1.

Read quality materials

 Read articles that are published by reliable sources such as: Reader’s Digest, TIME
Magazine…etc.
 Articles used in the exams are usually from these types of source
 Keep yourself updated on current issues by reading newspapers (Example: The
STAR, New Straits Times, The Edge)

2. Use your time wisely!

 You only have 1.5 hours to answer 45 exam questions
 If you do the math, that would mean that you only have 2 minutes per question
 ALWAYS read the question first, and underline the keywords
 Make sure you don’t just skim through the text but scan for specific information

3. Know your vocabulary

 There will be 6 texts altogether in the exam paper, and the first one always has a non-
linear stimuli (Example: graph, chart or diagram)
 You will need the relevant vocabulary knowledge to describe the trend(s) shown in
the given diagram(s)
 This is also a useful practice for report writing as it deals with the same language
functions

4. DON’T ACT SMART!

 For some questions, you will be asked to ‘infer’ or make intelligent assumptions based
on the given evidences in the texts
 For ‘True/False/Not Stated’ questions, NEVER use your own opinions to answer
because what is logical to you may not be academically correct
 My tip to you is that you should underline the evidence(s) in the texts
 For ‘True’, you must be able to identify proof that shows that the statement is correct
 You should also underline evidences that prove a statement to be wrong in order to
choose ‘False’ as your answer
 For ‘Not Stated’, you will find that it is almost impossible to underline any evidence at
all. Hence, these are the fundamental differences between the answer selections
‘True/False/NotStated’

5. Train your brain

 Guessing the meaning of a vocabulary can be quite tricky especially when you don’t
have the access to a dictionary or the internet (Google.com) during your exam. Hence,
you need to train your brain to assess the root word
 Focus on the prefix/suffix in order to identify the meaning
 If you think the word is a positive, negative or neutral one – reconfirm again by looking
at the context of the texts for clues to support your assumption
 Review the answers and options given by eliminating the answer that is most unlikely
to be correct before making a calculated guess
 For example, in the phrase: “the degradation of water quality”, the
word ‘degradation’ comes from the root word ‘grade’ which means level or standard.
The ‘de’ suffix has a negative connotation where it means the removal of something,
while ‘tion’ is a noun that explains the process of something
 Thus, the phrase means “the drop of standard /quality of water”

6. Assess the writer’s intentions

The MUET level comprehension questions do not focus on content alone
Instead, the questions given require candidates to assess the writer’s:

 (A) Purpose
Example: to inform, discuss, argue, compare, persuade…etc.

 (B) Style of writing

Example: describing, comparing and contrasting, giving examples, explaining causes
and effects, sequencing events…etc.

 (C) Tone
Example: supportive, opposing, indifferent, neutral, biased…etc.