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Sunday, November 19, 2023

Suggested answers for MUET Reading 800/3 Session 3 2023

Hey all.. yes, I know you have been waiting in anticipation for my suggested answers. This session's reading comprehension exam paper is a little tough, but doable. Although there is Charles Dickens, and some iffy questions especially of the Dam in Part 7, overall this is a good reading paper. Much better than the questionable quality of the first 2 sessions for 2023 but hey, this is just my personal unprofessional opinion. 

Anyway, do check your answers here. I think I have 2 questions that I cannot say for sure what the answer really is, but it is up to you to fight it out in the comments (politely please). 

1. B - acai berry

2. C - sold online round the clock

3. A - RM100 per box for 3 weeks 

4. A - 3 weeks vs 1 month

5. B - Memory Stone

6. B - leaving behind all the memories

7. C - stone, but nothing happened, it was the photographs that jogged the memories

8. B - when she was 11, childhood days

9. C - it will be able to trigger rememberances

10. A - thinking of terminology

11. A - thinks too much, face of an old man who thinks too much, no mention of same looks

12. C - to give a simple explanation

13. C - refuses to accept answers 

14. B - anxious due to 'resent the idea'

15. B - preserving photos and memories

16. B - Nick Dymond took the pictures

17. A - who knew my parents

18. C - violets in spring, summer ..patchwork of colour

19. C - Text 1, para 2: dirt roads winding, Text 2, Wendy: narrow winding roads

20. A - photos of landscapes, memories of locals

Q 21- 26 I cross-checked with the actual article in Nat Geo 2021: 

21. G

22. D

23. A

24. C

25. E

26. F

27. A - language dev delay = learning disability

28. C - critical period

29. D - lasting effects on their development

30. C - learning process, all other options should be avoided as listed in the para 6 & 7

31. D - think creatively and abstractly

32. B - develop children's range

33. C - gives advice that these may be the years that matter the most for children's development so make use of the opportunity 

34. D - its image has never been entirely absent

35. A - alternative views/perspectives

36. B - it is quite descriptive: it doesn't talk about causes, there is no real comparison to Mindanao Trench and no calculations/enumerations mentioned

37. D - brightest promise lay in American engineering

38. C - abandoned: flags whipped, empty can clatters, frozen in time

39. A - my hands on the turbine

40. This is the trickiest question: I'm going to go with A because of the line 'splendid at last in its absolute isolation'. Feel free to disagree. 


Good luck to all... I'm sure you're on a downer cos the essay question was a killer. Well, as long as you tried your best. Will blog about the other papers soon, if I feel inspired. :) 


Friday, July 14, 2023

Suggested Answers for MUET Reading 800/4 Session 2

Bah.. my students have taken the exam. They are now attempting the writing paper. While I wait I might as well try to answer the reading with suggested answers. (Don't mind the publishing timestamp as my blog is on USA clock.. so it is still Friday.. I assure u it is now Saturday and the paper is over) 

Part 1

1. A (31 August 2023)

2. C (post to address given)

3. B (scholarship for college edu)

4. A (between1000 and 1500 words)

5. B (new date)

6. B (annual event of Engineering Club, not Robotics Society)

7. B (time zones are not the same) 

8. B (speak fluenty)

9. C (do not hesitate to talk to me)

10. C (Mrs Bennet.. having a guest of such high importance) 

11. C (wordless: sitting for a moment in silence)

12. B (with a young man.. soon become part of the family)

13. A (inference: a measurement of wealth, compared to other ppl's property sizes)

14. A (take a turn (walk around) the park; favour me with your company)

15. C (iconic towers in USA now have new and improved appearences = makeovers)

16. A (conceived, designed, and built by locals)

17. C (renew the visitor experience significantly)

18. C (floor to ceiling glass)

19. A (personal vs professional experience) 

20. C (all about Seattle)

21. E 

22. G 

23. C (cataphoric: recognised landscape = crown jewel)

24. B 

25. A 

26. D (cataphoric: symptoms of hyponatremia = faced a problem) 

27. C (not been any ariticles published.. Currently, school practices..show minimal engagement)

28. D (lack of practical learning = did not show much engagement..hands-on way)

29. D (guided by teacher to write letter)

30. C (exemplification = examples of various techniques)

31. B (learning of literature with the real world = linked reading to practical work and life skills)

32. B (Rous = teach and nurture environmental awareness through various techniques)

33. B (literary texts can bring about social change) 

34. B (own people = local indigenous ppl)

35. D (communication among local ppl)

36. A (uninvited = the first settlers)

37. D (definitely NOT condescending or commanding, possibly convincing but critical is more accurate as he tells abt the good uses of the sound and how to others it sounds scary)

38. B (culture - seeing Australia through local eyes)

39. D (artifice = fake)

40. D (mainly about significance of cooee between settlers n locals)



Bah.. there are MY SUGGESTED ANSWERS.. pls discuss PLEASANTLY. 


You need approximately 

14/40 to hit B3

24/40 to hit B4

And 33/40 to hit B5.


GOOD LUCK! 















Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Last Minute Tips for MUET Writing 800/4

So if you have reached this page you are now panicking. :) Typical Malaysian students who wait for the 11th hour before sweating profusely. So let's get straight to it. 

What do you need to know to ace the writing paper. I have heard a million complaints by now that those scoring B5s for the first 3 papers are let down with a B3 or B4 for Writing. Why is this happening? My best guess is the rigid marking system. Don't get me started. Suffice to say that the validity is affected if the marking system is compromised. 

