Nov 2013 Writing Question

"The most important factor which contributes towards a person's success is himself."
Do you agree with the statement ? Justify your stand, giving relevant examples where
appropriate. You should write at least 350 words.

a. Facts/Data/Statistics (News articles, data from graphs/surveys etc)

According to an article in Forbes magazine on World's 100 Top Successful people, 90% of people
become successful based on their unique individual characters rather than talent alone. This means
that people who have the same great talent - take singing for example - are both capable of becoming
successful but the one who has the characteristics fans like such as friendly, well-groomed with high
self-esteem and creativity are more likely to achieve superstardom compared to an introverted singer
with low self-confidence and charisma. It is my humble opinion that I absolutely agree with the
statement that the most important factor which contributes towards a person's success is himself. We
can analyse this issue in terms of the human factor which are his innate qualities, his drive for success
and his ability to sustain success.


b. Questions (Rhetorical questions related to the issue)

Is talent enough to achieve success? How is it possible for a set of twins who are both equally good in
singing, yet only one becomes a successful singer while the other does not? Can a person's character
determine his or her ability to achieve success in life? From my point of view, the answer lies in the
fact that it is indeed the person himself which contributes towards his own success. In this essay, I
would like to discuss how a person's innate talent, his drive to succeed and his motivation to stay at
the top are the reasons that differentiate every one of us therefore controlling our success metres.


c. An anecdote (Story that is related to the issue)
There was once a farmer who had triplets. He could not decide which son should inherit his property
so he gave each of his three sons the same sum of money and told them to achieve success. The first
son used the money as a dowry and managed to acquire the chief's daughter as a wife. The second son
used the money to bet on horses but lost it all. The third son bought cows with the intent of breeding
them, milking them and making butter and cheese of which he would sell at the market. Finally, the
farmer chose the third son because he was the only son capable of 'growing' his investment. The point
of all this is to show that when the playing field is leveled, and there is equal opportunity, success or
failure is determined by the decisions each individual makes. Therefore, I strongly agree with the
statement that the most important factor which contributes towards a person's success is himself. In
light of this, there are many aspects of the person himself which contributes to his success, namely his
aptitude, attitude and drive to succeed.


d. Examples (Various related examples)
Donald Trump is renowned the world over for his acute business acumen as testified by his Trump
empire. His entrepreneurship skills have been commonly mimicked but rarely replicated as many
aspire to become like him but seldom achieve the level of his success. The secret of his success is his
unique character which is driven by his desire to rise above all, including himself. There are other
examples of extremely successful people who have achieved success not solely based on talent but
their individual characteristics such as Mark Zuckerberg and our own Datuk Tony Fernandez to name
a few. From my perspective, the most important factor which contributes towards a person's success is
indeed himself. This can be proven in terms of his own talent, his character and motivation to remain
successful.

e. Contrast (Describing the opposite of a given situation, eg. topic: Money, opposite: No Money)

A person born into an affluent family, when taking over the father's business manages to run the
business down the ground. The question then arises as to why the son failed to follow in the footsteps
of his father when everything was handed to him on a silver platter. Simply put, he might have
inherited the same genes but this does not predetermine his individualistic characteristic which in
turn contributes to his ability to succeed or in this case, fail. Similarly, a person born into a poor
family with not much given to him, can scrape the barrels and claw out of his poverty and make a
success of his life unlike his parents or siblings. The sheer determination to succeed gives him the
necessary elixir to lift him out of his fate and create a new and brighter future for himself. Hence it is
my steadfast opinion that the environment does not play the most crucial factor in determining
success, but it is indeed the person himself what contributes to his rise or fall. To discuss this issue, let
us look at the three aspects of success, namely a person's aptitude, attitude and desire to sustain
success.

f. Projection (Imagining the future)
If every one of us could be successful, would this world not be full of successful people? The very fact
that not everyone in this world today is a success story strongly implies that there are many factors
that contribute to a person's success but it is each individual himself that gives him the cutting edge.
In my opinion, I completely agree that the most important factor which contributes towards a person's
success is himself. There are many facets to this issue but let us focus on a person's own ability,
character and determination that will lead to his or her success.


