MUET PAPER.docx

Paper 2 SPEAKING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4.

TASK A Each 2-min presentation should include 5 important elements: Greetings Repeat situation from the question State the point given to you 3 pts with relevant explanation & examples Conclusion Greetings Good morning to everyone. Good morning I bid to one and all. Good morning to the examinerS and all candidateS. A very good morning I wish to all examinerS and fellow candidateS Repeat Situation Today we are talking about… The situation I have been given is… According to the situation… Based on the situation given… State the point given I would like to give 3 reasons for my point which is… There are 3 reasons to support my point which is… My point is ________ so to elaborate I would like to discuss 3 reasons. I think that ____________ is the best idea. 3 Pts (Explanation & Examples) Firstly, I think that…This is because.. Moreover,... For example,… Secondly, another reason is… In addition,… For instance,… Finally, in my opinion…Furthermore,… A good example is... Conclusion In conclusion, this is the best point because… To conclude, I still agree that… In a nutshell, I feel that… In short, my idea is the best because…

p/s: It’s ok if you don’t speak on 3 points.No penalty as long as you develop even one point well with good elaboration and examples. The 3 points we stress on is just for practice.you don’t have a conclusion.No penalty but if you manage to do a conclusion you will logically score higher because your presentation is more structured. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TALK NON-STOP FOR 2 MINS!!!!

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TASK B Agree I agree with you. (NOT: I’m agree.) That’s a great idea! I see your point! That’s an interesting perspective. I like your suggestion. Indeed! I concur with your point of view.

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Disagree I’m sorry but I disagree.(NOT: I’m not agree) I’m afraid I have to disagree with your idea. I don’t see eye to eye with you. That’s not a good idea/suggestion. I beg to differ Interrupting Excuse me, may I interrupt please. I’d like to add something please. May I say something? Could you please hear me out. Pardon me but could I add something please. Questioning So what do you think, Candidate X? How about your point of view? Candidate X, would you like to give us your opinion? Does anyone agree with me? Why don’t we consider the other points? I don’t understand, can you please repeat? Any suggestions? Concluding In conclusion, ALL OF US agree that… To conclude, MOST OF US agree that… In a nutshell, SOME OF US agree that…while SOME OF US prefer… As time is running out, it seems that ALL OF US CAN’T AGREE on which option is the best because each point has many advantages and disadvantages.

MUET SPEAKING 800/2 TIPS - SAMPLE ANSWERS Candidate A Instructions to candidates: Task A: Individual presentation 

Study the stimulus or topic given.



You are given two minutes to prepare your responses.

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You are given two minutes to present.

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Listen to the others while they are making their presentations and take down notes for the group discussion in Task B.

Task B: Group discussion 

You are given two minutes to prepare points to support or oppose the other candidates’ views.

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After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four suggestions is the best.

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Your group is given ten minutes for the discussion.

Task A and Task B will be carried out consecutively.

Situation Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship. You and your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his trip abroad. Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why. Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful. i. cash ii. a computer iii. some suitable clothing iv. some Malaysian foodstuff Candidate A Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why. Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I’m very happy that my brother has just received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a special gift. We all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him. The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there. There will me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He will also need to pay for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus. As we know, it is very expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful. Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets to England. I think this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore, he can sms us and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss him we can just give him a call. Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesn’t take up a lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very heavy and bulky for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring money and buy those things when he gets there. In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best choice. To me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you. Candidate B

Task A: You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why. A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He has just received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special gift. We believe that the best present for him is a laptop computer. Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere. Thus, he will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he will be able to do his work more quickly and efficiently. Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring the laptop with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer. Hence, it will not be too much trouble to transport it to England. Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of information so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he can keep in touch with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail. In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his assignments, research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make the best gift. Thank you for listening. Candidate C Task A: You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why. To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift so we have decided to buy him some suitable clothing. The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is very different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to have different clothes for different situations. For example, we can buy him some sweaters, cardigans, scarves, snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep him warm in winter. The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity. This is because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of traditional clothing like the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look good but promote our culture overseas. Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes like jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about himself so he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him and have a good impression about Malaysian students. To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be very useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much. Candidate D Task A: You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why.

I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present. First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is hard to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because it will take time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in the meantime he can enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him. The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite hard to find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee and sambal belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendang and so on so if we supply him with enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home. The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organise events like Malaysian Night and so he and his friends can cook some Malaysian specialities for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence, the Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture. In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea. This is because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also share it with his new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful. i. Cash ii. A computer iii. Some suitable clothing iv. Some Malaysian foodstuff * Work together in your respective groups and complete the following discussion. A: Good morning once again to everyone. We are here to focus on the issue at hand which is __________________________________________________________. I would like to invite anyone of you to kickstart this discussion by giving us your point of view. B: Allow me to begin. First of all, I’m happy that our brother has won the scholarship to study in England. Therefore, we must decide what would be the most useful gift for him. In my opinion, I strongly believe that _______________ _________________________________________________________________. This is because I think he can _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For

example, ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: I see your point but how about getting him ______________________________. In this way, he can use it to ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D:

I

don’t quite agree with you because ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. I think it would be more useful if we bought _______________________ for him. Does anyone agree with me?

A: Yes, I agree with you. To add to your point, I feel that ______________________ _________________________________________________________________. This is so he will ___________________________________________________. C: I’m afraid I don’t see eye to eye with both of you. Buying that as a present for him is not the most useful gift because __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. Moreover, ________________________________________________________. Can you all understand what I’m trying to say? B: Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that the most useful gift is __________________ because it can ___________________________________. Another reason is ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For instance, _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. D:

That’s an interesting perspective and I agree with you that ___________________ _________________________________________________________________. However, I think we should consider other points. We should also think about buying him _______________________________________________________.

If

he

gets this as a present, he can ______________________________________ ____________________________________________. Wouldn’t you agree?

and

A: I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Can you explain it again, please. D: What I mean is we should buy him _____________________________________ because it will me more useful for him when he is studying in England. This is because ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. A: Aaah… I see. Yes, I think it would be a very useful gift too. This way, he can _________________________________________________________________. C: That’s a good point, but don’t you think if we gave him _____________________ it will be the most useful for him as a student. I still believe that this is the most useful because _____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. Remember, we need to think of the best and most useful choice. B: I agree with you, Candidate C. In addition, he can use this gift to _____________ _______________________________________________________________________________ ______________. So candidates A & D, what do you guys think?

D: Now that you’ve explained it like that, I also agree that it will be the most useful. In fact, he could also use it to _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. A: As for me, I feel that it is also the most useful. When he arrives at his university in England, he will be able to ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. C: That’s right. Well, after listening to all the points on the four choices we have, I think it is time to make a conclusion. D:

Yes, I think so too. Does everyone agree that we should give _______________________________________ as a special going away present?

our

brother

All: Yes, I agree. B: In a nutshell, we all agree that _______________________________ is the best choice because firstly, he can _________________________________________, secondly, ________________________________________________ and finally _________________________________________________________________. Thank you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What to conclude if after 10 minutes of discussion…. A) Agree = 3, Disagree = 1 Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________ is the best choice because ________________________________. ___________________________________________. Thank you. B) Agree = 2, Disagree = 2 Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________ because _______________________________________________ while THE REST OF US think that giving him _______________ is the most useful because _________________ ___________________________________________. Thank you. C) All Disagree Conclusion: In a nutshell, we were unable to come to an agreement on which of the four options is the best choice. It seems ALL OF US strongly believe in our own points so as we have run out of time, we think that we should each buy him a gift individually. Thank you.

