1) The document provides tips for improving performance on the writing component of the MUET exam, which accounts for 30% of the total score. It focuses on report writing and academic essay questions. 2) For report writing questions, it recommends following a formula of title, introduction with overview, body paragraphs on key features from stimuli, and conclusion summarizing the main trend. Useful vocabulary is provided to describe trends in graphs and data. 3) For academic essays, it suggests choosing a clear structure like a 3-paragraph model focusing on introduction, 3 points with examples, and conclusion. Sample essay questions and answers are also presented and analyzed.

1. ENHANCING MUET
PERFORMANCE
Writing 800/4
Presented by:
Mdm. Audrey Koh Sui Ean
B. Education (TESL) (Honours) UK

2. Writing carries 30%
• 2nd most important component
• Divided into 2 sections
• Section 1:
Report Writing (40 mins x 40 marks)
• Section 2:
Academic Essay (50 mins x 60 marks)

3. Let’s start with Question 1
Report writing tests
understanding of non-linear
stimuli (graphs) and
synthesizing it into linear form
(composition).

4. What’s 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?)
1.BODY Paragraph 2-3/4:
Key Features
(What are the outstanding info from the graphs?
1.CONCLUSION Last Paragraph:
Summary (Mention the main trend again)

5. WR Q1 FORMULA:
TITLE
I + OV
KFs
S

6. Useful Vocabulary to describe the
FOUR (4) MAIN TRENDS
1) 2) 3) 4)
• rise • fall/drop • stable/ • erratic
• gain • loss stabilise • fluctuating
• increase • decrease • constant • unstable
• improve • depreciate • consistent • inconsiste
• escalate • deteriorate nt
• incline • decline USEFUL ADJECTIVES
• high/highe • low/lower/ • slight/steady/gradual
r/ lowest • sharp/steep/drastic
• doubled/tripled/quadruple
highest • less than d
• more than • least • record high/record low
• most

7. Let’s 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.

8. 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.

9. (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%), Singapore (-22.1%) and Japan (-22.0%).

10. (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.

11. 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.

12. Summary Writing Marking Scheme:
Band 6 Band 5 Band 4 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1
Task 20 – 18 17 – 15 14 – 11 10 – 7 6–4 3–0
Fulfilment
Language & 20 – 18 17 – 15 14 – 11 10 – 7 6–4 3–0
Organisation
TOTAL 40 – 34 33 – 27 26 – 21 20 – 14 13 – 7 6–0

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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
3. Table, etc.

16. Academic Essay Tip No. 2:
STEP 2: ORGANISE
You MUST write
in an academic style, 5
paragraphs.
1. Introduction
2. Body (min x3)
3. Conclusion

17. RECOMMENDED
ESSAY STRUCTURE
FOR MID TO HIGH PROFICIENCY
STUDENTS:
MODEL 1

18. RECOMMENDED for BANDS 3 - 6
1. INTRODUCTION ( x 1 paragraph)
- Introductory Statements
- Thesis Statement
2. BODY: 3 – 5 points ( x 3-5 paragraphs)
- Topic Sentence
1. Support Basic guideline:
2. Support 70 words per paragraph,
3. Support i.e. at least 350 words.
(Concluding sentence)
3. CONCLUSION ( x 1 paragraph )
- Closing statement
- Restate thesis
- Final comment

19. MODEL 1
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
• Promotes critical • Unfocussed
thinking skills • Danger of going out of
• Room for creativity topic
• Shows off linguistic • Difficult for low
proficiency proficiency students to
excel

20. RECOMMENDED
ESSAY STRUCTURE
FOR LOW TO MID
PROFICIENCY STUDENTS:
MODEL 2

21. RECOMMENDED for BANDS 1 - 3
INTRODUCTION ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)
1. Current situation
(Nowadays,… In today’s 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
____________, ___________ & __________.)

22. 1ST POINT ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)
1. Main Idea
(Firstly,… First and foremost,…)
2. Reasons
(This is because…Moreover,…)
3. Examples
(For example,… and so on.)
4. Mini conclusion
(Therefore,…)

23. 2ND POINT ( x 1 paragraph, 70 words)
1. Main Idea
(Secondly,…The second reason is…)
2. Reasons
(This is due to…In addition,…)
3. Examples
(For instance,… and many more.)
4. Mini conclusion
(Thus,…)

24. 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,…)

25. 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…)

26. MODEL 2
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
• Helps students • Stifles creativity
achieve basic • Repetitive style of
proficiency by writing
providing structures • Monotonous for
• Boosts confidence examiner to mark
and motivation to write • May bore high flyers
• Aids in developing
and organising ideas

27. Let’s 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.

28. 1st Paragraph - Introduction:
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.

29. 2nd Paragraph - Point 1:
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.

30. 3rd Paragraph - Point 2:
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 .

31. 4th Paragraph - Point 3:
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.

32. 5th Paragraph - Conclusion:
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
achievement of Vision 2020.

33. A final note on Question 2…
• Remember to address the following:
1. QUESTION @ ISSUE,
2. ORGANISATION @ FORMAT,
3. REGISTER @ VOCABULARY
4. & GRAMMAR

34. Writing Marking Scheme
(Question 2)
Band 6 Band 5 Band 4 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1
Task 30 – 26 25 – 21 20 – 16 15 – 11 10 – 6 5-0
Fulfilment
Language & 30 – 26 25 – 21 20 – 16 15 – 11 10 – 6 5-0
Organisation
TOTAL 60 – 51 50 – 41 40 – 31 30 – 21 20 – 11 10 – 0

35. If you can follow this
writing style.. you will
definitely move up in
your current band..
Good luck!!!