ENHANCING MUET

PERFORMANCE
Writing 800/4

Writing carries 30%

Divided into 2 sections

Section 1:

2nd most important component

Report Writing (40 mins x 40 marks)

Section 2:
Academic Essay (50 mins x 60 marks)

Lets start with Question 1

Report writing tests understanding of
non-linear stimuli (graphs) and
synthesizing it into linear form
(composition).

Whats the Formula for Q1?

1.TITLE (usually found in the question)
2.INTRODUCTION Paragraph 1:
Introduction (What do the stimuli show?)
Overview (What is the general trend?)
3.BODY Paragraph 2-3/4:
Key Features
(What are the outstanding info from the graphs?
4.CONCLUSION Last Paragraph:
Summary (Mention the main trend again)

WR Q1 FORMULA:

TITLE
I + OV
KFs
S

Useful Vocabulary to describe the

FOUR (4) MAIN TRENDS
1)

rise
gain
increase
improve
escalate
incline
high/higher/

highest
more than
most

2)

fall/drop
loss
decrease
depreciate
deteriorate
decline
low/lower/

lowest
less than
least

3)

4)

stable/
stabilise

constant
consistent

erratic
fluctuating
unstable
inconsistent

USEFUL ADJECTIVES
slight/steady/gradual
sharp/steep/drastic
doubled/tripled/quadrupl
ed
record high/record low

Lets Analyse a Sample Question

Question 1 [40 marks]
You are advised to spend about 40 mins on this task.

You are a junior reporter writing for a travel

magazine. You have been asked to write a
short article on tourism in Malaysia. Your
article should integrate all the information
given below. You should write between 150
to 200 words.

Tourism in Malaysia
(I) The stimuli show a bar graph comparing
tourist arrivals in Malaysia, Thailand and
Indonesia, a table of the top five tourist
markets of income earned from tourism in
Malaysia and a newspaper headline on the
drop of tourist arrivals. (OV) The general
trend is a decrease of tourist arrivals and
tourism income in Malaysia.

(KF1) According to the bar graph, Malaysia

recorded the highest tourist arrivals in 1999
with more than 7 million persons but it then
dropped to 6 million in 2001. (KF2) It
stabilised in 2003 and 2005 with an increase
to 7 million tourists. (KF3) However, there was
a drastic drop in 2007 to just over 5 million
visitors. (KF4) This caused a sharp loss of
income earned especially from the top three
tourist markets in Malaysia. (KF5) Statistics
show a steep decrease of tourist spending of
more than 20% mostly from Taiwan (-24.2%),

(KF6) Based on the newspaper headline,

the fall in tourist arrivals is due to
unknown viral diseases and the fear of
natural disasters in Malaysia.
(S) In conclusion, the tourism trend in
Malaysia is on the decline and it is
affecting our tourism income.

Complete Sample Answer

Tourism in Malaysia
The stimuli show a bar graph comparing tourist arrivals in Malaysia, Thailand and
Indonesia, a table of the top five tourist markets of income earned from tourism in
Malaysia and a newspaper headline on the drop of tourist arrivals. The general trend
is a decrease of tourist arrivals and tourism income in Malaysia.
According to the bar graph, Malaysia recorded the highest tourist arrivals in 1999
with more than 7 million persons but it then dropped to 6 million in 2001. It
stabilised in 2003 and 2005 with an increase to 7 million tourists. However, there
was a drastic drop in 2007 to just over 5 million visitors. This caused a sharp loss
of income earned especially from the top three tourist markets in Malaysia. Statistics
show a steep decrease of tourist spending of more than 20% mostly from Taiwan (24.2%), Singapore (-22.1%) and Japan (-22.0%).
Based on the headline, the fall in tourist arrivals is due to unknown viral diseases
and fear of natural disasters in Malaysia.

In conclusion, the tourism trend in Malaysia is on the decline and it is affecting

our tourism income.

Summary Writing Marking Scheme:

Band 6 Band 5 Band 4 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1
Task
Fulfilment

20 18 17 15 14 11

10 7

64

30

Language &
Organisation

20 18 17 15 14 11

10 7

64

30

TOTAL

40 34 33 27 26 21 20 14

13 7

60

Question 2: Academic Essay

Students may be presented with:
1. a point of view,
2. an argument or
3. a problem

as the core of the question.

Question 2: Academic Essay

What do we look for in an essay:
o Quality of Arguments
logical, mature ideas
o Ideas and Evidence
support your points
(elaboration & examples)
o Communicative Quality
o Vocabulary and Sentence Structure

Academic Essay Tip No. 1:

STEP 1: BRAINSTORM
It is very important to make a list of
ideas/main points. You may use
various techniques to develop
argument/content:
1. List
2. Mind map

Academic Essay Tip No. 2:

STEP 2: ORGANISE
You MUST write
in an academic style, 5
paragraphs.
1. Introduction
2. Body (min x3)

RECOMMENDED
ESSAY STRUCTURE
FOR MID TO HIGH PROFICIENCY
STUDENTS:

MODEL 1

RECOMMENDED for BANDS 3 - 6

1. INTRODUCTION ( x 1 paragraph)
- Introductory Statements
- Thesis Statement
2. BODY: 3 5 points ( x 3-5 paragraphs)
Basic guideline:
- Topic Sentence
70 words per paragraph,
1. Support
i.e. at least 350 words.
2. Support
3. Support
(Concluding sentence)
3. CONCLUSION ( x 1 paragraph )
- Closing statement
- Restate thesis

MODEL 1
ADVANTAGES

Promotes critical
thinking skills

Room for creativity

Shows off linguistic
proficiency

DISADVANTAGES

Unfocussed
Danger of going out
of topic

Difficult for low

proficiency students
to excel

RECOMMENDED
ESSAY STRUCTURE
FOR LOW TO MID
PROFICIENCY
STUDENTS:MODEL

RECOMMENDED for BANDS 1 - 3

INTRODUCTION ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)
1. Current situation
(Nowadays, In todays era of )
2. Stand
(In my opinion, I think/agree/disagree that)
3. Outline
(In this essay, I will discuss 3
reasons/strategies/suggestions which are
____________, ___________ & __________.)