A

 Good morning to the examiners and all my friends.  Firstly, I would like to suggest …………….  My main point is ……………….. (explain/give example)  My next point is ……………….. (explain/give example)  The next point I would like to make is ……………( “ )  However / But / Nevertheless …………………. Etc  I have mentioned earlier that ………………….  Therefore / Thus / Hence …………………….. etc  In short …………………………  Thank you. B  Good morning …………………  First of all, I propose ………………….  The most important factor is ………………… (explain/give example)  Next, let’s look at ……………………………. ( “ )  Another suggestion is………………………( “ )  However / But / Nevertheless …………………..etc  Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result …………………….etc  Those are the suggestions …………..  Thank you. C  Good morning…………..  As a start, I would like to suggest …………………..  It is important to …………………………(explain/give example)  The next issue is ……………………….( “ )  Another point I would like to emphasize is ……………( “ )  However / But / Nevertheless …………..  Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result ……………….  In summary, I would suggest ………….  Thank you.

D  Good morning ……….  I would like to begin by suggesting ………………  One important reason is ……………….(explain/give example)  Next, I would like to highlight …………( “ )  Moving on to my next point, which is ……….. ( “ )  However / But / Nevertheless …………..

 Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result ……………….  As a conclusion, I would say…………..  Thank you.

How to attain happiness? A. have a goal B. good relationship with others C. good health D. positive outlook Task A Candidate A A very good morning to one and all. The issue at hand today is how to attain happiness. I believe that this issue has been on the forefront for as long as man existed. In fact, I believe even animals and other beings strive to achieve this wonderful state of happiness and contentment. It is therefore my honest opinion that in order to achieve happiness we must have a concrete and measurable goal. Let us analyse a few reasons to justify this point. First and foremost, to aspire towards happiness is not enough. Just wanting is only half the battle won. To attain it there must be some kind of action involved and this most certainly begins with setting goals. The most important reason for setting aims or goals is to provide a way to measure if you have achieved it or not. For example, my aim is to be happy. In order to be happy I must have enough money and job security as well as a stable and happy family. Therefore the next logical step is to provide a timeframe to achieve this goal. If we set a goal based on a timeframe, happiness will be more easily achievable. A young person could aim to get his degree before he turns 25, get a stable high paying job by 30 and get married before he/she is 35. Thus, having a goal or goals will help discern the level of our happiness. Secondly, we can attain happiness when we have a goal because it gives us something to work towards or aim for. However, please note that the beauty of having goals is that it can be modified to suit ourselves and our situations. And once we have achieved it, we can create new goals. Conversely, if we cannot attain it, we can modify them to be more realistic. For instance, Mahatma Ghandi's goal in life was to achieve peace through peaceful means. Furthermore, he was happiest when there are no wars and people can live in peace. Even when he was sent to jail, he still held on to his goal which was to solve things through peaceful means, not war. And even in jail, he could attain happiness - Ghandi is a truly inspirational man. As time is running out, let me reinstate that a key method to attain happiness is to set reachable goals for ourselves. It also brings to mind a quote, 'Aim for the sun so that if you fail, you will still be amongst the stars'. Thank you for listening. Candidate B A very good morning I bid to the examiners and my fellow candidates. As the saying goes, 'No man is an island'. Therefore we thrive on good relationships with others in order to attain happiness. It would be quite strange to achieve ultimate happiness yet have no one of consequence with whom to share it with. Hence, good relationships with others are some of the fundamentals of achieving true happiness. Allow me to describe this issue further by presenting a few points.

On the one hand, happiness is maximised when happiness is shared. In general, everyday we interact with the people closes to us be they family members, spouse, children, best friends or colleagues. In fact, sometimes, happiness comes from external sources and we may not even know them personally. But it is these very relationships with others that will build the foundation of happiness brick by brick. When we need help, and a friend offers it, or when we just need to spend some quality time with our family and every member of the family shows up, well, these instances feed happiness to our souls. Imagine if you received really good news like a scholarship to study abroad but had no one to tell. Indeed, our happiness would fade a little, or we might even end up depressed! On the other hand, happiness diminishes when we have few or no good relationships with others. In times of need, it is human nature to reach out for help especially from our closest and dearest. As a child, when we fell and hurt our knees, we would call out for our mom or dad. When a friend backstabs you with nasty gossip, we call our best friend to unload our unhappiness. In the workplace, when our colleagues treat us unfairly, we go home to our spouses and use them as sounding walls to express our anger or disappointment. Thus, the human race is fragile, and we depend on good human relationships to keep our happy odometer high. In short, it would be pointless to attain happiness yet be so lonely with no one to share the good times with. Hence, each of us should work on improving and bettering our relationships in order to attain unlimited happiness in life. Thank you and have a nice day. Candidate C A marvelous morning I bid to one and all. As the popular saying goes, 'Health is Wealth'. There is indeed a whole lot of truth to this age old adage as I am sure everyone will admit that without health, we would live a poor quality and even substandard life hence marring our ability to attain true happiness! Allow me to further elaborate by providing a few different perspectives on this issue. First and foremost, the level of our health will determine how happy we are. Surely there is not a single soul out there who rejoices in being unhealthy and unwell. Basically, being healthy is crucial to our happiness because if we cannot do even the simplest of things such as brushing our own teeth and going to the toilet unassisted then it would be a very sad day indeed. There can be nothing joyful about waking up every morning to face blood transfusions or chemotherapy or surgery after surgery. In fact it would be downright depressing and it isn't any wonder that these people would suffer depression and even contemplate committing suicide. Conversely, when we have optimum health, happiness is easily attained. When you wake up in the morning and stretch and take big lungfuls of fresh air, it makes us ready to face the challenges in the day ahead. We are able to play our role in society well be it as a student with a sharp mind to study better, or a worker in this industrious world, doing our job well. Or when our health is maximised, athletes all around the world break records and cry in jubilation as when Usain Bolt does when he literally flies down the track or when Micheal Phelps or even Lin Dan lifts the Olympic gold medals high in victory. Needless to say, in conclusion, happiness is easily attainable when we are healthy because it is one of the pillars of the basic necessities in life in order to truly achieve a state of bliss. Thank you. Candidate D To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. The topic given today is rather interesting as it brings to mind a commonly asked question, "Is the glass half empty or it is half full?" A person with a positive outlook would surely answer 'half full' and this colours his or her life with positive energy therefore making happiness truly easily attainable. Allow me to elaborate what I mean about a positive outlook. Firstly, a positive outlook gives us a means of inventing options. What does this mean exactly? Well, people who are positive do not give up easily, in fact, they make it a point to inspect every avenue and come up with innovative ways to overcome any obstacle. For instance, after studying so hard a student fails due to a death in the family during exam time and she could not concentrate. Rather than surrender to her fate, she takes it as a challenge to get back up on the horse and find a job. After a few years of working, she collects enough money to do her degree on a part time basis and after 3 or 4 years, she finally graduates. This is because she has a positive outlook and looked hard for other options to change her fate. At the end, she has managed to attain happiness when her goals are achieved.