Right.. so for Task 1.. what do you need to know? The MOST IMPORTANT TIP is to: 

Respond to EVERY LINE IN the email/letter. 

I have taught my students to highlight sections of the question itself before starting. Aim for 10 sections. You can easily see it through these sample pictures. 

 



So... what's the moral of the story? You need to make sure that the context is always accurate and that you have responded to the first few sentences BEFORE addressing the notes. Teachers and students, this is a CRUCIAL TIP ok.. if you don't do this, you cannot score good marks for what is seemingly such an easy question. Also, don't worry about wordcount (exceed is fine but don't exceed too much or you will waste your time and make more errors), write clearly, don't get the names wrong, always offer 2 reasons/choices/explanations (with precise quality vocab) and make sure the sender's and receiver's names are CORRECT. Remember to use LINKERS/Sequence Connectors..Bah.. good luck. 

Next tip, you need to make cuecards like my students. They have prepped cuecards for most themes. In the cuecards, they prep important information to help with vocab (expressions/colloquialisms etc), content (especially the budget), proverbs etc. Here are some awesome samples from this year's batch. 








If they have taken my advice n memorised all, they they would have the content at the tip of their fingers no matter what theme appears in both writing Tasks 1 & 2. 

Moving along, students learnt to identify the 2 parts in each academic essay question. They have also learnt that they cannot merely list down reasons/examples/ways etc unless they link Part A of the question with Part B. Their job is to PROVE the statement and not just to give an explanation. Basically the hardest thing to teach students IS TO PROVE THE LINK between A & B. 


Right so in this example.. they need to prove that Modernisation has indeed robbed us of our moral values (give 3 points for agree) or that it is not modernisation that has robbed us of our moral values but 
Disagree Version 1(some consider this in danger of being off tangent/out of topic so becareful how you word it):
Offer 3 other concepts that have robbed us of our moral values (eg. dependence on technology, poor parental guidance, peer infuence, social media influence etc.)
or 
Disagree Version 2 (higher critical thinking skills): 
Modernisation has robbed us of 3 other things but NOT our moral values, in fact, modernisation has helped to enhance our moral values (eg. many role models online and offline, modernisation has given us a more comfortable life so we can focus more on good values like be grateful for parents etc) 

So you can see from above, agreeing 100% is easier than disagreeing because when you go against the topic, you are burdened to choose how to argue the case without merely listing new points without proving that there ISNT A LINK between A & B. 

For more ambitious writers, you can write a discursive essay to explore a 'partially agree' stand where you can write both the pros and the cons, benefits and drawbacks etc to show both sides of the coin. Just make sure your THESIS STATEMENT is very clear and how you develop the essay should be as outlined in this thesis statement. 

Anyway, I got my students to brainstorm points for and against, concrete examples, proverbs and recommendations for past year questions. While the points may or may not be in the actual marking scheme, I did not want to be too strict with my students in case they feel pressured to find the 'right' points. Writing an essay of 'possible points' is FARRRRR better than submitting a BLANK piece of paper or and incomplete essay. Just a ball park figure, I always tell my students if you RUN OUT OF TIME, just write 1 intro, 2 points and 1 short conclusion (4 paragraph format, remember to edit your thesis statement) and you can get Band 3. ALL INCOMPLETE ESSAYS I MARK DOWN AS 
BAND 2.5 and below. 

Bah, here are some samples that my students did so that they can brainstorm faster during the real exam. TRAIN YOUR BRAIN to think faster! 




And finally, students review their essays which I have painstakingly marked using coded marking (they edit their own mistakes) and I add info/sentences to help them round off each paragraph and to have a better 'wow factor' conclusion. Here are the two essay topics we have worked on recently. 





Right, so these are all the last minute tips for MUET Writing 800/4. Remember not to worry about wordcount and that good essays are usually 500 words or more that have pristine grammar, demonstrates fluency and a flair for the language and shows critical thinking skills. 

In my personal estimation, be joyous if you attain B4 or B4.5 as that is above average, be glad if you got B3 or B3.5, be very resilient if you got B2.5 and below and challenge yourself to retake MUET. B5 and B5+ is Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez standard, so if you hit native speaker ability, you should be uber proud of yourself! 

Love these tips? Drop a comment below! Good luck to my students and all taking the exam this 15th July 2023. May the force, and Queendrey, be with you! 




Thursday, April 13, 2023

Suggested answers for MUET Reading Session 1 2023

Bah.. here are my answers, NOT the official ones. I have many grouses about the spelling errors esp COMA vs COMMA and the other two.. plus the poor choices of texts and contents including too many love stories/unbelievable babyhood recount/old English aka ol Mr Dickie and his morally questionable storyline/financial times level article... ah well.. who am I but a lowly English teacher to know better, right. 

