what are the most common essays that usually came out in MUET i want to memorize them

You don't memorize, you read.
Read more newspapers

writing essays is not about memorizing... just my opinion...

How BN has made Malaysia prosperous.
Sedition act, the greatness of national protection.
My country is not your country, outsider perspective.
Your company should be share with me.
Contract for our bother, you shall not find out.

if you can write this stuff in a positive light, sure PASS

1. There's no common essays. Most of the essays that came out completely left candidates thunderstruck, including the latest July paper.

2. Memorising is not going to be helpful.

So, what can we do to prepare ourselves for the upcoming MUET test?

Oh, and by the way, can you please recommend any MUET book that you used in the past specifically for reading and listening? It's because I've recently came to realize that for most of the reading and listening section in Oxford(Ace Ahead) and model test papers(ILMU BAKTI), the questions posed are fairly straightforward. Even certain questions in listening are of no-brainer.

And my MUET teacher reminds us countless times that the questions that are in most revision books published out there are extremely easy that those from the real MUET papers.

Your teacher is right. I bought a few books for practice but none of them is as tough as the actual MUET questions.

In my opinion, all you can do now is, when you sit for the exam, pay full attention, read the passages carefully and analyse the options extremely carefully.

The passages are taken from articles meant for first speakers (you could tell from the source it quotes), and the multiple choice options are very close to each other. So just analyse carefully.

The fact that all passages are factual and are boring are not helpful either.

As for writing, well, when I sat for the exam, I got this question:

"Women made better leader than men. Discuss" (MUET November 2012).

I was like....WTF?? There's no fact to this. This truly assesses you ability to argue.

I'm having trouble differentiating the choices of False and Not Stated in Reading Section so far, while the rest is quite alright. How would you explicitly recognize the difference in both of them? Oftentimes I got wrong for that type of question.

And again, same goes to the essay section. Most of the question that my teacher gave us for practicing are far more easier than the ones you had in real MUET exams. I'm having trouble elaborating and stuffing further facts in my essays, besides having the inclination to keep rehashing my previous points or statement in a single paragraph for most of the time. And occasionally, I can hardly finish my essay under the time limit.

If i'm not mistaken the topic that is given from july paper was about the social thingy right? when university etc

This post has been edited by degraw1993: Oct 21 2014, 08:37 PM

I'm not good at that too. Sometimes 'false' and 'not stated' both seem fit to me.

As for essays, all you need to write is 3 points, and you elaborate maturely. Childish elaboration like the ones you wrote for SPM is no longer encouraged.

Read how the columnist write in The Star, that's how you're expected to present your argument.

However, if you're unable to do so, at least minimise grammar errors.

Ya, the question is something like "unbalanced number of boys and girls pursuing tertiary education causes social problem".

No one would thought that coming. I don't even think there's any articles out there that argues about this lol.

Lol and i wouldn't even thought of getting band 2 Really sad liao.

Sitting for November session? Just keep your fingers crossed. Haha

Getting band 3 is easy. Getting band 4 is not very tough too. Getting Band 5 requires some luck, while Band 6 is virtually impossible.

Nope already took the july paper lo. One marks almost to band 3 lol.

Oh. Resit ya! Get at least band 3 is better haha!

Resit but need to pay for money again liao Idk but why i didn't get band 3. I got 139 sigh. Maybe that was last minute preparation lol.

That was the exact same essay practice that we did in the class. And heck, at the end of it, our teacher had to give out the points to us. It was supposed to be an exam-style practice by the way...

If I can hardly perform well during practicing my MUET essay, I wonder how will I fare in the real exam. And not to mention that the real MUET exam questions are a tougher nut to crack compared to the ones that we are revising in class hitherto...

For the MUET(July session), 60++ candidates from my school took the exam. And out of the total of roughly 63 candidates, only 24 students were able to achieve Band 4, 23 students were able to graze Band 3, and the rest of the 16 candidates were below Band 2.

A handful of my seniors in my school are considered good and proficient when it comes to conversing and writing in English. But, for the fact that they resit the exams for more than once and only able to gain a solid Band 4 in the end really proves that MUET is not a joke, albeit the fact that it's slightly easier than IELTS or TOEFL.

In my school's history, the number of candidates who obtained Band 5 and above are extremely scarce. The latest candidate who achieved Band 5 was in 2009,and that was like 5 years ago...

no use to memorize them.

1. do past year questions, to get use to the question's logic and direction.

2. read newspaper or magazine to study how others elaborate their points, and steal some words that you think might be useful in writing essay.

3. practise english conversations, or even have a small debate to discuss something among your other classmates, purpose is to point out grammatical mistake or pronunciation problem with each other and get use to talk in english.

I have done it around 14 years ago ... so I already not sure how's muet has evolved now ... hopefully still the same last time I got the result is band 4 or band 5 something (forgot liao), oral is the hardest to me ... cause you have to immediately say something without thinking much (cause I seldom chat with classmates in english )

Contradict to yours, Band 5 achievers in my school nare plenty. 10+ out of 60+ each year. I(band 5) even managed to score 15 more marks away from the band 6 border line. I have to say MUET is relatively easy compared to ELTS

This post has been edited by Jay Chua CC: Oct 21 2014, 10:55 PM

Would you mind telling me which school you're from?

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.

Too bad, 'playing' with my instinct when it comes to a situation like this isn't exactly my forte. Even then, I make lots of blunders too when choosing the exact words that are needed in my answer. And occasionally I missed the vital keyword needed for my answers.

