the problem step-by-step on scrap paper or use some blank space on the question paper
2. Double-check your calculations
3. Use further elimination if your answer isn’t among the choices
4. Consider if you need to round or if there’s a units issue, for example
5. Select your answer
6. If you are not 100% confident, then select the answer that is nearest to your answer or the most logical. For example, if a question asks you to calculate the volume of a kettle, you’re most likely going to be looking for an answer in ml or cl

For English SPAG questions:

1. Re-read the sentence and identify exactly what’s being tested
2. Read out ‘loud’ in your head to see if a sentence sounds right and/or try each answer choice in the sentence
3. Eliminate options that create obvious errors
4. Choose the most grammatically correct option. At this stage, it might be a guess, but it will be a logical one

For English Comprehension questions:

1. Re-read the relevant passage section more carefully
2. Highlight or annotate the text to help you analyse it more easily
3. Eliminate answers that contradict the text or don’t make sense
4. Avoid choices that go beyond what the passage actually states
5. Pick the answer most directly supported by the text. At this stage, it might be a guess, but it will be a logical one

For VR questions:

1. Break down the relationship or pattern systematically
2. Test your logic with the given information
3. Eliminate answers that don’t follow the established rule
4. Double-check your reasoning
5. Pick the answer you are most confident with. At this stage, it might be a guess, but it will be a logical one

For NVR questions:

1. Look for multiple possible patterns (rotation, reflection, addition, etc.)
2. Test each pattern against all parts of the sequence
3. Eliminate answers that don’t fit your identified pattern
4. Be systematic – don’t just go with your first impression
5. Pick the answer you are most confident with. At this stage, it might be a guess, but it will be a logical one

For any remaining difficult questions, you should:

1. Read the question three times to make sure you understand what’s being asked
2. Use scrap paper/blank space on the question paper to work through the logic – write out calculations, draw diagrams or pictures, anything that might help you visualise or get to the answer. It doesn’t matter what you do here. No one is going to see it or judge you on it! 
3. Apply the elimination process thoroughly
4. Make an educated guess – never leave a question blank. This is the advice for all multiple choice tests – unless negative marking is involved
5. Use any remaining time to double-check your easiest answers to spot any silly mistakes. Checking back over your work is a tactic worth doing if you have time. Don’t skip it

A Strategic Process for Answering Multiple Choice Questions in an Adaptive Test

Since you can’t go back in this style of test and change an answer once submitted, use this careful
Six-Step Adaptive Test Approach, by subject, for every single question:

For Maths questions:

1. Read the question twice and identify what’s being asked
2. Work through the solution step-by-step, doing workings as necessary
3. Calculate your answer before looking at the answer choices
4. Find your answer among the options
5. If not there, check your work and use elimination
6. Submit when confident in your calculation

For English SPAG questions:

1. Read the question and identify the grammar focus
2. Predict the correct form or error
3. Check each answer choice systematically
4. Eliminate obviously incorrect options
5. If you’re still not sure, read out ‘loud’ in your head to see if a sentence sounds right and/or try each answer choice in the sentence systematically
6. Choose the most grammatically sound option
7. Do a final grammar check before submitting

For English comprehension questions:

1. Read the question at least twice to know what you’re looking for
2. Find and re-read the relevant passage section
3. Feel free to use scrap paper to make notes for quick reference or remind yourself of information within the passage
4. Predict an answer based strictly on the text
5. Look for your prediction among the choices
6. Eliminate answers that contradict or go beyond the text
7. Select the answer most directly supported by the passage

For VR questions:

1. Read carefully and identify the type of reasoning required
2. Work through the logic systematically on scrap paper
3. Predict the answer based on the pattern/relationship
4. Check your prediction against the choices
5. Verify your logic works for all given information
6. Submit when your reasoning is sound

For NVR questions:

1. Study the visual pattern carefully – don’t rush
2. Identify the transformation or rule on scrap paper
3. Predict what the answer should look like
4. Check each option against your predicted pattern
5. Verify the pattern works for the entire sequence
6. Submit only when you’re confident in the visual logic

With all subjects and question types, choose the answer with the most positive indicators and do a final check by asking yourself: ‘Does this answer actually answer the question asked?’