MUET Reading 800/4 Session 1 2023

1. B (It’s new to me!)

2. A (difficult – hard)

3. A (still completing my degree)

4. C (My sister… we write about fashion together)

5. B (made several very important medical breakthroughs)

6. B (he got it, he just couldn’t hold it and it fell)

7. C (she allowed him to play with the milk before cleaning)

8. A (the correct way to hold a bottle after trying again outside)

9. C (normal as it presents opportunities for learning)

10. A (months of long planning had finally paid off)

11. B (a blog – website)

12. C (farewell – sad) 

13. B (so many more stories to tell)

14. B (goodbye – farewell)

15. C (was introduced during colonial edu system but can be made contemporary)

16. A (will host the Shakespeare Refreshed Festival next Saturday)

17. B (most paragraphs touch on the experiences of students)

18. A (improve speaking, records herself n listens to memorise her part)

19. C (A = X because it doesn’t focus only on movies, n students don’t just memorise lines)

20. A (Changed – localise, Article 1 ; adapt to local theatrical traditions; Article 2: local settings)

21. C – I could not remember how many times I had to tell myself not to react. (Keyword is the anaphoric reference to ‘dad’s actions’)

22. G – The accident was fatal. (Keyword is the cataphoric reference to ‘But’ meaning his mom died BUT he survived even though he was in a COMA, not COMMA!)

23. F – The one who never showed anything but hate towards me. (Keyword is the anaphoric reference to ‘my father’ who is the ‘one’)

24. B – He did not return my good deed at first; instead he went ahead to annoy me. (Keywords are the anaphoric reference to ‘kind gestures’ – synonymous of ‘good deed’)

25. E. He got so careful not to hurt, and maybe he had STARTED to love me. (Keywords are ‘I never gave him a chance’)

26. A – I felt like an angel, but still, I could not trust anyone because I was having a new opinion about the people whom I met. (Keywords are the anaphoric reference to source of happiness so she felt like an angel)

27. A (strolling – roam about)

28. B (having lost her way – Para 2: begged to be directed; Para 3: she had lost her road)

29. A (request – appeal)

30. A (his expression - stole a curios look at my face, as if to make quite sure I was not deceiving her)

31. D (master’s characteristics – a very kind person)

32. C (careful responses – she said no more about her home)

33. B (know more abt the girl – deprive him of the opportunity to gratify his curiosity)

34. D (hesitant: shy away from buying property – the opposite is given: needs steady economic growth)

35. B (slightly more unsold homes in 2019)

36. B (their ability to build more saleable units in the future) 

37. D (related to budget)

38. B (effects for the overhang but this sounds too obvious) (TRICKY.. could be any of the 4, all seem to be causing the effects to be muted/diminished)

39. C (differ from the preference)

40. D (prefer second hand homes – subsale properties 59%) 


Q26 and Q38 are pending. You can decide for yourselves. As per usual, you may argue in the comment but pls do so with civility. 

Happy checking! 

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

7 Versions of 1 Essay Topic for CEFR MUET Writing

So I gave my students a statement and they work on 7 different versions of it using the formats that I introduced in the previous post. 

Group 1: Intro, Agree 1, Agree 2, Agree 3, Conclusion

Group 2: Intro, Disagree 1, Disagree 2, Disagree 3, Conclusion

Group 3: I, A1, A2, D1, C

Group 4: I, D1, D2, A1, C

Group 5: I, A1, A2, D1, D2, C

Group 6: I, D1, D2, A1, A2, C

Group 7: I, A1vs D1, A2 vs D2, A3 vs D3


Congrats to all my students for finishing this tiresome task! 

So here are their combined efforts: 


Group 1: (Fully Agree) 

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success 

      James and Ryan were classmates in Lower 6 Economy. James was the top student in his class because he always keeps himself self-motivated and diligent in his studies. Meanwhile, Ryan was the worst student in his  class because he always procrastinated due to his lack of motivation in studies. In my estimation, I utterly concur that young adults lack of motivation to achieve their success because success comes from hard work. There are many facets to this issue whereby young adults lack motivation to achieve success due to their lack of motivation in time management, goal management and they may face a less supportive background.

      First and foremost, bad time management is the main cause why young adults lack motivation to achieve success. This is because when young adults have an excellent time management, their daily life will be more organised and productive. Take for instance, most young adults have poor time management due to their bad sleep schedule, they wake up late and spend most of their leisure time on their gadgets like smartphones and laptops rather than going to the library and studying for their final exam. Hence, it is without a doubt that young adults lack motivation to achieve success because of their poor time management. A wise man once said time is gold.

      Another point to ponder is goal management is also one of the reasons young adults lack motivation to achieve success. One of my seniors, Ashrizal is not a genius but he has great goal management. He studies three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. He pushes himself to be more disciplined and consistent to achieve his goal to be the top student. As a result, he got four flat in his STPM result. Thus, young adults need a good goal management to achieve success because success does not come to you. You go to it.

     Another point to ponder is young adults who face a less supportive background are most likely to lack motivation to achieve success. Therefore, it is crystal clear that parents are their support system because parents are the ones who are close to them since they were born. To illustrate, Jessi's parents support her dream to become a singer in South Korea. Following that, she does not feel controlled by her parents, and she can maintain her self-motivation. Conversely, her friend Tiffany was controlled by her parents to become a doctor even though she does not have any passion for the medical field. Hence, it is without a doubt that young adults lack motivation to achieve success because of their less supportive family members. Kobe Bryant once said " My parents are my backbone. Still are. They are the only group that will support you if you score 0 or you score 40." 

     All in all, these are the reasons why I totally concur on this particular statement. It is because most young adults nowadays are prone to having bad time management, goals management and less supportive background. Personally speaking, I still truly believe that young adults lack motivation to achieve their success. Perhaps the government such as the Ministry of Youth should implement a strategic campaign to overcome this issue by carrying out campaign like " Success for the Youths" and increasing the awareness through various community programmes.