Right... so what do you think of the 6 different approaches?
Which do you like the best?
Which suits your writing style the best?

As mentioned earlier, below is a sample exam question that you can try writing introductions for.
Write at least 3 different versions of the introductions using any of the 6 hooks taught previously.

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.


One of the questions that came out for this end of the year MUET speaking
exam is :


(Submitted by a candidate)
How to attain happiness?
A. have a goal
B. good relationship with others
C. good health
D. positive outlook

Here are my sample scripts... take note that these r just samples that I'm going to
'hantam' write now... haha.. just for fun n to show you how to answer the
speaking question as best as you can.

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.


In short for essays, you need to think critically... 5 paragraphs if you agree or disagree with the
question, and 6 paragraphs if you are on the fence (50-50)

You need to quickly write the draft like I show in the link...

easiest way to divide ur points is
A)
1. invidual
2. society
3. country

B)
1. short term
2. mid term
3. long term

C)
1.causes
2. effects
3. symptoms

and for the conclusion u should include the recommendation... what the country/government/society
can do... for the betterment of the nation.

use powerful sentences...
instead of writing:
I hope the government can solve the problem soon.
write this:
It is my sincerest hope that our government can draw up a
detailed blueprint on how to combat the issue of social
illnesses. I strongly recommend that they should carry out
more national level campaigns to increase our citizen's
awareness so that our country can progress towards being a
fully developed nation by 2020.

You will need to score:
(A) 21/45 Band 3
(B) 27/45 Band 4
(C) 33/45 Band 5
(D) 39/45 Band 6





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 maymake poor leadership decisions if they simply follow their feelings. Therefore, men
havemany 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 lesssensitive 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 andmore 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
governmentshould conduct more self-improvement leadership courses for the younger generation so
they may become better future leaders of our country.


* Notice the words in blue. This is the correct way in order to mediate your sentences so they do not
become OVER-GENERALISATIONS and/or SWEEPING STATEMENTS.

Before looking at the answers try
the questions yourself first! Click on
this link to get the
Muet July 2012 Reading & Writing
Questions


Primary & Secondary School Enrolment in 3 Regions


Table 1 depicts the school enrolment by region while Figure 1 shows a bar graph of income
level by region. In general, school enrolment corresponds directly to the income level of each region
whereby developed countries with higher income have much higher enrolment compared to under-
developed countries.

Based on both stimuli, it can be concluded that school enrolment is greatly affected by income
level. Developed countries such as USA with an impressive 85% high income level are the only regions
to achieve 100% enrolment in primary school for 2010 while secondary school enrolment achieved a
near-perfect 99%. Developing countries such as Thailand which enjoy 80% middle and high income
levels in 2010 show a relatively high school enrolment for primary school (90%) and secondary school
(82%). Finally, under-developed countries such as Myanmar with majority low income and only a
marginal 5% are affluent has directly affected the poor enrolment rates with only 62% enrolment in
primary schools and a low of 27% for secondary schools for 2010.

In conclusion, the rate of school enrolment is directly related to the affluence level of the region
where countries that are under-developed and poor have poor school enrolment both for primary and
secondary.



Day 1, 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.

So what do you think about this sample? What makes it a high band response?

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 todays 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 societys way of life on an individual level, the
countrys 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 countrys 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
countrys 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 countrys economy there. Thus, while a societys spending
habits helps our economy to grow, overspending due to materialism will have an adverse effect to the
countrys 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 countrys economy
and their morality. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that materialism has a strong hold on todays
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 e-communication. 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 individuals 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 persons 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.

FACTUAL WRITING

1. WAR
In terms of world peace, we should never repeat the mistakes of World War I in 1918
where we lost about 5 million people and World War II in 1945 that took the lives of
more than 61 million. These wars are concrete examples of why killing and death are
not acceptable. Instead, we should find a way through the United Nations and other
such organisations to conduct peace talks at all costs because wars give nothing but
negative impact to the human race.