Master the Elimination Process

This is your most powerful tool. Follow this systematic approach:

Eliminate the obvious wrong answers:

• Cross out answers that use absolutes like ‘never’, ‘always’,  ‘all’ or ‘none’ (unless the question specifically calls for an absolute)
• Eliminate choices that contain information not mentioned in the question
• Remove answers that are clearly unrelated to the topic, illogical or silly

Eliminate the more subtle wrong answers:

• Look for answers that are true statements, but don’t answer the specific question asked
• Eliminate choices that are too extreme for the context
• Cross out answers that have one key word that makes them wrong

The final elimination:

• Between remaining choices, pick the most complete and accurate option
• Choose answers that are moderate rather than extreme
• Select the option that most directly answers what’s being asked

Apply Smart Time Management Rules

There are different ways for your child to split their time. Practise using the differing strategies to discover which one they find most comfortable.

We have already discussed working out the halfway point to enable them to keep an eye on their overall time, and learning how to further split their time into thirds to help them work through easy and harder questions in a structured way for a paper that allows this.  

As a general guide, they should use this time allocation formula, which works well for the majority of students who adhere to it – however, if a test is particularly time pressured, then these timings should be reviewed in line with the test you are taking. However, the principles should remain:

• 1 minute per question as your baseline pace for Maths and English questions 
• 30-45 seconds for Reasoning questions and questions you know well
• 2-3 minutes maximum for difficult questions

Every 10 questions, they should check their time. Are they on pace with their time allocation? If they are behind, they should speed up on easier questions, and if ahead, they can spend more time on difficult ones.

How to Handle Tricky Distractor Questions

When a question seems designed to confuse, you can advise your child to use this process:

1. Keep calm. Identify the core question: What is it really asking for?
2. Watch out for decoy answers: these are typically choices that use question keywords but don’t answer what’s asked
3. Beware of ‘sounds right’ syndrome: Answers that sound sophisticated but are incorrect
4. Reverse engineer and apply the ‘so what?’ test: Does this answer choice actually matter for the question asked?

Maximise Your Scrap Paper (When Allowed)

If your child likes to employ a particularly organised approach, then something like this might be helpful. However, if your child is prone to procrastination or perfectionism, these examples might waste too much time, so only share these strategies if you think they might help your child. 

Strategy 1 – Divide your paper into sections: one area for calculations, one for notes, and one for answer tracking. For each difficult question, write:

• The question number
• Key words from the question
• Your elimination process (A-, B+, C?, D-, E?)
• Your final answer choice

Strategy 2 – Strategic Note-Taking

• Write down what you’re looking for in your own words
• Jot down why you eliminated each wrong choice
• Circle your final answer on the scrap paper to double-check against your selection

Checking Back Over Answers 

If the style of the test allows for your child to review and potentially change their answers, and if time permits, they should always go back and…

1. Check their answers, especially for ‘easy’ questions that they felt confident about
2. Check that they’ve answered every question and not left blanks
3. Look for obvious errors:
   • Grammar mismatches (a/an problems)
   • Clearly wrong mathematical calculations
   • Answers that obviously don’t fit the question
     
4. Only change their answers if they’re certain they’ve misread the original question or made a clear error
5. Not second-guess themselves on answers where they used a good strategy

Quick Reference Process Checklist

Before Starting Any Test:

• Identify test type (adaptive vs. non-adaptive)
• Set up workspace and timing plan
• Review instructions carefully

During the Test (All Types):

• Read question stem first, predict answer
• Use systematic elimination process
• Make educated guesses, never leave blanks
• Monitor your time every 10 questions

Adaptive Tests Only:

• Double-check each answer before submitting
• Use scrap paper for complex problems
• Take adequate time – you can’t go back

Non-Adaptive Tests Only:

• Complete easy questions first (speed round phase)
• Return to marked questions (problem-solving phase)
• Use remaining time for difficult questions and review (final challenge phase)

Following this systematic process will help to remove the guesswork from test-taking and will give your child a reliable method for tackling any multiple choice test with confidence.

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions about multiple choice tests or if you would like our recommendations as to which resources to use to develop these skills in your child.