11 plus Letter-Shift Codes questions

What a Letter-Shift Codes question looks like

A Letter-Shift Codes question in 11 plus verbal reasoning gives your child one pair and nothing else: a word, and the code that stands for it. Something has been done to each letter, and they read that off letter by letter, then use it on a second word.

About half the questions ask for the code for a new word, and the other half give a code and ask which word it stands for. Words are four or five letters and the answer is one of five options. Three rules cover the type: every letter moves the same number of places, each position has its own number of places, or the alphabet is folded in half so that A pairs with Z.

The question. “If the code for PROP is VXUV, what is JGSY the code for?” The options are DAMS, DADS, DAFT, DAYS and DARN.

The method. Write PROP above VXUV and take the letters in pairs. P to V: start counting at the letter after P, so q, r, s, t, u, v, six places forward. R to X, O to U and P to V are six forward as well. This question hands over the code and wants the word, so undo the rule: J back six is D, G back six is A, S back six is M, Y back six is S.

The answer. DAMS.

Why a wrong option tempts. DAYS. Every option begins DA, so the mark rides on the last two letters. Shift the third letter the wrong way, six forward instead of back, and S lands on Y. DAYS is also a commoner word than DAMS.

The question. “If the code for KILO is PROL, what is the code for SAIL?” The options are HXRO, HZRO, HARO, HWRO and HYRO.

The method. K to P is five places forward, but I to R is nine and L to O is three, so there is no single shift. Look at where the letters sit instead. K is 11th from the start of the alphabet and P is 11th from the end; I is 9th from the start and R is 9th from the end. The alphabet has been folded in half, so A pairs with Z, B with Y, and M with N. Fold SAIL over: S is 19th from the start, and 19th from the end is H. A pairs with Z, I with R, L with O.

The answer. HZRO.

Why a wrong option tempts. HYRO. Every option is H, then one letter, then RO, so the question comes down to what A pairs with. Y is what you get by counting A itself as the first step in from the end, when A is where the alphabet begins and its partner is where it ends.

The question. “If the code for HALE is GXGX, what is BRAY the code for?” The options are CUBS, CUFF, IOTA, CHEF and INCH.

The method. H to G is one place back. A to X is three back, and counting runs off the beginning of the alphabet, so carry on from Z: z, y, x. L to G is five back and E to X is seven back, so the steps grow: one, three, five, seven. The question wants the word, so every step turns round. B forward one is C, R forward three is U, A forward five is F, and Y forward seven runs off the end, so carry on from A: z, a, b, c, d, e, f.

The answer. CUFF.

Why a wrong option tempts. CUBS. Its first two letters are right and it is a more ordinary word than CUFF. The slip behind its third letter is using the first step again further along: A moved one place gives B, when the third position needs five.

How to answer it

1. Write the alphabet out in a line, or use the one on the screen, and count along it with a finger, starting at the letter after the one you are on, never at the letter itself.
2. Put the example word above its code and write the step for each position as you go: one back, one back, one back.
3. Read the steps together. The same number every time means one shift for the whole word. Steps that alternate or grow mean every position has its own. If they look like nothing at all, check the folding rule instead.
4. Decide the direction from the wording. “What is the code for MILK?” means do the same thing again. “What is HDZM the code for?” means undo it, so every step turns round and forward becomes back. Folding undoes itself, so fold again.
5. Work through the word letter by letter, writing each letter down as you go, and only then look for it in the options.

Common mistakes

• Counting the letter you start on. From T, one place back is S, not T. Every shift then comes out one place short, and an option one letter off the answer is usually waiting: TERM shifted two places back is RCPK, and SCPK sits beside it.
• Repeating the rule when the question wanted it undone. “What is JGSY the code for?” asks for the reverse. Move a letter six places forward rather than back and you get DAYS, which is in the options and looks more like a word than the answer.
• Deciding the rule from the first pair of letters. If the first letters move one place forward, the second pair may well move two back. Questions where every position has its own step are as common as questions with a single shift.
• Stopping at the ends of the alphabet. Seven places on from T is A, and four places back from A is W. The alphabet runs as a loop, and big shifts cross that join often.
• Choosing the option that looks most like a word. Where the answer is a word, all five options are words and most share their opening letters: DAMS, DADS, DAFT, DAYS, DARN. Write your answer down before reading the list.

How to practise 11 plus Letter-Shift Codes questions

Speed here comes from the alphabet rather than from the reasoning, which makes it one of the more fixable eleven plus question types. A few minutes counting along a written alphabet, forwards and backwards, is worth more than another ten questions. After that, useful practice is mixed: encoding and decoding in the same sitting, so the direction has to be decided each time rather than assumed. 11+ Daily has a Letter-Shift Codes project among its verbal reasoning skills, with the alphabet on screen and explanations that name the rule and every step. The questions are original to 11+ Daily, nothing is a past paper and nothing is licensed from another publisher, and the bank is re-checked in rounds. It sits among the other codes and sequences puzzles on the 11 plus verbal reasoning page, and there is more on session length in our guide to how much 11 plus practice a child needs each day.

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