2. ENVIRONMENT
Mankind is doing irreparable damage to mother nature to the extent that more and
more natural disasters have occurred in recent times such as the undersea earthquake
a day after Christmas in 2004 which unleashed multiple tsunamis in 14 countries killing
over 230,000 people. More recent are the earthquakes in New Zealand last year and
this year Japan was hit full force by a tsunami that almost destroyed the Fukushima
nuclear power plant and caused a nuclear meltdown similar to the radioactive disaster
in Chernobyl, Ukriane (1986). Therefore, we must reduce our negative impact to the
environment because it will definitely affect mother nature.

3. NATIONAL UNITY
There are many lessons we can learn from our own history including the May 13 1969
racial riots between the Malay and Chinese especially in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.
Almost 200 people were killed and this really emphasised why we need to be more
understanding, tolerant and respectful of each others cultural differences. Otherwise,
another terrible racial riot will occur and this will destroy the national unity that we
have worked so hard to achieve for the past half century of independence.

4. TERRORISM
World peace is threatened when terrorists launch attacks such as the 9/11/2001
hijacking of two 767 jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York
City. This is such a tragedy because it took 2,753 lives but there are uncountable more
lives, maybe millions, that have been shaken by this terrible event. This has led to more
lives lost through the hunting down of Saddam Hussien and Osama bin Laden, both of
whom were influential leaders that commanded troops of terrorists. Hence, the
governments of each country need to work hand in hand to protect its citizens from
further terrorist threat.

5. PATRIOTISM
In recent times, the world has seen a number of tragedies that are unbelievable and
atrocious such as the bombing in Oslo, Norway where Anders Brevik went on a shooting
rampage and killed at least 77 youths because he was against multiculturalism and
Muslim immigration. Thus, although we should be patriotic at all times, there must be
moderation because the extremism showed by Norweigian Anders Behring Breivik is
very unhealthy and this does not create peace, but instigates world wars.

6. PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN
We should be proud to be living in a peaceful land as there are no wars, enough food
and opportunity to improve our standard of living. On the other hand, places like
Palestine face the uncertainty and horrors of war every day, while there are many crisis
elsewhere such as in Somalia, Afghanistan and even in Thailand which is our direct
neighbour. In short, we need to defend our peace and freedom not just for this
generation but for our children, and our childrens children.


7. ENDANGERED ANIMALS
Datuk Michelle Yeoh from Perak is an international actress most famed for her role in
action movies and being the Bond girl in Tomorrow never dies is also known for her
full support of the anti-smuggling of endangered animals campaign. Along with
celebrities such as Jackie Chan, they both support the saying, When the buying stops,
the killing will too. Therefore, we should also support this campaign to stop the buying
of illegal animal products such as ground rhino horn, ornamental elephant tusks and
animal fur and skin to make clothes and accessories.

8. INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed is an extremely inspirational man as he was the longest
serving prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 during which he was called the
Father of Modernisation. We have a lot to thank him for including our aspiration to
achieve the developed nation status through Vision 2020. He was also behind the
successful programs such as Multimedia Super Corridor, Proton cars, KLCC and KL
towers, Formula 1 Sepang Circuit and many more which have brought prosperity and
countless opportunities to fellow Malaysians. Therefore, to me he is truly inspirational
as even today he has his own website, blog and Facebook page where he shows
eloquence and critical thinking even though he is now 86 years old.

9. SPORTS
Malaysia has a lot to be proud of in terms of sports as today we have two individuals in
racquet sports that are ranked No. 1 in the world. They are Datuk Lee Chong Wei for
badminton and Datuk Nicol Ann David for squash, both hailing from the island of
Penang. The two are prime examples of a combination of hard work and good
upbringing because they have managed to divide their time to be a successful
sportsperson. Datuk Nicol is 28 years old and been playing squash intensively since
young but she still managed to score flying colours in her SPM where she obtained 7As.
This is evidence that with the right attitude and diligence, anything is possible.