Written by Alvionnie, Shelly, Bernadeth, Arrisya and Ashrizal, SMK Majakir F6 2022/23


Group 2: (Fully Disagree)

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success

      Are you struggling to find motivation as a young adult? You are not alone. But what causes this lack of drive and ambition in a demographic known for their boundless energy and potential? Personally speaking, I utterly disagree that young adults lack motivation to achieve success because there are other factors that take precedence over this issue. In terms of lacking motivation being the main cause of not achieving success, there are many issues that disprove this statement because being successful has more to do with a lack of talent, opportunity, and financial stability. In this essay, we will explore these factors and examine the ways of which motivation is not the main key in achieving success.

      First and foremost, it is not motivation but lack of talent as one of the factors why young adults hardly achieve success. This is because talent is the ability that we are born with, which leads to a satisfactory performance both in learning and in the execution of skills. Take for instance, if Amir wants to be a singer but he has no talent in singing then he will not be motivated to pursue his dream. Thus, no matter how much they put an effort in order to achieve success, the lack of talent will not motivate them to try it.

      Moving on to the next point, lack of opportunity will cause the track to success to become hard to achieve. This is because opportunity can help young adults to have a medium for them to acquire success. When someone does not have the opportunity to become successful, they will feel anxious and unmotivated. This will cause them to give up easily on their dream. As an exemplification, Rajah was a 4 flat student. If he could not get the opportunity to get a scholarship to go to a university, then his hard work will go to waste. Therefore, lack of opportunity will not motivate them to achieve their dream.

     A final point to ponder is most young adults are not financially stable. When we have enough money, it may help us to achieve success by paying for study fees, especially for young adults who want to continue their studies. Due to unstable financial status, many of them cannot afford to pursue their dreams which caused them to be unmotivated. For instance, someone who wants to start a business but has no modal will be scared of having debts and end up losing all motivation. All in all, being financially unstable will cause young adults to lack motivation to achieve success.

     To recap, young adults are unable to obtain success due to the absence of talent and opportunity, as well as running a little low on funds. From my personal standpoint, I strongly oppose that young adults lack motivation to achieve success as there are other more pertinent factors to consider. The community as well as any relevant parties should break the stigma that motivation is the only road to success because most young adults might believe so.

Written by Aisyah, Anniz, Hasemyliana, Sheikh and Recarlson, SMK Majakir, F6 2022/23


Group 3: (Partially Agree)

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success

     In terms of achieving success, it is utterly. true that motivation is the key. If you look around us, we can see that most influential and successful people have their own aspirations and motivation. For instance, Bill Gates' passion for learning as well as his desire to better the world have motivated him to achieve such massive Success. Lack of motivation causes so many disputes for young adults to achieve their own dreams. Regarding the statement, I am Somewhat on the fence that not achieving success for young adults is only due to lack of motivation. Therefore, in this essay, besides discussing lack of motivation from different aspects such as time management and goal management, I am also of the opinion that lack of opportunity play a lead role in young adults difficulty to achieve success.

     First and foremost, I strongly believe that the main reason young adults find it hard to achieve success is because they lack motivation in aspect of time management. This is because some young adults do not have a flexible schedule, which causes them to waste their time by playing video games or scrolling on social media platforms such as TikTok over the night. At the same time, young adults are not focusing on their life goals or even their future. Thus, it is without a doubt that lack of motivation in terms of time management is the leading cause of the young adults hardly achieve success.

      Another point to ponder is that young adult nowadays lack of motivation in terms of zero effort in goal management. It is assumed that someone who have dreams, hopes and goals will be more easy to grasp success in their lives rather than a person who lives with zero goals. However, a person that only procrastinating and has no efforts in managing and achieving their goals is not the same case. In achieving our goals, doing it step by step and focusing one goal after another are more efficient. For example, Lily always dreamt to continue her study at Oxford University but could not afford it. In this case, Lily collected enough money from her multiple part time jobs and now she is living her best life studying at Oxford. From this situation, it is obvious that lily was determined to achieve her dream and figured out how to achieve it by saving her earnings from her part time jobs. This also shows that setting a clear and organize will boost someone motivation to be successful. Therefore, it is crystal clear that unsuccess lives in young adults is also cause by no motivation in terms of no goal management.

      The statement should be opposed because lack of opportunity also one of the factors on achieving success other than lack of motivation. Some young adults have their own motivation but lack of opportunity in achieving success. To illustrate this, some people are lacking on funds causes them to stop chasing their dreams. For example, Ali is an ambitious but because of his family lack of financial security, he have to stop pursuing his studies. Thus, it is without a doubt that lack of opportunity also one of the factors on achieving success.

      In a nutshell, success is not impossible when you have the right drive such as motivation. Young adults nowadays need to conquer their lack of motivation in order for them to fulfill their aims. Regardless, we need to acknowledge that motivation is not the only factor that will lead to success. Success is a spectrum that depends on many factors such as opportunity and financial security. Exiguity of these elements will bring the same effect to unfavourable result. Therefore, it is unfair of us to judge young adults in terms of their journey in achieving their ambitions . All we can do is to pursue them to the right path. To be precise, we should help them grow more out of their comfort zone to amplify their efforts to achieve triumph regardless of the risks. Teach them to take chances and risks. After all, he who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Success and motivation are likely to yin and yang, lack of one will create unbalance.