In addition, a person with a positive outlook seem to draw positive energy into her radius and somehow good things start to happen to her. Even when bad things happen, like an accident that messes up her car, she would still find the silver lining in the sense that she is thankful to be alive and more grateful still for not having harmed anyone else. Therefore, a positive outlook is crucial in attaining happiness because it is a wonderful ability to find the good in any bad situation. In short, people with a positive outlook with find happiness under every stone, at every corner because they are better able to be happy and content with their lot in life. Thank you for lending me your ears.

Session 1 Year End 2011 (not exact words) People who give the most meaningful contribution to society a)garbage collectors b)toilet cleaners c)road sweepers d)gardeners Candidate A: Good morning to the examinerS and my fellow candidateS. There are many people in this world who contribute meaningfully to society. Some sit in high positions while those who do menial tasks are no less worthy. Likewise, garbage collectors have a significant contribution to our society as not many would voluntarily do this 'stinky' but necessary job. First and foremost, I think garbage collectors deserve merit because they are the ones who maintain the cleanliness of our neighbourhood. This is because, without them, there would be rubbish strewn around everywhere which is a sight for sore eyes. Moreover, the stench itself would cause unease among citizens who need to go about their daily business. For example, rotten food, soiled diapers and so on would be an unbearable sight if not collected and disposed of properly. Secondly, garbage collectors should be held in high esteem as their job of maintaining the hygiene of society is a crucial one. This means that without them, diseases would spread rampantly. In addition, the overall health of society would suffer as garbage that is uncollected is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria and insects. For instance, piles of uncollected rubbish is the perfect place for dengue and malaria carrying mosquitos and many more. Last but not least, a garbage collector's job is very meaningful to society because in this modern era, humans have managed to produce so much rubbish per day that without them, the sheer amount would drown the whole city in a week! Imagine how much plastic packaging each of us throws away within a day. Take for example all the empty plastic bottles, Maggi mee wrappers, plastic packaging from the supermarket and even paper products like cigarette boxes and newspapers among others. In short, society would be seriously crippled if garbage collectors did not do their job. Therefore, I truly believe that garbage collectors provide a very meaningful contribution to today's society. Thank you. Candidate B: Toilet Cleaners. A very good morning I bid to one and all. Everyone has a role to play in society no matter how high or low their profile is. We should be thankful that we have toilet cleaners because they are the people who give the most meaningful contribution to society. I would like to discuss three reasons for this. (15 secs) First and foremost, it is the main duty of the toilet cleaners to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of public toilets. Quite often, we have come across toilets that are in dire need of cleaning where the smell is putrid and there is urine and faeces everywhere, disgusting, right? Without toilet cleaners, people would completely avoid public toilets unless they are so desperate they are willing to endure the horrid stench. These unhygienic toilets are also a toxic zone for bacteria and diseases such as Hepatitis and so on. Thus, toilet cleaners do us a grateful service of maintaining the public toilets so they are safe to use.

Secondly, toilet cleaners are also instrumental in maintaining the facilities in the public toilets. This is because it is quite common for public property like toilets to be vandalised by irresponsible people. Some trash the place and spray graffiti on the walls, while there have also been cases of breaking toilet bowls, sinks and others. If the toilet cleaners are around, these incidences can be reduced greatly and society can enjoy a better and cleaner image. Therefore, toilet cleaners have a very meaningful job because they help maintain a good impression of our country especially to international tourists. Last but not least, being a toilet cleaner is an extremely meaningful contribution to society because not many people want to do this menial task. The responsibility of cleaning toilets is not a glamorous job, in fact, people may be embarrassed to tell others that their occupation in life is a toilet cleaner. However, I completely believe that without them, public toilets would hazardous to our health and they provide us a service that is crucial and necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Hence, we should be thankful to them for their commitment in their profession. In essence, the most meaningful contribution to society is by toilet cleaners because they help maintain hygiene, our country’s image and it is a thankless job. Thank you and have a nice day.

MUET Speaking question June 2015 Hi, all. My students are taking this year's MUET, mid year paper. Here is an update of the questions that came out. I am using my own words as I only got feedback from the students so it is not verbatim. Anyway, as long as you get the gist, it will help you prepare better because you can gauge the level of questions and ignore topics below for they seldom repeat questions in the same set. Set 1 Task A: Discuss ways to ensure the success of a group project. Candidate A: Choose the right team Candidate B: Distribute the work equally Candidate C: Set a realistic plan Candidate D: Have good teamwork among members. Task B: Discuss which of the ways can best ensure the success of a group project. Set 2 Task A: Discuss television programmes that are useful in our daily lives. Candidate A: Television programmes on travelling Candidate B: Television programmes on cooking Candidate C: Television programmes on health issues Candidate D: Television programmes on current issues Task B: Discuss which type of television programmes are the most useful in our daily lives. Set 3 Task A: Discuss effective resolutions for water shortages. Candidate A: Water rationing Candidate B: Other sources Candidate C: Water bill tariff Candidate D: Educate people Task B: Discuss which of the resolutions for water shortages is the most effective. Set 4 Task A:

Discuss the best reasons why people should grow their own fruits and vegetables. Candidate A: Good for the family budget Candidate B: Good for the environment Candidate C: Good for health Candidate D: Good for making use of available land Task B: Discuss which is the best reason why people should grow their own fruits and vegetables. Set 5 Task A: Discuss characteristics that make people happy. Candidate A: Be grateful Candidate B: Have a positive outlook Candidate C: Have a good relationship with others Candidate D: Have a goal Task B: Discuss which of the characteristics above will most likely make people happy. Set 6 Task A: Discuss ways to overcome tiredness. Candidate A: Have a good sleep and rest Candidate B: Have a balance between work and play Candidate C: Have healthy eating habits Candidate D: Exercise regularly Task B: Discuss which is the best way to overcome tiredness. Set 7 Task A: Discuss sectors or industries that have the best job scope. Candidate A: Agriculture sector Candidate B: Business sector Candidate C: Manufacturing industry Candidate D: Entertainment industry Task B: Discuss which of the sectors or industries above has the best job scope. END-2009 (BOOKLET 1) Which of the following is the most important factor that can affect the reputation of a family? i)Behaviour of family members ii)Income levels of family members iii)Educational levels of family members iv)Occupations of family members (BOOKLET 2) The public has been advised that the consumption of water should be reduced.Where can you save water most? i)At home ii)In schools iii)In public places iv)In restaurant

