ENHANCING MUET

PERFORMANCE Reading 800/3

Presented by
Miss Nasuha binti Abdul Rahman Najib
Miss Afiqah binti Mohamad Afendi
 MUET OVERVIEW
Paper Code Paper Duration Weighting Maximum score

800/1 Listening 30 minutes 15% 45

800/2 Speaking 30 minutes 15% 45

800/3 Reading 90 minutes 40% 120

800/4 Writing 90 minutes 30% 90

Total Aggregate Score 100% 300

 MUET OVERVIEW
Band 1 Below 100

Band 2 Aggregated score: 101-139

Band 3 Aggregated score: 140-179

Band 4 Aggregated score: 180-219

Band 5 Aggregated score: 220-259

Band 6 Aggregated score: 260-300

 READING ASSESMENT MARKS

• Highest weightage which is 40%

• 6 Sections x 45 questions x 1½ hours:
– One passage with graphics (Non-Linear)
– 5 Comprehension passages
• Question types:
– 3 option objective questions
– 4 option objective questions
 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
ARTICLE
• Taken from well-known English magazine and
newspaper such as Newsweek, The Star, Reader’s
Digest and New Straits Times.
• Topics related to culture, current issues, social
problems, agriculture, politics and economy.
• 1- 1 ½ page article
• Range from easy to hard reading materials
LINEAR AND NON-LINEAR
ARTICLES
 NON – LINEAR ARTICLE

NON-LINEAR FORMS:
Identify the type 1.TABLES
of non-linear 2.PIE CHARTS
3.FLOW CHARTS
forms used.
4.BAR GRAPHS
5.LINE GRAPHS
6.PICTOGRAMS
 NON – LINEAR ARTICLE:
VOCAB
Learn the vocabulary commonly used in
information transfer exercises. Examples:
• Rise • Fall/Drop
• Go up • Go down
• Gain • Loss
• Increase • Decrease
• Improve • Depreciate
• Escalate • Deteriorate
• Incline • Decline
 NON – LINEAR ARTICLE:
VOCAB

• More than Less than

• Higher than • Lower than
• Most • Least
• Highest • Lowest
• Largest • Smallest
• Constant • Steady • Sharp • Erratic
• Stable • Gradual • Drastic • Fluctuating
• Equal • Slight • Steep
• Maintain • Strong/Weak
• Minimum • Maximum
• Marginal • Record High/
Record Low
•Doubled/2
Times
•Tripled/3
Times
•Quadrupled/
4 Times
(+) • Cost • Start/Beginning
• Profit • Spent • Mid/Middle
• Growth • Incur • End/Ending
• Production • Paid In • Quarterly (1/4)
• Increment • Paid Out • Half (1/2)
(–) • Trade • Weekly
• Loss • Invest • Fortnightly (2 Weeks)
• Claims • Import • Monthly
• Expense • Export • 1st Quarter (Jan-Mar)
• Expenditure • 2nd Quarter (Apr-Jun)
• 3rd Quarter (Jul-Sept)
• 4th Quarter (Oct-Dec)
• Annually (1 Year)
• Biannually (2 Years)
• Decade (10 Years)
• Century (100 Years)
 TYPES OF QUESTIONS: 3 OPTION MCQ
• Challenge candidates’ reading ability.
• Two type
– True / False / Not stated
– Common MCQ answers
• Read very carefully before choosing the right answer.
• Do not use your general knowledge to answer the
question, if it is not in the passage,
• Don’t assume you know the answer by choosing the
one that is logically right. Select ‘NOT STATED’ if it
CANNOT BE FOUND in the passage or stimuli.
 TYPES OF QUESTIONS: 4 OPTION MCQ

• Mostly based on text where students need to make

inference, assumption and used referencing techniques.
Example:
1. The word protocols (line 11) can be replaced by
A. training
B. diagnosis
C. treatments
D. procedures
• Read very carefully before choosing the right answer.
READING COMPREHENSION
TIPS
• Usually the difficulty level of the
comprehension passages will increase with
each passage.
• For each passage, there will be 7-8 questions
that cover:
 Content
 Vocabulary
 Critical Thinking
READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 1
ANSWERS USUALLY FOLLOW THE SEQUENCE
i.e. Read the passage carefully as the answer for
the 2nd question is usually found between the
answers for Q1 & Q3.