1ST POINT ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)

1. Main Idea
(Firstly, First and foremost,)
2. Reasons
(This is becauseMoreover,)
3. Examples
(For example, and so on.)
4. Mini conclusion
(Therefore,)

2ND POINT ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)

1. Main Idea
(Secondly,The second reason is)
2. Reasons
(This is due toIn addition,)
3. Examples
(For instance, and many more.)
4. Mini conclusion
(Thus,)

3RD POINT ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)

1. Main Idea
(Finally,Last but not least)
2. Reasons
(This means that Furthermore,)
3. Examples
(Take for example, and others.)
4. Mini conclusion
(Hence,)

CONCLUSION ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)

1. Repeat Points
(In conclusion/In a nutshell,
the 3 reasons/strategies/suggestions
I have mentioned above are)
2. Repeat Stand
(In my opinion, I still strongly believe that)
3. Recommendation
(Our government should/We should)

MODEL 2
ADVANTAGES

Helps students
achieve basic
proficiency by
providing structures

Boosts confidence
and motivation to
write

Aids in developing
and organising ideas

DISADVANTAGES

Stifles creativity
Repetitive style of
writing

Monotonous for
examiner to mark

May bore high flyers

Lets look at a sample question:

Question 2:

Since achieving independence in

1957, Malaysia has been known for its
peaceful and multi-racial society. What
can be done to further enhance
national unity and solidarity among
the various races? Elaborate and give
relevant examples in more than 350
words.

1 Paragraph - Introduction:
st

Nowadays, Malaysia is a leading tourist destination

because we are famous for our multi-racial society
who live in peace and harmony. In my opinion, I
strongly agree that national unity can be enhanced
to strengthen solidarity among all the various races
in this country. In this essay, I will discuss three
solid strategies for enhancing national unity which
are every individual needs to be more patriotic, be
respectful of each different culture and mould a
future generation that is tolerant and grateful to be
Malaysian.

2 Paragraph - Point 1:
nd

First and foremost, every individual can play a part in

enhancing national unit by being more patriotic. This is
because when we are patriotic we will appreciate being
a Malaysian citizen who has the right to live a peaceful
and war-free life. Moreover, having high patriotism will
ensure that we really love our country and we will not
do anything to harm the peace and harmony. For
example, every one of us can respect the Negaraku
song and our Rukunegara, fly our national flag during
Independence day and so on. Therefore, if everyone
plays their part and becomes more patriotic, this will
easily enhance the spirit of national unity.

3 Paragraph - Point 2:
rd

Secondly, as loyal Malaysians, we should always be

respectful of each and every culture found in this
country. This is due to the fact that respecting the main
races like Malays, Chinese and Indians as well as the
indigenous races will ensure that we will continue to
live side by side in harmony. In addition, every race
that makes up the Malaysian society is unique and
should be cherished for its special traditions and
cultures. For instance, we should visit one another
during Open House or wedding celebrations, religious
festivals and many more. Thus, by respecting the
uniqueness of every culture, this helps us promote
racial solidarity and enhance national unity .

4 Paragraph - Point 3:
th

Last but not least, truancy can be curbed by encouraging

cooperation with local police authorities and the general
public. This means that we can get assistance from the
police as they are the higher authority and they can even
set up a Police Hut within the school grounds.
Furthermore, the public can report students wearing
uniform who escape by calling or sending sms messages
to the school authorities or even the police. Take for
example, to solve this problem we can organise regular
spot checks by police, give the school emergency number
to the shop owners, neighbourhood residents and others.
Hence, everyone can cooperate to reduce cases of truancy.

5 Paragraph - Conclusion:
th

In a nutshell, the three strategies I have suggested are

to be more patriotic and respectful of each unique
culture as well as teach our children to be more
grateful Malaysian citizens. In my opinion, I still
strongly believe that national unity can be enhanced if
we all play an active role. I hope that our government
can highlight this issue in the media by organising
more patriotism campaigns so that we can produce a
united society that can contribute productively to the

A final note on Question 2

Remember to address the following:

1. QUESTION @ ISSUE,
2. ORGANISATION @ FORMAT,
3. REGISTER @ VOCABULARY
4. & GRAMMAR

Writing Marking Scheme

(Question 2)
B
an
d
6

B B B B
a an a an
n d n d
d 4 d 2
5
3
Tas 30 25 20 15 10
k

Fulf 26 21 16 11 6
ilm
ent
Lan 30 25 20 15 10
gua
ge 26 21 16 11 6
&

B
a
n
d
1
5
0

5
0

If you can follow this

writing style.. you will
definitely move up in
Good
luck!!!
your
current
band..