To get a high band in the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) or even the highest band which is the band 5+ will require you to excel in all the four papers.
This would inevitably involve improving your English language level on the whole.There is ofcourse a whole lot of things that you would need to do to achieve this.
So will improving your English language skill alone determine a high band in MUET? Well, unfortunately – no, not entirely. There are a number of other steps that you will need to take to secure the high band.
Before we go any further with the guide on how to do well in MUET, you would need to understand the test format first.
This is so that you would know what to expect during the test. Also, it will give you a guide on what and how to prepare for the paper. Other than that, knowing the format would also help you to identify which skills you would need to focus on more to score the high band.
The MUET test is made up of 4 components, which are namely the listening, speaking, reading and writing paper.
Each of these components carries a maximum score of 90 marks. So as you can see, all papers will carry the same importance. This is because each paper will make up 25% of the whole MUET test.
In other words, you would need to do well in all four papers because there is not one paper that will give you more marks than the other. When added up, all four papers will give you a total of 360 marks which is the maximum marks you can score for MUET.
Here are the different components of the test.
The listening test
The MUET listening test is paper 1 of the MUET test. For this test, you will have to listen to different dialogues and a monologue. You will get to listen to the recording twice.
From your listening, you will then answer multiple-choice questions based on the audio. There is going to be a total of 30 questions for you to complete.
I would have to say that you will find some questions to be quite tricky. But do not worry too much about this. This is because If you happen to miss the answer from your first listening then focus on finding that answer when you listen to the audio the second time. Once you have selected the correct answer, you would need to indicate it on the OMR sheet.
The duration for the listening test is 90 minutes from start to finish. The total marks that you can get for the listening paper is 90 marks.
The speaking test
This is paper 2 of the MUET test. There are going to be two parts in the test. They are part 1 which is the individual presentation and part 2 which is the group discussion.
The duration of the test is 30 minutes from start to finish. The speaking test will test you on your ability to orally present your ideas on a given topic.
There will be four candidates in each session. They are candidates A, B, C and D.
For part 1, you will be presenting your ideas individually. Each candidate will get a different task to talk about based on one topic. All candidates will get two minutes to prepare for part one.
When all the four candidates have finished presenting in part 1, you will then move on to complete part 2 of the speaking paper. Part two requires you to have a discussion with the other candidates on a topic.
Each candidate will get the same question to answer. The questions will be in the form of a mind map.
Because this is the language paper, you will be tested on the sentences you use, the different vocabulary, the use of idioms, and generally how you present your ideas in a semi formal way.
The maximum marks you can get for this paper is 90 marks.
The reading test
The reading component for MUET, tests you on your ability to understand reading texts. These texts range from the less formal to the more formal types of writing.
There are 7 parts to the paper. For this test, you will need to read the texts and then answer multiple choice questions based on the different passages. There will be 40 questions for you to answer.
The duration of the test is 75 minutes. The maximum marks for the reading test is 90 marks.
The writing test
The MUET writing test is paper 4 of the test. There will be two tasks for you to answer. In task 1 you will need to write a reply to a letter or an email. Task 2 on the other hand will see you writing a response on one statement given on a topic.
This paper tests your ability to put forward your ideas in writing that will be suited for higher education.
The duration of this paper is in 75 minutes. In other words, you will only have one hour and 15 minutes to complete two writing tasks.
What this means is you will have to be able to manage your time wisely and brainstorm ideas that will help you in your writing. It is very important for you to be able to write a convincing piece of writing thta is also well structured.
Now that you already understand the test format, let’s move on to some tips and strategies that will guide you in getting a high band from MUET.
To get a band 5+ in MUET or close to it, you would need to:
1. Fulfil the task set
The very first thing that you would need to do to gain a high band for MUET is for you to fulfil the task given. To fulfil the task you would need to provide a response that will directly answer the question.
This is particularly important for the speaking and writing paper. The criteria an examiner will look out for when giving you marks for your response will be on whether you have fulfilled the task or not.
