MUET JULY 2013 preparation

How do you prepare for a MUET Exam?

Here's my MUET for Dummies list.

You have one week left!!

1. You need to read at least one Readers Digest magazine (Time/Newsweek or silimar) a day and look up 10 new words. If you don't read, u wont learn new vocab and you cant understand the difficult concepts in the reading paper.. so READ!!!

2. The reading paper is the highest marks and it is very tricky. Take a model test, do it once without reference. Then do a separate set of answers with reference to dictionaries/google/teacher or friends. Then check the answers. Your 2ND SET should be higher than the first. After two days, do the test again n see if you can get a perfect score. If you redo a test paper in this way, you can get the MAXIMUM benefit from the test, don't just do it once and throw it away.
     You will need to score:

(A)   21/45 – Band 3

(B)   27/45 – Band 4

(C)   33/45 – Band 5

(D)  39/45 – Band 6

3. For writing reports, follow the format I have previously blogged about.
1) Title
2) Introduction - What do you see? E.g. The stimuli present a bar graph/ table/ chart on ___ for the year ____ and a line graph/newspaper headline/news excerpt on ______.
3) Overview - What is the MOST OUTSTANDING INFO THAT LINKS ALL THE STIMULI? E.g. In general, respondents prefer X to Y/there is an increasing/decreasing trend in .. etc. A good overview will try to link ALL the stimuli together.
4) For the body, select the most important information that you want to highlight. You can highlight as many info as you want but I think 6 to 10 is good enough because u MUST WRITE BETWEEN 150 TO 200 so u hv to be very selective of the information u include. There r two types of info you can write in one or more than one paragraph but they include these two below:
A) ANALYSIS - you write about the outstanding info (highest/lowest/most/least/etc) WITHIN A SINGLE STIMULUS. (Try not to give a year by year account because that is just listing the criteria, not selecting the most important)
B) SYNTHESIS - you should ideally write about the outstanding info that LINKS THE STIMULI. That means you must find the connection between the graphs/tables/newspapers headlines..Check if they all show and increase/decrease and mention the connection but do NOT write your own ideas/ASSUMPTIONS(ANDAIAN). If it is not in the stimuli, don't simply write you own opinions!
5) The conclusion is usually similar to the Overview, just reworded in a better and more informative way.

 4) For writing academic essays, click this link https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8I5-cH-LMqKeHZoci02Rm9Mc0U/edit 

In short for essays, you need to think critically... 5 paragraphs if you agree or disagree with the question, and 6 paragraphs if you are on the fence (50-50)

You need to quickly write the draft like I show in the link...

easiest way to divide ur points is
A)
1. invidual
2. society
3. country

B)
1. short term
2. mid term
3. long term

C)
1.causes
2. effects
3. symptoms

and for the conclusion u should include the recommendation... what the country/government/society can do... for the betterment of the nation.

use good sequence connectors to ensure the flow... google sequence connectors n u will find amazing examples, I got A1 for my BM because I used so many appropriate but beautiful phrases in my essay.

and use powerful sentences...
instead of writing:
I hope the government can solve the problem soon.
write this:
It is my sincerest hope that our government can draw up a detailed blueprint on how to combat the issue of social illnesses. I strongly recommend that they should carry out more national level campaigns to increase our citizen's awareness so that our country can progress towards being a fully developed nation by 2020.

Search my blog archive for sample essays and writing tips.


Ok.. can someone give me your spot questions and I shall try to write sample essays for everyone. Please leave a comment with a spot question below! :) Happy studying!


More on reading which I wrote for a website called www.hotcourses.com, link given here:
http://www.hotcourses.com.my/study-in-malaysia/subject-info/tips-for-the-muet-reading-examination-from-a-muet-expert/

1.     Read (There is a reason why it’s called a MUET Reading paper)

-       Read everything but with a notepad in hand

-       Copy down words which you don’t understand AND more important, phrases that you would like to use in your MUET written essay.

