ENHANCING MUET

PERFORMANCE

Reading 800/3
Presented by:
Sir Amran Misbah
B. Education TESL (Honours) OUM
 Reading Carries the
Highest Weightage….. 40%
• 6 Sections x 45 questions x 1½ hours:
1. One passage with graphics (Non-Linear)
2. 5 Comprehension passages

• Question types:
3. 3 option objective questions
4. 4 option objective questions
 3-Option MCQ
This questioning technique is introduced to really
challenge candidates’ reading ability.
1.True
2.False
3.Not stated
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.
 Information Transfer Tip No. 1:
NON-LINEAR
Identify the type FORMS:
of non-linear 1. TABLES
forms used. 2.PIE CHARTS
3.FLOW CHARTS
4.BAR GRAPHS
5.LINE GRAPHS
6. PICTOGRAMS
 Information Transfer Tip No. 2:
Learn the vocabulary commonly used in
information transfer exercises.

• Rise • Fall/Drop
• Go up • Go down
• Gain • Loss
• Increase • Decrease
• Improve • Depreciate
• Escalate • Deteriorate
• Incline • Decline
• More than
• Higher than • Less than
• Most • Lower than
• Highest • Least
• Largest • Lowest
• Smallest
• Constant • Steady • Erratic
• Stable • Gradual • Sharp • Fluctuating
• Equal • Slight • Drastic
• Maintain • Steep
• Minimum • Strong/Weak
• Marginal • Maximum
• 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)
• Expenditur • 2nd Quarter (Apr-Jun)
e • 3rd Quarter (Jul-Sept)
• 4th Quarter (Oct-Dec)
• Annually (1 Year)
• Biannually (2 Years)
• Decade (10 Years)
• Century (100 Years)
 Reading Comprehension
• Usually the difficulty level of the
comprehension passages will
increase with each passage.
• For each passage, there will be 7-8
questions that cover:
1. Content
2. Vocabulary
3. 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 & 3.
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 anaphoric (before) or

cataphoric (after) referencing
technique
to find the answer.
 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.

1) The word ‘It’ refers to

a) sleep
b) health
c) insomnia
Reading Comprehension TIP No.3:
When you cannot locate the answer directly you need
to ‘infer’, i.e. make intelligent assumptions.
Eg. Many people bought the product. Profits increased
due to high sales.
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
• For Vocabulary:
Eg. The word ‘ ’ in line 3 refers to
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.
Can you break this word down?
deforestation
forest – root word

de – to remove
– noun to show process
-ation
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
-ation – noun to show process

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
-ation – noun to show process

ie. Desalination is the process of removing

salt from water.
Reading Comprehension Tip No. 5
• For 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. 6
• For 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. 7
• For Writer’s Tone:
Eg. The writer’s purpose is to
A support
B inform
C go 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. Logically, the 2nd
try will be higher than the 1st or there is
something wrong with…….YOU!
 If you do well
in reading,
half the battle is
won!
Good Luck!