It is wise to be familiar with the MUET reading test format before your test.
The reading test is paper 3 of the Malaysian University English Test (MUET). It is a test that is made up of reading comprehension.
The main aim of the reading test is to assess a student’s ability to understand different types of reading materials. You will find in the reading test, texts that are of different length and of different levels of difficulty. This level of difficulty will be very clear to see as you move on from one part of the test to the later parts.
The questions found in this paper are multiple choice questions (MCQs). You will need to choose the best answer from a selection of answers. Once you have selected the correct answer, transfer your answer choice onto the answer sheet provided to you. Also, use only a 2B pencil to indicate your answers on the answer sheet.
Getting to know the MUET reading test format will certainly help in your understanding of the paper. Similarly, you would also need to know the format of the the other test papers as well. Here are links for articles on the format of the other 3 test papers.
For sure you will know what to expect as you sit for the test.
Also knowing the format will allow you to familiarise yourself with the types of texts that you will find in the test paper. And most importantly allow you to see how the questions are written.
Let’s find out more about the MUET reading test format.
MUET Reading test format
There are 40 questions in the test altogether. And the maximum marks for the reading paper is 90 marks. You will have 75 minutes to complete answering the questions that are divided into 7 parts. Here is a detailed description of the MUET reading exam format.
Part 1
Text length
You will find 3 short texts of the same type here. All will be linked by one theme. Eg. 3 different brochures of 3 different hotels. The length of the 3 texts will amount to 100 to 150 words.
Question type
The questions are multiple matching. This means that the answers for the 4 questions could be found in any of the 3 short texts. You will see that the 4 questions will be written first. They will then be followed by the 3 reading texts.
Text you would get:
Advertisements (flyers or brochures), announcements, notices, labels etc.
Test focus
The tasks test a candidate’s ability to read multiple texts for specific factual information.
Number of question
4 question
Part 2 and 3
Text length
Only one text for each part here. The length of each text will be between 300 to 450 words.
Question type
You will find that for both parts 2 and 3 will contain 5 questions each. Therefore the total number of questions here for part 2 and 3 is 10 questions. These are MCQs that will only have 3 options for you to choose from. They are options A to C.
Text you would get:
Straightforward factual texts like short stories, newspaper/ magazine articles, emails, informal letters etc.
Test focus
The tasks test a candidate’s ability to:
- Read for main ideas and supporting details
- Make inferences
- Identify details and examples to support arguments
- Predict outcomes
Number of question
10 questions
Part 4
Text length
Contains 2 different texts that are based on the same theme. Eg. Both texts are about a review of the same movie. Both texts combined will be about 700 – 800 words long.
Question type
2 MCQs will be based on text 1, 2 MCQs based on text 2 and another 2 MCQs will be on comparing the two texts. The MCQs for this part will be made up of 3 answer options.
Text you would get:
Long and complex texts such as specialist magazines, research bulletin, reviews etc.
Test focus
The tasks test a candidate’s ability to:
- Understand main ideas and supporting details and gist
- Understand text organisation
- infer meaning from context
- Identify facts and opinions
- Interpret text for author’s intentions, attitudes and style
- Compare and evaluate information in different text
Number of question
6 questions
Part 5
Text length
One text that will be 500 – 600 words long.
Question type
This is a gapped text with 6 sentences missing. It means that the text will have blanks where the correct sentences should be. Your task is for you to choose which sentence could best fit in the blanks. This is done by you choosing the correct missing sentence from a selection of sentences.
Text you would get:
Long and complex texts such as specialist magazine articles, reviews, research bulletins etc.
Test focus
The tasks test a candidate’s ability to:
- Identify the purpose of a paragraph or text
- Recognise texts structure of the whole text
- Identify cause and effect relationships
Number of question
6 questions
Part 6 and 7
Text length
There will be 2 texts – one for each part 6 and 7. The length of each text is 700 – 900 words long. The texts set for these parts are long and complex.
Question type
The MCQs will have 4 answer options.
Text you would get:
Lengthy complex texts such as specialist magazines, reports, journal articles, professional publications etc.
Test focus
The tasks test a candidate’s ability to:
- Recognise text features (details, opinion, emotion etc)
- Recognise text organisation (examples given, comparison, and reference)
Type of texts
The texts used in the MUET reading test are from many different sources. The texts type could be of a/an:
- Interview
- Speeches
- An excerpt from a magazine
- Journals
- Newspaper
- Academic texts
- Electronic texts
- Literary texts
Number of question
14 questions
