MUET Writing Task 1: Report Writing Sample

This is a sample for report writing. There are a few general rule
of thumbs for this question; meet the 150 words requirement
and don't exceed 200 words, don't include any explanation,
elaboration or examples of your own and write in paragraphs.

This is a sample for a decent mark.

MUET WRITING TASK 1 (40 marks)

The chart shows how students on all courses at a Malaysian

university viewed different subjects on a scale of easy to
difficult. You should write 150 to 200 words.

The bar chart shows whether students at a

Malaysian university rated different subjects as easy,
moderately difficult or difficult.
The subject which was most commonly rated as
difficult was maths, by 70% of students. Only 20% saw it as
easy. Physics was also largely judged to be a difficult or
moderately difficult subject. Only 25% of students viewed it as
easy. By contrast, chemistry was regarded as easy by a
massive 70% of students.
As far as language subjects are concerned,
languages in general were seen as easy by 40% of students.
This percentage dropped to 20% for oriental languages. African
languages, however, were viewed as easy by 60% of students.
Next, Art was judged to be an easy subject by only 30% of
students and like Physics, 50% rated it as difficult.
In conclusion, there seems to be no clear correspondence
between the type of subject and whether it was generally rated
as easy or difficult.
SAMPLE 1:

The Various Types of Cooking Oil Used in the Kitchen

The stimuli present a line graph on 'Global production of

cooking oil (2000-2006)', a bar graph on 'Fat content in
commonly-used cooking oils' and an article excerpt on the
healthiness of oils. In general, palm oil is the most produced oil
while the least produced but healthiest option is sunflower oil.

According to the line graph, the highest world oil production is

palm oil increasing steadily from 25 million tonnes in 2000/01
to 35.5 million in 2005/06, beating soya oil by a small margin.
Among the 5 types of oil, sunflower has the lowest production
stabilising at just under 10 million tonnes from 2000 to 2006.
Based on the bar graph, the healthiest oil is sunflower because
it contains the second lowest fat (12%) content and the highest
healthy polyunsaturated fat (71%). This is followed by other
healthy oils with lower fat like canola (7%), olive (15%) and
soya (16%). The unhealthy oils are very high in fat and very low
in polyunsaturated fat such as palm oil (51%) and coconut oil
(91%). The article states that we cannot be sure about how
healthy the oils we eat are because it may contain too much
trans fats leading to heart diseases and cancer.

In conclusion, coconut and palm oil should be avoided because

fo the high fat content while the healthiest oils are sunflower,
canola, olive and soya.

AMPLE 2:

Crimes Involving Foreign Workers in Malaysia

The stimuli show a line graph on 'Number of crime cases

involving foreign workers (2006-2008)', a bar graph on 'Types of
crime committed by foreign workers (2006-2008)' and a
newspaper headline on 'Overworked and Underpaid foreign
workers'. In general, the number of crimes are increasing
steadily from 2006 to 2008 especially petty crimes like robbery
and snatch theft by underpaid foreign workers.

According the the line graph, every year the number of crimes
increases by about 200 cases which is 1535 in 2006, 1780 in
2007 to 1926 in 2008). These crimes can be divided into petty
crimes including robbery and snatch thef and hardcore crimes
like rape and murder. Based on the bar graph, the highest
incidence of crime is robbery that rose from 65 in 2006 to 75
cases in 2008. This is followed by snatch thefts from 15 in 2006
to 18 cases in 2008. Conversely, rape and murder cases have
reduced drastically by 50% or more from 2006 to 2008. The
reasons given for the increase of crimes in the headline are that
foreign workers are unhappy with their meagre incomes which
result in them being overworked and underpaid.

In c onclusion, foreign workers are committing more petty

crimes like robbery and snatch theft because they are
overworked and underpaid.
 A) Title
B) Introduction sentence.
(What are the stimuli?)
C) Overview/Trend
(What is the most outstanding idea that LINKS all stimuli?)
D) Key Features
(Most outstanding features as opposed to listing down the
obvious features)
E) Conclusion sentence.
(Similar to Overview but just written from a different angle.)

Based on the format given, you could easily write 150 - 200
words.

A) Title:
Visitation of Youths to the Dentist from 1971-2010

B) Introduction:
The stimuli present a bar graph on the Number of Youths
visiting the the dentist over four decades (1971-2010) and a
table listing medical and cosmetic reasons for two periods
(1971-1980 and 2001-2010).
C) Overview/Trend:
In general, visits to the dentist has risen steadily for both
genders and girls recorded the highest visitations mainly for
cosmetic reasons.

D) Key features:
ANALYSIS (within each stimulus)

* According the the bar graph, visitations to the dentist by both

genders increased steadily.
* The lowest recorded visitations was by the girls in 1971-1980
with only 26,000 visits. This total almost tripled to 75,000 in
2001-2010 which is also the highest recorded for both genders.
* The lowest recorded visitations by boys was also recorded in
1971-1980 with 30,000 visits which doubled to 60,000 in 2001-
2010.
* 1971-1980 was the only period where the number of boys
visiting the dentist was more than girls.

* According to the table, the main reason for visiting the dentist
for both genders is for filling cavities.
* Girls showed a drastic increase of reasons for visiting the
dentist where they only went for medical reasons in 1971-1980
to going for both medical and cosmetic reasons in 2001-2010.
* In 1971-1980, boys visited the dentist for more medical
reasons than the girls and later in 2001-2010 they clearly
visited the dentist only when they had medical reasons rather
than cosmetic ones.
* By 2001-2010, girls showed very high concern for cosmetic
reasons compared to boys as records showed that they visited
the dentist to fit braces and to whiten or clean their teeth
whereas boys only had braces fitted.