eg. If the answer for Q1 is in LINE 5 and Q3 is in

LINE 20, then the answer for Q2 is most likely
around LINE 6 TO 19.
READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 2
Use the referencing techniques to find the
answer in passage.
Anaphoric (before the word)
or
Cataphoric (after the word)
Anaphoric reference (before the word):

A study was conducted on 200 Malaysian

respondents. The researchers conducted the
survey by giving them questionnaires to answer.
1. The word ‘them’ refers to
A. the study
B. the respondents
C. the survey
D. the questionnaire
Cataphoric reference (after the word):

It is one of the most common sleep

disorders and a major health problem. In

fact, insomnia affects normal rest patterns

and as a result insomniacs find it difficult to

fall asleep.
 READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 3
MAKING INFERENCE
• When you cannot locate the answer directly you need
to ‘infer’, i.e. make intelligent assumptions.
• The assumptions should be based on the text/paragraph
provided in the article and not on guess without proof
basis.
 EXAMPLE

“Many people bought the product. Profits increased due

to high sales.”

1. All of the following statements are false except:

A. The product was a failure.
B. The product was a success.
C. The product was expensive.
D. The product was easy to use.
* Pay attention to words like ‘except’ and ‘not’ as it may
trick you into choosing the wrong answer. Other common
phrases used include: ‘Which of the following is true?’
 READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 4
PREFIXES & SUFFIXES
• prefix is a group of letters placed before the root of a
word.
Unhappy – “not happy”
• A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root of a
word.
Flavorless -"having no flavor"
Can you break this word down?

deforestation
forest – root word
de – to remove (prefix)
-ation – noun to show process (suffix)

ie. Deforestation is the process of removing

trees from the forest.
Now can you figure this word out?

degradation
grade (level of quality) – root word
de – to remove (prefix)
-ation – noun to show process (suffix)

ie. Degradation is the decrease of quality of

something.
Now can you figure this word out?

desalination
saline (salty water) – root word
de – to remove (prefix)
-ation – noun to show process (suffix)

ie. Desalination is the process of removing

salt from water.
 READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 5
VOCABULARY:
eg. The word ‘___’ in line 3 refers to…

What do you need to do???

1. Eliminate impossible answers.
2. Identify the root word.
3. Identify prefixes and/or suffixes.
4. Use anaphoric or cataphoric referencing.
5. Select the most likely answer.
 READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 6
PREDICTION:
eg. A suitable title for the passage is ______.
Read the text carefully before selecting the best
title.
 DRAWING CONCLUSION:
eg. It can be concluded that ______.
Read the entire text carefully before summing it
up.
 Reading Comprehension Tip
No. 7 (EXCEPT)
Question in regards to writer’s style:
eg. The writer develops his ideas using…
A. compare and contrast
B. problems and solutions
C. cause and effect
D. timeline
You need to read the text carefully to see
the writer’s line of argument.
READING COMPREHENSION
TIP NO. 8
Question on writer’s tone:
eg. The writer’s purpose is to…
A. support
B. inform
C. against
D. persuade
You have to think about the writer’s main
intention of writing the text.
 GENERAL TIPS
The ONLY ways to improve are:
1.READ, READ & READ SOME MORE. (read at
least 1 newspaper a day &1 book a week)
2.PRACTISE, PRACTISE & PRACTISE EVEN
MORE. (do each reading comprehension test
TWICE, 1st time without referring to dictionary or
friends, 2nd time with reference.
3.Logically, upon the 2nd try the score will be
higher than the 1st.
GENERAL TIPS
• If you want TO COUNT your marks for this
component:
your score x 120 / 45
Example: 30 x 120 / 45 = 80/120.
• If you want a prediction of your band:
your score x 300 / 45
Example: 30 x 300 /45 = 200/300 (Band 4)*

*refer to the slide for band

*this is only to estimate your band and is not the real result.
 BAND

• Band 1 : 0 - 99
• Band 2: 1 00 - 1 39
• Band 3: 1 40 - 1 7 9
• Band 4: 1 80 - 21 9
• Band 5: 220 - 259
• Band 6: 260 - 300