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Monday, February 22, 2016

MUET Speaking March 2016

I see that many have msged or emailed me privately asking for SPOT QUESTIONS. Let me settle this once and for all.... THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SPOT QUESTIONS FOR MUET... cos the ocean is too wide and it's like finding a needle in the mother of all haystacks.

Basically just read up on my various speaking tips in my archive.. there are also many sample scripts... read up and practice cos as we all know, practice makes perfect. Duh!

Tq to V Dinesh for sending me the question he got for his speaking exam:

What is the most important habit a student must have in their studies?
A. Be punctual
B. Be hardworking
C. Be careful
D. Be motivated
Task B: Which is the most important habit?

Others I have managed to take note of:

Some students face homesickness when they stay far away from their families. How can they deal with being homesick?
A: Make new friends
B: Keep busy
C: Travel
D: Keep in touch with family
Task B: Which is the best way to deal with homesickness?

We should learn to control our anger. What are the benefits of controlling our anger?
A: To maintain a good relationship with others.
B: To think rationally.
C: To become successful.
D: To improve mental and physical health.
Task B: What is the best way to control our anger?

Students should cultivate good habits in order to perform well in studies.
A: Be punctual
B: Be hardworking
C: Be careful
D: Be motivated
Task B: Which is the best way to cultivate good habits among students to perform well in studies?

What are the factors to ensure someone's success at work?
A: Strong family support
B: Good education
C: Making the right choice of career
D: Choosing the right role model


If anyone cares to type out the question they got in the comment below I will update the list here. Cheers and good luck ya'all! 

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Spicing Up MUET Writing / Speaking Tips

Happy Valentine's Day to all my followers and candidates out there... as a present, here is a list of killer phrases that you should by-heart and use as ammunition in the speaking and writing tests. :) Enjoy!


Introduction: 
It is often said that...
Many people claim that..
In this day and age of (topic)..
We live in an age where many of us...
(Topic) is a hotly-debated topic that often divides opinion.
(Topic) is often discussed yet rarely understood.
It goes without saying that (topic) is one of the most important issues facing us today.
The following essay examines both sides of the coin, its advantages as well as disadvantages.
In this essay, I will focus on ____________, ________________ and ____________.
There are many facets to this issue, namely ___________, ________________ and _____________.

Expressing Opinion: 
In my opinion,../From my point of view,../From my perspective,../Personally speaking,../In my humble opinion,../If I may be so bold as to state that../
As far as I am concerned, I truly/totally/absolutely/completely/wholly
agree/disagree/think/believe/feel/consider   that...
I agree that../I am in agreement with this issue../I concur that...
I disagree that../I am in disagreement with this issue because../I beg to differ that..
I can consider that../consider both sides of the coin../I partially agree../ I agree to a certain extent../I somewhat agree but have obvious misgivings about..

Introducing Points: 
Firstly, let us take a look at...
To start with...
First of all, it is worth considering that..
Secondly,.. Thirdly,.. Next... Another point is... Another contributing factor is..
In addition/Additionally/Moreover/Furthermore / What is more../On top of that
Another point worth noting is../Another factor to consider is...
Lastly,..Finally,.. Last but not least,...

Presenting Ideas & Giving Examples
According to experts/the website/the author of the article/book/journal etc...
Based on the research/survey/study/case study by (who) in (year) on (what)...
he/she/it/they found/discovered that...
Research has found that...
The study concluded that...
There are those who argue that..
When it comes to this issues.../In terms of this issue../With respect to this issue../ With regard to this issue..
For example,../For instance,../As an example,../To illustrate,../As an illustration,../
..such as.. /..namely../..which are../..in terms of it is..
..and so on./..and so forth./..and many more./..and others.

Contrasting: 
However,../In contrast,../On the contrary,../Conversely,../Even though...
To counter that argument.../Despite../In spite of that../On the other hand,..
..but../..although../..while..

Expressing Reason & Result:
As a result,../ As a result of this study/research/finding..
This theory/result/finding/study/case study has led to.../has resulted in...
This means that.../This is because../This could be due to../This can be attributed to../This could result in../This proves that../This is concrete evidence that..
In lieu of this../Consequently,../Subsequently,../Therefore,../Thus,../Hence,..

Concluding: 
In conclusion,../To conclude,../Conclusively,../In a nutshell,../To sum up,../
In short,../In other words,../In summary,../All things considered,..
Taking everything into consideration,..
After weighing up both sides of the argument,..
The benefits of (topic) far outweighs the drawbacks of..
The advantages of (topic) far outweighs the disadvantages of..
The pros and cons are quite balanced and it is up you to decide which side of the fence to lean on.