Hua Lian Taiping,Perak. Best school for form 6 in Perak. Only have science calsses though.

A cluster school, no?

Well, it's expected that your school could easily have this achievement then.

Let's take this three sentences as an example.

Originated from the passage:

Ali is a boy

Question:

In sentence 39, the article states that Ali is a girl. (The answer is false; since in the article we know that Ali is a boy)

Let's look at this question now:

In sentence 39, the article states that Ali is a tall and handsome boy。（Now you know the answer? The 'boy' part is correct, the 'tall and handsome boy' part is an unknown; it could be right or wrong, since it is not 'stated' in the article.

Based on these, you can look at the difference this way. For 'FALSE' answer, the question contradict with what was written in the article. But for 'NOT STATED' answer, the question may give you EITHER the correct or wrong statement, added with unknown element.

Don't flame me if this is wrong though. Just sharing my thoughts.

During my time, few years back there were seven band 5 in my school, and iinm there were only 7 in my town.

Nope. Just a normal chinese school.

I don't think it's that hard.

When I took MUET last time (several years back in diploma), we didn't have any class for it, or even reference book. Just a half day briefing of this and that.... that's all.

I was still able to obtain Band 5, despite my command of the language is pretty average compared to people who use on daily basis at home. FYI, I've never use English at home.

This post has been edited by hirano: Oct 21 2014, 11:37 PM

Mind give some tips?

Oh, then pardon me for my bad postulation.

But, I've long ago found out that most of the SMJK's type of schools do perform well in most of the major public exams. Take my state for example, we certainly do have a few cluster schools, but most of the times I heard through the grapevine that SMJK Jit Sin, SMJK Chung Ling and the likes of them that would top the chart when it comes to the number of students scoring strings of A's in any major public exams.

When did you sit for MUET?

Before the revamp (2009), more than 100 people get Band 6 in one session.

After the revamp, the number of Band 6 nationwide reduces to a mere 1.

And band 5 numbers have shrunk significantly.

Penang is different because Penang SMJK are all controlled-school, meaning the selection of students are strictly based on UPSR results.

What I did last time... read newspapers (I actually read Malay newspapers - but what I wanted to grasp is the general knowledge to be used as my input). General knowledge is important. Know more topics. So whatever question they suddenly ask you later during verbal/oral test, it'll be already in your head.

Be "in-charged" of the oral test, don't be quiet or just agreeing to what your peers will say. That will make some impression to those taking your marks.

And score well during listening test. It's like... free marks.

This post has been edited by hirano: Oct 21 2014, 11:49 PM

My MUET teacher also told us and used this kind of example to kind of illustrate the differences between False and Not Stated.

Theoretically, it's simple for anybody to fathom, but how about we do it practically? I've done many practices regarding this type of question and I'm still unable to explicitly distinguish the both of them. I find it disconcerting.

I think i really messed up on listening and somemore the question lel

Correct. Listening test gives free marks. Most questions do not test you on your english proficiency. What they are testing is your ability to remain focus. only one or two questions will test on your vocabulary.

Are you sure? Lol

Most require paraphrasing because of the word limits LOL, especially the last part.

The biggest tip I can give to anybody who's planning to sit for English tests of any sort is to read. A lot.

1. Read high-quality books. Newspapers in Malaysia have pretty poor literary value and will only get you so far, but I suppose it's a good stepping stone for more difficult material. The next step on the ladder would probably be mainstream novels from famous writers such as Rowling, Meyer, Brown, Anhern, etc. These works are easily accessible and will improve your grasp of the English language beyond mere newspapers/magazines. However, in order to really appreciate the nuances of the language, try to get your hands on the works of prominent classical and modern/contemporary writers- Huxley, Orwell, Rushdie, Potok, Dahl, Austen, etc. High-quality, non-fiction works are also on a comparable level to the aforementioned writers. Some of these works are esoteric even to me, but just choose a handful of genres you have an interest in and dive into it.

2. REALLY read the books instead of simply skimming them. Understand how the prose was constructed. Appreciate the subtle differences in word choices. Be familiar with different ways of presenting ideas. Look up every word you don't know. It's much better to take a month reading and truly appreciating a book than to skim through it in 3 days.

3. Write for fun, and not just for examination's sake. Start a private blog or a diary if you haven't already. However, instead of just focusing on your thoughts and ideas, put some effort into presenting them in an engaging manner. Ask yourself- how would a writer present his/her work? This is an excellent way to apply the elements of what you've learnt from reading.

4. Discuss the things you've read. Be a nerd. Find a fellow nerd. Start chatting about your favourite thoughts and ideas, and learn how to verbally-convey complex strings of information concisely and precisely. Have fun doing so.

I understand that the above points are probably more difficult than simply memorizing idioms or blitzing through stacks of past year papers, but MUET/IELTS/TOEFL are merely tests. They are transient roadblocks and are ultimately rather useless once you've passed them. Mastering what is arguably the most important language on Earth, on the other hand, will stay with you long past standardized tests.

I kinda disagree with point number 1. I think newspapers are sufficient. Books that high-standard are not required for MUET/IELTS/TOEFL as you're not expected to perform maximum proficiency, just sufficient proficiency to communicate effectively.

As for others, good points, but I guess it requires passion too when it comes to learning something.

Erm...at least for me listening is easiest to score. iinm, those questions that require paraphrasing only requires you to extract the main point, instead of trying to produce a beautiful sentence; and these main points are words that will be given. Out of the 4, listening should be the easiest one since this is the only part that provide you with the answer.

For speaking, during the first round of individual speaking, do not rest when others are presenting their points. Instead, write down the main points elaborated by other speakers. Use this extra six minutes to expand their points and use these in the second round.

This post has been edited by chaukeng: Oct 22 2014, 12:08 AM

Writing section is extremely important too. It's weightage contribution for the overall marks in MUET is only second to Reading. So, personally my priority will always goes to Reading and Writing. For both Speaking and Listening, it all boils down to the nature of the question itself. If they're fairly straightforward, then I might be able to garner as many marks as possible.

The problem with newspapers is that news articles are often very generic and linear. There is very little room for expression when a journalist writes a news column as opposed to say, a longer entry in magazines such as the Economist/Scientific American or books. This is even worse in Malaysian papers as journalism in Bolehland is often stymied by sociopolitical constraints. If one is really keen on sticking to newpapers for MUET/IELTS prep, I'd recommend reading more established foreign papers like the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. The opinion pieces/editorials in these papers are often of an exceptional quality compared to the toilet paper crap we have in Malaysia.

Most of the time, i rest my answers to my instinct. You need to be clever to identify the possible threat that lies within these questions.

To be honest, the words you are using and the ways you are constructing your sentences should comfortably placed you at a good grade.

Of course newspapers like New York Times are better but to say the truth The Star is sufficient.

We don't need American/British level English to get good results, we simply need to be proficient in the language to communicate effectively.

I survive reading The Star. I don't see why anyone else can't.