 

2.     Read quality materials

-       Read articles that are published by reliable sources such as: Reader’s Digest, TIME Magazine…etc.

-       Articles used in the exams are usually from these types of source

-       Keep yourself updated on current issues by reading newspapers (Example: The STAR, New Straits Times, The Edge)
 

3.     Use your time wisely!

-       You only have 1.5 hours to answer 45 exam questions

-       If you do the math, that would mean that you only have 2 minutes per question

-       ALWAYS read the question first, and underline the keywords

-       Make sure you don’t just skim through the text but scan for specific information
 

4.     Know your vocabulary

-       There will be 6 texts altogether in the exam paper, and the first one always has a non-linear stimuli (Example: graph, chart or diagram)

-       You will need the relevant vocabulary knowledge to describe the trend(s) shown in the given diagram(s)

-       This is also a useful practice for report writing as it deals with the same language functions
 

5.     DON’T ACT SMART!

-       For some questions, you will be asked to ‘infer’ or make intelligent assumptions based on the given evidences in the texts

-       For ‘True/False/Not Stated’ questions, NEVER use your own opinions to answer because what is logical to you may not be academically correct

-       My tip to you is that you should underline the evidence(s) in the texts

-       For ‘True’, you must be able to identify proof that shows that the statement is correct

-       You should also underline evidences that prove a statement to be wrong in order to choose ‘False’ as your answer

-       For ‘Not Stated’, you will find that it is almost impossible to underline any evidence at all. Hence, these are the fundamental differences between the answer selections ‘True/False/Not Stated’
 

6.     Train your brain

-       Guessing the meaning of a vocabulary can be quite tricky especially when you don’t have the access to a dictionary or the internet (Google.com) during your exam. Hence, you need to train your brain to assess the root word

-       Focus on the prefix/suffix in order to identify the meaning

-       If you think the word is a positive, negative or neutral one – reconfirm again by looking at the context of the texts for clues to support your assumption

-       Review the answers and options given by eliminating the answer that is most unlikely to be correct before making a calculated guess

-       For example, in the phrase: “the degradation of water quality”, the word ‘degradation’ comes from the root word ‘grade’ which means level or standard. The ‘de’ suffix has a negative connotation where it means the removal of something, while ‘tion’ is a noun that explains the process of something

-       Thus, the phrase means “the drop of standard/quality of water”
 

7.     Assess the writer’s intentions

-        The MUET level comprehension questions do not focus on content alone

-       Instead, the questions given require candidates to assess the writer’s:

(A)   Purpose

-       Example: to inform, discuss, argue, compare, persuade…etc.

(B)   Style of writing

-       Example: describing, comparing and contrasting, giving examples, explaining causes and effects, sequencing events…etc.

(C)   Tone

-       Example: supportive, opposing, indifferent, neutral, biased…etc.

8.    Assess the articles as a whole

-       Sometimes you may be asked to give a suitable title to an article

-       Or to summarize a specific paragraph

-       Or to come up with a suitable conclusion based on the options given. This clearly requires critical thinking skills or HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) from you

9.     Keep practicing!

-       Essentially, nothing beats practice and more practice

-       Buy good quality reference books such as Longman or Oxford model tests/actual exam workbooks and try doing each reading paper 3 times

-       First attempt: do it as if you’re sitting for the real exam. Do not refer to any workbooks or dictionaries

-       Second attempt: allow yourself to refer to books, and discuss with your friends if you need to (and if you are doing it as a group) before marking both attempts

-       Note: Your 2^nd attempt should score better than your first.

-       Third attempt: Try doing the same set of exam paper again after 2-3 months to see if you are able to retain the knowledge of vocabulary and concepts which you have learned before.

10.  Grade yourself

-       Here’s a useful guide for you to follow when you attempt the exam questions so that you can know where you stand

-       You will need to score:

(A)   21/45 – Band 3

(B)   27/45 – Band 4

(C)   33/45 – Band 5

(D)  39/45 – Band 6

-       Reading is the MOST important MUET paper as it carries 40% or 120/300 marks