I suppose if Band 4 is all that's required, Malaysian papers should suffice. That's not saying much though; I still maintain that Malaysian papers are of a poor quality and Band 4 in MUET is only just functional.

Agree with you. The star is sufficient enough for MUET.

Malaysians papers are not of poor quality, it just ain't as good as the British/American, and fair enough considering English is not the first language of Malaysian, but it is still good.

Not having the best quality doesn't equal poor. Just like being graded second among 100 and losing to the first place doesn't make you weak. You're still good you simply aren't the best.

And having a functional English is all one needs to survive. I don't see why a person needs to master a language to its maximum and to be on par with Americans/British to survive.

Language is about communication. Unless you pursue courses like English or Law which requires superb proficiency in the language or else I maintain one does not need American/British level English.

Just like Malaysian Chinese do not have the same grasp on Mandarin as those China Chinese, but Malaysian Chinese could still do business well with China. And Malaysian Indian with India Indians.

Malaysian newspaper is enough. Unless you intend to further your studies in English, then go for the Queens English.

This post has been edited by Just Visiting By: Oct 22 2014, 12:50 AM

I'm not strictly talking about the usage of English in Malaysian newspapers, but also the content found in them. A trained monkey can report the current news; it's really not that hard. What separates newspapers are things like the editorials, opinions and feature pieces. Because our country is so polemicized by racial issues and petty politics, it is only natural that our newspapers reflect so. As such, what they report isn't strictly their fault but as a consequence of our sociopolitical situation, there is an alarming lack of maturity and inquiry in most of the opinions/editorials in local papers. The bulk of what is written is about mostly nonsense/meaningless rage about what Ibrahim Ali recently said or what retarded policies are ministers are contemplating. Standardized English tests aren't entirely about the use of the language. As you may well realize, they also assess critical thinking and analytical skills, and it is very difficult to improve on the aforementioned skills if all we read are shallow and trivial articles.

And please, don't flatter yourself. We are hardly 'second among 100'. More like 70/100, if that. Our press independence is abysmal- mass media in Malaysia is nothing more than an Orwellian propaganda machine.

The guy above cannot even differentiate between an example and an application. I was merely pointing out an example that shows we do not need the best, and he thought I was stating Malaysia is second to best.

So much for arguing that Malaysians lack analytical skills.

Well, you can stick to your high standard requirement. It's your right.

To TS, just try your best for MUET. Start from the basic English and move on to the advanced. You'll survive well.

Again, do not attempt to memorise. It won't work.

This post has been edited by Just Visiting By: Oct 22 2014, 06:46 PM

But sadly, that's how most of us are ''programmed'' to do when it comes to taking any type of tests. We certainly lack adequate time in order to make sufficient preparations and specifically in this case, we are only days away from the MUET exam in November. But I reckon that's just the plain old excuse that we often point out to veil our faults.

P/S: Kudos to you again for being able to secure Band 5 in your first try. I know there are many students out there that are of your caliber if not better when it comes to this, but I can hardly even graze Band 4, let alone that this is my first try...

...wow, way to twist my words. I obviously did not literally take your example as meaning Malaysia is second best (hence the usage of quotation marks). Note, I said:

We are hardly 'second among 100'.

The phrase was meant to summarize your stand that Malaysia was good but just quite not excellent. If I took your statement literally, I would've stated something like:

Malaysia is not ranked second to best.

Context and phrasing matter too. In any case, think about what you've just written.



In the first paragraph, you talked about how Malaysian papers were good, but just not the best. And in the next paragraph, you gave an example about THE EXACT SAME THING- being good but not the best. Even if I DID take your example literally and thought Malaysia was ranked second, is that really my fault? You have constructed the premise of your argument in the first paragraph and followed it with an almost identical, validating example in the next. If you are going to be so defensive about people taking you literally, then stop making constructs that tease at that conclusion.

Either way, this will be my last response to this thread. We have veered off topic. Besides, I doubt any amount of writing will convince you that Malaysian papers are of poor quality instead of being 'still good, just not the best' as you seem to so strongly believe. And for the rest of the posters who agree with Just Visiting By, go ahead and prep for English tests by reading just local newspapers if you so choose, it's not my loss.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA good one OP

It's actually up to the individual.

Don't get too stressed up. It's just an English test.




This post has been edited by Just Visiting By: Oct 22 2014, 10:42 PM

I felt that you made it quite clear that it was just an example... And I could understand that you weren't referring to Malaysia at all..

I don't understand why he would have misunderstood what you've said.

He insists he didn't or else he said he would make it clear and write 'Malaysia is not ranked second to best'.

But then he told me 'not to flatter myself' and 'we are hardly second to best'.

I didn't even say we are so I didn't know why he wrote that.

I don't really know what he thought.

He told me "If you are going to be so defensive about people taking you literally, then stop making constructs that tease at that conclusion."

He claimed it was my fault but I think I made it quite clear there, he simply failed to distinguish between a fact and an example to a fact, where my fact is 'we do not need the best' and the example is '2nd is still good though not the first', illustrating that not only the first ranked is the best, and other ranking, whether 2nd, fourth, and even last, could still be good. For example, the last ranked group in an international competition is still a good group as it beats lots of groups to represent the nation.

Somehow he related the example to 'Malaysia ranking'. That made me wonder too.

It does not matter anymore.

He could have his opinions, and he has the right to voice it out, but he is giving consultation to TS, and I must insist his opinion is not for TS.

TS is not ready for foreign newspapers. He should go for local newspapers first, where the culture, writing styles, and opinions are rather familiar and local-friendly.

This post has been edited by Just Visiting By: Oct 22 2014, 11:50 PM