So how do you fulfil the task? To fulfil the task, you would need to do two things. First, you would need to read the question carefully. And second is for you to make sense of the question and understand what is required of you. This means giving a response that will directly answer the question.
I cannot stress this enough. It’s very important for you to first of all answer the question in a way that the question wants you to.
Now, because this is a language test for tertiary education, the language that you use will almost certainly determine the band that you will get.
Let’s look at what you can do to gain high marks for language use.
2. Vocabulary choice
Language use will make a large part of your marks in the speaking and writing paper. And one aspect of language use is your choice of vocabulary.
Your choice of vocabulary determines whether you will fall in the lower band or a higher band for MUET.
You would therefore need to have and use a wide range of vocabulary for the topics that you get. The use of a wide vocabulary will for sure help you give a very clear and accurate response to the questions.
Using a wide range of vocabulary that may fall under the category of low frequency words (LFW) helps in putting forward your ideas effectively. Your response to the task in the speaking test and the essays for the writing paper will sound more accurate and refined.
So what this means is for you to improve your list of vocabulary for certain topics. There are topics that keep recurring in the MUET test papers. Identify these topics.
Then take time to build a vocabulary list based on these topics. Make sure you know the meaning and how to use the words and phrases correctly in a sentence. This will certainly help you later on when sitting for the test.
3. Practise listening for details
I believe that for you to be able to answer the listening paper well is for you to get used to listening in English. On normal days, you would be listening to songs in English or watching English movies. Listening to these is very good practice.
Nevertheless, you should also practise listening for specific details. This could be done when you listen to the news and identify the specific information regarding the news. This is because the listening test will test you on listening for details, found in the recordings.
I would advise you to be comfortable in listening to texts in conversation in the English language. One way for you to get used to listening to English conversations is for you to listen to podcasts. You can find really good podcasts on different topics online for free.
Another way for you to get used to listening and identifying specific information is for you to actually complete some MUET listening test samples. In doing the test samples you will also get used to the format of the test. On top of that you will also familiarise yourself with how the questions are going to be asked.
4. Improving your pronunciation
Your pronunciation of words in English plays a very important role in the MUET speaking test. The MUET speaking test as the name suggests will test you on your ability to speak well in the language.
One of the criteria that shows a person could speak well in English is for them to be able to pronounce words correctly and clearly.
In the speaking test, examiners will want to hear you putting forward your ideas in a clear way, using correct English and getting the pronunciation right. Doing these can ensure that you will get high marks for language in the speaking test.
Therefore it is important for you to have a clear and accurate pronunciation.
5. Improve your reading skills.
There are certain reading skills that you will need to adopt and get used to, to do well in the reading paper. One such skill is listening comprehension. The listening comprehension is a skill whereby you are able to read, understand what the text is about and integrate the information with what you already know.
Sharpening, this skill is going to be very beneficial. In the reading test you would need to read long text and answer questions based on the texts. On top of that is that there are also time constraints.
What this means is you would need to get used to reading texts and locating the supporting details for the answers to the questions very quickly.
To be able to do this is for you to do extra practice on the reading test sample papers.
Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to this. You will need to put in the hard work to do well in the reading test.
6. Develop your writing skills.
The very last item that will guide you to get a high band in MUET is for you to be good in your writing.
The MUET writing test requires you to write a reply to an email or a letter for task 1. These seem to be easy enough. But you would also need to know how to properly answer the task.
So to ensure this, you would need to have the basic knowledge of how to respond to task 1 correctly.
Similarly, for task 2, which is the extended writing, you would need to be able to write in a convincing way. I could see students who do well in the writing test, have a basic understanding of how to write a proper introduction, content points, and the conclusion to the essay.
Apart from this, you would need to have an understanding of certain topics and be in touch with current issues that are happening around us. Presenting your ideas with the help of examples from current happenings will certainly improve your content marks.
What this means is that you would need to read the newspapers, read blogs on websites, and also listen to the news in English.
In conclusion, these are the number of ways where you can determine that you will secure a high band for MUETt and even gain the highest band, which is the band5+.