SYNTHESIS (Linking between stimuli)

* The number of visitations for both genders showed a steady
increase which is parallel with the increase of reasons for going
to the dentist over the years.
* Girls recorded the lowest visitations to the dentist with only
26,000 in 1971-1980 because they only went for one medical
reason which was to fill cavities.
* In 1971-1980 as well, boys recorded a slightly higher rate of
visitations than girls (30,000) because they went for more
medical reasons which was to get their teeth extracted as well
as cavities filled.
* The data shows girls recorded the highest visitations (75,000)
to the dentist in 2001-2010 when cosmetic treatments like
fitting braces and the whitening and cleaning of teeth were
available.
* Boys also recorded the highest visitations to the dentist in
2001-2010 (60,000) which is double the number in 1971-
1980(30,000) but they mainly went for medical reasons rather
than cosmetic ones.

E) Conclusion:
In conclusion, visits to the dentist steadily increased for both
genders by 2001-2010 whereby boys showed more concern for
medical reasons while girls focused more on cosmetic reasons.
 The Sale of Magazines from January to March
The graph shows the sale of four magazines and Mostly
Magsadvertisement specials from January to March.

The Mostly Mags advertisement specials influences the

number of Magazines sold from January to March.

The highest number of magazines sold throughout three

months is Supermuscles, that's 53000. The lowest number of
magazines sold from January to March is Homedecor, only
30000.The most number of magazines sold in January is
Supermuscles, followed by Household Pets. In February, the
most number of magazines sold is Household Pets while the
least number is Personal Grooming. In March, the magazines
sold for Supermuscles and Household Pets are the same which
was 18000.

Increase of sale from January to February is influence by

10% discount except Supermuscles. The promotion of free
exercising kit to one year subscriber influenced the total
number of magazines sold in January to be higher than
February, which was 56000 and 55000 respectively. In March,
Homedecor shows the lowest number of magazines sold as the
buy one free one exclude Homedecor.

In conclusion, the number of magazines sold in these four

magazines are dependent on the Mostly Mags advertisement
specials.//Readers choice changes according to offers given.

Describing Line Graphs (1)

Look at the following simple line graph:
It shows the population of Denmark from 1996 to 2007. You can see that in 1996 the population was
5.25 million and that by the year 2007 it had grown to 5.45 million.

When you write about a line chart it is important to look first at the Chart Title. This tells you what
information the graph displays and you can use this information in your description.

Then look at the X and Y axes. The titles of these axes sometimes give you information you can use
in your description. It is important also to look at the UNITS. On the Y-axis in this graph the units are
millions. The population of Denmark in 1996 was not 5.25, but 5.25 million people.

Line graphs describe change. When describing these graphs you must answer the question, "What
changed?". In this case we can see that the population of Denmark increased from 1996 to 2007.

We can also ask the question, "How did the population change?". Because the line is fairly smooth,
we can say that the population increased steadily.

Lastly, we can ask the question, "How much?". In this case, "How big was the change in population?"
The population in 1996 was 5.25 million and in 2007 it was 2.45 million. So there was an increase of
0.2 million or 200,000 people.

To write a short description of this graph ask yourself (and answer!) the following
questions:

1. What exactly does the graph show? (Use the chart title to help you answer this question)

2. What are the axes and what are the units?

3. What changed?

4. How much did it change?

Answering these questions will help you to write a short description of this simple graph.

Here is an example:
This graph shows population change in Denmark from 1996 to 2007. Denmark's population grew
steadily from 5.25 million in 1996 to 5.45 million in 2007, an increase of 200,000 people.

Vocabulary
Other words you can use instead of increased or grew are rose and went up.

Adverbs you can use with these words are:

How? How much?

dramatically, significantly, considerably, rapidly, substantially, by X% (by X per cent),

increased steadily, sharply, markedly, greatly, slightly, exponentially, by X (units), from X to Y,
proportionally, strongly tenfold, fourfold ...

rapidly, steadily, slowly, gradually, dramatically, substantially, by X% (by X per cent),

grew by X (units), from X to Y
enormously, quickly

rose sharply, slowly, steadily, slightly, rapidly, quickly, dramatically, by X% (by X per cent),
significantly, substantially, gently, fractionally, considerably,
 gradually by X (units), from X to Y

by X% (by X per cent),

went up The above adverbs are not usually used with "went up".
by X (units), from X to Y

The pie charts provide information on the time spent in a Malaysian university library
by undergraduates and postgraduates compared to all students over the past year. It is
noticeable that postgraduates spend a significant amount of time in the library when
compared to the other students.

Overall, the time spend in the library by undergraduates and the total student population
was quite similar. The majority of undergraduates spend 1 to 7 hours in the library, which is
similar to the total student population, the figures were 63% and 50 % respectively. The
minority of both groups spend 15+ hours in the library, at 9% and 15% respectively.

Meanwhile, the majority of postgraduates spend 15+ hours in the library, which
was slightly above half at 51%. While the minority of postgraduates spend 1 to 7 hours in the
library. This is the complete opposite when compared to the total student population and
undergraduates.

The only similarity between the undergraduates and postgraduates was that about one
third of both groups spend 8 to 14 hours in the library, the figures were 28% and 32%
respectively.

In conclusion, there is a clear trend towards using the library more as students move
towards post-graduation.
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.