Speed and Accuracy Drills

One of the biggest challenges of the CEM 11+ exam is the time pressure. CEM papers are designed so that most students will not finish every question. The students who score highest are those who work both quickly and accurately. This lesson gives you strategies and exercises to build your speed without sacrificing accuracy.

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Why Speed Matters in CEM

CEM exams are significantly time-pressured compared to GL exams. You may have as little as 30-40 seconds per question. This means:

• You cannot afford to get stuck on any single question
• You need to recognise question types instantly
• You must have mental shortcuts and strategies ready to use
• Accuracy still matters — a wrong answer is no better than a skipped one

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Speed Strategies by Subject

English Speed Tips

Strategy	How it helps
Skim the passage first	Get the general idea before reading questions — saves re-reading later
Read the questions before the passage	You know what to look for, so your reading is targeted
Underline key words	Helps you find evidence quickly when answering
For cloze passages, read the whole thing first	Context clues at the end may help with gaps at the beginning
For spelling questions, trust your instinct	If a word looks wrong, it probably is — do not overthink

Verbal Reasoning Speed Tips

Strategy	How it helps
Learn common analogies	Opposites, part-to-whole, tool-to-action — recognise them instantly
Memorise the alphabet numbered 1-26	Essential for code questions — practise until it is automatic
For anagrams, look for common letter pairs	TH, SH, CH, ING, TION — these give you a head start
For odd-one-out, check the category first	Are they all animals? Colours? Verbs? The odd one out breaks the category
For hidden words, scan quickly	Run your eyes across the boundary between each pair of words

Mathematics Speed Tips

Strategy	How it helps
Know your times tables to 12 x 12	This underpins almost every maths question
Learn key fraction-decimal-percentage equivalents	1/4 = 0.25 = 25%, 1/3 = 0.333 = 33.3%, 3/4 = 0.75 = 75%
Estimate before calculating	If the answer should be about 100 and you get 1,000, you know something is wrong
Use jottings, not full working	Write just enough to keep track — you are not being marked on neatness
For word problems, underline the numbers and key words	Helps you spot the operation needed

Non-Verbal Reasoning Speed Tips