Tuesday, January 19, 2016

MUET READING EXAM GUIDE & TIPS BY A MUET EXPERT

As the MUET Reading paper is the one which carries the highest weightage of 40%, we have approached a MUET expert, Madam Audrey Wiles, to share with you her invaluable tips for your MUET Reading paper 800/3.

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 STARNew Straits TimesThe 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 2nd 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


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