If you are on this page then there is a great chance that you are soon to be a Malaysian University English Test (MUET) candidate. It is great that you want to find out more about the MUET exam format.
MUET is made up of 4 papers – based on the 4 skills. They are the listening, speaking, reading and writing papers.
Take time to understand this exam format. This is because it will certainly help to prepare you in what to expect when sitting for the exam.
MUET-CEFR
Most universities in Malaysia would require students who intend to enter their first degree programmes to have sat for MUET. Students would have to achieve a certain band in MUET depending on their choice of studies in universities.
A student intending to pursue their studies in law for instance would need to achieve at least a band 5 in MUET. This is possibly due to the requirement of being able to read law books and industry demands. Accordingly, for religious studies like Syariah or Usuluddin for instance would require a student to achieve a much lower band to enter the course of studies.
MUET is Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) aligned. This means that MUET is recognised not only in Malaysia but certain countries around the world too. You can read more on MUET-CEFR in my article by clicking the link below.
To be able to perform well in MUET you would need to first of all understand the different papers. It is good therefore to familiarise yourself with the MUET exam format first.
MUET test specification
As mentioned earlier, the MUET test is made up of four papers. They are based on the four skills. Paper 1 is the listening paper, paper 2 the speaking paper, paper 3 reading and paper 4 is writing.
Paper 2 which is the speaking test, is the only paper that is held on a weekday. The other three papers, namely the reading, writing and listening paper will be held on the same day which is on a Saturday.
As you can see from the table, the duration for each paper is different. The duration for the listening paper is 50 minutes and the speaking paper will take about 30 minutes to complete.
The duration for the reading and writing paper is 75 minutes which is one hour and 15 minutes.
Interestingly, all four papers have the same weighting. Each paper represents 25% of the whole MUET test.
This therefore means that all four papers have the same importance in MUET. Let’s now look at the marks for each paper.
Marks allocation
All papers that you will be sitting for in MUET carries a maximum of 90 marks. And these marks will add up to the total amount of 360 marks which is the maximum marks of the whole MUET exam.
Only looking at a table such as this one will not tell you much about the different papers in MUET.
As a teacher I believe that it is wise for you to know more about each paper to be able to perform better in each of them. You can read more about the marks allocation and the format for each paper from my articles by clicking the link in the list below.
Understanding the format for each paper will certainly help you to understand the MUET exam more. This will in turn allow you to be more prepared for what to expect in each of the different skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Let’s now understand the different bands in MUET
MUET Aggregated score
The marks that you get for each paper will be added up and subsequently give you a total score for MUET. This range of marks will then fall under a certain band.
The highest band in MUET is band 5+ while the lowest is band 1.
Basic User
Band 1.0 to band 2.5 in MUET would place a student under a basic user of English.
A basic user is a student who is in the beginner level of English. As a basic user you would be able to provide really basic and simple sentences like telling your name and where you live in the language.
Getting these bands would mostly see a student having to resit the whole MUET exam.
This is because to be accepted into universities, you would need to get at least a band 3 in MUET. Band 3 is generally accepted as a passing band in MUET.
As a teacher I would advise these students to enrol in a MUET tuition class or find a teacher who will help you get through the paper.
I could see that the papers that require students to produce a response, namely the speaking and writing paper, could be a little bit tricky at times.
The questions given for both papers may seem easy on the first reading but actually require a student to answer them in a certain way to be accepted as a good response.
Hence the need to find a teacher that will show you the way to do this correctly.
Reading articles in my blog and watching videos from my Youtube channel will certainly help you in this direction. Slowly but surely you will see yourself understanding the MUET exam format and the correct way of answering the questions more.
Click this link to watch informative videos on my Youtube channel.
Independent user
In the exam, try hard to get at least a Band 3 to band 4.5 which is categorised as an independent user of English. An independent user is able to listen to, understand and then produce a response in the language well.
These are the bands that will allow you to enter most courses in universities. To be able to achieve these bands might seem easy but require some work on your part.
What is important I believe is for you to complete MUET practices on a regular basis. This will prepare you for the MUET exam well.
Achieving this category as an independent user of the language when English is your second or third language, is truly something that you can be proud of.
Proficient user
Achieving a band 5 and 5+ will see you fall under the category of a proficient user of the language. A proficient user is an advanced learner of the language.
If you are a proficient user you are able to express your thoughts spontaneously and be clear when doing it. You would be very fluent in English and what you say is precise and on point with the topic being discussed.
Moreover, you are able to understand the different shades of meaning in a person’s utterance. As could be seen in the use of idioms and colloquialism in the listening texts.
This will lead you to understand the listening texts better. Also, you would find it easy to hold conversations and express your thoughts well in more complex situations.
