Question 1 MUET Mid Year Writing Paper 800/4 sample answer So what does it take to write a good report for Question 1 of the writing paper? Well there is a secret formula which I've developed based on the marking scheme course I attended organised by MPM two years ago when the new examination format was unveiled. The problem with this formula is that I can teach it to you, and chances chance s of you understanding the theory is very high, but the actual application of the theory and the formula boils down to your own language proficiency and MOST IMPORTANTLY your critical thinking skills. Therefore, while I advocate that you must use this formula to answer well in the exam, I realise that actually applying the theory and synthesising information from the stimuli is extremely difficult for students who are used to being spoonfed. So what is the solution to this? Sorry, there's no shortcut but to read more, think more, write more and quadruple your motivation and effort. Q1 Formula: TITLE 1) OV + CI 2-3) KFs 4) P(i) + P(ii)
Now I'm sure you're wondering what all this means. Firstly, extract the TITLE from the question and underline it. For the first paragraph, it consists of minimum 2 sentences: the OverView (OV) and Controlling Idea (CI). OV- What does the stimuli present? Answer: a bar graph, diagram, pie chart, pictograph, newspaper headline or article, some notes etc. CI- What is the general trend of all the stimuli combined? Answer: Increasing, Decreasing, Consistent or Fluctuating (NOTE: These are the FOUR main trends) For the second and/or third paragraphs, you need to identify the Key Features (KFs) which are the MOST OUTSTANDING ideas from the stimuli. (NOTE: report will be marked DOWN if students just LIST ALL FEATURES and information from the stimuli without choosing the MOST IMPORTANT AND OUTSTANDING details, students must be SELECTIVE of which details to include) *There is no set number of KFs that need to be identified unlike un like PMR summary (5
points), SPM summary (10 points). Therefore, this report writing is more difficult to perfect as it depends heavily on the students' understanding and proficiency. **Also ensure that students do not make any external ASSUMPTIONS! Do not give your own ideas and opinions no matter how plausible they may be. This is NOT LIKE PENGAJIAN AM where ANDAIAN is part of the marking scheme. ***You may write in just 1 paragraph but 2 or 3 paragraphs are also accepted, generally it depends on what kind of stimuli are given. Begin each paragraph with phrases like: i) According to the... ii) Based on the... iii) With reference to... For the closing, it consists of minimum two sentences, Prediction (Pi) and Proposal (Pii). P(i)- What future trend can you predict? Answer: If x hap pens, then y will continue to increase, decrease, stabilise or fluctuate. P(ii)- What recommendation can you propose? Answer: The government/company/United Nations can... *P(ii) is not compulsory but it will differentiate the higher bands from the lower ones. NOTE: While the word limit suggested is 150 to 200 words, you can write more without being penalised. However, writing more means there may be more grammatical errors which will cause you to be marked down. Besides, it will leave less time for you to complete the 350 word academic essay needed. So act wisely. ;-)
Now that I have dealt with the theory and the formula, let us now look at the model answer for the mid year MUET writing paper, question 1. (NOTE: This blog doesn't allow me to underline the title and write using paragraphs. Please amend it mentally on your own, thanks)
Frequency of Visits to the Three Music Websites by Teenagers The stimuli present a bar graph on visits to the three music websites by teenagers in the month of August and a table on promotional activities of the three sites within the same period. In general, visits to the music websites especially Music Connect increased in direct proportion to the frequency and type of promotional activities provided by the websites. According to the bar graph, Music Connect was the most popularly visited website by teenagers as it recorded a total of about 133 000 visitors for the month of August. This was followed closely by Music Network which had 125 000 visitors while the least visited of the three websits was Era Music with only 50 000 visitors. The number of
visitors fluctuated from week to week and website to website depending on how attractive were the promotional activities carried out by each website each week. Based on the table, Music Network was the only website that had a promotional activity called 'Name that tune' in the first week therefore it scored the highest hits with 40 000 visitors compared to Music Connect (15 000) and Era Music (10 000). In week 2, Music Connect organised free music CDs for its visitors which gave them 35 000 hits. This promotion was more attractive than 'Name the singer' by Music Network and 'Name the movie' by Era Music therefore the type of promotionial activity carried out is a major factor to draw more visitors to the websites. Week 3 showed the least hits for all three websites as there were no promotional activities carried out at that time. Finally, in week 4, visits to Music Connect skyrocketed to 55 000 hits because they organised free concert tickets for its visitors. Music Network came in second after carrying out a 'Whose line is it' promotion compared to Era Music which attracted only 10 000 as they did not plan any promotional activity for their website. In conclusion, if websites carry out exciting and attractive promotional activities such as those conducted by Music Connect, then the number of teenage visitors will continue to increase. The websites should increase promotional activities that can capture the attention of more teenagers by providing free gifts or meet the celebrity tickets because it will directly affect their website's popularity especially among the younger generation.
Well, what do you think? Was your own report along these lines? Hopefully it is not that far off the mark. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'd like to hear your comments.