10. BUSINESS
Malaysia is proud to have businessmen who have carved a name for themselves in the
international arena. Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes, CEO of Air Asia, owns the
world best low-cost airline (2009-2011) which has created countless opportunities for
Malaysians to travel around the world for business and leisure. With his amazing
tagline, Now everyone can fly, it is truly wonderful that we can experience
international travel because travelling is now affordable for all. Another famous
Malaysian entrepreneur is Datuk Jimmy Choo, famed for his exquisite handmade heels
which are sought after by all the celebrities in America and the whole world including
the fashionista Sarah Jessica Parker, a famous Hollywood actress. Therefore, we
should always look for opportunities to expand our business not just in the Malaysian
market but penetrate the international market as well.

BAND 5 - 6:

Profile of Professionals & Main Goals for the Year Ahead by Age Group

The stimuli present a table on profiles of professionals and another on their main goals for the year
ahead. In general, the youngsters focus on accumulating wealth while the more affluent older group
can afford to concentrate on health.

Based on the information provided, the profile of a professional from the 18 to 27 years age group are
mainly junior executives who have worked an average of 5 years and 40% are married. They only earn
RM3000 so and their main goal is to make more money. Also top on their list is to improve their
technology and communication skills rather than saving money or spending time with family.

The profile of an older professional is completely opposite as these 46 to 55 year olds hold the position
of senior manager with 20 years experience and earn more than triple a junior executives salary. 95%
are married therefore their priorities have changed to focus on being more healthy, saving money and
spending family time rather than on new friendships.

In conclusion, the two groups have very different goals for the year ahead as the juniors prioritise
money and skills while the mostly married seniors concentrate on health, savings and family.

In this era where everything is just a click away, the advanced technology available has provided
mankind with loads of convenience and the invention of internet access allows people to do various
kinds of job sitting in front of the computer. In my opinion, I believe that the increasing cases of
internet crime has brought about many disadvantages. In this essay, I will discuss two bad effects of
internet crime which include loss of personal properties and disturbance in personal life as well as a
prevention method which is to increase self-awareness and alertness in the society.

First and foremost, the victims will suffer from loss of personal properties such as a huge amount of
money and some official data. This is because the personal information of the people who have been
cheated such as bank account number is abused by the criminals. Moreover, the number of hackers
who know well how to access to people's personal online account illegally is also on the rise. Take for
example, many opportunist parties send emails to people telling them that they have won cash prizes
and require their bank account number to bank in the money to their bank accounts but the criminals
actually derive all the money from those bank accounts. Therefore, internet crime has caused people
to lose their personal properties.

Next, internet crime threatens the personal life of the victims. This means that their personal security,
safety and privacy are challenged. Furthermore, their family members probably will suffer from deep
depression too. For instance, some irresponsible people spread rumours on the internet that will ruin
the victim's reputation and some even post the personal details and inappropriate photos of the victim
out of hatred or grudge for the victim and many more. Thus, the victims will experience an ordeal
which people around will look down on them or make fun of them over a long period due to internet
crime.
In order to prevent the internet crime from escalating, one should avoid giving others their email
addresses and especially their account passwords. People should also sign up for trusted websites only.
Besides that, the crime prevention department can collaborate with schools and government to teach
people how to increase their online account protection such as Facebook account and to report as
spam when they receive junk emails. All in all, all these strategies can help to lower the number of
internet crime cases by increasing the self-awareness and alertness of the society.

In conclusion, the disadvantages of internet crime that I mentioned are loss of personal properties and
disturbance of personal life while increasing the self-awareness and alertness of society is one of the
preventions. I still agree that internet crime brings a lot of bad effects to people and the society. I hope
that the government can impose stricter laws so that less people will become the victim of internet
crime in the future.