(BOOKLET 3) For any teamwork to succeed,it is most important to choose agood team leader.What are the qualities that you would look for in choosing a good leader? i)Well-liked and well-respected ii)Knowledgeable and competent iii)Patient and rational iv)Fair and open-minded (BOOKLET 4) The increasing price of foodstuff affects everyone.Suggest how you can save money spent on foodstuff.Which is the following is most effective in saving money spent on foodstuff. i)Eating more home-cooked food ii)Buying only the foodstuff that you need iii)Growing fruits and vegetables iv)Not wasting food (BOOKLET 5) Malaysians should be proud of the fact that various groups can live together in peace and harmony because of our generally tolerant nature.How can this be improved?To which group of people should we know our greatest tolerance? i)People of different cultures ii)People from different age groups iii)People with dfferent habits iv)People who are disabled (BOOKLET 6) There has been a lot of discussions on what should be done to young people who break the law.Suggest what action should be taken.Which of the following is the most effective way to reform young people who have broken the law? i)Send to jail ii)Send to rehabilitation centres iii)Made to do social work for a number of hours iv)Place under the guidance of mentors (BOOKLET 7) Lifespan and health conditions have improved tremendously.As a result,many people who retire in their fifties are still fit and alert.Suggest options available for people of this age group.Discuss which of the following will most benefit retired people. i)To be re-employed ii)To start a small business iii)To do social work iv)To learn something new (BOOKLET 8) It has been said that young people in Malaysia today are considered lucky.Why it this so?Whis of the following has helped young Malaysians today the most? i)They grew in a time of peace and prosperity ii)They have easy access to more information iii)The government has provided better facilities for sports and recreation. iv)The education system has offered them more opportunities (BOOKLET 9) Malaysian food manufacturers would like to sell more of their products overseas.Suggest what they can do.Which is the most effective way of increasing sales of Malaysian food products overseas? i)Improve the packaging of the products

ii)Maintain high standard of quality iii)Promote the product internationally iv)Make the products easily available overseas (BOOKLET 10) To develop responsibility is very important in life.How do you go about doing this?At which level is developing responsibility most important? i)At individual level ii)At family level iii)At community level iv)At national level (BOOKLET 11) In today's modern society,a lot of tradition has been forgotten.What are some of the ways in which we can keep our tradition alive?Which of the following is the most important way of keeping tradition alive? i)Through playing traditional sports and games ii)Through performing tradisional songs and dances iii)Through promoting traditional arts and craft iv)Through practising traditional values and customs Booklet 12 A person's character is often influenced by other people around him/her. Who has the greatest influence on a person's character? -Discuss which of the following has the greatest influence on a person's character (i) Parents (ii)Teachers (iii)Friends (iv)Famous Personalities

Other title example Candidate A : Good morning to the examiners and all the candidates. In my opinion, giving incentives to athlets is an important factor to improve our status in sports. My first reason for giving such a suggestion is giving out incentives such as money or award could be a type of encourage to the athlets. This will make them happy and satisfied with their achievement. Besides, giving out money was also the way they get their salary so that they could afford their life without worrying about economy problem and they can also paying fully attention in their competition. When getting incentives from the government, they will feel better and certified, and they may want themself to perform well. In addition, this also can prevent them to feeling themselves are being neglected. In conclusion, I would once again recommended that giving incentives to athlets is the most important factor to improve out status in sports. Thank you. Candidate B : Good morning to examiners and all candidates. Once, our country Malaysia has a brilliant achievement in sports. But nowadays our country have not performed that well in the international scene. To get achievement as twenty years ago, an effective way are needed to improve the status in sports. And now in my opinion,engaging professional foreign coaches is an important factor to improve our status in sports. The reasons for me to say this is because a professional foreign coach have a lot of experience. They can share their useful experience to the athlets. Besides, they also would give the most useful advice and guide

them in their skills and technique. The foreign coach also could teach them the new technique so our athlete will not fall behind the advance level of other country. Professional foreign coach would also help athlets to find out their mistake made in their performance. So that they can get rid of the error in the competition. Proffesional coaches also able to plan strategies for the competition...

Class Discussion 12 January 2015 Speaking Skills Situation: Global warming is a serious problem for mankind. In conjunction with Earth’s Day, your school is organizing a forum on ways to reduce global warming. Candidate A Good morning I bid to our respectable Madam Examiners and my fellow candidates. In my opinion, one of the ways to reduce global warming is to organize nationwide tree planting project. I shall explain this to you. First and foremost, trees will provide greener and cleaner environment. The landscape is such that it is soothing to the eyes. The presence of trees will increase the volume of oxygen in the air and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, the reduction of carbon dioxide will directly bring down the temperature of surrounding areas. Secondly, this project should be initiated in schools as monthly campaigns. Besides helping to maintain the temperature of the environment, the kids could learn the value of sustaining the ecosystem. At national level, the Ministry of Science and Environment could organize National Tree Planting Day to inculcate love for environmental preservation awareness among the public. Apart from that, the community committee, NGO and government agencies could also organize tree planting competition where the winners would showcase the best of environmental preservation activity. In conclusion, we can see that nationwide tree planting project would benefit the environment in ways and of course reduce the temperature of the surrounding. With that, I shall end my part of the discussion. Thank you. Candidate B First, let me wish good morning to our respectable Examiners and fellow candidates. I am going to relate this situation from another angle. I would say, one immediate action for us to consider the safety of the environment is to use public transport. I shall elaborate on this. ______________________________________________________________________

Paper 4 Wriing SAMPLE 1) YEAR END 2008: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2 “People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what money can buy.” What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks] They say that money makes the world go round. And indeed it does as without money, life would be very difficult as in today’s society, nothing is free. The side effect however is that people are becoming more materialistic; more concerned with making money and what money can buy. But how much money is enough? Is it ever enough? To some, it will never be enough. In my opinion, I truly believe that this statement is true and that people are becoming more materialistic in nature. In this essay, I will discuss how materialism has affected modern society’s way of life on an individual level, the country’s economy as well as our spiritual and moral beliefs. First and foremost, each individual is affected by materialism to some extent in this day and age because hedonism is becoming an uprising trend. This is because today's generation are geared towards making more and more money so that they can enjoy the carefree lifestyle that is so popular these days. Moreover, people now are striving to earn more income in order to afford things that are more expensive and branded. For example, people spend their hard earned money on material objects like genuine LV and Coach handbags, expensive gadgets like Iphones and Tablet pcs and so on which in my opinion is a waste of money when regular goods may prove to be good enough. Therefore, while individuals become more focussed on their pursuit of material wealth and improving their standard of living, they may forget that what matters most in life is quality time spent with family and friends and not the quantity of their material goods. Secondly, when society starts spending in a materialistic manner it will surely have a domino effect on the country’s economy. This means that the spending power of society will help boost the economy and create more business opportunities for the booming trade. However, when a society overspends, using plastic money or credit cards, or when they take loans they cannot afford to repay, then the country’s debt margin will be higher. For instance, USA today is facing an economic crisis because banks have approved home loans to people who aspire to own bigger houses than they can actually afford and this is causing the collapse of the country’s economy there. Thus, while a society’s spending habits helps our economy to grow, overspending due to materialism will have an adverse effect to the country’s financial stability. Last but not least, materialism affects our spiritual and moral beliefs. This is due to the fact people who are materialistic may become ‘amoral’ whereby they disregard their spiritual and moral upbringing and instead

turn to crime to satisfy their materialistic needs. In fact, the crime rate is increasing because criminals these days have developed many ways to gain more money from society. Take for example, there are more reports of snatch thefts, burglaries, kidnapping for ransom, credit card fraud, internet banking hacking and others that are driven by materialistic criminals. Hence, when people lose sight of their spiritual and moral beliefs and believe instead in the greed of materialism, therefore the crime rate is bound to increase. In a nutshell, materialism is a common agenda in the 21st century as more people are working hard to afford things beyond their reach. While this may spur individuals to work harder to improve their standard of living, overspending due to materialism may cause the downfall of a country’s economy and their morality. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that materialism has a strong hold on today’s society; both positive and negative effects. Our government can encourage society to be less frivolous and wasteful in spending by running campaigns such as ‘Consumer Awareness’ and ‘Buy Malaysian Made Products’ in order to educate our younger generation for the prosperity of our nation.

