11+ English
Analogy and connection questions — choosing words linked by meaning, category or relationship.
Word Connections appears in 8 of our 338 ready papers (15 tagged questions). It averages 1.9 questions a paper worth about 1.07 marks each. The typical question allows around 42 sec.
Word-connection questions test whether a child can spot relationships: synonym, antonym, category, part-whole, or function. They appear in verbal-reasoning-style sections and some vocabulary papers. Children who pick a word that “feels related” without naming the relationship guess wrong under pressure. Teach a spoken template: “A is to B as C is to … because …” and eliminate options that break the rule. Practise with short timed sets so the pattern recognition speeds up. Link meaning and vocabulary hubs for breadth, and verbal reasoning for neighbouring formats. A wrong connection is often a wrong relationship type, not a missing hard word. When two options both seem plausible, test which relationship holds for every pair in the question, not only the first one you notice. Keep a notebook of relationship types your child has seen (synonym, antonym, category, function) and tick which type each practice question used — the list becomes a revision cheat-sheet before the next mock. If the stem gives an example pair, force yourself to state that pair’s rule in five words before looking at the options.
A real tagged question from our catalogue — method included, not paywalled.
Ranked from our tagged catalogue — open a paper to practise the questions that actually test this topic.
Not sure whether word connections is the problem? Mark any past paper on 11plusSolved and the report tells you which topics are costing marks — and how many.