Day 1, 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 A
Instructions to candidates:
Task A: Individual presentation
Study the stimulus or topic given.
You are given two minutes to prepare your responses.
You are given two minutes to present.
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.
After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four
suggestions is the best.
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. Im 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
toEngland. 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
doesnt 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
andsambal belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices
for curry and rendangand 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, Im 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 dont 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: Im afraid I dont 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 Im 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: Thats 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 ______________________________________ and
____________________________________________. Wouldnt you agree?
A: Im 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: Thats a good point, but dont 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 youve 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: Thats 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 our brother
_______________________________________ as a special going away present?
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) AGR E E = 3 , DI S AGR E E = 1
Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________
is the best choice because ________________________________.
___________________________________________. Thank you.
B) AGR E E = 2 , DI S AGR E E = 2
Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because
SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________
because _______________________________________________
whileTHE REST OF US think that giving him _______________ is
the most useful because _________________
___________________________________________. Thank you.
C ) AL L DI S AGR E E
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.


Hey ho! I'm finally done with all the American Inspiration training ( I represented Malaysia for a 6
week study tour all over america!) and hv cleared my backlog of training of teachers and students for
PMR & SPM English.. called my Target A+ & Final Countdown projects... phew... now I can
concentrate on MUET even though my students are not sitting for this exam.

A short reflection of my students' performance in the July paper.. gosh it was harsh... no band 4s... we
reduced the amount of band 1s but quality has fallen drastically.. ah well. such is life. I was really
shocked that even the science students scored mostly band 2s... If you ask me... it has to do with the
increasing number of seats available in IPTAs around... hence the students left in form six who didnt
get a placement are 'weaker'. If you treat this statement as a fact and not an insult, you need to find
the solution which is to work harder and smarter instead of feeling 'hurt'. remember the song... what
doesn't kill you makes u stronger.. but the latest song on the radio i heard recently is ... what doesn't
kill you makes u feel alive... so soooo try your best to read more, write more and speak n listen more in
English.

Ok.. about Speaking. here are my latest top tips:

1. Speaking is all about confidence - I would say faking confidence is 80% of the trick - the other 20%
is your general knowledge and language.
Why? A confident speaker (even if he/she uses broken English) is more interesting and exciting to
listen to. There is nothing more an examiner dreads than a boring, unconfident mouse. If you're a
mouse, act like a rat. Speak loud enough with enough confidence, look the examiners in the eyes, give
your most brilliant smile and talk and talk like there's no tomorrow. Just say whatever that comes to
mind; serious stuff as well as funny jokes/stories that are related to the topic.
Therefore, YOU NEED TO FAKE CONFIDENCE TO GAIN CONFIDENCE.

2. The 20% is general knowledge. Be well read. If you are talking about the environment you need to
give concrete examples. Mention your personal opinions of how 'sad' and 'disappointed' you are that
people are becoming greedier everyday, that for the sake of money and in the so-called name of
progress 150+ hectares of the Tawau Hills Park has been deforested.. Talk about the widespread forest
burnings to clear land in Indonesia that is destroying the habitats of wildlife like Orangutans and
rhinoceros and so on just to build more palm oil plantations.. the destruction of mangrove swamps to
clear and make way for shrimp farms and this releases ozone thinning gasses, hence global warming is
escalating. The trick is to throw facts and figures at the examiners and make yourself look good and
well-read. However, avoid sweeping statements like 'All governments are greedy', 'Everyone does it for
money.', 'Society does not care about the environment' etc.. because these are over-generalisations
and sweeping statements. Where is the proof? Instead.. say "Somegovernments have been proven to
be profit-minded", "Many people are driven by the concept of making money, esp making 'easy
money'." and "There is a certain strata of society that clearly do not care about the impact to society".
Notice how I modified the sentences to be more 'believable'.
Hence, YOU NEED TO READ MORE N RETAIN SOME INTERESTING FACTS N FIGURES TO
IMPRESS THE EXAMINERS.

3. Finally, you need to memorise good phrases to use (I have blogged about this so look up the archive)
and really use it actively in both tasks. A person who participates and is engaged in the discussion will
definitely deserve better marks. Help each other out by asking questions, offering suggestions, making
the discussion lively and even funny. Even if you dont feel excited, pretend!!! Think of it as a short
sketch...
Thus, BE A DRAMA KING/QUEEN!!!