SAMPLE 2) MID YEAR 2010: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2 The world today is turning more to electronic communications such as the e-mail, Facebook and Short Message System (SMS). What is your opinion of this growing trend? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks] Everywhere we turn today, the world is crowded with people busy typing SMSes on their Nokias or iPhones or someone is staring unblinkingly at a Facebook or Yahoo page on the computer screen. Whether you like it or not, the age of Information Technology is upon us, and we can either learn new skills and adapt to this new technology, or be forever lost and stuck in the older generation. In my opinion, I am fully convinced that this growing trend is the way of the future, and it brings countless benefits to mankind. In this essay, I will discuss three positive effects of electronic communication, namely its efficiency, enhances communication and creates a borderless world community. First and foremost, more and more people are relying on e-mail, Facebook, Short Message System (SMS) and other types of electronic communication tools because of its high efficiency. This is because in today's age of globalisation, we need information at the tip of our fingers. Moreover, with the use of these tools, we can increase the speed of getting the necessary and relevant information within seconds and this will increase our productivity. For example, gone are the days of using 'snail mail' or regular letters using stamps and envelopes and many more examples of 'old' technology because it is simply too slow and inefficient. Therefore, these e-communication tools increases the access to important information which is why the new generation is fully accepting this growing trend. Secondly, this form of technology enhances communication among people today. This means that when we use SMS, e-mails and websites like Facebook, we are able to communicate clearly and directly to our target audience. Furthermore, people today find that the message is more important than the form it comes in as an e-mail in short but clear sentences is just as good or even better than a long and formal letter. For instance, an SMS can give clear instructions in just a few words and this communicates what needs to be done quickly and directly. Thus, when the intended message can be spread clearly using short and clear information like in SMSes and emails, communication can be enhanced and there will be less problems of miscommunication. Last but not least, e-communication creates a borderless community in the world we live in today. This is due to the fact that the boundaries that separate each country becomes less relevant when information is transferred without limitations. In addition, the world would be a better place because there is a sense of 1-

World commitment, respect and tolerance for the global community through efficient and clear ecommunication. Take for example, we are able to connect with people on an international basis using Facebook, Friendster, Tagged, Hotmail, Yahoo and others. Hence, these tools will enhance global unity and create a more peaceful world. In a nutshell, this growing trend has many positive effects not just to individuals but the global society in terms of efficiency, enhancing communicative skills and shaping a borderless community. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that this latest trend is the best way forward and if we do not catch up, we will be left behind by the tide of development. Our government can encourage the proper usage of electronic communications by increasing communication amenities and free broadband accessibility especially in rural areas so that they can enjoy the same facilities as city-folks therefore balancing the development of our country towards achieving Vision 2020.

SAMPLE 3) MID YEAR 2011: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2 The most valuable thing in life is friendship. Do you agree? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks] It is true that no ‘man is an island’ meaning that no one in this world can live alone without friendship. That person would be very socially challenged as he or she would miss the camaraderie and life experiences that come with friendship. However, I completely disagree with the statement that the most valuable thing in life is friendship as there are certainly more important and priceless things in life besides this. In this essay, I will outline how life itself is more valuable than friendship, and elaborate on why family and the individual’s principles in life are ranked higher. First and foremost, before one can enjoy the beauty of friendship, one must surely value life itself or in other words, we should value our health. This is because, the quality of our life is the single most important criteria in life if we are to live a meaningful and wholesome life. Moreover, without good health, we will be hard pressed to do even the simplest of tasks like feed ourselves or relieve ourselves without the help of doctors, nurses and caregivers. For example, if we are paralysed, lost our sight, hearing or ability to speak or even a simple case of a fever or allergic reactions, then the quality of our life is greatly reduced and no amount of friendship can make us healthy again. Therefore, while friends can stand by us in our time of need, pristine health is still the most valuable asset in our lives. Secondly, we are no one without our family as indeed blood is thicker than water. This means that however you analyse it, friendships will almost always play second fiddle because family always comes first. Furthermore, if we do not value our family above others, then there must be a problem among the family members that has caused their relationship to be strained. For instance, people tend to turn away from family if the family member(s) themselves are the ones to cause them to react negatively such as divorced parents, abusive parents or siblings and so on. Thus, when people consider friendship to be the most valuable thing in life, more often than not they may come from a troubled household. Last but not least, a person’s principles in life is by far more valuable than friendship alone. This is due to the fact that each person needs to have a code of ethics, quite often prescribed by their individual religions. In addition, this code will guide each person to live their lives according to the good and right principles. Take for example, if an individual has set his principles to do good, then no amount of friendship

especially negative influence from friends, can shake his hold on his principles and cause him to commit undesirable deeds like smoking, stealing, raping, murdering and others. Hence, if a person values friendship so much to the point where he is willing to break his principles, then he has done a serious misdeed against himself and will most likely regret his actions later in life. In short, friendship is the rainbow of life as it colours our horizons with invaluable experiences but without good health, a supportive family and strong principles, life becomes empty and meaningless. In my opinion, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that I still firmly believe that friendship is not the most valuable thing in life. Our government can encourage people to prioritise health, family and principles in life by organising awareness campaigns especially in primary schools where the younger generation should learn about priorities in life because they are the leaders of tomorrow.

SAMPLE 4) MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2 The rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products. How will this affect the society? Give your opinion. You should write at least 350 words. [60 marks] Money is always an issue in today's era of materialism. Most people need it for basic survival while the lucky few indulge in luxuries without worrying about money. In my opinion, I strongly agree that the rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products and this will definitely affect the society. In this essay, I would like to touch on the effects this price increase has on society today, namely increasing vice activities, widening the gap between the rich and the poor and affecting the population trend in the long term. First and foremost, society will immediately be affected by the rise in fuel prices because consumer products will be more costly and this leads to an increase of vice activities. This is because basic necessities such as rice, flour, sugar and so on will be in great demand and some warehouses will store or hoard the items to further increase the price of the product. Moreover, in the newspapers today, reports of smuggling of these items prove that this vice activity is on the rise. For example, the recent sugar price hike caused a furor among the Malaysian society as it costs more fuel to travel to and from the supermarket and when arriving, most places had run out of stock even though the government had allocated 2kg of sugar to one person. Therefore, the fuel price increase had definitely caused more hardships to society today. Secondly, it is undeniable that the rise in fuel prices leads to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. This is due to the fact that people are greatly affected by the price of basic necessities such as food and fuel in particular. Furthermore, the rich people will still be able to afford such things but the poor will face greater challenges as the popular saying goes: "The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer." For instance, when money is used to purchase consumer products that are necessary for survival, then less money will be spent on health and dental check-up, educational purposes and others. Thus, it is clear that the fuel price hike will further stress on the differences between the rich and the poor which is such a tragedy. Last but not least, in the long term the population trend or demographics of the society will be greatly

affected. This means that new families will consciously decide not to have too many children in order to increase their quality of life. In addition, society is now more aware of birth control and family planning so this will greatly reduce the population as most families will have 1 to 5 children instead of more. Take for example, new families with less children will surely spend less on basic necessities like food, clothes, transport and many more. Hence, the demographics of the whole country will be affected and this in turn will reduce our workforce which will affect our country's productivity and prosperity. In short, there are many short term to long term effects of a fuel price increase which includes more crimes like hoarding and smuggling will occur and this leads to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor as well as a change in the society's demographics. I still strongly believe that the rising fuel price has pushed up the price of other consumer products and this will surely cause a negative impact to society. The government must find a way to stabilise the fuel price at a reasonable rate so that it does not affect the productivity of this country towards achieving the aspirations of the nation for Vision 2020.