Written by Norain, Hasrayuni, Adam Aideel, Khairul and Alya, SMK Majakir F6 2022/23


Group 4: (Partially Agree) 

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success

      What is the main cause young adults who lack motivation in order to achieve success? Would the lack of a talent be the main cause? Or is it because lack of opportunities that are beyond our control? These are some of the questions that pop to mind when we focus on the topic of young adults may not achieve their success in life just because of motivation as its main cause. As far as I'm somewhat oppose that lack of motivation is the main cause young adults are unable to achieve a successful life because if there is a will, there is a way. In terms of lack of motivation being the main cause of this particular topic, there are many others issues that disprove this statement because success has more to do with lack of hereditary talent, and also the sufficient amount of opportunity in their lives rather than the condition of just being less motivated.

       At the forefront of this issue, the crucial problem of youth lack motivation is not the main cause but lack of talent. We often view motivation is not the extrinsic things that people want. However, talent is important because it is the foundation of all success. Talent is defined as a natural aptitude or ability to do something well. It is something that we are born with or develop through practice and experience. Without talent, we would not be able to achieve our goals or reach our potentials. Additionally, talent is what allows us to do something better than others. It is the key to unlock our full potentials and greatness. As an exemplification, if one wants to become a lecturer, than it is without a doubt that they need to have certain qualifications, such as being brave enough to convey their speeches in public. Therefore, it is crystal clear that lack of talent is one of the main reasons contributing to this issue.

       On top of that, young adults are unable to achieve success because of a lack of opportunities. This is because opportunity can provide you with a path to success in your life. It is pointless if you have the motivation but not the opportunity. Many people, particularly recently graduated high school students, want to continue their education, and some have received numerous offers to do so, but they are unable to do so. To illustrate, my senior had to drop out of school because he had to take care of his ill mother. He had academic potential, but he did not have the opportunity to further his education. Thus, there is no doubt that today's young adults do not lack motivation to succeed, but rather opportunities.

       Conversely, if we take a look at another dimension of this issue, we cannot deny that lack of motivation in a less supportive background from parents can also make a young adult's future darker. Support from parents is crucial because it can increase their children's commitment, which results in increased motivation. If their bloodlines do not support them, the probability for them to stay in their comfort zones and continue procrastinating as part of their daily routines is quite high. Additionally, this can also contribute to mental health problems. For instance, depression, ADHD, and the lack of support from relatives in an American supermodel like Cara Delevigne make her less motivated to walk the runway again. Thus, we somehow can agree that lack of motivation in a less supportive background from relatives might be one of the main reasons why young adults these days are less motivated to achieve their goals and success in their lives.

        Taking everything into consideration, it is crystal clear that lack of motivation is not the only culprit that acts as a boulder that blocks people's success because not having a hereditary talent and having fewer opportunities are probably the main causes of the rising number of young adults with less motivation these days. From where I stand, I am still convinced that motivation alone does not guarantee people's success, especially in this 4th Industrial Revolution. Perhaps the Ministry of Human Resources (HR) can work in tandem and create a framework with the Ministry of Youth to prevent the increase of procrastinated adults in the future. As a clever man once said, "genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

Written by Robbie, Zetty, Wana, Azza and Azka, F6 SMK Majakir, 2022/23


Group 5: (Partially Agree) 

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success

     A pair of identical twins were raised under different conditions. Aqif stayed with his parents in the city, living a luxury life, mostly staying indoors, and literally having the money to continue his studies. Conversely, that makes him lack motivation to be successful in his life. Meanwhile, his twin, Aizat, lived in a village with grandparents living in an active life but almost suffering from the poverty. However that will never the reason for him to stop chasing success in life. From my personal standpoint, I partially agree that young adults lack motivation is one of the main causes to achieve success but I do concede that there may be other contributory factors that are just as important. To really analyse this issue, we should take a closer look at all the factors why young adults nowadays lack motivation to achieve success.

     First and foremost, young adult lack motivation in a less supportive environment to achieve success in life. It is because most families nowadays are suffering from poverty, which causes them to not be able to pay attention to their children and motivate them. They had to use most of their time to work in order to cover their family's finances. On the other hand, there are families who can afford everything, but the parents are too busy with their work, which causes their children to have no support in life to succeed. To illustrate this issue, most youths today are less motivated to get excellent results in the end-of-year exams due to a lack at parental encouragement. Thus, it is without a doubt that parents- support plays an important role in motivating their children to achieve successi n life as opposed to motivation from just the young adults themselves.

      On top of that, young adults also lack motivation because lack of good time management. Around their age, they love to have fun, party, games and so on. Because of that, their study time may not balanced with their leisure time . To achieve success, we must organise our schedule wisely because time is gold. Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow. To illustrate, 82% of people do not have a dedicated time management system. 33% of people use a to do list to manage their time and tasks. Time management is life management. That is why time management is important to achieve success because good time management affects the effectiveness of motivation.

        On the other hand, sometime some youths might not achieve success, not because they lack motivation, but because of lack of talent. They have their goals. They are good at time management. But there's are lack of talent. Talent in how to tackle the question. Talent in how to get an extra mark. Talent is important too. That is why practice makes perfect. We cannot just say that motivation is the only important point to achieve success . For instance, Ed Sheeran is famous singer around the world. Ed Sheeran is someone who was born with an average singing talent, but he is a hardworking person who wants to improve his singing talent. On the other hand, Ariana Grande who is also famous singer, but she was born with natural singing talent. Thus, it is without a doubt that talent is indeed important for someone to achieve success but despite the lack of talent, one can also succeed by being hardworking.