Finally, do scour my blog for more speaking tips and sample scripts... good luck everyone!

P/s: in the comments below, if u hv taken today's exam, pls write out the speaking questions. There
are generally two sets of questions for each day. Cheerios!



TASK A
1. Prepare about 3 reasons to elaborate your point.
2. Present only 2 of your reasons (choose the best). If you have time, you may speak about
the third reason.
3. Make sure you make conclusion of your point. Its easy actually, just read again the task
given. (e.g In conclusion, I would like to state again that fast food outlet provides job
opportunities to young people. Thank you.)
4. Make sure you DONT finish up your talk before time (2 minutes).
5. For task A, you MUST agree with the point given to you.
6. If you are the last candidate, it is an advantage as you have most time to prepare, but make
sure you listen to what other candidates talk too!
7. If you are the first candidate, dont worry, even you have a short time to prepare, you may
add some points during task B. It is an advantage too as the mark given for task A and task B
is seperated.
TASK B
1. For task B, you should choose which point is the best and agree with. Numbering the best
to the worst point is a good effort.
2. It is not compulsary for you to agree with the point given to you in task A.
3. Make sure you do not leave behind the discussion. If it is looks like you are not given
opportunity to talk, just interupt the discussion at the correct time.
4. If you want to interrupt, make sure you use good language.
5. If you have finish up your speak, just pass it to other candidate. (e.g How about you,
candidate C? Do you agree with me?)
6. It is not compulsary for the first candidate to start on the discussion, but it is an advantage
if you start the discussion. The person that start the discussion is acting as Master of
Ceremony (MC).
7. It is better if MC to state the conclusion, but others can do it so also.
BOTH TASK
1. Make sure you talk loudly so that the examiners and other candidates can hear what you
are talking about.
2. Do make eye contact with others. Act like you are not reading the text.
3. Use a very good language. Do not be rude. Use the magic words like thank you, excuse me,
please and others.
List of Useful Language
TASK A
1. A very good morning I bid to one and all.
2. Good morning to the examiners and all my fellow candidates.
3. The situation I have been given is
4. According to the situation
5. Based on the situation given
6. I have 3 reasons to justify my point.
7. First and foremost,
8. Firstly/Secondly,
9. My second point is
10. Another reason is
11. Finally,
12. Lastly,
13. Last but not least,
14. Furthermore/Moreover/In addition,
15. Therefore/Hence/Thus,
16. However,
17. Other than that,
18. On the other hand,
19. Conversely,
20. Consequently,
21. Subsequently,
22. In contrast,
23. For example/For instance,
24. Take for example,
25. and so on/many more/ others.
26. In conclusion/As a conclusion,
27. In short/In a nutshell,

TASK B
1. Lets kickstart this discussion by starting with..
2. Allow me to begin
3. May I begin by saying
4. Thats a great idea!
5. I see your point!
6. Thats an interesting perspective.
7. I like your suggestion.
8. Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that
9. I concur with your point of view.
10. Im sorry but I disagree.
11. Im afraid I have to disagree with your idea.
12. I dont see eye to eye with you.
13. Thats not a good idea/suggestion.
14. I beg to differ.
15. Im sorry for interrupting but
16. Excuse me, may I interrupt please.
17. Pardon me for interrupting but..
18. Could you please hear me out?
19. So what do you think, Candidate X?
20. How about your point of view?
21. Candidate X, what is your opinion?
22. Does anyone agree with me?
23. Why dont we consider the other points?
24. Im sorry I dont understand, can you please elaborate again?
25. In conclusion, ALL OF US agree that (If all agree)
26. To conclude, MOST OF US agree that (If the number of agree is higher than disagree)
27. In a nutshell, SOME OF US agree that while the rest prefer (If the number of agree
is equal to the number of disagree)
28. As time is running out, it seems that ALL OF US cant seem to agree on a single point
so (All have different point to agree)
29. Thats the end of this discussion, thank you.