Sample 5 Man's careless attitude is the main cause for the destruction of the environment. Discuss. You should write at least 350 words. (60 marks) Below is a good sample answer written by Franky, my 2013 lower 6 science student. In this modern civilization, man struggles to survive the high cost of living expenses, which significantly increases with each passing year. This causes them to use any method available that generates income and they start to sideline the importance of preserving nature. This is due to mankind realising the potential of economy that can come from nature. So, I strongly believe the destruction of nature is mostly caused by man's careless attitude whereby they prioritise their greed for money and the development of civilisation. Let us analyse this phenomenon in terms of the country's development, illegal activities of exploiting nature and the job opportunities. First of all, many nations try to achieve the title of the most leading nation in economy or infrastructure. So in order to compete with other countries, most nations try to explore any available land in their country for development such as industries, tourist spots and many other purposes that are related to money. Whenever they see the potential of a certain piece of land, they tend to develop it despite some of these places might still be uninhabited or the home for many wildlife. Sometimes, they would also plod through jungles or level the mountains for road development which severely changes the landscape of nature. As a result, this selfish and careless act will cause the deforestation and global warming. For example, Indonesia has become quite careless with their handling of these problems. In Kalimantan, Indonesia, the forest is being severely deforested by their people for land development. And to make matters worse, they even choose the fastest and cos-saving method of deforestation which is by burning down the trees, the mass release of carbon dioxide from the mass burn down of trees lead to ozone thinning and greenhouse effect. Also, the haze problem is another negative side product. As for the real victims of these acts, they are the neighbouring nations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand

and Philippines especially as haze causes many health issues such as lung cancer and breathing problems. Therefore, these careless acts and greed not only cause the destruction of nature but also endanger many lives, both man and animals. Secondly, some people's greed for great fortune and easy life make them become selfish and careless by over-exploiting nature. They willingly do illegal activities such as cutting down trees or animal hunting, seeing the high demand for these materials. It will slowly cause the depopulation of different kinds of flora and fauna. In China, these activities of eating inner organs of animals such as tiger or bear and they even use these animals' body parts for economic purposes such as tiger skin, crocodile skin and elephant teeth and tusks by exporting it to those who pay a high price for it. This has a serious effect on the ecosystem which is the extinction of animals. In Indonesia, trees are being cut down for making expensive house furniture made of material such as teak wood. In fact, these trees require a long period of 10 to 20 years to mature. Thus, the continuous cutting down of trees will eventually lead to its extinction. These activities are illegal by law and still occurs widely despite many countermeasures that have been taken by the authorised organisations such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Somehow, these criminals are able to slip through the organisations's enforcement laws of protecting the wildlife and nature. Plus, most society are careless to even take notice of these problems because they have yet to come to awareness of the dangers that would happen from these illegal acts. If only they had given more attention and cooperation to the authorised organisations, these problems might have been able to be prevented. Lastly, to survive in this modern world, every person needs to be able to make a living for themselves of their family, but many people with low education level cannot get high salary jobs, even university scholars are yet to be certain of getting a proper job after their graduation despite their high level of education. The competition is just like the survival of the fittest among these graduates and people with low qualifications. Therefore with the growing demand for more natural materials such as petroleum gas and minerals from the earth as well as a high demand of smuggled goods, people are willing to pay high prices to have employees do their job of exploiting nature because these jobs are high risk. So people that are desperately in need of jobs are usually tempted with the pay and they would take up the call. This situation had opened up a lot of job opportunities, but they are careless to not realise that these jobs are the main cause of nature's destructtion because they are being pinned down by the pressure of high living cost in this modern world that they have forgotten the importance of preserving nature. In a nutshell, I still strongly believe in my opinion that nature's destruction is mainly caused by man's careless attitude. They strive to make a living in the world so desperately that some eventually deny the truth that it is their own fault for nature's destruction. If no serious and proper actions are being taken immediately by many wildlife and nature preserving organisations or authorised organisations such as WWF, UNESCO and ASEAN to prepare an effective strategy or blueprint to prevent this problem, there probably won't be any jungles or wildlife left in the future and our young generaton will have to live in a polluted world.

QUESTION 2: The world today is turning more to electronic communications such as the e-mail, Facebook and Short Message System (SMS). What is your opinion of this growing trend? Discuss. You should write at least 350 words. As time goes by, the world is changing rapidly; so are its people and the technology itself. Technology brings about a lot of amendments in people’s life. It is getting more advanced from day to day especially when it comes to Information Technology or in this case; electronic communications. Back then, mailing was seemingly to be one of the most vital ways of communication especially for the world communication. In contrast, nowadays people are more prone to communicate the easier ways; by staring on their electronic accounts on their computers or through their iPods and sending short messages from their iPhones or Blackberries. Why is it so? In my slight opinion, this growing trend gives a lot of dominances in today’s life, which are helping people to save their time and money, create borderless communication and make it easy for people to gain prominent information. Feedback The student introduces technology as a whole, looking at its history, from how it has grown from a simple form of communication through letters to today’s extensive choice of communication through electronic gadgets. This is a great way to start your introduction. Based on the question, explain what the issue is and give a brief background of its past and present. State your opinion as to why such situation arises. First and foremost, the world today is turning more to electronic communications like e-mail, Facebook and Short Message System (SMS) and other electronic communications is because they will prevent people from wasting their time and money. How do these work? As we all know, sending a letter to someone will take a lot of processes and will eventually take a long time and waste a lot of money. On the contrary, electronic communications entail only the tip of our fingers so as an electronic device to work with. Then, what is left for us to do is just, typing! Has that not taken a much lesser time and money? For instance, an e-mail only requires us to turn on our laptops, open our accounts on the website and then, you can start write your letter and send them through e-mails. In short, with the very unstable economy nowadays, having these kinds of communications will ease everyone’s burden especially on their daily expenses and also their valuable time will not be wasted. Feedback State, Explain and then Illustrate. Remember SEI. First, state the topic that’s been mentioned. In this case, it’s the rise of electronic communications. Then explain. Explain what electronic communications entail. Next, illustrate. This means give examples based on your explanation. The student illustrates by giving a scenario of the use of emails. Secondly, the growing trend of electronic communications is making it possible for a borderless communication which is vital these days. Why is it vital? A lot of things require borderless communication; in education field, businesses and even daily activities, especially when foreigners involved. For example, when trading with foreigners, in order to communicate with each other, they need Skype or Yahoo Messenger as mediums to interact and be able to do the trade at a faster rate as compared to by using ‘snail mails’ or regular letters. Skype is the perfect example of an electronic communication which will cut the boundary that has separated each country and make communication between two different countries from around the world possible. In conclusion, it is crucial to have these electronic communications in today’s age of globalization as they make it easier for people around the world to connect with each other.