     A final point to ponder, sometimes to achieve success it is not because of lack motivation but lack of resources of money or network. In the 21st century, the cost of living is very high for some families. Imagine that one family haves 5 children and the father's salary is only enough for bills and food. Additionally school fees are quiet expensive, so money is also important in education . Besides that, there are some places that do not have good network. The young adults need to have good internet connectivity in order to do some research on the internet or find study materials . To exemplify, Kg Kaiduan, Kg Kapimpinan and Kg Bolotikon that do not have digital network coverage and support. There are only a few mobile telco lines and internet connectivity in these villages is weak. It is a difficult life for the villagers, as well as their children who could not study online . Personally speaking, I truly believe that lack of resources is definitely one of the biggest obstacles for them to achieve success in life. It is easy for people to lose motivation due to lack of finances.

      All in all , there are many reasons why I partially agree with this statement. I do believe that most youth nowadays lack motivation to achieve success in life. However, I still stand by my own point that young adults need to sacrifice a lot of things in order to continue their studies and be successful. Nevertheless, as far as I am concerned, I utterly agree that the Ministry of Education should take serious action in this case to think of a lot of effective ways to make young adults stay motivated to achieve success and reduce the percentage of unemployed people in our country.

Written by Aizat, Aqif, Aisyah Sofea and Balqis, SMK Majakir F6, 2022/23


Group 6: (Partially Agree) 

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success

       Have you ever wanted if motivation is the main element to achieve success? What if there are additional element that assist in achieving success? As far as lam concerned, I somewhat oppose that young adults lack of motivation to achieve success because there are numerous things that can aid young adults in succeeding nowadays. To really analyse this issue, this following essay will discuss both sides of the coin pertaining the factors that aid young adults to achieve success. 

       First and foremost, motivation is not the main factor to achieve success but it is due to the lack of talent. This means that, not everyone is born naturally talented. Talent is something that cannot be made up instead it exists naturally in ourselves. To illustrate, Dato Lee Chong Wei is successful in his career because he has talent in playing badminton. Thus, it is without a doubt that the lack of talent affects a young adults motivation in achieving success.

       Moving on to the next point, other than motivation, the lack of opportunities is also considered as a factor to achieve success. This is due to the fact that opportunities do not just stand right in front of us. Some people have to go the extra mile just to get opportunities to succeed in life. Nevertheless, luck is the residue of design, if you are lucky enough, endless opportunities may appear right in front of you. For instance, Kylie Jenner is not considered as a successful person however she was born into a wealthy and successful family which gives her a leg up in life. Therefore, it is crystal clear that the lack of opportunities affects a young adults' motivation in being successful

        On the other hand, an interesting point to ponder is a less supportive environment affects young adult’s success. Nowadays, there are families that suffer from poverty and not able to make ends meet. This affect an individual’s motivation to achieve success. They will bear in mind that they are not financially stable to achieve success. To illustrate, a senior from my school is not able to continue his study due to his family suffering from poverty. Thus, it is without a doubt that lack of supportive background affects young adult’s motivation to become successful . 

         Besides that, it is undeniably true that young adults lack of motivation in terms of management affects their process in being successful. This is due to the fact that time management is the key to achieve success. Nowadays, most individuals have poor time management and they are unable to keep track of time. Even if you are full of motivation, achieving success can be a bit challenging. However, with excellent time management, attaining success can be as easy as pie. Take this as an example, Elon Musk shared that he breaks down his daily schedules into 5 slots in order to complete his tasks without being distracted. With that being said, good time management is actually an important motivating factor for a young adult to attain success.

         In a nutshell, motivation alone is unable to guarantee an individual's success due to the existence of other factors such as the lack of talent and the lack of opportunities. Even so, motivation, in terms of time management and a less supportive background will affect a young adults' level of motivation in achieving success. Therefore, I still stand firm on my point of view that motivation is not the main factor in order to achieve success. Nevertheless, the government as of the Ministry of Youth should implement more effective motivational campaigns or programs in order to increase the motivation in young adults so that they are able to stay motivated and achieve big things in life.

Written by Gemma, Harith, Nazliatul and Adam Hayqal, SMK Majakir F6 2022/23


Group 7: (Partially Agree) 

Young Adults Lack Motivation To Achieve Success

      Is lack of motivation really the main cause of young adults to achieve success? More importantly, can motivation alone make young to achieve success? These are some of the questions that pop to mind when we focus on the topic of young adults lack motivation to achieve success. From my personal standpoint, I partially agree that lack of motivation is the main cause to achieve success but I concede that there may be other contributing factors that are just as important. To really analyse this issue, we should take a closer look at all the pro and cons of this matter, namely motivation alone cannot lead the young adults to achieve success except in certain circumstances.

      First and foremost, young adults lack motivation in time management to achieve success. Managing time well help young adults to balance between being productive and spending their leisure time. If they fail to put in the effort to manage time well, they may fall prey to social media or gaming addiction which may result in their inability to perform to show their full potential in many aspects of life like school, college and university. However, in my humble opinion, I think it is not because the lack of motivation in time management but lack of talent. To illustrate, no matter how hard you study you still cannot be as smart as  Mark Zuckerberg as he was born genius. Hence, the statement that young adults lack of motivation in time management is not the only factor that prevent them to achieve success.

