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Verbal Reasoning 3 min read · 2025-12-14

How to Crack 11+ Letter Codes

The reliable two-step method for decoding 11+ letter-shift ciphers under exam time pressure.

Letter-code questions look mysterious but they almost always follow a single rule: each letter is shifted forward or backward by the same number of places in the alphabet.

The two-step method

Step 1: Write the alphabet down the margin (just A–Z in a line). Step 2: For each letter, count how many places it has moved. If "C → F", that's +3. Apply the same shift to the target word.

Common variations

Some shifts are different per letter ("+1, +2, +3" for the three letters). Some questions wrap around ("Y → B" is +3, treating Z as wrapping back to A). Practice now with VR codes to drill the variations.

Speed tip

Don't recount the alphabet from A every time. Memorise the position of common letters (E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20). It saves real seconds across the paper.

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