Feedback Structure your subsequent paragraphs like the first one. Add a new point in the second paragraph and repeat the SEI format. It’s important to have a mind map of your points before you start writing. Last but not least, the dominance of these electronic communications is people could gain prominent information more efficiently than before. As there are lesser borders between countries, the efficiency of getting much more relevant and prominent information is higher. People will have the ability to provide and gain information effectively through Facebook or Twitter accounts. For example, international artists who have planned to do a world concert can inform their fans about it through their Facebook account. Likewise, the fans also can ask just about anything to their favourite artists regarding the concert. Hence, this explains why people make these electronic communications as a huge trend these days and in order to keep the trend ongoing, each person has the responsibility to adapt with the technology itself. In a nutshell, the growing trend of using electronic communications is inevitably vital in people’s lives as it gives out a lot of benefits as stated in above paragraphs. So, to avoid ourselves from not getting the chance of keeping up with the changing trends, we have to try our best to adapt ourselves with the rapid changes. I believe that the electronic communication trend is a trend which is very important to be followed as the world is getting more advanced day to day. Feedback To indicate that your essay is coming to an end, use words like ‘in conclusion, in a nutshell, in short or to wrap up. Summarise your opinion based on all your previous paragraphs and emphasise your point through words like ‘I believe’.

Nov 2012 Writing: Women make better leaders than men' Sample Answer Women Make Better Leaders Than Men The debate between the supremacy of the genders have been in session since time immemorial. In the past, it would seem that men had the upperhand but these days, women are starting to leave their mark in

many aspects from business to politics rather than just domestic affairs. In my humble opinion, both men and women have the potential to be great leaders but the question of 'better leaders' does not lie in a person's gender alone but his or her innate character. In this essay, let us explore the qualities that make men and women great leaders before focusing on other factors that are unrelated to gender. First and foremost, men have some distinctive qualities that make them far better leaders than women. We can attribute this to the fact that men are generally physically stronger than women. This is undeniable because a man has clearly more muscle mass than a woman so in terms of leadership that has to do with physical ability, men win hands down. For example, in the army, most leaders are men that are buffed up and better able to handle the physical exertions of this field compared to women who are more delicate in structure. Men are also known to have better ability to strategise in terms of warfare and they seem to command their armies better. For example, great leaders have been men such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, Hitler and so on. Moreover, men tend to be able to make quick decisions that are not usually based on their emotions but logical, rational and practical reasons. Women, however, seem to be very emotional creatures so they may make poor leadership decisions if they simply follow their feelings. Therefore, men have many qualities like physical strength, ability to strategise well and make snap decisions which can make them better leaders. However, women have proven to be better leaders in an increasing number of cases. This can be seen as more and more countries have entrusted women to be their leaders. These women have a more 'feminine' approach to leadership which is more sensitive towards the needs of society. For instance, history is peppered with exemplary female leaders such as Indira Ghandi, Benazir Bhutto, Eva Peron and present day heroines such as Aung San Suu Kyi. Women tend to be more caring in nature and quite patient in dealing with problems which makes them better leaders compared to men who could be less sensitive and impatient. Most women are also known to be perfectionists, and this is an advantage because they are often very meticulous and detailed in carrying out their duties as leaders. Thus, with a more open-minded society, an increasing number of women are being given the onus to take the lead and may even one day supersede men in their traditional leadership roles! Although I have gone to great lengths to show that both men and women have the ability to be great leaders, I still completely believe that 'leadership' has little to do with gender and a lot to do with a person's innate character. This means that to be a great leader does not depend on whether you are male or female but rather your personal characteristics that drive you to succeed. Men and women both possess the qualities of confidence, responsibility, time management and delegation skills, public relations and good communication skills, positive outlook, high commitment, creativity and innovation, forward-looking visionaries and many other characteristics of a good leader. Hence, the question of gender should not arise because being male or female does not guarantee the ability to lead well. In conclusion, history has shown that men make better leaders but this is a faulty argument because it does not take into consideration the fact in the old days women were discriminated against and not allowed to lead. Today, society is more open-minded and more women are taking the helm and proving that women can be better leaders. Nevertheless, leadership to me is 'genderless' whereby it is completely dependent on a person's positive characteristics which makes people respect them and want to follow in their footsteps. Every country needs more leaders regardless of gender so the government should conduct more selfimprovement leadership courses for the younger generation so they may become better future leaders of our country

REPORT WRITING MUET 800/4 QUESTION 1 TIPS: 1. WRITE THE TITLE AND UNDERLINE 2. WRITE IN 3 PARAGRAPHS (MINIMUM, BODY CAN BE MORE THAN 1 PARA)

3. 1ST SENTENCE WRITE THE TYPES OF GRAPHS/DIAGRAMS/HEADLINES ETC. 4. 2ND SENTENCE WRITE THE MOST OUTSTANDING POINT 5. BODY - WRITE ONLY INFORMATION THAT IS OUTSTANDING (KEY FEATURES, NOT FEATURES.. FEATURES JUST MEANS EVERY SINGLE POINT, YOU NEED TO BE SELECTIVE IN CHOOSING THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES ONLY) 6. CONCLUSION IS JUST ONE SINGLE SENTENCE AS SUMMARY. 7. ALL WORDS AFTER 200 IS NOT CHECK/READ/EXAMINED. EXAMINERS WILL NOT READ AFTER THAT SO STICK TO THE WORD LIMIT. 8. TRY TO LINK ALL THE INFO AND EXPLAIN IT IN A SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE WAY. 9. TITLES ARE CONSIDERED 1 WORD (BUT I COULD BE WRONG) 10. GOOD LUCK, AND ALWAYS ANSWER THE ESSAY QUESTION FIRST BEFORE TRYING TO WRITE THIS REPORT.

SAMPLE 1: The Various Types of Cooking Oil Used in the Kitchen The stimuli present a line graph on 'Global production of cooking oil (2000-2006)', a bar graph on 'Fat content in commonly-used cooking oils' and an article excerpt on the healthiness of oils. In general, palm oil is the most produced oil while the least produced but healthiest option is sunflower oil. According to the line graph, the highest world oil production is palm oil increasing steadily from 25 million tonnes in 2000/01 to 35.5 million in 2005/06, beating soya oil by a small margin. Among the 5 types of oil, sunflower has the lowest production stabilising at just under 10 million tonnes from 2000 to 2006. Based on the bar graph, the healthiest oil is sunflower because it contains the second lowest fat (12%) content and the highest healthy polyunsaturated fat (71%). This is followed by other healthy oils with lower fat like canola (7%), olive (15%) and soya (16%). The unhealthy oils are very high in fat and very low in polyunsaturated fat such as palm oil (51%) and coconut oil (91%). The article states that we cannot be sure about how healthy the oils we eat are because it may contain too much trans fats leading to

heart diseases and cancer. In conclusion, coconut and palm oil should be avoided because fo the high fat content while the healthiest oils are sunflower, canola, olive and soya.