      Moving on the next point, young adults lack of motivation in goal management to achieve success. Setting goals helps trigger new behaviours, helps guide you focus and helps to sustain that momentum in life. Thus, lack of motivation in goal management leads young adults to have low probability to achieve success. Conversely, from my perspective, I truly think that it is not lack of motivation in goal management but lack of opportunity. For instance, a potential young adults cannot win in swimming competition due to lack of facilities and equipment for his proper training because he cannot develop his talent to the fullest. Consequently, the statement that young adults lack of motivation in goal management is not the only factor that prevent them to achieve success.

     Last but not least, young adults lack of motivation in a less supportive background. Family support is the most important aspect in young adults success due to family is the first place where they learn and provide economic and emotional support. With a supportive family, young adults are motivated to improve themselves to be a better person to achieve success. In spite of that, according to my way of thinking, i definitely think that it is not only lack of supportive family but also lack of resources. As an illustration, a young adults experience a defiency in terms of money to purchase data package to do their assignment for their performance in academic in order to achieve success. Subsequently, the statement that young adults lack of motivation in a less supportive background is not the only factor that prevent them to achieve success.

       To recapitulate, lack of motivation in terms of time management, goal management, background management it is not the only factor why young adults these day lack of motivation to achieve success but there is another factor other than stated for instance lack of opportunity, lack of talent and lack of resources also another facet why a lot of young adults lack of motivation to achieve success. personally speaking, i still truly believe that young adults lack of motivation to achieve success. Nevertheless, the government as of the ministry of health should implement more effective motivational campaigns or programs in order to increase the motivation in young adults so that they are able to stay motivated and achieve big things in life.

Written by Maisarah, Athira, Ivy and Shahrul, SMK Majakir F6 2022/23

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

CEFR MUET Writing T1 and T2 Samples

So with the new CEFR format, teachers and students will find it beneficial to see what I consider to be B4 and B5 samples. 


For Task 1 (email or letter), the key is to respond to EVERY SENTENCE. It is a fallacy to just depend on greetings, 4 notes and a closing. My strongest advixe is to teach your students to respond to every sentence as word count is not important anymore. Better to cover all bases rather thab leave out some crucial info. The difference between B4 and B5, in my humble opinion, is the quality of grammar and vocabulary where B5 will have high accuracy, fluency and uses precise vocab, idiomatic expressions and even proverbs. 


Anyway.. here are B4 and B5/5+ samples. The high band sample email is from my online tutee, based one 2022 Session 2 Writing Paper. 


[Band 4 Sample]

...


[Band 5/5+ Sample by my online tutee]

From: Lydia <lydia@cmail.com>

Subject: Setting Up An Online Business Is A Good Idea

Hi Linda

I am glad to hear from you. Yes, I am doing fine and am as fit as a fiddle again although I have just recovered from a rather mild bout of Covid-19.

Undeniably, I am indeed crestfallen having to lose out on this golden opportunity to participate in the online business talk. I agree and concur with the statement that online business is more popular than the traditional way of doing business as it is so convenient. It certainly is the new trend and we certainly have to jump on the bandwagon to cater to more customers. 

I am glad that you have the intention of setting up your online business after finishing your studies. I am of the opinion that you can sell your press-on nails online as I learned that you joined a series of press-on nail workshops during the last school holiday. Apart from that, you can try to sell baked goods given that you have just received a brand-new oven on your birthday. I am convinced that your products will sell like hotcakes online!

About joining you in setting up an online business, I am very sorry that I cannot commit as after finishing my studies, I plan to immediately backpack around Malaysia to gain priceless experience.

Buzz me again soon. Bye!

Lydia



Task 2: Academic Essay

How do we get students to score in Task 2? Well, again, in my humble opinion, the easiest way is to write an argumentative essay. That is why in my Pelangi MuetMyWay book I sidestep discursive essays because even in an argumentative style essay, you can take a partially agree stance and explore it in a discursive way. The most important part of the essay is the introduction. A good intro must have 

1. Hook (2-5 sentences using the various styles I focus on in my book: Facts/Stats, Narrative, Questions, Examples, Contrast, Imagination.. or use Proverbs/Quotes)

2. Stand (Agree/Disagree/Partially Agree)

3. Thesis statement (Agree/Disagree: Must list at least 2 very good points or safer to list 3, Partially: List the pros vs cons or just make a general statement that you will be looking into both sides of the coin)

There are many ways to expand an essay well as I explain exhaustively in my Pelangi MuetMyWay book. Here is a summary. 

A) Intro, Agree1, Agree2, Agree3, Conclusion 

B) Intro, Disagree1, Disagree2, Disagree3, conclusion

C) Intro, A1, A2, Disagree, Conclusion

D) Intro D1, D2, Agree, Conclusion

E) Intro, A1, A2, D1, D2, Conclusion

F) Intro, A1, D1, A2, D2, Conclusion

G) Intro, A1vsD1, A2vsD2, A3vsD3, Conclusion

For each body paragraph, there must be 

1. Cohesive Device + Topic Sentence (First and foremost, the main reason is ..)

2. Reasons/Elaboration (This means that.. Moreover..

3. Concrete Examples (To illustrate, mention exact people/places/things/concepts to make the examples more concrete and easily imaginable.) 

4. Mini conclusion (Thus/Hence.. tie up the topic sentence with the essay title keywords)

For a brilliant conclusion, tie up the 3 points with the topic again and end with a big bang of either 2 recommendations or 1 proverb/quote. Please refer to Pelangi MuetMyWay book for in depth discussion on this. I even have a substitution table for recommendations. 

