Question 1 MUET Mid Year Writing Paper 800/4 sample answer

So what does it take to write a good report for Question 1 of the writing paper? Well
there is a secret formula which I've developed based on the marking scheme course I
attended organised by MPM two years ago when the new examination format was
unveiled.

The problem with this formula is that I can teach it to you, and chances of you
understanding the theory is very high, but the actual application of the theory and the
formula boils down to your own language proficiency and MOST IMPORTANTLY your
critical thinking skills.

Therefore, while I advocate that you must use this formula to answer well in the exam, I
realise that actually applying the theory and synthesising information from the stimuli is
extremely difficult for students who are used to being spoonfed.

So what is the solution to this? Sorry, there's no shortcut but to read more, think more,
write more and quadruple your motivation and effort.

Q1 Formula:

TITLE
1) OV + CI
2-3) KFs
4) P(i) + P(ii)

Now I'm sure you're wondering what all this means.

Firstly, extract the TITLE from the question and underline it.

For the first paragraph, it consists of minimum 2 sentences: the OverView (OV) and
Controlling Idea (CI).
OV- What does the stimuli present? Answer: a bar graph, diagram, pie chart, pictograph,
newspaper headline or article, some notes etc.
CI- What is the general trend of all the stimuli combined? Answer: Increasing,
Decreasing, Consistent or Fluctuating (NOTE: These are the FOUR main trends)

For the second and/or third paragraphs, you need to identify the Key Features (KFs)
which are the MOST OUTSTANDING ideas from the stimuli.
(NOTE: report will be marked DOWN if students just LIST ALL FEATURES and
information from the stimuli without choosing the MOST IMPORTANT AND
OUTSTANDING details, students must be SELECTIVE of which details to include)
*There is no set number of KFs that need to be identified unlike PMR summary (5
points), SPM summary (10 points). Therefore, this report writing is more difficult to
perfect as it depends heavily on the students' understanding and proficiency.
**Also ensure that students do not make any external ASSUMPTIONS! Do not give your
own ideas and opinions no matter how plausible they may be. This is NOT LIKE
PENGAJIAN AM where ANDAIAN is part of the marking scheme.
***You may write in just 1 paragraph but 2 or 3 paragraphs are also accepted, generally
it depends on what kind of stimuli are given. Begin each paragraph with phrases like:
i) According to the...
ii) Based on the...
iii) With reference to...

For the closing, it consists of minimum two sentences, Prediction (Pi) and Proposal (Pii).
P(i)- What future trend can you predict? Answer: If x happens, then y will continue to
increase, decrease, stabilise or fluctuate.
P(ii)- What recommendation can you propose? Answer: The
government/company/United Nations can...
*P(ii) is not compulsory but it will differentiate the higher bands from the lower ones.

NOTE: While the word limit suggested is 150 to 200 words, you can write more without
being penalised. However, writing more means there may be more grammatical errors
which will cause you to be marked down. Besides, it will leave less time for you to
complete the 350 word academic essay needed. So act wisely. ;-)

Now that I have dealt with the theory and the formula, let us now look at the model
answer for the mid year MUET writing paper, question 1.

(NOTE: This blog doesn't allow me to underline the title and write using paragraphs.
Please amend it mentally on your own, thanks)

Frequency of Visits to the Three Music Websites by Teenagers

The stimuli present a bar graph on visits to the three

music websites by teenagers in the month of August and a
table on promotional activities of the three sites within
the same period. In general, visits to the music websites
especially Music Connect increased in direct proportion to
the frequency and type of promotional activities provided
by the websites.

According to the bar graph, Music Connect was the most

popularly visited website by teenagers as it recorded a
total of about 133 000 visitors for the month of August.
This was followed closely by Music Network which had 125
000 visitors while the least visited of the three websits
was Era Music with only 50 000 visitors. The number of
visitors fluctuated from week to week and website to
website depending on how attractive were the promotional
activities carried out by each website each week.

Based on the table, Music Network was the only website that
had a promotional activity called 'Name that tune' in the
first week therefore it scored the highest hits with 40 000
visitors compared to Music Connect (15 000) and Era Music
(10 000). In week 2, Music Connect organised free music CDs
for its visitors which gave them 35 000 hits. This
promotion was more attractive than 'Name the singer' by
Music Network and 'Name the movie' by Era Music therefore
the type of promotionial activity carried out is a major
factor to draw more visitors to the websites. Week 3 showed
the least hits for all three websites as there were no
promotional activities carried out at that time. Finally,
in week 4, visits to Music Connect skyrocketed to 55 000
hits because they organised free concert tickets for its
visitors. Music Network came in second after carrying out a
'Whose line is it' promotion compared to Era Music which
attracted only 10 000 as they did not plan any promotional
activity for their website.

In conclusion, if websites carry out exciting and

attractive promotional activities such as those conducted
by Music Connect, then the number of teenage visitors will
continue to increase. The websites should increase
promotional activities that can capture the attention of
more teenagers by providing free gifts or meet the
celebrity tickets because it will directly affect their
website's popularity especially among the younger
generation.

Well, what do you think? Was your own report along these lines?
Hopefully it is not that far off the mark. If you have any queries,
please don't hesitate to ask me. I'd like to hear your comments.