SAMPLE 2:

Crimes Involving Foreign Workers in Malaysia The stimuli show a line graph on 'Number of crime cases involving foreign workers (2006-2008)', a bar graph on 'Types of crime committed by foreign workers (2006-2008)' and a newspaper headline on 'Overworked and Underpaid foreign workers'. In general, the number of crimes are increasing steadily from 2006 to 2008 especially petty crimes like robbery and snatch theft by underpaid foreign workers. According the the line graph, every year the number of crimes increases by about 200 cases which is 1535 in 2006, 1780 in 2007 to 1926 in 2008). These crimes can be divided into petty crimes including robbery and snatch thef and hardcore crimes like rape and murder. Based on the bar graph, the highest incidence of crime is robbery that rose from 65 in 2006 to 75 cases in 2008. This is followed by snatch thefts from 15 in 2006 to 18 cases in 2008. Conversely, rape and murder cases have reduced drastically by 50% or more from 2006 to 2008. The reasons given for the increase of crimes in the headline are that foreign workers are unhappy with their meagre incomes which result in them being overworked and underpaid. In conclusion, foreign workers are committing more petty crimes like robbery and snatch theft because they are overworked and underpaid. MUET Paper 4, Question 1 on trends Look at the line graph below:

Describe the general trend of the line graph and analyze the whole graph. Sample Answer1: The graph shows the incidence of x disease cases in Someland.The overall trend of the incidence of x disease in Someland over 36 years was a marked rise, a series of constants and a substantial fall. The outbreak of x disease started at 100 cases in 1960 which lasted for five years until 1965. The number of cases then began to climb reaching 200 cases in 1970.Following this was a dramatic rise in the number of cases to a peak of 500 in 1975.The value remained unchanged for five years until 1980.Then, the incidence of x disease had a marked fall of 150 cases to a low of 350 in 1985.The number of cases then continued to drop sharply to zero cases in 1990.The record had maintained for five years until 1995. In conclusion, the incidence of x disease in Someland had experienced a series of climbs, constants and drops from 1960 to 1995. Sample Answer2: The graph shows the incidence of x disease in Someland from 1960 to 1995. The incidence of x disease had increased from 1965 to 1975, levelled off for five years at the peak and fell to zero cases in 1990 and maintained until 1995. There was an initial outbreak of 100 cases for the first five years. Then it started to climb and increased dramatically to a peak of 500 cases from 1970 to 1975. The number of cases remained unchanged until 1980. Then, the number of cases started to fall rapidly to a zero incidence in 1990. The incidence of x disease had been successfully controlled until 1995. In conclusion, the incidence of x disease in Someland had experienced a marked increase for 10 years and fell dramatically to zero cases in another 10 years from 1980 to 1990.

Question 4

Based on the bar graph above, write the general trend on the amount of sugar in certain foods. Model Answer – Bar Graph on Amount of Sugar in Certain Foods The bar graph shows the amount of sugar in certain foods. Generally, chocolate delights, soda and icecream contain the highest percentage of sugar while ketchup, peanut butter and crackers contain much less sugar. Based on the chart above, we can see that all chocolate-based foods, soda and ice-cream have more than 21 per cent content of sugar. The lowest ranking sugar-laden food has about twice the content of sugar in ketchup, peanut butter and crackers while the highest one, the chocolate bar at 33.2 per cent has three times the amount. Finally, we can conclude that the amount of sugar is comparatively high in certain foods due to the nature of the foods themselves. It is so obvious that ketchup, peanut butter and crackers are comparatively low-sugar foods.

Question 5

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information in the graphs below.

Compare the Highest level of education of women in Someland in 1945 with the one in 1995. Model Answer: The pie charts show the comparison of highest level of education of women in Someland in 1945 and 1995.Over a period of 50 years, there had been a huge change in the level of education among women in Someland. The most obvious changes were the number of dropouts, the year six and the ones under the third grade category.There were no women dropouts, year six and third graders in 1995 meaning that these three categories of level of education had disappeared totally in 1995. On the other hand, the number of first degree graduates had dramatically increased from 1 per cent in 1945 to 50 per cent in 1995.Amazingly, there was an establishment of another category of level of education,which is post graduate in 1995 valued at 20 per cent. Apart from that,the year twelve category had increased from 4 to 20 per cent while the year 9 category remained unchanged at 10 per cent. In conclusion,the level of education of women in Someland had improved in 50 years. There were even new categories of level of education emerging during the period.

Model Answer for Question 1, Paper 4 MUET Mid-Year 2015

Sample Answer for MUET Mid-Year 2010, Paper 4, Question 1 The two figures show Visits to Three Music Websites by Teenagers and Promotional Activities of Three Websites in August. The graphics indicate that the number of visits to the three music websites is influenced by the promotional activities offered by them. In week 1, Music Network received 40,000 visitors which was the most number of visitors compared to the other two music websites as it offered an activity called ‘Name that tune’. The other two did not offer any promotional activity. In week 2, the number of visitors seemed to be shared between the three websites as each offered an activity for the visitors. So, the difference was not so obvious. In week 4, with a promotional activity each, the number of visitors for both Music Network and Music Connect peaked to 40,000 and 55,000 respectively while Era Music without any promotional activity was at the bottom of 10,000. In conclusion, it is evident that the number of visits to the three music websites is dependent upon the promotional activities offered by each website. (173 words)

Sample Answer for MUET Year-End 2008, Paper 4, Question 1 The graph shows the Modes of Transport used by travellers in 1950, 1975 and 2000 and an extract urging the public to protect the environment by using public transport and use forms of transport that encourage exercising. The choice of transport has changed over the three years. The public is urged to protect the environment and lead a healthier lifestyle. Based on figure 1 most travellers in 1950 moved about by bus, cycling and on foot. The choice of the modes of transport plunged to about 9% for cycling and 5% on foot in 1975 but the percentage of those travelling by bus increased considerably to 35%. In 2000, the percentage of travellers cycling and travel on foot went down even lower to about 3% and 2% respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of people travelling by car had increased tremendously to 40% from 5% in 1950 to 25% in 1975. People travelling by bus and train maintained at 25% and 15% respectively. Due to this alarming situation, the Minister of Environment had urged people to use public transport more and travel about using physical effort to ensure healthy lifestyle and environment. (193 words)

MUET Year-end 2009 Table 1 : Employers’ Expectations and Applicants’ Perceptions of Qualities Required at the Workplaces Qualities

Communication skills Diligence Teamwork skills Computer literacy Personality Work ethics Qualification Motivation Experience Respect for authority

Ranking of qualities Employers look for In job applicants 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ranking qualities applicants believe employers for 5 6 7 3 4 8 1 9 2 10

of

look

Overview The table shows that employers and job applicants have different views on the expected qualities required at the workplace but both agree on respect for authority. Comparing/synthesis 1. Employers ranked communication skill as top preference while job applicants ranked it fifth. 2. Both employers and applicants mutually agreed on respect for authority. The two most important aspects in Question 1, Paper 4.

MUET Paper 1 - November 2013, Question 1 The following visuals present the results of a survey conducted on pet ownership and the reasons for keeping these pets. Analyse the results of the survey, linking the information found in the two visuals. You should write 150 to 200 words.

The two graphics show the results of a survey conducted on pet ownership and the reasons for keeping the pets. Generally cats and dogs are the most favoured pets among owners for several reasons with the cats most preferred by pet owners of all ages. The cats are owned by 80 pet lovers while dogs are kept by 49. These two pets are popular among pet owners for four common reasons that is; companionship, uniqueness and love for animals and competition. Birds are kept by owners of all ages but only a few do. Another two preferred animals are tortoises and rabbits which liked by children and quite a number of teenagers . It is also shown that snakes and spiders

are the most unpopular pets which are only owned by a few adults for their uniqueness. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------MUET Writing April 2013

Sample Answers