So what are my top tips? Your grammar accuracy and fluency shown thru your choice of vocab (more low frequency words used correctly) must be on point. Go and memorise beautiful phrases to replace expired phrases like 'I think' and 'For example'. I hv a whole section in my Pelangi MuetMyWay on Grammar and Wow Factor vocab. 

Additionally, focus on the keywords in the question. Keep using the keywords to tie in the 3 points you have to either prove or disprove the statement. Use the keywords and their synonyms (Young people - youths/teens/young adultd/younger generation/students/pupils, Gen X/Z etc)  If you just give definitions or explain factors without linking to the keywords in the topic, up will be considered off tangent and will have a hard time getting even Band 3. Conversely, I strongly advise you to NOT BE A SMART ALEC and use too much critical thinking in discussing your OBSCURE points as it is MUCH SAFER to stick to very OBVIOUS, MAINSTREAM IDEAS so that you cannot be considered out of topic. This last piece of advice is crucial. Also.. if you run out of time, stop at 2 points and immediately write the conclusion as 4 paragraph essays that with well explore ideas are accepted based on the 250 wordcount a d time constraint. 


Okie, happy teaching. If you need personal tutoring as a student or teacher, write to me. muetmyway@gmail.com. I also run live/online seminars/workshops for schools and institutions. 


[Band 4 Sample]

...


[Band 5/5+ Sample by my online tutee]

Being enthusiastic towards our culture is often regarded as a top priority in Malaysia. Our government’s decision in making history a “must-pass” subject in SPM is a testimony to the belief that being insensitive towards our own culture can obliterate our own identity. Be that as it may, such a decision seems to have failed in producing Malaysians who show strong affection for the culture we have been practicing over the years. With regard to this narrative, I totally agree with the statement that the lack of appreciation for our culture has caused Malaysians to lose their true identity because most Malaysians no longer listen to traditional songs, find traditional clothing unattractive and many may not appreciate the celebration of traditional rituals.

First and foremost, Malaysians seem to evince little respect for traditional songs. This is evident with the decreasing number of traditional song listeners as most traditional songs are often associated with slow tempos, archaic melodies and boring lyrics. All these elements are out of step with the kinds of songs enjoyed by Malaysians today because modern songs are more energetic and natural. For instance, Chinese folk rhyme no longer appeals to most listeners as opposed to Korean pop songs that illustrate the hardships gone through by the current generation. The lyrics of the songs often portray outdated information such as the misperception surrounding riding pillion in our society, which used to be a romantic thing to do for couples in the past, but is no longer relevant in an era where cars are everywhere. Today, it is quite embarrassing if you do not own a car and everyone will look down on you, including girls. Eventually, traditional songs will disappear into the annals of time if Malaysians refuse to accord them with the recognition they deserve. 

Secondly, most Malaysians choose not to dress in traditional attire out in public places. The demand for traditional clothes has been shrinking over the years. Many Malaysians will choose western clothing in preference to traditional attire because they can get the best bang for the buck for the former. For instance, men and women are in favour of casual attire such as T-shirts and pants on the grounds that these clothes are not bound by the kind of occasions they take part in. On the other hand, traditional clothes are only suitable for formal occasions and they cannot wear them arbitrarily as such behaviour may draw flak from their respective community. As the prices of traditional clothes are beyond reach for most buyers, most Malaysians choose to turn away from them. As a result, traditional clothes are losing their allure and it is just a matter of time before they are eventually extirpated from our lives.

Thirdly, Malaysians no longer show strong affection for traditional rituals. Many Malaysians are slowly picking up a behaviour where most traditional rituals are the products of superstitious individuals who only had a passing knowledge of the world they were living in. For instance, On Chinese New Year’s Eve, the Chinese will set off fireworks at 12.00 midnight to usher in the New Year. Unfortunately, this tradition is slowly disappearing today because, to most people, it is no longer a big deal. Most of them will go to bed prior to that, rather than staying up late at night to witness fireworks booming over their city at 12.00 midnight. One thing is for sure, many grand traditional rituals have been scaled down to modest affairs and the problem will probably deteriorate if we fail to galvanise Malaysians to make a real change to the way they treat traditional rituals.

To conclude, the lackadaisical attitude among Malaysians towards traditional songs, clothing and rituals shows that we are no longer in awe of our own culture. The lack of appreciation for culture can obliterate our identity as Malaysians. It is crucial to acknowledge to ourselves that the diverse culture is often dubbed a major attraction in our country and we are at a disadvantage if we choose to give up on something which we have already had. 


Friday, January 13, 2023

OFFICIAL MPM READING & LISTENING PAPER ANSWERS FOR 2021 X 3 SESSIONS

Hi all. Today, I would like to help everyone navigate the MPM portal. I'm just a regular teacher so it is always good to get materials from resources that are 100% trusted. However, most teachers may never have known these publications exist so here is how to access them. First, go to the MPM website and click on 'SUMBER' and 'MUAT TURUN', it will take you to 'LAPORAN TAHUNAN' and click on '2021' and finally there will be a '800 MUET' file for you to download. 







I have screenshot and saved some of the pages from this report. In the future, you can go and search for the actual answers yourselves. However, they only publish usually up to a whole year after the first 3 sessions are completed so in the mean time, you will just have to argue the suggested answers out with me on my blog. 








Useful? Hope so. You can email me if you wish muetmyway@gmail.com for personal consultation. :)